First: What to call your that person standing in front of the class and lecturing to you
In the University context, all faculty with the rank of anything with the word "professor" in the title -- Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, or Professor Emeritus/a -- may be addressed as Professor. You can find out the professor's rank by going to the departmental website. And, by the way, the rank of Professor is often referred to as "full professor."
You are always safe with "professor" for anyone who is teaching you. Even those who are not officially of a professorial rank will not (in my experience) object to being called professor by their students.
It is also correct to refer to anyone with a doctorate as "doctor." Most university professors have doctorates. Typical exceptions to this are often instructors in the arts and advanced grad students who are teaching their own courses. Folks with JDs (juris doctor, the initial law degree in the US) are not referred to as "doctor." (Note, however, that a few colleges have the custom of using Mr./Ms./Miss/Mrs. rather than Dr.)
A graduate student serving as a course instructor or a more senior instructor who does not have a PhD may be politely referred to as Mr. or Ms. (Ms. because marital status is irrelevant in the work context. There's one exception: If the instructor herself introduces herself as "Mrs." or "Miss" then she has chosen that title.)
By the way, many staff members at the university will have doctorates, and they should be addressed as "Dr." Anyone with "Dean" in the their title -- Assistant Dean, Vice Dean, Dean -- should be addressed as "Dean."
And all of this goes out the window when the professor says, "Call me Joe."
Complicated enough?
In my case, "Mrs." is a social title that I do not use. In non-university contexts I use "Ms." I personally dislike "Mrs." for sociological reasons: it suggests that a woman somehow gains authority by virtue of being attached to a man. But I think this is a recent phenomenon, actually. I understand that until recently (the last couple hundred years?), an unmarried woman became "Mrs." as she got older: Mrs. at one point was at least partially a title of respect rather than of marital status. Hmm. I should check that out.
Second, what university titles mean
Universities are very hierarchical places, alas. Each part of the university (faculty, staff, and students -- the academic trinity) has its own hierarchies.
Students
freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, master's student, doctoral student (pre-comprehensive exams), ABD doctoral student ("all but dissertation," sometimes referred to as "all but dead -- one who has passed his/her comprehensive exams).
In-between student and faculty
Post doctoral fellows, often referred to as "postdocs." These are folks who have a short term appointment where they can polish their dissertation into a book manuscript and/or publish some articles, and sometimes teach a class or two.
Faculty
At all most all universities and colleges, faculty have three obligations: research, teaching, and "service" (sitting on committees and stuff like that). The relative weights of these three tasks depends on the character of the college or university. "Research Intensive Universities" (sometimes referred to as R1 Universities) expect their faculty to focus more on research. Teaching obligations are less heavy at these schools. Many small colleges are teaching intensive, and faculty are expected to spend more of their time on teaching and little or no time on research.
Faculty ranks are complex. Note that below I am referring only to faculty ranks in the US!
Adjunct instructor/lecturer, adjunct assistant professor, adjunct associate professor, adjunct professor: These are (usually) part time teachers. Ideally these folks have day jobs and just teach a class now and then because they enjoy the interaction with students. Unfortunately, too many PhDs try to cobble together an income on multiple adjunct teaching gigs.
Instructor or lecturer (usually someone without a PhD). Some schools have promotion paths for such instructors, so someone might be called a "senior instructor" or "senior lecturer." (However, in other countries, lecturer and senior lecturer may be the equivalent of the US's assistant or associate professor.)
Assistant professor. No, an assistant professor doesn't assist a more senior professor in the US. It's just the lowest professorial rank. What is generally not listed on the departmental webpage will be whether the assistant prof. is non-tenure track or tenure track. Tenure track assistant professors -- those who will be eligible for tenure and promotion at the end of a (usually 7 year probationary period) -- are higher in the hierarchy than non-tenure track.
Associate professor. This is one step up from assistant professor. Associate professors usually have tenure.
Professor. The title is Professor, but we often refer to "full professor," to distinguish the title from assistant and associate professors. One is promoted from "associate to full." This is the highest rank most faculty can hope to reach.
University Professor. This is sort of a super-professor -- usually someone with a superior scholarly reputation whose contributions cut across fields.
Other Faculty Ranks
"Visiting" is usually added to a title of someone who has another institutional affiliation and is spending a period of time at a host institution.
"Research" is usually added to the title of someone who only conducts research and does not (under normal circumstances) teach. A research professor may be on "soft money," funding that comes from grants that are awarded to him/her. Research professors must often earn their salaries by writing grant proposals.
University Units and Faculty Leadership Ranks
It seems like there infinite variation on these themes Here's a typical way a university is organized and the faculty leadership at each level:
Departments are led by a chair or head (usually a tenured professor in the department who takes on this role for a time-limited term).*
Several linked departments may be grouped together into a School or College, led by a dean (usually a tenured professor in one of the departments in the School or College). The dean may be assisted in his or her duties by assistant deans, associate deans, or vice deans. These can be either faculty deans (faculty from one of the departments) or staff deans (members of the university's staff, not faculty). A vice dean for admissions, for example, is usually a staff dean. A vice dean for research is usually a faculty dean.
The Provost is above the deans, and the President is above the Provost.
The Board of Trustees is the ultimate authority for the University or College.
Small colleges generally have fewer levels of governance.
Why should students care about university hierarchies?
It's nice to know who's the boss (dean, department chair) -- especially if you have any sorts of problems.
It's a wise strategy to take at least some courses from members of the tenured faculty. Three years after you graduate, when you need a letter of recommendation for grad school, the tenured faculty are more likely to be around (or at least locatable).
It's good to know that you should probably not ask the assistant prof which professor he or she is assisting.
It's great to know why you are congratulating your favorite prof when her or his title changes from assistant to associate...
And the most important people really are...
the administrative assistants and secretaries, janitors, food service workers, and all the other people who make the place run. Remember to be respectful and grateful.
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*An important exception (for me) to the smallest unit being the department in the School of International Service at American University. SIS is composed of "divisions," each of which has a "director." I served as the Division Director of International Politics and Foreign Policy for many years.
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