IV. Allocation and Review of Faculty Positions

A. Preamble and General Policy

This section of the Handbook deals with what may be called the authorization of faculty positions, under which is included initial authorization and subsequent re-authorization, classification of positions as term or tenuretrack, and the review of tenuretrack positions in terms of planning considerations.

The Academic Planning and Allocation Committee is charged with making recommendations to the Administration on all authorization decisions. The Committee will conduct its studies and formulate its recommendations on all positions and transmit these recommendations to the President. For those vacancies which arise too late to be included in the review, the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee normally will recommend that the vacancy be filled with a one year appointment and postpone the re-authorization decision until the subsequent authorization process.

The Academic Planning and Allocation Committee, working with the Academic Administration, shall develop appropriate guidelines which it shall use to arrive at its recommendations. These guidelines will be approved by the Faculty and the President and published so that any proposal for a new position can be appropriately constructed (See Handbook Appendix C ).

Final responsibility for all authorization decisions lies with the President, who shall use the established procedures and guidelines in reaching decisions. It shall be part of such procedures that the President will not act contrary to a recommendation by the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee without first meeting with the Committee to explain his or her intended action and hear the Committee’s argument in rebuttal.

*It is understood that the Provost, the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee, and the President will have the decisions described in this chapter made at the earliest possible time in each academic year, if possible by December 1.

B. Initial Authorization of Positions

This section refers to initial authorization of new positions within existing departments or programs of the University. Such new positions may be proposed by a department, by faculty members of an approved program, by any standing committee, or by the Academic Administration. Each proposal for a new position will be evaluated by the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee during the semester when the Committee is considering the re-authorization of vacant positions and the review of regular positions. The Academic Planning and Allocation Committee will consult directly with the proposing group and/or department before submitting its recommendation to the President. 

The recommendations of the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee to the President shall be directed to: a) whether the proposed position should be created, and, if so, b) whether it should be tenuretrack or term.

If a proposed position is not authorized, the proposing group may appeal directly to the President. The President’s decision in consideration of the appeal is final.

C. Re-authorization of Vacant Positions

When any position on the faculty shall become vacant for any reason, except paid or unpaid leaves, the position must be re-authorized before it can be filled. For these purposes, a term position shall be construed as vacant at the expiration of its stated period of authorization. The Academic Planning and Allocation Committee of the Faculty will evaluate each vacant position and convey its recommendation to the President. The Academic Planning and Allocation Committee will consult directly with the appropriate department or group of faculty prior to formulating its recommendations to the President. The recommendations of the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee to the President shall be directed to: a) whether the position should be authorized, and, if so, b) whether it should be tenuretrack or term.

If a vacant position is not re-authorized, the department or program requesting re-authorization may appeal directly to the President. The President’s decision in consideration of the appeal is final.

D. Review of Tenure-Track Positions

1. Scheduled Review

During the fall semester prior to the scheduled tenure evaluation of an individual occupying a tenuretrack position on the faculty, the University will conduct a position review. The department(s) in which the position resides will be directly consulted. The review will be carried out in the manner described below.

1. No later than the early fall semester the Provost will assess the continuing need for each regular position scheduled for review.

2. On the basis of his or her assessment, the Provost will advise the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee on the findings and conclusions.
   
   In cases where the Provost has concluded that the tenure track position be confirmed, the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee may join the Provost in a joint recommendation to the President, or, if the Committee chooses, it may conduct its own study of the position before determining its recommendation to the President.
   
   In cases where the Provost has concluded that the tenure track designation should not be continued, the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee will evaluate the position before any recommendation is transmitted to the President.
   
   In cases in which the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee evaluates the position, the evaluation will be conducted insofar as possible with other position evaluations (initial authorizations or re-authorizations) being carried out by the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee in that year. During the review the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee will consult directly with the department or program in which the position resides before the Committee makes any recommendation to the President.

3. In arriving at recommendations, the Provost and the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee will make use of published guidelines which have been developed by the Committee and the Academic Administration and approved by the Faculty and the President (see Handbook Appendix C ).

4. As a result of this review process, the University may

   1. Confirm the tenuretrack status initially assigned to the position, in which case the tenure evaluation will proceed as scheduled.

   2. Terminate the position at the end of the probationary period of the individual occupying the position.

   3. Convert the position to a term position, effective with the end of the probationary period of the individual occupying the position.

It is expected that the actions in (2) and (3) above will be taken only under extraordinary conditions or in cases in which a decision has been made to phase out the program of which the position is a part.

