Contracts

New Appointments

New appointees to the Ohio University faculty will be given a written statement of appointment provided by the dean of the appropriate college, minimally specifying

• FTE, start and end dates of the initial contract and salary arrangements and other compensation agreements (e.g. start-up funds, moving expenses, facilities, teaching releases, etc.) as negotiated.
• The initial Teaching:Research:Service (T:R:S) distributions and expectations of employment, including responsibilities associated with the specified T:R:S distribution; it should also be noted that T:R:S distributions may change on annual review in accordance with department and college policies.
• Information about the need to attend both the “New Faculty Orientation” organized by the Provost’s office and “New Employee Orientation” run by Ohio University Human Resources, including date, time and location (if available at time of writing).
• A summary of benefits and/or a link to the benefits information contained on the Human Resources website.&
• For Tenure Track faculty, the latest date for tenure review.

All faculty should attend their orientation programs. The appointment letter will specify all orientation sessions that faculty members must attend. Dates, times and locations will be provided either in the appointment letter or as soon as possible thereafter. 

If a faculty member is unable to attend the orientations, the department chair should provide them with contact information for the appropriate person in the Provost’s Office and Human Resources. The new faculty member is responsible for contacting them to make alternative arrangements.

In addition, Tenure-track, Instructional and Clinical Faculty appointees will be given

• A written statement of the appropriate tenure and/or promotion policy of the department, school, or division to which the faculty member is appointed that is in effect on the starting date of such appointment and
• A written statement of the appropriate tenure and/or promotion policy of the college or campus within which that department, school, or division resides, and that is in effect on the starting date of the appointment.

Special Appointments

Professional Courtesy Appointments

A department at Ohio University may provide an academic home to professional persons through special courtesy appointments such as a Scholar, Research Scientist, Professional, or Artist when mutually beneficial to the individual and the department.  

Appointments are made by the dean of a college upon recommendation from a department or regional campus division, and copies of the letter of appointment go to the Provost and President. Persons granted these appointments must have the appropriate qualifications to pursue a program of research, scholarship, or creative activity. This program may also include proposal and report writing, grant solicitation, publication of results, and/or performance and exhibition. Persons with these appointments receive an annual letter of appointment that describes the nature of their work with an appropriate title. 

Such appointees are eligible for computer accounts, faculty ID cards, parking, faculty library privileges, and are listed in the campus directory, but receive no salary. Additional resources may be made available to them by departments or regional campuses depending on availability. 

Suitably qualified appointees may teach regularly scheduled classes upon the issuance of a contract specifying both an appropriate salary and faculty classification.

Other Special Appointments

• Assistant Research, Associate Research, and Research Professor as defined by Ohio University Policy #01.015 are solely supported on external funds (grants or contracts). These positions do not hold faculty rank, faculty status nor teaching responsibilities. The research positions/people are not governed nor protected by the Faculty Handbook depending on their contract.
  Suitably qualified appointees may teach regularly scheduled classes upon the issuance of an additional contract specifying both an appropriate salary and faculty classification.
• It is recognized that in some departments and divisions of the University there are positions, such as Technical Assistant and Curator, that do not necessarily require advanced degrees. Appointees to these positions will not ordinarily receive tenure. In addition to a formal contract, such appointees will be given a written statement describing the character as well as the probable minimum and maximum duration of their work.

Faculty Rank and Status: Privileges and Limitations

Academic Rank

A person appointed to a position as an Instructor, Visiting Professor, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Associate Professor of Instruction, Professor of Instruction, Assistant Clinical Professor, Associate Clinical Professor, Clinical Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor shall be recognized as holding academic rank. The position of Professor shall include special titles, such as Distinguished Professor and Trustees Professor, and appointments to endowed chairs.

Appointment of Faculty

• All holders of academic rank shall hold this rank in an academic department2 of the University. Academic departments include only those listed in the current Ohio University Undergraduate Catalog, with such additions or deletions as may be recommended by the Provost and approved by the President.
• Appointment of any faculty member to a particular department should be made by the President upon recommendation initiated by the department concerned and approved by the dean of the college involved and the Provost of the University. In cases where an appointment has been recommended by the academic department and the dean of the college but not approved by higher administrative officers, the reason for the denial of appointment shall be conveyed in writing to the person concerned, to the dean of the college, and to the department chair.

Classification of Faculty

Within a given department, each person holding faculty rank shall hold but a single classification (as below). 

All persons holding faculty rank whose primary employment is by an educational institution other than Ohio University shall be classified in the non-tenure track. 

All personnel holding faculty rank shall be classified according to the following groups: 

Outlined here, details for each classification follow. 

Tenure Track (full or part-time) 

1. Assistant Professor 
2. Associate Professor 
3. Professor

Instructional Faculty (non-tenure track, full or part-time)   

1. Assistant Professor of Instruction 
2. Associate Professor of Instruction 
3. Professor of Instruction 

Clinical Faculty (non-tenure track; full or part-time; HCOM and CHSP only) 

1. Assistant Clinical Professor 
2. Associate Clinical Professor  
3. Clinical Professor  

Fixed-term Contract Faculty (non-tenure track, full or part-time, temporary)                

1. Visiting Professor (full time, temporary)
2. Instructor (part time, temporary)

Courtesy titles. Courtesy titles may be given to faculty, however, titles used in the classification of faculty (II.C.3), in other special appointments (II.C.2) or earned specialty titles such as Distinguished Professor (V.C) and Trustee Professor, and those used for endowed chairs (II.C.1) may not be used as a courtesy title. These classifications have a defined meaning and should be used only in that context. Courtesy titles must be approved by the Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Planning and the chair of Professional Relations Committee of Faculty Senate.

Tenure Track Faculty

• The Tenure Track consists of persons with appropriate credentials, on full-time or part-time appointments, specifically designated as tenure track faculty who, except when on unpaid leave granted at their request, are employed in at least two semesters of a fiscal year and who are so employed from the date of receiving an appointment in the Tenure Track category until that appointment terminates. A person may not change to Instructional or fixed term contract faculty categories once the initial appointment in Tenure Track is made. Faculty shall be classified with respect to the campus where their teaching duties are principally performed. 

  Tenure Track faculty may be hired on differential workload distributions as appropriate to meet the needs of the department/school, but all should contribute to the teaching, research and service missions of the university. The distribution for a position should be determined by the department or school, as appropriate for the academic unit, and negotiated with the head of the planning unit at the time of position request. When possible and appropriate, the workload for each Tenure Track position shall be clearly indicated at the time of posting. Departments and schools that have faculty with differential workloads and working conditions shall state in their Promotion and Tenure document the explicit expectations for teaching, research, and service according to the variable workload distributions of faculty in the department or school and according to the variable resources available to the faculty in the department or school.  

  Faculty members in Tenure Track are expected to perform those faculty activities agreed to at the time of hire and/or reappointment and shall enjoy the following rights and benefits:

  • The letter of appointment will contain the initial workload percentages for teaching, research and service as negotiated for the position (II.A.1.b.) and include the promotion and tenure guidelines as appropriate for the position (II.A.2.c.)
  • Salaries will be negotiated at the time of hire, taking into account factors such as qualifications, years of experience, rank and salaries of existing Tenure Track faculty with similar workload assignments in the given department or on the given regional campus.
  • Normally, the contracts for Tenure Track will be a nine month, renewable contract for a term of one-year during the probationary period, with the latest date for tenure review indicated in the letter of appointment (II.A.1).
  • Tenure Track faculty are categorized into three ranks: Assistant Professor; Associate Professor or Professor. Initial rank will be determined at the time of hire based on qualifications, departmental norms, and other factors as appropriate.
  • Tenure Track (retired) consists of Tenure Track faculty covered under the Early Retirement Policy (see Section III.R). Persons with Tenure Track (retired) classifications have the rights and privileges of persons with Tenure Track classifications with the following exceptions: they will be ineligible for promotion in academic rank, University Faculty Fellowship Leave, and membership in the Faculty Senate; they will be ineligible to vote in Faculty Senate elections and on matters concerning promotion, tenure, new appointments, renewal of probationary appointments, merit pay, and any other issues requiring formal departmental action. 
  • Persons holding part-time appointments must have qualifications equal to those currently used by departments or regional campuses as criteria for full-time appointments.  Depending on their qualifications and experience, persons holding part-time appointments in Tenure Track may be appointed as Part-Time Professors, Part-Time Associate Professors, Part-Time Assistant Professors, Part-Time Instructors, and Part-Time Lecturers. All appointments to the Tenure Track will be reviewed according to the usual procedure by the dean and the Provost. 
  • All faculty in the Tenure Track shall be employed, in terms of their work assignments, according to the following guidelines:
    • Faculty members may be employed on the basis of full-time or part-time appointments. 
    • Faculty members of a given department may negotiate a shift from a full-time to a part-time appointment, or from part-time to a full-time appointment. 
    • A faculty member on a part-time appointment desiring temporarily to shift to a full-time appointment may seek a colleague holding such an appointment who wishes temporarily to shift to a part-time employment, and, with the department's approval, such an exchange of appointments may be arranged. 
    • The intention of a faculty member to seek a change in the character of their appointment (full-time to part-time, or part-time to full time) shall be discussed with their chair one year in advance. 
    • No person holding a regular full-time appointment shall be shifted to a part-time appointment without their written consent. 
    • A person who is awarded tenure as a full-time faculty member does not lose tenure by accepting a part-time appointment. He/she/they revert to full-time status when the agreed-upon term of part-time service is completed.
      • All faculty in the Tenure Track and holding part-time appointments shall be subject to the following conditions of appointment and to the rights and benefits associated with such appointments:
      • Salaries shall be negotiated at the departmental level, the end product of negotiation to be a proportionate part, depending on work assignment, of the salary a similarly qualified full-time person would receive in the given department or on the given campus.
      • Tenure and promotion are both to be granted according to general University regulations and departmental criteria currently operative as regards persons holding full-time appointment.
      • Part-time faculty in the Tenure Track shall enjoy all other rights and benefits accorded faculty members holding full-time appointments.

