Term contracts at Seattle Pacific University are issued to faculty members on either of two bases:

1. They are given to part-time per-course (adjunct) faculty members, and are limited to the term of employment outlined in the contract. Term contracts are not tenure track and do not confer upon a faculty member any entitlement to continued employment after the expiration of the term specified in the contract.
2. They may be used with full-time and pro-rata faculty as follows:
   1. Summer session contracts,
   2. Replacements for faculty on leave or, in some cases, sabbaticals,
   3. Short-term curricular needs,
   4. Persons contracted under provisions of externally funded grants.

With approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, after consultation with the dean, term contracts may be counted toward tenure should that person be appointed to a tenure-track position.

Faculty contracted under provisions of externally funded grants shall be notified of employment status for the following contract term within 15 business days of the university's receiving grant award notification, or no later than March 1 (for faculty in their first year of full-time employment), or December 15 (for faculty in their second or subsequent consecutive year of full-time employment), whichever is later. Such term contracts will include notation that the employment is subject to grant support, the source of external funding, and the anticipated grant renewal date(s) (Section 1.8.3).