Review Expected Job End Date and Continuity Changes

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Overview and impact

Department and Division HR are responsible for proactively monitoring employees with upcoming expected job end dates (EJEDs) to track appointment limits, plan for future needs, and prevent unintentional terminations, which have serious impacts on employee benefits. This resource provides policy background, guidelines, and best practices around reviewing and extending EJEDs and converting terminal/finite appointments to renewable/ongoing appointments.

Currently the OHR Solutions Team (OST) shares reports with schools, colleges, and divisions (S/C/Ds) highlighting who will be terminated, based on contract end date, when UW-Shared Services runs their next Fixed Term Worker process (Scholars are not included). The expectation is that S/C/Ds take action to extend end dates for their employees, if needed.

Workday Reports

The Termination Details - Pre Term (UW) report lists details of employees for whom the mass termination process will insert a termination row in the system. Units can review contract end date on the report and extend the dates if they don't want the automated process to terminate these employees after their contract end date. This report looks at contract end dates and termination end dates that occur on or before the prompted date.

The Current Workers and Jobs (UW) report includes end dates and can be run for specific supervisory organizations and job categories.

Review steps
Step 1	If the employee was hired via open recruitment, ensure the job posting included language that allows for extending or converting to renewable/ongoing: This is an XX month position. This position has the possibility to be extended or converted into an ongoing appointment based on need and/or funding. It is generally appropriate to extend or convert a position to renewable if/when funding and need are verified. To preserve the integrity of the recruitment, the initial appointment duration must match what was advertised on the job posting.
Step 2	If the employee was appointed via recruitment waiver, ensure the intended change does not violate the waiver reason (i.e. regardless of title, an appointment on a ‘2 years or less’ waiver cannot exceed two years). See Recruitment Waiver Reasons resource to ensure compliance.
Step 3	Review employee’s Job History to: Confirm length in terminal role(s) in same department does not exceed what is allowable per ASPP Verify whether the employee has another academic staff appointment which might create a “dual role” situation (i.e. science/research combined with instructional). If they do, get pre-approval from the University Committee for a “dual role” waiver Verify if the employee has other appointments which will result in an overload. If there will be an overload, enter and obtain approval. See Overload resource.
Step 4	If extension is permissible and approved, the hiring unit must notify the employee in writing.
Step 5	Division HR must enter the approved change in Workday, with effective date to match the date of the letter provided to the employee. These changes must be made in advance of the current end date, and changes to ongoing/renewable must be effective on the first date of the pay period. Use the Change Job business process in Workday. For an EJED change, use reason Expected Job End Date Change For a change to ongoing/renewable, use reason Contract Type Change
Step 6	If the change is for an international employee’s appointment, check with International Faculty and Staff Services (IFSS) to ensure the change is allowed before entering change(s) in Workday. Best practice is for the EJED to match the Visa expiration.
Step 7	Carefully consider the benefit impacts of the change. If unsure, notify OHR Benefits Services (benefits@ohr.wisc.edu) so they can determine if there will be changes to the employee’s benefits, particularly when: a short-term job (less than one year) is extended so that the duration of the appointment is more than one year there was a change from terminal to ongoing/renewable These changes may trigger WRS enrollment.

Academic Staff Terminal Appointments

Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP) Chapter 2.01 states:

Fixed-term terminal appointments are limited to two years; and
Instructional fixed-term terminal appointments are limited to a total of three years*; and
Continuation/reappointment beyond these periods shall be as renewable.

Appointments for these positions can be converted to renewable as long as there was:
- An open recruitment including language indicating the job could be made renewable; or
- A waiver reason that allows a renewable appointment. See Recruitment Waiver Reasons resource.

To review an EJED change for an Academic Staff terminal appointment, follow the steps in the table above.

*Instructional Appointment Guidelines

Reappointment must be as renewable when an employee has held an appointment in a given department for either or both semesters in each of the last three consecutive academic years.
- Teaching all of part of Fall or Spring semester, even just a few days, counts as working in the academic year.
- Summer Session appointments do NOT count.
- Time off on short work breaks does NOT count.
Job profile series included: Teaching Specialist, Teaching Faculty, Lecturer, Clinical Instructor, Clinical Professor, Professor (CHS).
- All combinations of these profiles count.

University Staff Fixed-Term Finite

University Staff Appointment Types policy states:

Fixed-term finite appointments are limited to two years; and
Continuation beyond two years shall be as an ongoing appointment.

Appointments for these positions can be moved to an ongoing appointment as long as there was:

- An open recruitment including language indicating the job could be made ongoing; or
- A waiver reason that allows ongoing continuity. See Recruitment Waiver Reasons resource.

To review an EJED change for a fixed-term finite appointment, follow the steps in the table above.

Terminal Waivers

An employee may be only waived into consecutive terminal appointments as long as two of the following three criteria are met:

the appointments are in different divisions.
the title and responsibilities are different.
the supervisors are different.

Temporary Employees

Temporary Employees policy sets guidelines for Temporary Employees.

Rehired Annuitant

These appointment duration limitations do not apply to rehired annuitants appointed by recruitment waiver with waiver reason Rehired Annuitant. These positions may be reappointed/extended annually at the discretion of the division and should not become renewable.

References

When to consult with Talent Acquisition

When a hiring unit requests an EJED change beyond what is allowed, per policy.

Updated: May 05, 2026Source URL: https://hr.wisc.edu/hr-professionals/recruitment/review-expected-job-end-date-and-continuity-changes/