The tuition benefit agreements provide financial support for full‑time employees, adjunct faculty, and their families. Specifically, full‑time employees receive a 100% tuition waiver for eligible coursework, while their spouses, civil union/domestic partners, and dependent children are eligible for 60% tuition assistance under specific conditions. Adjunct faculty also have access to a limited tuition waiver, including an option for their eligible dependents.

Each program has distinct requirements, coverage levels, and credit or semester limits, but all share a common goal: expanding access to higher education and supporting professional and academic growth within the extended William Paterson community.

Tuition Waivers for:
Full-Time AFT Employees
Spouses and Civil Union/Domestic Partners of Full-Time AFT Employees
Dependent Children of Full-Time AFT Employees
Adjunct Faculty

Faculty Post-Tenure Review Agreement

After a long hiatus, AFT Local 1796 has reached an Agreement with WP Administration regarding Assigned Release Time (ART). We have posted it to the Faculty section of our Documents webpage, and it is linked above. The ART Program, which will resume in 2026, with applications to be submitted in 2025, aims to support tenured and tenure-track faculty members in their research, scholarship, and creative endeavors by providing them with release time from teaching duties. The 2025-2026 WP Budget will determine program funding, and the Faculty Senate will deliberate its criteria.

Please read the Agreement for a complete breakdown of the negotiated terms of this program.

AFT Local 1796 has reached an agreement with William Paterson University administration outlining the guidelines, criteria, and procedures for full-time faculty members to apply for range adjustments within their rank. Eligible faculty must meet merit-based criteria in teaching, research, and service, and have completed at least four years in their current rank. The agreement details the application process, review by departmental and university committees, and final approval by the university president and Board of Trustees. This program aims to ensure fair and equitable consideration for faculty seeking salary adjustments based on their professional achievements.

Department Chairperson Compensation Agreement

AFT Local 1796 has also reached an agreement with William Paterson University administration establishing a formula-based system for determining the academic year compensation of department chairs. The compensation is calculated using student credit hours, full-time faculty equivalents, and total student headcount, with specific weights assigned to each category. In addition, the agreement outlines the minimum and maximum compensation limits, the process for annual calculation and review, and provisions for the creation of assistant chair positions. This agreement aims to ensure fair and equitable compensation for department chairs based on measurable criteria.

Highlights of what we negotiated:

• Mentors will be compensated 0.125 credits for participating in the 5/23/23 workshop and for any additional workshops thereafter in preparation for the Fall 2023 pilot launch
• Mentors will be provided at least two weeks advance notice of additional workshops
• Mentorship during the pilot period will generally not exceed 20 hours per semester
• Mentors will not be responsible for degree audit reviews
• Mentors’ responsibilities in Navigate are limited rather than extensive
• Faculty mentorship will be counted toward department, college, and university service
• Faculty mentorship will be taken into serious consideration during retention, promotion, range-adjustment, and post-tenure review process

We encourage you to read the MOA for complete details.