Faculty and Academic Affairs

Faculty and Academic Affairs provides policy and process guidance and oversight for a variety of academic appointments within the Vice Provost and Dean of Research organization.  These include appointments for Faculty, Academic Staff-Research, Visitors, and other academic ranks.  The team also serves as a resource for post-appointment inquiries such as policies governing additional compensation. 

The academic appointment process is a comprehensive review with the goal to ensure that the professional qualifications of a candidate meets the requisite skill and subject knowledge for employment or affiliation to fulfill identified programmatic needs in research, teaching, and/or patient care to further the missions of Stanford University.

The populations noted below require an approved academic appointment.  Faculty and Academic Staff Appointment (FASA) is the university-wide system developed to automate and centralize the academic appointment process.   

Under the Vice Provost and Dean of Research (VPDOR) organization, only designated policy institutes can appoint faculty as Senior Fellow or Center Fellow; current designated Policy Institutes are the Freeman-Spogli Institute (FSI), Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), and Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI).  More information about Senior Fellow and Center Fellow appointments and other faculty-related policies can be found in the Faculty Handbook and on the Faculty Affairs website.

Working in a capacity which ordinarily requires a Ph.D. or its equivalent in research skill and subject knowledge, an AS-R is involved directly in the execution, and frequently the design, of a Principal Investigator's (PI's) research activities. Their primary purpose is to assist the PI in attaining the goals of the PI's sponsored research projects.  Additional information on policy, criteria, and procedures for appointments can be found in the Research Policy Handbook chapter 10.1 (RPH 10.1).

An academic appointment must have all university required approvals before an AS-R may be hired through Stanford’s payroll system.  Recommendations for appointments are requested through the FASA system at fasa.stanford.edu (authority required).

Other academic ranks used by the university primarily for teaching and clinical activities include Academic Staff-Teaching (lecturers and senior lecturers) and Other Teach Staff (including: visiting faculty, acting faculty, adjunct faculty, instructors, and clinician educators) are used by departments within schools and are not generally available to VPDOR organizations.

Additional information about these ranks can be found in the AST-OTS Handbook.

Professors may invite external faculty or qualified individuals to visit Stanford as Visiting Scholars to support collaborative research.  These appointments require university approval before being recorded in Stanford's system.  Requests are submitted via FASA system (authority required), and template letters are available in the Visitor Appointments Resource folder linked below.  

Additional information about policy, criteria, and procedures can be found in the Research Policy Handbook under Chapter 10.5: Visiting Scholars.

Professors may invite postdoctoral scholars from other institutions or organizations to visit Stanford for advanced studies, research, or training under the guidance of a Stanford faculty sponsor.  These individuals are classified as Visiting Postdoctoral Scholars and require university approval before being recorded in Stanford's system.  Requests are submitted via FASA system (authority required), and template letters are available in the Visitor Appointments Resource folder linked below.  

Additional information about policy, criteria, and procedures can be found in the Research Policy Handbook under Chapter 10.9:  Visiting Postdoctoral Scholars.

A visiting student researcher (VSR) is a student who is currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at another university who is visiting Stanford for the purpose of conducting research under the supervision of a Stanford faculty member. VSRs are not appointed through FASA, but are appointed at Stanford as non-matriculated graduate students - contact the Registrar's Office.

Additional information about policy, criteria, and procedures can be found in the Research Policy Handbook under Chapter 10.7:  Visiting Student Researchers and GAP 2.3.2 Non Matriculated Graduate Students: Implementation.

Employees may be offered additional compensation - beyond salary compensation - for effort outside their usual expected duties or scope of work; this generally requires prospective approval(s).

Faculty: most common additional compensation types include summer salary, honorarium, and administrative supplement.  A reference tool on definitions, policies, and procedures can be found in Academic Appointments Resources / Additional Comp shared folder (link below in Resources).

Academic Staff-Research:  most common additional compensation includes honorarium, bonus, and supplemental pay for teaching activities (note, this may require a salary offset).  Additional information coming soon

For requests involving regular staff (non-faculty, non-Academic Staff) contact your VPDOR HR rep.

Admin Guide Memo 2.2.1: Definitions

Faculty Handbook

Faculty Handbook: Senior Fellow and Center Fellow Appointments

Academic Staff-Research – RPH 10.1

Visiting Scholars – RPH 10.5

Visiting Postdoctoral Scholars – RPH 10.9

Visiting Student Researchers – RPH 10.7

Additional Compensation - Resources (access required)

AS-R Appointments - Resources (access required)

Faculty Affairs website

Faculty Appointments – Resources (access required)

Visitor Appointments - Resources (access required)

Visitor Appointments website

HR Transaction Forms