Instructional Faculty

• Instructional Faculty consists of experienced persons holding part-time or full-time appointments who are primarily considered instructional personnel and may also have service responsibilities related to the teaching mission of the department, college, or university but no expectation for research or creative activity (i.e. TRS distributions ranging from 100:0:0 to 80:0:20). They possess qualifications that enable them to teach their assigned classes at a satisfactory level. Faculty members in the Instructional Faculty are expected to perform those faculty activities agreed to in negotiations with their departments or regional campuses at the time of hire and/or reappointment and shall enjoy the following rights and benefits:
  • The workload (percentage distribution of teaching, between 80-100% and service responsibilities between 0-20%) for each Instructional faculty member is negotiated, as appropriate for the academic unit, with the department chair, dean of the regional campus or planning unit head at the time of hire. The letter of offer will contain the specific workload percentages for teaching and service as negotiated for the individual. Workload percentages may be subsequently renegotiated on an annual basis but all workload percentages must be contained in the faculty member’s letter of reappointment.
  • Salaries will be negotiated at the time of hire at the departmental or regional campus level, taking into account factors such as qualifications, years of experience, rank and salaries of existing Instructional faculty with similar workload assignments in the given department or on the given regional campus.
  • One base for negotiations will be an annual schedule of minimum per-course rates of compensation and guidelines provided by the Provost. Salary increments for Instructional Faculty shall be negotiated in accordance withUniversity policies and shall take into account rank, performance and length of service.
  • Normally, the contracts for Instructional faculty will be a nine month, renewable contract for a term of one-year for the initial five years of service in all instances where a department's or regional campus's experience, or other factors, indicates that a faculty member will be employed for the whole of the ensuing nine-month academic year. Afterward, Instructional faculty should be offered five-year contracts as warranted by the performance of the faculty member, desire of the faculty member, and continued need of the department or regional campus. However, the length of the initial and subsequent contracts can be negotiated based on qualifications, experience and need of the faculty member and department or regional campus.
  • Instructional faculty are categorized into three ranks. The rank of Instructor should be given to all part-time faculty (<0.5 FTE). For Instructional Faculty serving at 0.5 FTE or greater, the initial rank is Assistant Professor of Instruction, the intermediate rank is Associate Professor of Instruction, and the highest rank is Professor of Instruction.  Instructional faculty will normally be hired at the rank of Assistant Professor of Instruction depending on qualifications and departmental norms. The rank should be given to those who will teach 0.5 FTE or greater and have the appropriate degree or equivalent professional experience, as evaluated by the academic unit, and demonstrated potential for effective teaching.
  • Instructional faculty must be evaluated annually by the chair or director according to departmental or regional campus guidelines and in accordance with Section II.E.1 of the Faculty Handbook. A comprehensive review should be performed in the last year of a multi-year contract or upon application for promotion. A written evaluation of the faculty member will be forwarded to them by February 15 on an annual basis by their director or chair. The director, chair or division coordinator shall employ a departmental committee or committees in the evaluation process, which shall conform to the department’s written procedures and demonstrate peer review as a part of the merit process.
  • Instructional Faculty may be promoted (without tenure). Minimum criteria for consideration for promotion are outlined in II.C.3.b.vi.a-c; these are minimum criteria for consideration for promotion. Departments and schools may establish more stringent criteria for promotion.
    • An individual is expected to spend a minimum of five years in the rank of Assistant Professor of Instruction before being considered for promotion to Associate Professor of Instruction and have qualifications of the previous title, as appropriate for their teaching/service distribution.
    • An individual is expected to spend a minimum of five years in the rank of an Associate Professor of Instruction before being considered for promotion to Professor of Instruction and have qualifications of the previous title, as appropriate to their teaching/service distribution.
    • If departments, schools, and colleges adopt more stringent criteria for promotion than those outlined above (a-c), such criteria should emerge from a faculty committee. That committee should have Tenure track and Instructional faculty with all campuses within the department represented and should be in consultation with a chair or dean. Any revised or new criteria that are proposed from that committee must be approved by a majority of Tenure track and a majority of Instructional faculty voting separately who shall vote up or down. (Criteria approved and announced prior to July 2015 shall not be subject to a new vote.) In the event of an impasse between the department, school, or the college faculty and the dean regarding promotion criteria changes, the standing Committee on Promotion and Tenure of the Faculty Senate shall act as arbiter. Following promotion criteria revision, units are encouraged to provide a grace period in which faculty already employed at Ohio University may elect to be considered under the earlier criteria as outlined in Appendix IX.F.
    • The criteria used to make decisions on promotion and tenure must originate in the department or school in consultation with the dean. Faculty should revise these criteria periodically (at least every five years) in consultation with the dean of the college. These criteria and any changes made to them must be approved by a majority Tenure-track faculty of the department or school. In the event of an impasse between the department or school and the dean, the standing committee on Promotion and Tenure of the Faculty Senate shall act as an arbiter.If a college has written promotion and tenure criteria, these criteria and any changes made to them should originate in meetings of faculty, as a whole or by committee in consultation with the dean. The criteria and any changes made to them must be approved by the Tenure-track faculty in the college. In the event of an impasse between the college faculty and the dean, the standing committee on Promotion and Tenure of the Faculty Senate shall act as an arbiter.
      • In the event that promotion is denied, a faculty member has a right to appeal. The appeal process is outlined in Section II.F of the Faculty Handbook.
      • Instructional Faculty may negotiate a shift from a full-time to a part-time appointment, or from a part-time to a full-time appointment without loss of rank.
      • Part-time Instructional faculty who are on nine-month contracts shall be eligible for retirement according to the State Teachers Retirement System  (or in some circumstances the Alternative Retirement Plan—see Section III.L), Group Life Insurance, Major Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, Travel Accident Insurance, membership in the Ohio University Employee Credit Union, Tax-Deferred Annuities, Twelve-Month Pay Option, and parking privileges. Instructional Faculty who have an FTE of 0.67 or greater on an academic year basis shall be considered full-time for the purpose of being eligible to participate in alternative retirement plans.
    • Instructional faculty (with an FTE of 0.80 or above) have the right to stand for election and to vote to elect up to nine senators from Instructional faculty to serve on Faculty Senate.
    • Instructional faculty are encouraged to participate in activities to promote professional development directly related to their responsibilities. Departments should support professional development activities directly related to a faculty member’s responsibilities. Instructional faculty are eligible for the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and program grants, development awards and funds (with the exception of Faculty Fellowship leaves, Presidential Research Scholar Awards, and Presidential Teacher Awards).

Clinical Faculty

• The Clinical Faculty Track consists of faculty in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (HCOM) or the College of Health Sciences and Professions (CHSP) who may hold clinical licenses/credentials and whose work is primarily teaching/mentoring students in clinical knowledge, skills, and professional domains appropriate to their individual disciplines.
  • Percentage distribution of scholarship, teaching, service and/or clinical responsibilities are negotiated with the department chair at the time of hire in the letter of offer and annually as appropriate to meet the needs of department or college.
    
    Salaries will be negotiated at the time of hire at the departmental or campus level, taking into account factors such as qualifications, years of experience, rank and salaries of existing Clinical Faculty with similar workload assignments in the given department or on the given campus.
     
• Clinical Faculty may hold the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor, Associate Clinical Professor, or Clinical Professor Faculty. Faculty in the clinical faculty track will normally be hired at a rank of Assistant Clinical Professor, but rank may be negotiated at the time of hire depending on qualifications and experience.
  
  Normally, the initial contract for Clinical Faculty will be a nine month renewable contract for a term of one year for the initial five years of service in all instances where a department's experience, or other factors, indicates that a faculty member will be employed for the whole of the ensuing nine-month academic year. Afterward the faculty should be offered five-year contracts as warranted by the performance of the faculty member, desire of the faculty member, and continued need of the department. However, the length of the initial and subsquent contracts can be negotiated based on the qualifications, experience, and need of the faculty member and the department or college. 
• Clinical Faculty must be evaluated annually by the department chair based on department guidelines and in accordance with Section II.E.1 of the Faculty Handbook. A comprehensive review should be performed in the last year of a multi-year contract or upon application for promotion. A written evaluation of the faculty member will be forwarded to them by February 15 on an annual basis by their director or chair. The director, chair or division coordinator shall employ a departmental committee or committees in the evaluation process, which shall conform to the department's written procedures and demonstrate peer review as a part of the merit process.
• Clinical Faculty may be promoted (without tenure) to Associate Clinical Professor, and Clinical Professor as appropriate.
  • An individual is usually expected to spend a minimum of five years in the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor before being considered for promotion to Associate Clinical Professor.
  • An individual is usually expected to spend a minimum of five years in the rank of Associate Clinical Professor before being considered for promotion to Clinical Professor.
• Clinical Faculty members may be employed on the basis of full-time or part-time appointments. Clinical Faculty members may negotiate a shift from a full-time to a part-time appointment, or from a part-time to a full-time appointment without loss of rank.
   
