What is the difference between an assistant professor and a visiting assistant professor?

Question

I know it seems like "visiting" means the individual will be there for a short or predetermined amount of time, but in my estimation (and observation) this is not the case. What does the term visiting imply.... other than a lower salary?

Answer 1

A visiting assistant professor is not tenure-track, and must have his/her contract renewed every year. Even VAPs who have been at one university for a very long time must be renewed annually in order to stay. There is no formal long-term assurance of continuing employment, even though there may be an "understanding" with the department in which s/he is employed.

Often, VAPs do not have salaries comparable to APs. In the vast majority of cases, VAPs do not have the employment benefits that APs have, such as health care, retirement plan, tuition remission for spouses/children, etc.

A VAP need not publish in order to keep his/her job. A VAPs value to a department is in his/her ability to teach courses, usually at the introductory level. A VAP does not usually have a voice (a formal vote) in faculty matters, such as hiring, tenure, and major curricular decisions. A VAP also does not have any administrative responsibilities (committee work, university service, service to the profession, etc.).

Most often, VAPs are seeking tenure-track positions, but have not yet found one.

However, sometimes, people in VAP positions choose to stay in them as long as possible because their spouses or partners are tenure-track at that university, or at one nearby, or for other personal reasons. I know one VAP who simply does not want the pressures of research, publishing, and administrative work. She lives in a city she likes, and enjoys teaching introductory courses (and excels at so doing). She will always be "low on the totem pole," but she has her own (not university-provided) retirement account, and is happy in her work. She will stay as long as the university keeps renewing her contract, and hopes it will be for a long time.

Answer 2

Visiting appointments aren't tenure-track, while most regular assistant professorships are. Also, it's not unheard of for a prof to "visit" for a couple of years at a time if they are involved with some large research project at the host school.