2. Discretionary Review

At any time during the probationary period of a person occupying a tenuretrack position on the faculty, the Provost may charge the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee to review the position or the Committee on its own initiative may conduct such a review. Insofar as possible, the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee would conduct such a review while evaluating other faculty positions for that year.

As a result of such a discretionary review, the University may

1. Continue the tenuretrack position. Normally the scheduled review still would be carried out prior to any tenure evaluation of the individual occupying the position.
2. Terminate the position. The individual occupying the position would be notified of the termination of the position and would be offered a terminal appointment in accordance with current policies on notice of termination.
3. Continue the position as a term position. The person occupying the tenuretrack position would be eligible to occupy the term position for no longer than the duration of that individual’s probationary period.

It is expected that the actions in b. and c. above will be taken only under extraordinary conditions or in cases in which a decision has been made to phase out the program of which the position is a part.

3. Appeal of Decisions to Terminate a Tenure-Track Position or Convert a Tenure-Track Position to Term

1. If a tenuretrack position is terminated or converted to term, the department or program may appeal directly to the President. The President’s decision in consideration of the appeal is final.
2. An individual shall have the right to appeal the termination of his or her tenuretrack position or its conversion to term. There shall be only two reasons for appeal: (1) allegation of the violation of academic freedom; (2) allegation that established procedures or guidelines were not followed. In the case of violation of academic freedom the appeal shall be to the Faculty Personnel Committee (see Chapter III, Section I). In case of allegation of procedural violation the appeal shall be to the Executive Committee of the Faculty (see Chapter II, B. Descriptions of Faculty Committees, Paragraph (7).

E. Contingencies and Resource Allocation

1. Criteria

The criteria to be employed in financially contingent situations in allocating resources to University programs and services fall under three headings: Mission, CostEffectiveness, and Quality. These will at times compete and at other times converge. If and when Ohio Wesleyan University meets contingencies that require institutional contraction, these sets of criteria will be used in complementary fashion as guidelines. The order of their enumeration should not be taken to indicate their order of priority. Neither should it be presumed that all three will be weighed equally in making particular decisions. Particular circumstances may encourage the assignment of greater weight to one or another in particular cases, even though in financially contingent situations it is to be expected that fiscal pressure may emphasize reference to the criterion of costeffectiveness. What is important is that the campus community, in considering contingency reductions, identify and grapple directly with what are likely to be very difficult choices from among options that all carry significant costs and/or benefits in terms of Mission, CostEffectiveness, and Quality. The objective must be to arrive at wise judgments.

MISSION

Because Ohio Wesleyan University is a specific private university with a specific heritage, a major consideration associated with any reduction or change in size will be to preserve its essential character by maintaining those programs and activities judged to be more central to that character. To do so will require reference to several questions. How closely does the program or service in question fit the stated mission of Ohio Wesleyan University? How importantly does it contribute toward a non-curricular campus ambience vital to Wesleyan’s liberal arts heritage? Is it essential in serving other programs?

COST-EFFECTIVENESS

Attentiveness to the costeffectiveness of programs and services is a key characteristic of a wellrun institution. Cost-effectiveness must be one guideline in determining staffing levels and whether or not to maintain programs or services. The University must therefore be sensitive to the constituencies it serves and to their preferences. While Ohio Wesleyan cannot mindlessly add or subtract staff or programs or services to track shortterm fluctuations in costeffectiveness, neither can it ignore longer term or more profound shifts as it decides which subject areas, programs, or services to maintain and at what staffing levels. It must ask what is the relationship between direct expenses and revenues in a given area? What is the actual and relative cost of a graduation unit (or, in the case of non-academic areas, other service unit)? What is the trend line for both, and for enrollments and student/staff ratio? Is the program or service a “native recruiter?” Is it duplicative?

QUALITY

Since the primary purpose of Ohio Wesleyan University is to provide excellent instruction in the liberal arts and selected career options, and comparable quality in non-academic services, it must consider program or service quality in making program, service, and staffing decisions. In dealing with any financially contingent situation, it will seek to retain its best personnel, programs, and services, as one top priority. It will strive to adjust programs and services and retain or retrain individuals so as to maintain the best possible teaching and learning environment. Major issues associated with this guideline are complex and difficult. Among them are the following: Is the program or service and its staff generally perceived by Faculty (staff, where non-academic services may be involved) and students to be of high quality? Do students, in or associated with it, perform throughout the University at average or higher levels? Is the staff versatile as well as strong?

…..

The guidelines of Mission, CostEffectiveness, and Quality are contradictory. Any one of them used exclusively could lead to very serious imbalances in the focus and operation of the University. Recognition that each of these three needs to be considered and that each provides an outward boundary for the decision process will encourage an intelligent and equitable response to financially contingent situations as well as to ordinary conditions.