• Clinical faculty (with a FTE of 0.60 or above) have the right to stand for election and to vote to elect at least one at-large senator to Faculty Senate to represent the Clinical faculty in HCOM and CHSP.

Fixed-term Contract Faculty

• Fixed-term contract faculty consists of persons holding full or part-time, fixed-term appointments (see Section II.D.1.e), special appointments (see Section II.B), or any other appointments not assigned to Tenure Track, Instructional or Clinical Faculty. Appointees to such positions shall hold faculty rank but not faculty status.
  • Visiting professors consists of persons holding full-time, fixed-term appointments and are limited to a total of three years, consecutive or otherwise, except for term appointments in ROTC, and for positions wholly funded by grants and contracts (excluding overhead return funds), which are limited to the period of external financial support. Salaries are to be negotiated at the departmental level, with salary increments to be granted in accordance with University policies. Accordingly, those accepting fixed-term contract appointments shall be considered to have due notice that the University has no obligation to retain them beyond the expiration date of their appointments. Visiting professors or other full-time term appointees have the same rights and benefits as Instructional and Clinical faculty, with the exceptions of standing for and voting in Faculty Senate elections.
  • Instructors consists of persons holding part-time (semester by semester) appointments who are primarily considered instructional personnel, and who have such qualifications as enable them to teach satisfactorily the courses assigned them. Instructor positions should be 1) temporary, part-time positions to fill an unanticipated need, 2) part-time positions to fill a gap in teaching capacity, or 3) a longer term, part-time position to provide an expertise otherwise not available to a department or regional campus. Instructors are expected to perform those faculty activities agreed to in negotiation with their departments or regional campuses and shall enjoy the following rights and benefits.

  • Salaries are to be negotiated at the departmental or regional campus level, with salary increments to be granted in accordance with University policies. (One base for negotiations will be an annual schedule of minimum per-course rates of compensation and guidelines provided by the Provost.) Semester contracts shall be issued as early as possible and normally no later than when preregistration enrollments become available. Emergency appointments at the last minute are to be minimized. All contracts issued to instructors are term contracts, renewable solely at the     University's pleasure, but not subject to the three-year limitation on full-time Term contracts. Accordingly, those accepting such contracts shall be considered to have received due notice that the University has no obligation to furnish them with employment beyond the expiration date of their contracts.  

        NOTE: If the teaching load fulfilled by one or more instructors in a department     becomes more long term (more than 4 consecutive semesters, excluding summers), consistently rises above 0.5 FTE, and could be filled by a full-time or nearly full-time (0.75 FTE or above) position, a department should request a Tenure track (II.C.3.a) or Instructional Faculty (II.C.3.b) position and fill it according to the hiring policy of the department and university standards for hiring full time employees. FTE is calculated using the workload policy of the individual department in question.

Graduate Faculty Rank

• Graduate Faculty Rank is a role that a faculty member may hold in graduate education. It is a designation separate from faculty status as defined in the Faculty Handbook.
• Colleges, departments, schools, or programs determine appropriate criteria necessary to classify individuals who have faculty rank at Ohio University as having Graduate Faculty Rank at each of the following levels: 
  • Masters Graduate Faculty: Persons designated as Masters Graduate Faculty have faculty rank at Ohio University and are granted this classification based on college, department, school, or program criteria consistent with academic unit guidelines. Masters Graduate Faculty may serve faculty roles in master-level programs according to program specifications.
  • Doctorate Graduate Faculty: Persons designated as Doctorate Graduate Faculty have faculty rank at Ohio University and are granted this classification based on college, department, school, or program criteria consistent with academic unit guidelines. Doctorate Graduate Faculty may serve faculty roles in both masters-level and doctoral-level programs according to program specifications. 
• Criteria for the determination of graduate faculty designations will be reviewed at a stated period by colleges, departments, schools, or programs. Persons designated as having Masters or Doctorate Graduate Faculty Rank will be reviewed according to classification guidelines established by colleges, departments, schools, or programs.
• Colleges, departments, schools, or programs may also appoint persons to serve as Affiliate Graduate Faculty. Affiliate Graduate faculty are persons without faculty rank at Ohio University or Ohio University faculty without a graduate faculty designation. As examples, a college, department, school, or program may designate Affiliate Graduate Faculty rank to (a) faculty who hold faculty rank or status at another University or (b) subject matter experts with appropriate qualifications who are outside the program. Colleges, departments, schools, or program should determine appropriate criteria necessary to appoint persons as Affiliate Graduate faculty. Colleges, departments, schools, or program should determine the roles and responsibilities appropriate for Affiliate Graduate faculty in their graduate programs.
• Any person holding Graduate Faculty Rank who wishes to appeal his/her/their rank, or any perceived adverse decision regarding it, will follow the grievance procedure processes in the Faculty Handbook Section.

Faculty Status

• All persons holding faculty appointments, both full-time and part-time, in the Tenure Track shall enjoy faculty rank and status.
• A person who has faculty status is recognized as being primarily an officer of instruction rather than an officer of administration. 
• Whereas faculty classified as Tenure Track, Instructional or Clinical Faculty are eligible for promotion, only a person who is classified in the Tenure-track is eligible for tenure and University Faculty Fellowship leave. To be considered eligible for tenure, a person must hold faculty status throughout the entire probationary period. Probationary faculty who assume a full-time administrative contract must be reappointed to faculty status after the completion of the administrative duties, at which time the tenure period is to be negotiated as indicated in Section II.D.2.e.
• Faculty status is reserved for a person who has demonstrated scholarly or professional competence in a recognized academic discipline, and who is engaged in teaching or research pertaining thereto, or both. Further, such status is reserved for a person whose service is primarily to the academic department to which he/she/they are appointed. 
• A coordinator of an interdisciplinary academic program who functions at the administrative level of a department chair, and who is considered by the department in which they rank as basically an officer of instruction will have faculty status. 
• A person who is not a member of the Ohio University faculty who is appointed to an administrative position may be given academic rank by the President upon the concurrence of the appropriate academic department and Dean, and the Provost. Such a person shall not have faculty status while he/she/they hold a position that is primarily administrative in nature.
• An Ohio University faculty member who accepts an administrative position at Ohio University will keep their rank, and if they have tenure they will keep his/her/their tenure. Persons whose responsibilities are defined as more than fifty percent administrative within the University and who teach part time may be classified as Instructional Faculty, Instructors or Clinical Faculty unless they have attained Tenure-track status through faculty service prior to their assumptions of administrative duties. An administrative officer of the University who is thus in the tenure track retains faculty rank but not faculty status. 
• Faculty members with visiting or other term appointments (see Section II.D.1.d and e), because of the limited duration of their appointments, are not eligible for tenure, professional leave, membership in the Faculty Senate, or to vote in Faculty Senate elections. 
• Each department, school, college, or regional campus shall define in writing the extent and manner of part-time faculty participation in internal decision-making processes, as well as the assignment of non-instructional duties.

Promotion

All advancement in academic rank shall be granted by the President upon the recommendation of the department, the dean involved, and the Provost, and this recommendation shall be made upon the basis of performance associated with duties in the department in which rank is held. 

Faculty Tenure

• Tenure is awarded to those individuals whose records indicate that they are likely to continue to make significant positive contributions to the academic life of the University throughout their professional careers. Eligibility for tenure shall be determined by the department concerned and is reserved for those who are engaged in academic activities, including research, and/or scholarly activity, and/or creative activity (of which any may include activities leading to commercialization), teaching, and service.
• Tenure shall be granted by the President upon recommendation of the department, the dean involved, and the Provost of the University. 
• Under exceptional circumstances, tenure may be granted by the President to a person who is newly appointed to an administrative position at Ohio University and who has not been previously a member of the Ohio University faculty. Such a grant of tenure must have been approved by the department concerned, the dean concerned, and the Provost of the University. 
• The criteria used to make decisions on promotion and tenure must originate in the department or school in consultation with the dean. Faculty should review these criteria periodically (at least every five years) in consultation with the dean of the college or regional campus. These criteria and any changes made to them must be approved by a majority of the Tenure-track faculty of the department/school. In the event of an impasse between the department/school and the dean, the standing Committee on Promotion and Tenure of the Faculty Senate shall act as arbiter. If a college has written promotion and tenure criteria, these criteria and any changes made to them should originate in meetings of faculty, as a whole or by committee in consultation with the dean. The criteria and any changes made to them must be approved by the Tenure -track faculty in the college. In the event of an impasse between the college faculty and the dean, the standing Committee on Promotion and Tenure of the Faculty Senate shall act as arbiter.

Composition of Department and School Promotion and Tenure Committees

In departments and schools with faculty from both the Athens campus and regional campuses, a reasonable approximation of the ratio of Athens to regional faculty in the department or school should be reflected by the composition of the promotion and tenure committee. Depending on the size and composition of those departments or schools, the Ohio University Faculty Senate recommends including no fewer than one regional faculty member on the promotion and tenure committee. In addition, during a year that a regional faculty member is considered for promotion and/or tenure, but no one in the candidate’s department or school is located on the candidate’s campus and is eligible to serve on the candidate’s P&T committee, a qualified faculty member from the candidate’s home campus from another department or school should be added to the candidate’s P&T committee as a voting member. If no at-rank-or-above faculty member on the candidate’s home campus is available in any department or school, then an ineligible, tenured faculty member from the home campus should be added to the candidate’s P&T committee as a non-voting member to provide information about the campus culture to the candidate’s P&T committee. When an instructional faculty member is under consideration for promotion, a reasonable approximation of the ratio of qualified tenured faculty to qualified instructional faculty in the department or school should be reflected by the composition of the promotion and tenure committee. 

