1.0 Governance documents
As described in the sections below, every unit is expected to maintain a pattern of administration (POA) and an appointment, promotion, and tenure (APT) document. The POA document describes the administration of the unit, including the unit’s mission, the faculty’s rights and responsibilities, organization of services and staff, decision-making guidelines, roles and composition of committees, the unit’s administration, and faculty workload guideline, among others. The APT document describes the procedures for appointments and promotion, including the makeup and responsibilities of the committee of eligible faculty, the unit’s criteria for appointment and promotion, and the procedures for candidates seeking promotion.
All approved governance documents are maintained on the OAA Faculty Affairs Governance Documents web page.
1.0 Pattern of administration
1.0.1 Departments and schools (hereafter, TIUs) and colleges
Faculty Rule 3335-3-35 requires chairs of departments and directors of schools (hereafter, TIU heads) to develop a POA document in consultation with their TIU faculty. Similarly, Faculty Rule 3335-3-29 requires college deans to develop a POA document in consultation with their college faculty. Both Rules provide guidance about minimum POA content. Neither Rule requires formal faculty acceptance of a POA document. Accordingly, a TIU head or dean may implement changes without consensus. Units may provide for such a process, however, since it is obviously desirable for TIU heads and deans to reach consensus with their faculty on their unit’s document.
The Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) expects newly appointed or reappointed TIU heads and deans to submit a revised or reaffirmed POA to OAA no later than one year from the date they are appointed or reappointed. TIU-level POAs must be approved by the relevant college office before submission to OAA. Time extensions for submission can only be authorized by OAA and deans need to make the request on behalf of their college or TIU.
If a TIU head or dean wishes to reaffirm the POA without amendment, it must be current with university rules and policies. Specific sections of the document can be revised as the need arises. For TIUs, such revisions must be approved by both the dean of the college and OAA. The current POA remains in effect until a revised or reaffirmed one is approved by OAA. The senior vice provost for faculty encourages TIU heads and deans to submit drafts of POAs to OAA for consultation and advice prior to formal submission of their document.
1.0.2 Regional campuses
Although not stipulated in Faculty Rule 3335-3-29.1, which details the responsibilities of a regional campus dean and director, OAA requires regional campuses to develop a POA in consultation with their campus faculty. Formal faculty acceptance of the POA is not required, though a regional campus may provide for such a process. However, a dean and director may have to implement changes without consensus.
1.0.3 Required POA outlines
The required outline for the POA for departments and schools is available in the TIU POA guideline document.
The required outline for the POA for colleges with TIUs is available in the college with TIUs POA guideline document.
The required outline for the POA for colleges that are TIUs is available in the college as TIU POA guideline document.
The required outline for the POA for regional campuses is available in the regional campus POA guideline document.
Directions about individual components of the relevant POA are provided in an instruction sheet that precedes each guideline document.
2.0 Appointments, promotion, and tenure document
2.0.1 Departments and schools and colleges
Faculty Rule 3335-6-02 and Faculty Rule 3335-3-35 require every department and school to have an APT document describing the criteria and procedures for making recommendations regarding the appointment, promotion, and compensation of faculty. The creation or revision of the department/school APT requires broad faculty consultation with all voting members of the tenure initiating unit and must be approved by the dean of the college and the executive vice president and provost.
Faculty Rule 3335-6-02 likewise requires each college to have an APT document. The Rule also requires that the college APT be drawn up through broad faculty consultation and must be approved by the executive vice president and provost.
OAA expects newly appointed or reappointed TIU heads and deans to submit a new or reaffirmed APT to OAA no later than one year from the date they are appointed or reappointed. TIU-level APTs must be approved by the relevant college office before submission to OAA. Time extensions for submission can only be authorized by OAA and deans need to make the request on behalf of their college or TIU.
If a TIU head or dean wishes to reaffirm the APT without amendment, it must be current with university rules and policies. Specific sections of the document can be revised as the need arises. For TIUs, such revisions must be approved by both the dean of the college and OAA. The current APT remains in effect until a revised or reaffirmed one is approved by OAA. The senior vice provost for faculty encourages TIU heads and deans to submit drafts of APTs to OAA for consultation and advice prior to formal submission of their document.
TIUs are responsible for providing a copy (or a link to access the document online) of the current APT document to tenure-track, clinical/teaching/professional practice, and research faculty with the letter of offer.
2.0.2 Regional campuses
Although not stipulated in Faculty Rule 3335-3-29.1, which details the responsibilities of a regional campus dean and director, OAA requires regional campuses to develop an APT in consultation with their campus faculty.
2.0.3 Required APT outlines
The required outline for the APT for departments and schools is available in the TIU APT guideline document.
The required outline for the APT for colleges with TIUs is available in the college with TIUs APT guideline document.
The required outline for the APT for colleges that are TIUs is available in the college as TIU APT guideline document.
The required outline for the APT for regional campuses is available in the regional campus APT guideline document.
Directions about individual components of the relevant APT are provided in an instruction sheet that precedes each guideline document.
3.0 Updating obsolete material in TIU governance documents
All university titles, rules, policies, offices, and entities must be checked for accuracy with current language and requirements during the required governance document review in the first year of a TIU head’s or dean’s appointment or reappointment. Units are asked to pay special attention to Faculty Rule 3335-7-02, where clinical/teaching/professional practice titles recently have been updated. Units are also asked to pay special attention to the new Faculty Workload Guideline, implemented in May 2024, in reviewing that section of their POA.
Many POA and APT documents that are submitted for approval contain obsolete material. Common examples of such material are summarized below so that units may make the needed corrections before forwarding their documents for review.
All University Faculty Rules and university policies are available on university websites (linked with each reference). It is inadvisable for governance documents to quote these extensively as such passages will not reflect later revisions to the material at the website. In place of quoted material, the address of the website should be embedded in the relevant text.
For matters relating to Employee and Labor Relations, please contact OHR, Employee and Labor Relations, (614) 247-6947.
Faculty Rule 3335-3-29 has been revised to require that colleges have a Pattern of Administration with specified content.
Faculty Rule 3335-5-19 has been revised. “Track” refers only to tenure-track faculty.
Faculty Rule 3335-5-19 has been revised. Clinical associated appointments are now called “clinical practice faculty.”
Faculty Rule 3335-5-19 has been revised allowing the tenure-track faculty (and clinical/teaching/professional practice and/or research faculty with TIU voting rights) to enfranchise associated faculty, allowing the associated faculty to participate in college or academic unit governance.
Faculty Rule 3335-7 has been revised to change the titles of clinical faculty to clinical, teaching, or professional practice faculty. Units must write specific criteria to match the title(s) selected by the units.
Faculty Rule 3335-7-03 has been revised. Unless an exception is approved by the University Senate and the Board of Trustees, clinical/teaching/professional practice faculty may comprise no more than forty percent of the total tenure-track, clinical/teaching/professional practice, and research faculty (as defined in Rule 3335-5-19 of the Administrative Code) in each of the colleges of the health sciences and no more than twenty percent of the tenure-track, clinical/teaching/professional practice, and research faculty in all other colleges. In all tenure-initiating units not in health sciences, the number of clinical/teaching/professional practice faculty members must be fewer than the number of tenure-track faculty members in each unit.
The Faculty Recruitment and Selection Policy has been revised removing permanent residency within the U.S. as a requirement to obtain tenure at the university and to adhere to the university-wide faculty recruitment and selection process found within the Strategic Hiring Initiative for Faculty Talent (“SHIFT”) framework.