Postdoctoral Advisory Committee Recommendations
The Postdoctoral Advisory Committee began working together in the spring of 2014 to support and advise the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Office of Academic Affairs to ensure the best quality training for postdoctoral scholars at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Toward this end, the committee, which has representation from across the medical center, used satisfaction surveys, national and local biomedical workforce assessments, and NIH guidelines to make five recommendations to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. These were recently approved by senior leadership. The postdoctoral community, including postdoctoral scholars and faculty members, is now invited to share comments and feedback on the recommendations below. Please contact the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs with questions, concerns, and comments at PostdoctoralOffice@kumc.edu or visit the Postdoctoral Advisory Committee page for a roster of committee members.
Committee members who were given the opportunity to review and endorse the statements are below. Voting took place at the September 2015 committee meeting and continued via email over the following month.
Voting Committee Members: Irina Aris, Richard Barohn, Jeffrey Bose, Pavla Brachova, Rebecca Burkhalter, Ashley Carlson, Susan Carlson, Hemant Chavan, Kimberly Connelly, Andrew Godwin, Faezeh Koohestani, Monica Kurylo, Stacey Snakenberg, Russell Swerdlow, Cynthia Teel, Michael Werle, Heather Wilkins, Danny Welch
Non-voting: Robert Klein- committee recommends below to Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Salary Guidelines and Funding
The University of Kansas Medical Center strongly encourages adherence to the NIH/NRSA salary guidelines when appointing postdoctoral scholars. If it is impossible to fund according to the NIH/NRSA guidelines, the minimum starting salary is $32,000, plus benefits. During the hiring process, the Human Resource Department will alert the faculty or administrator if the salary does not comply with the minimum. If the faculty or administrator wishes to continue in a non-compliant manner, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dean of Postdoctoral Affairs and Graduate Studies, and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will be consulted to review the situation and provide guidance.
NIH/NRSA stipend levels for fiscal year 2015 can be found on the NIH grants website.
18 of 19 committee members endorse this statement, 1 member did not respond
Term Limits
Postdoctoral scholar positions are considered unclassified employees and are subject to the appointment regulations of the State of Kansas, the Board of Regents, and the University of Kansas.
Postdoctoral appointments should be for a minimum of one year. Some postdoctoral scholars may have the possibility of annual reappointment for up to four additional years, for a total not to exceed five years unless granted exemption by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs or his designee. This limit applies only to time served at KUMC and not time as a postdoctoral scholar at other institutions.
15 of 19 committee members endorse this statement, 4 members did not respond
Position Description
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs provides a Postdoctoral Position Description Template to be used in the recruitment and hiring of postdoctoral scholars. This template has been created by the Postdoctoral Advisory Committee with special consideration from the Human Resource Department and the Office of International Programs. Faculty and administrators preparing to hire a postdoctoral scholar should visit the Faculty and Administrators page of the Postdoctoral Affairs website to obtain the most current template and tips for creating a position description. When creating the position description it is important to remember that postdoctoral scholars are trainees. Those being hired to serve as technicians or in other capacities, including supervision of others, should not be appointed as postdoctoral scholars.
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs is available to support and assist in the creation of Postdoctoral Position Descriptions. During the hiring process, the Human Resource Department will alert the faculty or administrator should their position description not comply with the template and guidelines set forth by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Postdoctoral Advisory Committee. If the faculty or administrator wishes to continue in a non-compliant manner, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dean of Postdoctoral Affairs and Graduate Studies, and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will be consulted to review the situation and provide guidance.
Guidelines for Postdoctoral Position Descriptions:
- A Postdoctoral Scholar position is considered "entry-level" which the position description should reflect;
- A postdoctoral scholar should not be an administrative supervisor for other postdocs, technicians, research assistants. A postdoc may have mentoring duties or oversee experiments of the above-mentioned employees; however, the term "supervising" should be used carefully and explained thoroughly;
- Supervision of graduate/undergraduate students and their research is appropriate for postdoctoral scholars;
- Duties conducted under the supervision of the PI should be listed as such;
- Professional Development must be included as a required element of a postdoctoral position, including regular participation in activities outside of the lab and participation in an Individual Development Plan (IDP).
15 of 19 committee members endorse this statement, 4 members did not respond
Offer Letter
The department of human resources provides an official offer letter template for unclassified staff that must be used for postdoctoral scholars. Visit the Human Resources website to obtain the most current version. When an offer letter has been created, it needs to be reviewed for accuracy by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. This can be completed electronically via email.
A copy of the accepted Postdoctoral Offer Letter, with the scholar's signature, must be provided to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs to accompany the postdoctoral records kept there. The department may retain the original letter.
Postdoctoral Offer Letter Guidelines:
- Offer letters should be on KUMC letterhead and signed by the department chair;
- The letter should specify:
- Department and/or division where the scholar will be assigned
- Effective date and duration of the appointment
- Appointment and reappointment contingencies related to funding sources
- Assigned faculty mentor
- Annual salary (please see Salary Guidelines)
- A description of the research and training activities in which the scholar will be involved and the qualifications needed by the scholar to complete these activities
- As unclassified employees, postdoctoral scholars are subject to the policies described in the KUMC Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook, available on the Human Resource Department website.
- When hiring an international scholar, please be sure to consult the International Programs Office and comply with any policies and regulations related to the scholar's visa status.
15 of 19 committee members endorse this statement, 4 members did not respond
Individual Development Plan
In keeping with NIH recommendations and requirements, all research postdoctoral scholars at the University of Kansas Medical Center must participate in Individual Development Plans (IDP). The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will contact postdoctoral scholars and collect their responses. Postdoctoral scholars are encouraged to use the AAAS myIDP tool. Within six months of arriving, and annually thereafter, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will send a prompt to the postdoctoral scholar to complete their IDP reporting in the RedCap system. The scholar will respond by providing a copy of their certificate from the myIDP tool, or the equivalent from the program or department, and verifying they have met with their faculty mentor. The scholar may also indicate on their report any training and development needs they have that the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs might assist with.
Postdoctoral IDPs are not simply a matter of compliance. Recognizing that postdoctoral scholars have invested time and effort to reach this point in their careers and development and that the postdoctoral training period is a crucial time in preparing for the next phase of a career, the IDP is a best practice in developing advanced scholars and trainees. Postdoctoral scholars are encouraged to work with their faculty mentor through the IDP process to develop goals, explore career possibilities, examine skills and interests, and to track accomplishments and growth.
14 of 19 committee members endorse this statement, 5 members did not respond