Appointment and Tenure for Members of the Same Family

• Ohio University is not opposed to the employment of more than one member of the same immediate family. "Family'' here is to be understood to include spouse, former spouse, domestic partner of same sex and opposite sex, former domestic partner, parent-child, and sibling relationships, even if the persons involved do not live in the same household. Each appointment is made on its own merits, whether both members are in the same department or not. Promotions and raises should not be prejudiced, favorably or unfavorably, by the faculty status of the other member of the family or by their activities, rank, or position. Tenure is to be awarded to each person under exactly the conditions that apply to other faculty members.
• A faculty member shall neither initiate nor participate in departmental decisions concerning another member of his/her/their family as defined above, a faculty member with whom he/she/they have a consensual sexual relationship, or a faculty member with whom he/she/they have business relationships with regard to initial appointment, retention, salary, tenure, and promotion. A business relationship is defined as a situation in which the two faculty are co-owners of a business enterprise, with or without other partners, where the two have a total of $10,000 or more in equity and where one or both of the following conditions are met:  one or both of the faculty have managerial (decision-making) authority, or the total ownership share of the enterprise held by the two faculty members exceeds 10%. Faculty who are not disqualified from participating in these decisions by these criteria but who have relationships which significantly affect their judgment on these matters are encouraged to discuss the issue with departmental or college promotion and tenure chairs and to request to be removed from committees, if appropriate. Only under the most unusual circumstances should a person exercise significant supervision with respect to another member of his/her/their family. Thus, for example, he/she/they should not schedule classes or other work assignments, nor participate in decisions regarding leave of absence for the other person. Further, they should not be involved in grievance or hearing procedures at any level regarding the other family member.

Adjudication and Amendment

The Faculty Senate authorizes its Standing Committee on Professional Relations to act as a consultative agency for the adjudication of the rules and definitions pertaining to faculty rank and faculty status in such cases that, from time to time, are in need of judgment. The Standing Committee on Professional Relations will recommend refinements and amendments to these regulations as may be necessary to cover emerging situations.

Appointments, Tenure, and Renewal of Contracts

Terms of Appointments

• The terms and conditions (FTE, T:R:S distribution, and salary) of every appointment to the faculty shall be stated in writing, and a copy of the appointment document shall be supplied to the faculty member. Any subsequent extensions or modifications of an appointment, and any special understandings or any notices incumbent on either party to provide shall be stated in writing with a copy given to the faculty member. These letters should specify that the Faculty Handbook governs the general conditions of employment.
• With the exception of term appointments clearly limited to a brief association with Ohio University, and reappointments of retired faculty members on special conditions, all appointments to the ranks in which tenure may be attained (see Section II.D.2.b) are of two kinds: (a) probationary appointments, and (b) appointments with continuous tenure. 
• Except for faculty members who have tenure status or who are not eligible for tenure, every person with a teaching or research appointment of any kind shall be informed each year in writing of the department's evaluation of the individual's performance and progress toward tenure (see Section II.E.3). This evaluation normally will be provided to the faculty member by February 1. 
• A person may be employed by Ohio University under a fixed-term contract as either a Visiting Professor, full time, temporary, or as an Instructor, part-time, on a semester by semester basis. The term contract is a faculty appointment for a specified period, which explicitly excludes eligibility for tenure. Such Visiting Professor appointments may be made for a total of no longer than three years, consecutive or otherwise, with the exception of those faculty members employed to teach in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), and for positions wholly funded by external grants and contracts (excluding overhead return funds). The exception for ROTC is granted in recognition of the fact that faculty assignments to the program are externally controlled. The exception for faculty positions wholly funded by external grants and contracts (excluding overhead return funds) is limited to the period of external financial support provided by the grant or contract.
• An "adjunct" title can be used for persons employed from outside the university. An adjunct appointment is normally uncompensated but may have compensation for specific work performed or contributions made to a program. The duration of an "adjunct" appointment is variable but is to be made explicit at the time of appointment. An adjunct appointment is made by the dean of a college based on a recommendation from a department or school. 
• A "joint" appointment is reserved for a faculty member with responsibilities in more than one department. A joint appointment requires a written agreement between the home department and any other participating department(s) plus the approval of the respective dean(s). The agreement should specify the duties and obligations of the faculty member to each department. The faculty member's tenure and promotion always reside in a single home department.

Probationary Appointments

• Probationary appointments may be made for one year, or for any other stated periods, subject to renewal. The total period of probationary service prior to the acquisition of continuous tenure shall not exceed seven years except as qualified in Section II.D.2.e. Maximum periods of probationary service shorter than seven years must be negotiated prior to the initial appointment. Faculty members commencing service to Ohio University in the Spring semester of an academic year will have the length of their probationary period determined as if they had commenced service in the ensuing Fall semester. The maximum length for the probationary service period shall be conveyed to the faculty member in writing at the time of the initial appointment.
• Tenure may be attained only in the ranks of Professor, Associate Professor, and Assistant Professor, classified in the Tenure track, whether full or part-time. 
• The probationary period for persons eligible for tenure in part-time positions shall begin with the semester in which they are first employed on the basis of a contract explicitly designating them as faculty members in the Tenure Track category. 
• Tenure track part-time faculty members shall serve a probationary period not to exceed seven years. 
• Tenure for a part-time faculty member entitles the holder to claim part-time employment as a tenured right. At tenurization, a proportion of the normal workload within the department will be set as the minimum employment that the specific part-time faculty member may expect. If a part-time faculty member in the Tenure Track is denied tenure, he/she/they may not continue to be employed as a faculty member in any classification: Instructional faculty, Clinical Faculty or Instructor. 
• When a tenured part-time faculty member shifts to a temporary full-time appointment, his/her/their tenure status is still that of a part-time faculty member. 
• When a tenured part-time faculty member shifts to a permanent full-time appointment, he/she/they automatically become a tenured full-time faculty member. 
• Written notice shall be given at least one year prior to the expiration of the probationary period if the faculty member is not to be continued in service after the expiration of that period. In effect, this means that the tenure decision must be made prior to or during the penultimate year of the probationary period.
• A faculty member's probationary period can be extended beyond the maximum time only in the event of a procedural error, as the result of a period of leave of six months or longer, or because of significantly reduced capacity for six months or longer, and subject to approval by the Promotion and Tenure Committee of the Faculty Senate. Requests made under Section II.H. and Section II.I. usually will result in the probationary period being extended by one year. 
• If a procedural error has been committed in the course of reaching a tenure decision and a reconsideration involving an extension of the probationary period has been approved by the Promotion and Tenure Committee, the decision is to be reconsidered by the appropriate recommending authorities even if in so doing the faculty member's probationary period is extended beyond the maximum limit. 
• In order to avoid errors in the determination, recording, and observance of dates of the probationary period (a type of procedural error), a faculty member shall receive at the time their second year contract is awarded a written form verifying tenure dates and deadlines and other relevant information included in the contract. The Office of the Provost is to ensure the implementation of this section in an effective manner. 

Renewal of Contracts for Appointments

Regardless of the stated term or other provisions of any appointments, written notice that a probationary appointment is not to be renewed shall be given to the faculty member in advance of the expiration of his/her/their appointment, as follows:

For probationary Tenure Track faculty

• not later than February 1 of the first academic year of service, if the appointment expires at the end of that year; or, if a one-year appointment terminates during an academic year, at least three months in advance of its termination;
• not later than November 15 of the second academic year of service, if the appointment expires at the end of that year; or, if an initial two-year appointment terminates during an academic year, at least six months in advance of its termination; 
• at least twelve months before the expiration of an appointment after two or more years of service at Ohio University. The notice of non-reappointment will be accompanied by an oral and, if the faculty member so requests, a written explanation of the basis for non-reappointment. The basis for non-reappointment must not violate the faculty member's academic freedom. 

For Instructional faculty

• Not later than April 15 in the first 3 years of service, if the appointment expires at the end of that academic year; or, if a one-year appointment terminates during an academic year, at least 60 days in advance of its termination; 
• At least twelve months before the expiration of an appointment after three or more years of service at Ohio University. The notice of non-reappointment will be accompanied by an oral and, if the faculty member so requests, a written explanation of the basis for non-reappointment. The basis for non-reappointment must not violate the faculty member’s academic freedom. 