2. Making Contingency Decisions

If financially contingent situations require reductions in personnel and/or programs or services, the University will balance a need for timely action with the need for shared decisionmaking. In both determining whether such a situation exists and in shaping difficult decisions that contingencies might require, the President will engage in extensive consultation with appropriate faculty committees, administrators, and where conditions allow, students.

Responsibility for framing a proposal for program or services and/or personnel reductions to deal with a financial contingency will rest with the President. The proposal, when it pertains to academic programs and/or personnel, will be referred to the Committee on Academic Programs as to curricular impact, to the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee as to the implications for the academic plan, to the Faculty Personnel Committee as to personnel implications, and to the affected programs. When the proposal pertains to non-academic programs, services, and/or personnel, it will be forwarded to the Governance Committee and the Cabinet for consideration. These bodies will hold hearings as part of their deliberations. At the discretion of the President, an advisory student committee may also be created. These groups will severally consider the proposal(s) and in doing so may consult widely with faculty, students, and, where appropriate, with staff. They are to complete their deliberations within 30 calendar days of receipt of the President’s proposal(s) and report their findings and recommendations to the President immediately upon finishing their deliberations. They may recommend acceptance, alteration, or otherwise, of the President’s proposal(s). If and when they are unable to achieve concurrence with the President, and the President yet judges that reductions must be made, he or she will bear final responsibility for reporting to the Board of Trustees the proposed course of action. If there is a difference of views between the President and the committees, the President will ensure that the committees’ proposals are forwarded to the Trustees when he/she forwards his/her proposal(s). The Board of Trustees retains ultimate authority for approving proposals as to program and position reductions and terminations responding to financial contingency situations.

After the completion and implementation of decisions for institutional contraction to deal with financial contingencies, the President will make available to the campus community a full report on the actions taken.

F. Faculty Selected for Administrative Positions

1. If a tenured member of the faculty of the University is selected for a full-time administrative position, the faculty member’s academic department or program will receive a tenure-track replacement position. The department’s hiring committee will be responsible for informing candidates of the conditional nature of the tenure-track position (see 3). The probationary period for this position must be the normal one under AAUP standards (no credit given for prior service).

2. The faculty-administrator will retain tenure; he or she will not be included in the official faculty count, and will not be paid out of the faculty salary line in the operating budget.

3. If the faculty-administrator decides to return to the faculty position before the probationary period for the replacement faculty member has expired (i.e. before the tenure decision has been made), then the replacement position will be discontinued and the person occupying the position so informed. The replacement faculty member will be given notice according to the rules in the Faculty Handbook.

4. However, if the replacement faculty member has received tenure by the time the faculty-administrator elects to return to the faculty, then the returning faculty member will not be included in the official faculty count, either for the department or for the University. His or her salary will not be paid out of the faculty salary line in the operating budget.

5. If the replacement faculty member has received tenure by the time the faculty-administrator elects to return to the faculty, it is the department’s responsibility to determine teaching assignments that best suit the needs of students, the department, and the University. Both the returning faculty member and the replacement faculty member should be aware that their teaching assignments may vary from the ideal for their expertise and education, and that they may be asked to retrain in order to meet the department’s needs most appropriately.

6. In the event that the faculty-administrator, having returned to full-time teaching, resigns or retires, or the faculty member in the replacement position resigns or retires, then the vacated position will be discontinued. If the department wishes to apply for a continuing position, it must apply for such a position as a new position, and the position must be included in the official faculty count.

G. External Candidate Appointed as Provost and Granted Tenure with That Appointment

1. A Provost who is awarded tenure as part of his or her appointment as Provost on the basis of having held tenure at another accredited university will not be included in the count of authorized faculty positions, and will not be paid out of the faculty salary line in the operating budget. 

2. If such a Provost resigns or is dismissed from office, he or she may join the faculty in the department and at the rank determined at the time of hire. He or she will not be included in the count of authorized faculty positions, either for the department or for the University. His or her salary will be within the range for his or her faculty rank as indicated by the announced faculty salary schedule of the University for the particular year, but will not be paid out of the faculty salary line in the operating budget. His or her salary will not exceed that of the highest-paid full professor. 

3. It is the department’s responsibility to determine the former Provost’s teaching assignments that best suit the needs of students, the department, and the University. The former Provost who is joining the department should be aware that his or her teaching assignment may vary from the ideal for his or her expertise and education, and that she or he may be asked to retrain in order to meet the department’s needs most appropriately.