Termination of Appointment by the University

• Termination of a tenured appointment, or of a probationary appointment before the end of the contract period, or of a term appointment before the expiration of the specified term, may be affected by the University only for adequate cause.
• If the termination takes the form of a dismissal of a tenured faculty member, the procedure described below under "Loss of Tenure" shall be followed. 
• If the termination arises from the elimination of a program or department of instruction for educational reasons, the procedures set forth in this section, rather than regulations described below under "Loss of Tenure'' will be invoked. The decision to eliminate a program or department will be based on educational considerations. Educational reasons for discontinuance would include the lack of a continuing need for the program; they would also include a lack of educational quality. Considerations about the need for the program would include a significant and persistent trend of insufficient enrollment. Educational quality considerations would include the quality of instruction, scholarly achievement, intrinsic academic worth, or curricular value to other academic areas. Schools are equivalent to departments for purposes of this policy. 
• A program is defined as a course of studies leading to a degree (including an associate degree), a recognized major under a degree, or an option or concentration under a degree that is generally comparable to a major at the University. 
• A proposal for elimination of a program or department will be considered at the college level before being submitted to the University Curriculum Council. The college curriculum committee will consider the proposal and submit its recommendation to the dean. The dean will also consider the matter and provide a recommendation. The dean will forward the proposal to the University Curriculum Council if either their recommendation or that of the college curriculum committee is for elimination of the program or department. The department or program can submit evidence to each of the committees considering the proposal. 
• The Programs Committee of the University Curriculum Council will be charged with determining whether
  • the activities to be eliminated are consistent with the definition of a program; 
  • the reasons stated for elimination are indeed educational in nature;
  • the individual(s) designated for loss of tenure are identified primarily with the program.
• In the case of the proposed elimination of a graduate program, the Programs Committee of UCC will obtain the recommendation of the Graduate Council. For the purpose of this policy, to be primarily identified with a program it must be shown that a majority of the faculty member's teaching effort is in that program. In addition, if a faculty member whose position is being eliminated has, within the last five years at Ohio University, been identified primarily with another existing program or programs, he/she/they will have the right to return to that program. A positive decision of all three determinations is necessary to forward the proposal to the University Curriculum Council. 

• The University Curriculum Council, by a majority vote of the membership, will then determine whether the stated reasons are of sufficient gravity to warrant discontinuance of a program leading to loss of tenure. Only a positive recommendation will be forwarded to the Provost. If the Provost favors the recommendation, it will be forwarded to the President and through them to the Board of Trustees. Faculty members affected by such a decision may appeal the Provost's decision to a committee consisting of all faculty senators in the third year of their term. This committee shall consider only whether the faculty member or members have received due process in the above procedure. Elimination of a program or department that leads to the loss of tenured faculty requires favorable action by the Board of Trustees. 

  Before terminating a tenured appointment through elimination of a program or a department, the administration shall make a bona fide effort to place the faculty member concerned in another suitable position in the University. If the effort is successful and the new employing unit desires additional training for the faculty member, the University will provide financial and other support for a reasonable period of training. When the new position is tenurable, tenure may be granted in the new department immediately (see Section II.C.6.). Transfers of this nature, being within the University, do not require advertisement of the new position to which the faculty member is appointed. 

  In the event that the program or department is re-established within a period of three years, the released faculty member shall be offered reappointment. In all cases of termination based on elimination, the faculty member concerned shall be given 12 months' terminal notice or severance salary equivalent to their current contract base amount. The University shall determine which option is to be used. 

• Termination of an appointment with tenure, or of a probationary or term appointment before the end of the specified term, may occur under extraordinary circumstances because of demonstrably bona fide financial exigency, i.e., an imminent financial crisis that threatens the survival of the institution as a whole and that cannot be alleviated by less drastic means. If such a termination should be initiated, the regulations described under "Loss of Tenure" will not apply. Since the state of financial exigency represents such a serious distortion of normal University procedures and policies, it is not to be entered into and carried out without very specific steps being taken. These steps are:
  • After informing the Trustees of the approaching financial crisis and before proposing a state of financial exigency, the Administration of the University, in consultation with the Faculty and Administrative Senates, shall propose and carry out all possible reductions of University activities that are not of primary importance to the educational mission of the University.
  • If the reductions undertaken in (i) do not resolve the problem, the President shall appoint a committee to investigate the need for declaring financial exigency. The majority of the committee shall be faculty members chosen by the Faculty Senate, but it shall also contain administrators chosen by the Administrative Senate and students chosen by the Student Senate. This committee shall issue its report within four weeks of its creation.
  • The committee report, along with any recommendations from the Faculty, Administrative, and Student Senates, shall be considered by the Trustees before determining whether a state of financial exigency exists.
  • Once the Trustees have declared a state of financial exigency, certain restrictions are automatically imposed on the University. No new appointments, replacements, or grantings of tenure are to be made in the University without special exemption by the committee described in (ii). This committee shall make its recommendations to the Trustees. Furthermore, pay raises shall not be granted any employee of the University unless mandated by legislative action. 
  • The procedure for determining which faculty members are to be terminated is as follows. The Provost, after consideration of educational and fiscal factors, shall prepare a termination plan in consultation with a Retrenchment Committee composed of an equal number of deans and representatives from the Faculty Senate, with at least one representative from each of the regional campuses and each of the colleges. This plan shall include the number of faculty to be terminated and a distribution of the total among the colleges and regional campuses. The termination plan shall affect reductions according to the following criteria:
    • First, no tenured faculty member is to be terminated before all non-tenured faculty in the college have been terminated. An exception may be made in the case of a non-tenured faculty member whose responsibilities could not be met satisfactorily by another faculty member in the college and whose loss would seriously damage his/her/their department's program. Petitions for exceptions should be submitted with full documentation to the Retrenchment Committee.
    • Second, reductions of tenured faculty within colleges and regional campuses are to be allocated by the Provost, after consultation with the Retrenchment Committee, to departments, schools, and regional campus divisions following termination of their non-tenured faculty. Due consideration is to be given to those units that have already sustained a disproportionate loss of teaching capability through the loss of non-tenured faculty. Petitions for such consideration must be initiated by the department and transmitted by the dean, together with the dean's recommendation, to the Retrenchment Committee for final action.
    • Third, reductions within departments and schools are to be in order by least seniority, seniority being defined as the time that has elapsed since the fiscal year of a faculty member's current appointment to the University. An exception may be made in the case of a less senior faculty member whose responsibilities could not be met satisfactorily by another faculty member in the college, and whose loss would seriously damage their department's program. Petitions for such an exception should be submitted with full documentation to the Retrenchment Committee. Where two or more faculty are of equal seniority, reductions within this classification are to be governed by program needs. Where program needs are equivalent, affirmative action considerations are to be applied. 
  • Any faculty member terminated under this process shall have the right to a full hearing before the Faculty Senate Committee on Promotion and Tenure. The issues in this hearing shall be limited to whether the criteria were properly applied in the faculty member's case. 
  • In the event that an appointment is terminated because of financial exigency, the released faculty member's place shall not be filled by a replacement within a period of three years unless the released faculty member has been offered reappointment and the opportunity to accept or decline it. In all cases of termination based on financial exigency, a tenured faculty member shall be given 12 months' terminal notice or severance salary equivalent to their current contract base amount. The University shall determine which option is used. 
  • The University shall make a bona fide effort for three years after termination to relocate terminated tenured faculty in other academic, administrative or staff posts needing personnel when the faculty member's qualifications permit. Whenever new positions are approved under section (iv) of this policy, tenured faculty who have been terminated shall be considered first for these openings. Only when it has been determined that no such faculty member is qualified for the position in question or is willing to accept it, shall the position be advertised and other candidates be considered. A transfer to another academic department must be acceptable to the receiving department and to the faculty member. 
  • The Board of Trustees shall make the final determination when a state of financial exigency no longer exists. The committee created in (ii) above may at any appropriate time submit to the President for transmission to the Board a recommendation that the state of financial exigency be ended.

Loss of Tenure 

• If the capability or qualifications of a faculty member on tenure to continue with their usual responsibilities should be seriously questioned, his/her/their department chair will discuss the matter with him/her/them in a personal conference. The matter may be settled by mutual consent at this point. If an agreement cannot be reached, the following procedure shall be observed: the chair will consult with the members of their department and prepare, with the advice of the departmental promotion and tenure committee, a recommendation to be forwarded in writing to the dean of his/her/their college. The dean normally will then consult jointly with the faculty member and chair: if the dean decides to recommend suspension from duty or dismissal, he/she/they will submit his/her/their recommendation in writing to the Provost, who will undertake to investigate and arbitrate the difficulty. If a settlement cannot be arrived at in this manner, the President shall be so informed, and may, at their discretion, initiate dismissal proceedings. If the faculty member in question should be the chair of their department, discussion of the type described above shall be initiated by the dean of their college, the procedure otherwise remaining essentially as set forth above. 
• Formal dismissal proceedings shall be commenced by a written statement from the President to the faculty member concerning the grounds for dismissal, specified with reasonable particularity. The faculty member shall be further informed that if they so request, a hearing to determine whether they should be removed from their position on the grounds stated will be conducted by a faculty committee (see below) at a specified time and place. The faculty member will have thirty (30) days to notify the President in writing if they want a hearing, and if a written request is made, in setting the date of the hearing, the faculty member will be allowed 60 days in which to prepare their defense. The chair of the faculty committee, who is usually the chair of the Faculty Senate, will inform the faculty member of the procedural rights accorded them. The faculty member shall state in reply whether they wish a hearing, not less than one week before the date set for the hearing. The hearing may be held in open session at the request of the faculty member. In the absence of such a request, the hearing will be held in closed session. If the hearing is held in closed session, no witness called to testify may attend the session except at the time of their testimony. 
• The formal hearing committee shall consist of all tenured members of the Faculty Senate in the third year of their current Faculty Senate term, presided over by the chair of the Faculty Senate. The committee shall proceed by considering the statement of grounds for dismissal already formulated and the faculty member's response. If the faculty member has requested a hearing, the committee shall consider the case on the basis of the statement of persons possessing relevant information and other data concerning the matters set forth in the President's letter. The President, or their representative, should have the option of attending the hearing, but the committee should determine the order of events, should conduct the questioning of persons making statements, and, if necessary, should secure the presentation of important information. During the proceedings, the faculty member will be permitted to have an academic advisor and, in addition, legal counsel of their own choice. The faculty member should have the aid of the committee, when needed, in securing the attendance of persons who possess relevant information. The faculty member, or their representative, and the President, or their representative, will have the right to confront and question all persons who make statements before the committee. The full proceedings shall be accurately transcribed, and copies of the transcription shall be sent to the faculty member, the President, and the committee. 
• The committee shall make explicit findings with respect to each of the grounds of removal as presented. The President should transmit to the Trustees the full transcription of the hearing and the committee's decision for their automatic review. When the Trustees review the case, the faculty member and an advisor must be invited to appear before them. The decision of the hearing committee should either be sustained or returned to the committee with objections specified. In the latter event, the committee should reconsider, taking account of the stated objections and receiving further information if necessary. It should frame its decision and communicate it in the same manner as before. Only after study of the committee's reconsideration should the Trustees make a final decision overruling the committee. 
• Suspension of the faculty member during the proceedings involving them is justified only if immediate harm to themself or others is threatened by their continuance. If suspension is followed by dismissal proceedings, the requirements for initiating and continuing such proceedings, as described herein, shall be observed, regardless of the length of the suspension. During a period of suspension, the terms of contract between a faculty member and the University remain in force pending final disposition of the matter by the Board of Trustees, as provided herein. 
• Except for such simple announcements as may be required, covering the time of the hearing and similar matters, public statements about the case by the faculty member, the administration, or the committee should be avoided so far as possible until the proceedings have been completed. Announcement of the final decision to the interested parties and to others should be made through the President's Office and should include a statement of the hearing committee's findings.
• If the appointment of a tenured faculty member is terminated, the faculty member will receive their salary or a terminal contract for at least one year. This provision for terminal notice or salary need not apply in the event that there has been a finding that the conduct that justified dismissal involved moral turpitude. On the recommendation of the faculty hearing committee or the President, the Trustees, in determining what, if any, payments will be made beyond the effective date of dismissal, may take into account the length and quality of service of the faculty member.

Procedures for Tenure and Advancement in Rank and Recommendations for Salary Increases

• Annually, departmental chairs shall evaluate all members of their faculty with regard to salary. Each chair shall employ a departmental committee or committees in the evaluation process, which shall conform to the department's established written procedures. Any changes to the department’s established written procedures, evaluation process, or criteria will take effect at the beginning of the next evaluation period. This evaluation process must result in recommendations with respect to salary increases for all faculty.
• To ensure proper recognition of faculty with a single home Department/School who engage in interdisciplinary activities, the home Department/School P & T Committee should ensure that the Department/School P & T guidelines and peer evaluation policies explicitly clarify how interdisciplinary activities (teaching, research/creative activities, and/or service) will be evaluated and to what extent such activities will be included in all annual evaluations and promotion and tenure decisions.
• Annually, the department chair shall ensure that a departmental promotion and/or tenure committee evaluates all probationary faculty and all tenured faculty eligible for promotion using the departmental criteria for promotion and tenure. Tenured faculty status is required for membership on departmental/school/division promotion and/or tenure committees. By February 1, probationary faculty shall receive a letter from the chair containing the results of this evaluation as specified in Section II.D.1.c. Tenured faculty eligible for promotion shall receive a similar letter if they request it before September 15. A copy of the letter will also be sent to the committee that evaluated the faculty member. Although these evaluations may be indicators of progress toward tenure and promotion, favorable annual reports do not guarantee positive tenure or promotion decisions. This annual evaluation must result in recommendations with respect to the reappointment of all probationary faculty and must also result in decisions whether or not to consider actively each eligible faculty member for tenure and/or promotion. 
• The dean of the college may request a copy of the annual evaluation letter for probationary faculty and review with the chair the individual's performance, progress toward tenure, and assignments in service and teaching. This is especially appropriate midway through the probationary period.
• If the evaluation process results in a decision to consider actively a promotion for the coming year, or to consider actively the award of tenure, the faculty member concerned shall be so notified by the chair of the appropriate departmental committee. The faculty member, thereupon, shall have the opportunity to submit materials in writing that he/she/they believe will be relevant to that decision. 
• The annual evaluation of the faculty member's qualification for promotion or tenure is advisory. If a faculty member believes that their case for promotion or tenure would be evaluated differently if a complete promotion (tenure) dossier were available, the faculty member may choose to submit a complete dossier to the departmental committee, even if the annual assessment is negative, provided that department and college rules governing minimum years in rank before promotion are not violated.
• All awards of tenure and all promotions in rank must originate in a positive recommendation by the appropriate departmental committee or after a formal hearing and presidential review in cases that have gone through the grievance procedure as in Section II.F. 
• Promotion and tenure committees customarily cast a single combined vote on both tenure and promotion for probationary faculty, on the grounds that promotion signals the reasons for the institution’s investment in a candidate. It is unlikely that tenure will be awarded to a candidate who has not also been recommended for promotion. This does not apply to candidates who are already Associate or Full Professors.
  • The departmental promotion and tenure committee, through its chair, will provide the faculty member a written statement of its decision and reasons for it. The statement may include majority and minority views when unanimity is not reached by the committee. The statement shall be submitted to the department chair who, in the event of a positive recommendation from the promotion and tenure committee, shall forward it to the dean together with their own positive or negative recommendation. If the departmental committee does not recommend promotion or tenure for a faculty member, no further evaluation is required, except in the event of an appeal. 
  • All departmental committee decisions regarding promotion and tenure shall be reported by the last day of fall semester exams, except in extraordinary cases in which prior approval for reporting of a recommendation at some other time during the year has been obtained from the dean and the Provost.
  • The department shall include the individual's last employment contract in the tenure documentation and shall confirm on the Review Form for Promotion and/or Tenure that the individual has had faculty status throughout the entire probationary period and is thus eligible for tenure consideration.
• If the dean accepts a positive recommendation for promotion and/or tenure from a department, he/she/they shall submit a written recommendation to the Provost, accompanied by statements and documentation provided by the departmental chair.  
• If a recommendation for promotion and/or tenure forwarded from a department to the dean is not accepted and implemented, the dean shall inform the department chair in writing (with copies to all the parties involved, including the candidate) within 45 days, i.e., typically no later than March 1, and shall explain why the recommendation has not been accepted. Such an explanation will include a copy of the full written recommendation of the chair. 
• If a recommendation for promotion and/or tenure forwarded by the dean to the Provost is not accepted and implemented, the Provost shall inform the departmental chair in writing (with copies to all the parties involved, including the candidate) within 30 days, i.e., typically no later than April 1, and shall explain why the recommendation has not been accepted. Such an explanation will include copies of the full written recommendations of the chair and the dean. 
• By March 15, all continuing faculty shall be sent a contract, or if that is not feasible, a formal notification of their reappointment and rank. Prior to this, and no later than February 1, departmental chairs shall provide each faculty member with a written statement of their annual departmental evaluation. Contracts specifying both rank and salary shall be issued by May 1. However, if conditions require it, this date may be extended with the approval of the Faculty Senate. 
• For grievance procedures relating to matters of promotion and tenure, see Section II.F. 
• Transparency, clarity, consistency, timeliness, and fairness should be overriding goals for all colleges, schools, and departments as they establish guidelines and procedures governing tenure and promotion. The following broad guidelines are offered to aid in achieving these goals. 
  • Faculty should know in advance, ideally at the time of hire, the criteria that will be used to arrive at a tenure decision as well as workload and balance between expectations for teaching, service, and professional activities. Significant changes to these workload/balance expectations should be a matter for discussion and negotiation with the faculty member. 
  • The annual “performance and progress toward tenure letter” that probationary faculty receive (see Section II.D.1.c) should include clear, transparent, and formative information on progress towards tenure. Departments/schools may choose to do a mid-way formal evaluation and/or annual cumulative evaluations that afford the candidate feedback in terms of teaching, service and professional activities.  Those who provide this feedback should be representative of all faculty who will eventually decide promotion and/or tenure. 
  • The departmental/school criteria for promotion and tenure should be reviewed periodically (at least every five years). Changes in the criteria for tenure may be applied to those faculty members who are already in the tenure track only if those individuals agree in writing to be considered under the new criteria.  

  • For changes in the criteria for promotion of a faculty member with tenure, a grace period of at least three academic years from the start of the academic year in which the changes are implemented should be allowed. During the grace period, faculty members who are already on a Tenure Track contract in the department may opt in writing to be considered under either the old or the new criteria.  

    Newly hired faculty members and those who are promoted during the grace period would immediately come under the new promotion and tenure criteria. Procedural changes in departmental tenure and promotion policy may generally be implemented without delay, if so decided by the department faculty. Departments are encouraged to provide faculty mentors for all probationary faculty (see Section II.C.6.d).

  • Faculty who are hired with years of credit towards tenure should also be credited for professional accomplishments prior to their hiring.

Sick Leave Policy

Consult the Policy and Procedure Manual, No. 40.029, for the complete Sick Leave Policy. The following contains several pertinent sections of that policy. 

• Sick leave is the authorized absence from duties due to: 
  • Personal illness, injury, or temporary disability. 
  • Exposure to contagious disease that could be communicated to other members of the University community. 
  • Illness, injury, or death in the individual's immediate family. Immediate family is defined as: spouse, domestic partner of same or opposite sex, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and a legal guardian or other person who stands in place of a parent (in loco parentis). Sick leave granted for a death in the immediate family shall not exceed five (5) working days. 
  • Medical, dental, psychological, or optical examination or treatment of an employee or a member of their immediate family. 
  • Birth, pregnancy, or related medical conditions receive the same consideration as other medical disabilities.
• Sick leave is granted on the approval of the department chair or the manager to whom the individual reports: such a request should be made on the first day of absence or in advance if possible. The individual, upon return to work, must complete a sick leave request form. The University reserves the right to require the individual to: 
  • furnish medical evidence of illness, 
  • provide medical verification of ability to return to work. 
• A consecutive period of sick leave includes all institutional teaching days for faculty. For administrative personnel, it includes all normally scheduled work days except holidays observed by the University. No contract employee shall be charged with more than five (5) sick leave days in any seven (7) day period. 
• On July 1, 1976, the accumulated benefit for each participant was computed as follows: 
  • Individuals with ten or more years of full-time service were credited with 150 days of sick leave. 
  • Individuals with less than ten years of full-time service were credited with the product of the number of years of service days times 15 days (or the number of months of service times 1.25 days). 
• Starting with July 1, 1976, the benefit accumulates at the rate of 1.25 days per calendar month or fifteen days per year for all full-time contract employees. (A full-time contract employee, for purposes of this policy, is defined as anyone holding a regular nine-, ten-, eleven-, or twelve-month contract.) Accrual of sick leave is unlimited. Time spent on vacation, paid military leave, paid professional leave, or sick leave counts toward accumulation of benefits. There is no accumulation of benefits while on unpaid leave of absence.
• In case of sick leave or other cause of significantly reduced capacity lasting six months or longer, a probationary faculty member may request that the probationary period be extended by one year. This written request goes first to the departmental chair, then to the academic dean, and finally to the Provost with the understanding that normally it will be granted. If the extension is granted, subsequent contracts for the applicant will show the new probationary period date. The request should be made ahead of time if the sick leave or reduced capacity can be anticipated, but in any case, the request must be made within one year of the beginning of the period of sick leave or reduced capacity and before August 15 of the individual's penultimate probationary year. It is possible to have a second one-year extension during the probationary period, but the approval is much less automatic. 
  • The faculty member may appeal a denial using the grievance procedure relating to promotion and tenure recommendations (see Section II.F). Leaves of Absence 

Leaves of Absence

Justification

Any member of the faculty may request a leave of absence without pay for one or more semesters for:

• The direct usefulness to the individual and to the University of the work expected to be done while on leave.  
• The professional development of the faculty member and, thereby, the increased effectiveness of higher education.  
• Military service and short periods of field training.  
• Other reasons, to be approved through the procedures indicated below.

Regulations

• Length of Leave. Normally leaves should be for no more than one academic year plus contiguous summers, nor come more often than once in three years.  
• Selection of persons to receive leaves. A member of the faculty may request a leave of absence without pay for any good reason. Such leaves must have the approval of the chair, the academic dean, and the Provost. The faculty member may appeal denials through regular grievance channels.  
• Leave requests, with reasons, should be submitted in writing and should be granted (or denied) in writing.  
• A presidential contract will be issued. Terms of the leave should be clearly stated in writing in the form of an agreement between the individual and the chair, the academic dean, and the Provost. Provisions in the agreement should include the following:
  • Length of leave  
  • Reasons  
  • Whether the time will accrue for purposes of tenure and promotion.  
  • What effect, if any, the leave will have on salary.  
  • Provisions for group insurance arrangements (requirement for self-payment of premiums, etc.)  
  • Retirement system arrangements.
• Relation of leave to salary increases, promotion, and tenure. 
  • Time spent on approved leave for as long as one academic year should not negatively affect salary considerations.  
  • Time on leave may or may not count as time accrued toward promotion, depending on departmental criteria or special arrangement. 
  • For non-tenured faculty members, periods of leave for longer than six months will extend the probationary period by one year, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary approved by the faculty member, the departmental chair, the academic dean, and the Provost. 
• Obligation to return from leave. A member of the faculty requesting a leave of absence is expected to return to service at the University after the leave of absence.  
• Continuation of insurance and retirement provisions. Individuals may elect to continue on the University Group Insurance plans during the period of leave. Depending on the type of leave, the individual may have to assume the cost of the premium for such insurance. If the individual becomes a full-time employee of another institution or organization, the employing institution, rather than the individual going on leave, may make such premium payments to Ohio University.  If the individual going on leave does not elect to continue on the group insurance plan during the period of their leave, there will be no waiting period before coverage is resumed upon return of full employment. The University contribution toward retirement will continue for a member of the faculty on leave providing:
  • The leave is consistent with the State Teachers Retirement System and Public Employees Retirement System membership requirements.  
  • The individual is willing and able to contribute their normal retirement contribution for the period of leave.  
  • All other avenues of funding the University retirement payments through grants or contracts to the University have been exhausted. 
  • The Provost deems the leave to be of future benefit to the University and gives in writing advance approval for said payment prior to the commencement of the leave. 
• Continuation of other benefits. The individual must assume responsibility for the payroll deductions for any other benefits such as the credit union and annuities. 
• Military leave. Military leave without pay shall be granted as required by state and federal laws to faculty members who are inducted or otherwise are required to enter active military service or training.  

• Upon application within ninety days or separation from extended active duty, the individual shall be reinstated to his/her/their former position or a similar position. A person on military leave forfeits his/her/their reinstatement rights if he/she/they re-enlist or voluntarily extends their original tour of active duty. 

  Persons who are members of the Ohio National Guard or a reserve component of the armed forces are eligible for military leave without loss of pay for occasional periods of service or training. Other provisions of applicable state or federal law will be observed in considering employee rights and benefits relating to veterans, members of the National Guard, and other covered military components. 

   

Family Medical Leave Act

Ohio University faculty who have worked a full academic year (customarily two sequential semesters excluding summers) are eligible for FMLA as articulated in the Policy and Procedures Manual, No. 40.054. FMLA leave time is not accrued during sick leave, holiday, or vacation time but is accrued during faculty fellowship leaves (see Section V.A. University Faculty Fellowship). In other contractual arrangements involving leave, FMLA will be negotiated.   

Domestic partners shall be included in the list of family members for every qualifying event including serious health conditions, a new child, or a newborn child.

Parental Leave

The Parental Leave Program allows eligible employees to take advantage of a total. of 12 weeks (6 weeks paid and 6 weeks unpaid) of parental leave to nurture a newly born or adopted child (single or multiple children.) A faculty member is entitled to parental leave if the following general conditions are met:

• The person seeking leave must give reasonable and adequate notice to the chair or director of his/her/their department. Wherever possible, notice that such leave is anticipated, with the approximate dates, should be given to the chair/director no less than three months prior to the expected starting date.  
• The person taking leave is expected to cooperate with their department in working out arrangements, but the chair/director has no right to deny leave if the request is in accordance with the general conditions.  
• Parental leave must be taken within the 12 months following birth or adoption (single or multiple children).
• Either or both parents are eligible to take parental leave concurrently or consecutively.
• Eligible individuals who only work for a specified portion of the calendar year will not be eligible for paid parental leave outside of the defined appointment period.
• The university will pay for six weeks of parental leave at the employee's current salary rate. The other six weeks will be unpaid but can be covered by accrued vacation time and/or sick leave, if available and appropriate according to Ohio University guidelines.

All relevant provisions of the Policy on Leaves of Absence (Section II.I) apply to parental leave. Attention is drawn to the following parts of Section II.I.2: 

(b) need of approval and right of appeal, (c) requests to be submitted, and approval granted, in writing, (f) obligation to return following leave, (g) possible loss of benefits and retirement credit. Agreement on alternative arrangements is not excluded by this policy.

Resignation

A faculty member who resigns to accept other employment at the end of the academic year shall give notice in writing to his/her/their academic dean no later than April 15 or thirty days after receiving written notification of the terms of their continued employment for the following year, whichever date occurs later. 

Retirement

As of January 1, 1994, there is no mandatory age for retirement. 

Wage Rate for Part-Time Faculty

No part-time faculty member shall be paid less than the minimum wage rate established by the University for comparable workloads throughout all colleges of the University. This wage rate will be determined annually by the colleges in consultation with the Provost. Provision will be made for length of service. 

If Instructional faculty must, for legitimate reasons, temporarily reduce their course loads, their returning salaries shall be determined by the rate of pay before the reduction.

Overload Compensation for Contract Personnel 

 This policy starts from the basic position that a full-time contract (i.e., a contract for 1.0 FTE each semester of the academic year or longer period) issued by Ohio University to an individual represents payment for full-time work during that period. Accordingly, monetary overload compensation is defined as payment received from or through Ohio University beyond the contract amount specified for the person's full-time services to the institution

• Implementation of this policy should help to avoid the following: 
  • Inconsistencies within a budgetary unit such as a college in treatment of contract personnel (e.g., payment versus non-payment to different faculty members or administrators for the same kind of work).  
  • Inconsistencies among budgetary units such as colleges in treatment of contract personnel.  
  • Assurances of overload compensation at the time of appointment as opposed to indications that such compensation may be available.  
  • Failure to achieve full understanding among all concerned regarding such issues as the nature of duties for which overload compensation will be paid, and limits on the amount of overload that may be undertaken. 
• It is assumed that each budgetary unit has a clear and well-understood concept of a full workload (i.e., full-time work) for each of the positions in its budget. It is understood that assignments of duties and responsibilities in addition to the full load (i.e., overload assignments) are sometimes necessary in order to meet unforeseen contingencies, provide flexibility, meet student demand, and permit the completion of research projects, for example. Overload assignments should not be used when it would be more appropriate to create a new position.  
• Assurances of overload assignments and monetary compensation for such assignments cannot be given at the time of appointment to a regular position.
• Overload assignments shall be accompanied by fair monetary or nonmonetary compensation. Reduction of the regular load in another time period, trading of duties, joint appointments, and other forms of nonmonetary compensation will be employed whenever feasible and consistent with University objectives. Monetary compensation may be in the form of overload pay or a drawing account that may be used to cover professional expenses. Overload pay, when the amount can be predetermined, is recognized by issuance of a special overload contract. 
• Overload assignments typically receiving monetary compensation from Ohio University funds include off-campus teaching, correspondence and on-line teaching, continuing education, workshops, conferences and institutes, advanced-standing examinations, assumption of a substantial portion of the regular teaching or administrative duties of someone who is unable to complete them. Other kinds of overload assignments, such as funded research time during the academic year, may receive monetary compensation from non-University (particularly, non-State-of-Ohio) budget sources. Extra compensation for duties included in the full-time contract, such as augmentation of the position (e.g., an endowed chair) or added non-base pay for assumption of administrative responsibility (e.g., a department chair), is not considered to be overload compensation. Compensation earned during periods when the individual is not under full-time contract, such as summer session pay or a summer research contract for an individual who is on an academic-year contract, is also not overload compensation. The accumulation of numerous part-time contracts, which in total exceed 1.0 FTE for a period of time, does not give rise to overload for any work exceeding 1.0 FTE. 
• Overload assignments shall be permitted, and compensation provided when each of the following conditions is met:
  • The proposed overload assignment is "professional" (i.e., within the contract person's area of expertise) as determined by the department chair and the dean or by other appropriate administrative officers.  
  • The proposed overload assignment serves the objectives of the University. These objectives include service to students and the public, meeting of demand for workshops and other forms of continuing education, maintenance of quality of instruction, and control of costs.  
  • The individual under consideration is able to complete all contracted duties and assignments adequately, and the time and attention required by the overload assignment does not interfere with proper completion of the regular full load.  
  • The overload assignments of the individual under consideration will normally require in total no more than ten hours per week, although a heavier load may be acceptable for a short period.  
  • The individual predictably will earn from all sources connected with Ohio University no more than twenty-five percent (25%) beyond the salary amount specified for their full-time services to the institution. 
• The dean of each college is responsible for monitoring overload contracts and assuring that the conditions specified above are met. If any of these conditions is not met, the person making the assignment or initiating the overload contract must inform the dean in writing, stating the nature of any known exceptions and the reasons for making the assignment in spite of them. All exceptions will be reviewed and must have the approval of the department chair, the dean, or other appropriate administrative officers, and the Provost. Signing an overload contract will constitute such approval. 
• Overload contracts will be paid in one payment only, regardless of contract duration. Semester overload contracts will be paid on the closest bi-weekly pay date prior to the close of each academic semester. All other overload contracts will be paid on the closest bi-weekly pay date following the completion of the contract.

Regional campus faculty members

• Persons appointed to teaching positions at the regional campuses are members of the faculty of Ohio University under the terms and conditions of this Faculty Handbook. 
• Each appointment to a faculty position shall be designated to a home department. 
• Part and full-time regional campus faculty members conduct instruction in courses that are the responsibility of Athens campus academic departments. The following will apply: 
  •  The initial appointment requires the approval of the Athens campus department,  
  • The faculty member may teach only those courses for which he/she/they are approved by the department, and  
  • Advancement in rank or award of tenure is the responsibility of the Athens home department and follow criteria presented at the time of hire.

Policy on Sexual Harrassment and Other Sexual Misconduct

• Sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct of students, faculty, or staff is prohibited at Ohio University as defined in the Policy and Procedures Manual No. 03.004.  
• Relation to academic freedom. The classroom or other instructional setting (e.g., studio, laboratory, office hours) presents special issues because academic freedom protects the expression of ideas, even where the idea or its expression is perceived to be mature, controversial, explicit, graphic, or offensive. Nevertheless, conduct that would otherwise constitute violation of this policy will not be exempt merely because it occurs in an instructional setting. Rather, the investigation will consider the legitimate pedagogical context and will take into account discipline-specific guidelines for professional practice as defined by the appropriate educational unit.
   
•  Accordingly, appropriate deference is given if the conduct that was the basis for the complaint occurred in an instructional context. When there is a legitimate pedagogical basis, the presentation or discussion of sexual topics that are mature, controversial, graphic, or explicit shall not be considered sexual harassment even if some persons find these topics subjectively offensive.
  
  [Policy and Procedures 03.004 VII.O]. 
• Responsibility to Report.  All Ohio University faculty, administrators, and staff (execpt those identified as confidential resources, as defined in Policy 03.004) have a duty to immediately report violations of this policy to the Title IX Coordinator if they receive a complaint of a violation or observe or learn of conduct that is reasonably believed to violate this policy.
  
  In addition to the duty to report sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator as identified in the prior paragraphs, in some circumstances there is also a duty to report allegations of criminal conduct to law enforcement. Section 2921.22 of the Revised Code requires every person who knows that a felony has been or is being committed, to report it to law enforcement. It is a criminal offense to knowingly fail to make the report. If any person suspects or has knowledge of criminal activity occurring on university property, they should call the Ohio University Police Department ("OUPD") at 740-593-1911 (in an emergency, dial 911 immediately). Incidents that occur off campus or at a regional campus should be reported to local law enforcement.
   
• Grievance Process. A faculty member who has been alleged to have violated 03.004 will with one exception, be subject to the Sexual Harrassment and Other Sexual Misconduct Grievance Process. Process (https://www.ohio.edu/equity-civil-rights/sexual-harassment-and-other-sexual-misconduct-grievance-process). The exception applies to alleged violations of the Consensual Relation section of Policy 03.004; alleged violations of the Consensual Relationship section will be subject to the process described in that section.
  
  When a respondent is found in violation of Policy 03.004 pursuant to the sexual Harassment and other Sexual Misconduct Grievance Process, appropriate disciplinary sanctions will be imposed. For a faculty respondents, sanctions may include censure, reprimand, suspension without pay, demotion and/or loss of tenure, and dismissal/termination of employment. Sanctions will take into account prior disciplinary history, if any.
  
  In conjunction with a sanction, a responent found to be in violation of this policy may be assigned conditions of sanction, which include but are not limited to; access restriction, revocation of rights and privileges, etc.
  
  Upon conclusion of the Sexual Harassment and Other Sexual Misconduct Grievance Process, including any appeals, the Title IX Coordinator will issue a notice of final determination. Pursuant to federal law, the determination is final. The faculty respondent may not grieve the determination pursuant to Section V.C. or any other applicable section of the Faculty Handbook. In the event the determination includes loss of tenure, dismissal, and/or termination of a tenured faculty member, the Loss of Tenure process described in Section V.C. of the Faculty Handbook will not apply.

Policy on consensual and familial relationships in the instructional setting

• A faculty member (or other person serving in an instructional role) shall not supervise, provide academic advising to, or grade the academic work of a student with whom s/he has or begins a consensual romantic or sexual relationship. Retaining such a supervisory role is a violation of Policy 03.004 (“Sexual Misconduct, Relationship Violence and Stalking”). Because such relationships may carry the potential for coercion, their consensual nature is inherently suspect. Furthermore, such a relationship may give other students in the same academic setting cause to believe that an unfair educational advantage accrues to the student in the relationship. 
• Familial instructional relationships may also confer unfair advantage on the student related to the faculty member or be so perceived. Thus, faculty shall not supervise, advise or grade the academic work of immediate family members. For purposes of this policy, immediate family is defined as in Section II.C.7.a and includes husband-wife, parent-child, domestic partner of the same or opposite sex, and sibling relationships. 
• An exception to the policy set forth in Items 1 and 2 may be permitted if safeguards are put into place by the faculty member’s chair or, if the faculty member is the chair, by the dean of the college offering the course. 
• Specific concerns or complaints regarding consensual or familial relationships may be brought to the attention of the department chair, University Equity and Civil Rights Compliance (ECRC), or the Office of the Ombudsperson. These three offices will assist the complainant in a timely fashion in an informal resolution of the complaint or direct the complainant to the appropriate grievance procedure. The investigating office will respect the rights of all parties involved in the complaint 
• If a faculty member is identified in a complaint regarding a potential consensual or familial relationship, he/she/they will be apprised of the complaint and the facts surrounding it by academic governance personnel. The faculty member will have the right to present any relevant information relating to such a complaint before any action is taken and may appeal any action that might result from such a complaint following the appropriate grievance procedures.

Consensual and Family Relationships

• Sexual or familial relationships between university employees can raise special concerns. If such a relationship exists or develops between a person with direct and immediate decision-making authority regarding the other person in the relationship, the person with the greater institutional authority has the responsibility to inform their supervisor.

• The supervisor will consult with both people so that appropriate arrangements can be made to safeguard fairness and integrity.

• In the event that job-related problems or complaints arise from such a relationship and appropriate arrangements have not been made, the procedures (Section IV.L) for Allegations of Violation of Professional Ethics may be invoked.