V. Other Personnel Policies and Procedures

A. Evaluation of Faculty Members

1. Evaluation by Colleagues and Student Members of Departmental Boards

The criteria used by the Faculty Personnel Committee for evaluation of fulltime members of the instructional staff are stated on the current Faculty Personnel Information sheets and the Rating Scales employed in the evaluation process (see Chapter VII: Appendices  ).

When being reviewed for retention, promotion, merit increment, or tenure, each member of the faculty is asked to do the following

1. Fill out the Faculty Personnel Information Form, also known as the self-   report. When completing the Information Form, faculty members are asked to annotate their bibliographies and spell out in narrative form the connections between the various entries (e.g., teaching and scholarly work). All three sections of the completed Faculty Personnel Information Form are provided to all peer raters; Section I on teaching is provided to the student members of department Boards. 
2. Submit a current curriculum vitae (CV). The CV is made available to all peer evaluators.
3. Provide course syllabi for all classes taught since the last review. Syllabi will be made available to all peer evaluators.
4. Provide products or links to products of scholarly or creative work. This material will be made available to all peer evaluators.

Candidates for tenure are asked to submit a cumulative selfreport covering the entire probationary period, generally taking the form of a current vita and a cumulative narrative summary. This tenure narrative will be made available to all peer evaluators.

Candidates for promotion to Full Professor are asked to submit a promotion narrative.  In the promotion narrative faculty should discuss accomplishments since promotion to Associate Professor as well as future teaching, scholarship, and service plans upon reaching the rank of Full Professor.  This promotion narrative will be made available to all peer evaluators.

Peer evaluators are asked to complete rating sheets that are called peer evaluations. These rating sheets are completed by the chairperson of the department concerned, by four or more other colleagues in that discipline or related disciplines, and, as a composite evaluation by the student members of the StudentFaculty Board of the Department.*  Individuals may submit a list of names of faculty colleagues who know their work best as an aid to the Personnel Committee in its assignment of a panel of peer evaluators. 

In tenure cases, graduated students will be called upon for evaluation. The tenure candidate will select 20 graduates drawn from both lower and upperlevel courses, and the Provost will select another 20, also drawn from both levels.

All completed forms are read by every member of the Faculty Personnel Committee before any deliberations take place.²

In the evaluation procedure, categories I, II, and III (Assessment of Teaching; Assessment of Scholarly and/or Creative Work; Assessment of University and Community Service) are weighted on a basis of 60, 30, 10, respectively.

2. Course Evaluations

1. Courses of all faculty members are to be evaluated regularly during the academic year  at least two, but no more than three, courses for tenured members and three, and only three, for all others, at least one being a lower level and one being an upper level course, insofar as the individual’s schedule permits. Two evaluations are required during an academic year containing a leave.

2. A standardized form provided by the Faculty Personnel Committee is to be utilized in these course evaluations. A supplemental departmental form may be used if approved in advance by the Faculty Personnel Committee.

3. The burden will be on the faculty member to select the requisite number of courses to be evaluated during the academic year, pursuant to item 2a above. 

4. Evaluation results will be made available to the faculty member and the Faculty Personnel Committee.

3. Meetings of Faculty Personnel Committee with Student Board Members

Student members of Boards having Faculty to be evaluated for tenure and retention decisions in departments during the year will be so notified during the mid-fall semester.  Soon after receiving the notification, the student members of the Board shall indicate to the Faculty Personnel Committee if they wish to hold a meeting with the Committee regarding the persons being considered. If such indication is not promptly forthcoming, the student members of the Board waive the right to have a meeting until the appeal stage, should that stage occur. The Committee may at any time call for a meeting with the students in addition to any studentrequested meeting. A maximum of two meetings shall occur per case prior to the appeal stage, one called by the student members of the Board and one by the Faculty Personnel Committee.

If an appeal occurs, the student members of the Board may call for one meeting at the beginning of the appeal, and the Faculty Personnel Committee may call for one meeting at any time. The students may not call for a meeting in the appeal stage after the beginning of the process. Only the Faculty Personnel Committee and the student Board members may attend joint meetings. Board members may make statements regarding the person in question, and Faculty Personnel Committee members may ask questions of the Board members regarding the individual. Under no circumstances whatsoever shall Faculty Personnel Committee members reveal any of its confidential information or perceptions of the case.

4. Peer Teaching Observation Reviews

When members of the faculty are evaluated for retention, tenure, promotion, or merit, reviews of the quality of their teaching effectiveness by peer faculty shall also be used by the Faculty Personnel Committee, in addition to the other materials described in parts 1, 2, and 3 above. These are called Peer Teaching Observation Reviews. Untenured members of the full-time faculty must have one Peer Teaching Observation Review added to their personnel file each academic year. Tenured members of the full-time faculty must have two added during each merit triennium. All reviews must be planned and carried out according to the procedure below. No unannounced reviews will be conducted. Faculty members being observed will hereafter be referred to as the candidate.

1. Selection of reviewers: Candidates shall select their own peer observation reviewers with consideration given to mutual expertise, compatibility and relevant knowledge and skills. Only tenured faculty can serve as peer teaching observation reviewers.

2. Pre-observation exchange: During the pre-observation exchange, the candidate will share with the reviewer information to assist the reviewer in making an informed observation. The candidate and the reviewer will select the review observation instrument most appropriate for the instructional setting (lecture, discussion, lab, studio, or practice).

3. Observation: The observation should occur when significant amounts of teaching are happening in the instructional setting. The observer should be present for the entire class or an agreed upon significant portion of a lab or practice. The observer should heed all agreed-upon guidelines for the observation established during the pre-observation exchange.

4. Post-observation exchange: Following the observation, the observer should meet with the candidate and provide feedback.

5. Written report: Following the post-observation exchange, the reviewer will prepare a Peer Teaching Observation Review based on the observation and review of materials. The reviewer will submit the Peer Teaching Observation Review Report to the Faculty Personnel Committee. A copy of the report will be sent to the candidate who will have the opportunity to write a confidential response to be added to the personnel file.

B. Continuation of Faculty in Term Positions

Seen in the light of the University’s general responsibility to hire and keep the best Faculty available, the following policy shall apply:

If a person appointed to a term position wishes to be appointed to a vacant regular position, he or she must apply as a candidate and compete in a search for the best qualified person to fill the position. This policy will apply when the vacant position is the result of “converting” the term position presently occupied by the individual into a regular position, as well as when it is a new position or one created by retirement or resignation.

The Provost, in consultation with the Faculty Personnel Committee and the department concerned, may in special cases approve exceptions to the above policy such that an individual may be simply appointed to the regular position without competing in a search. Such exceptions will be considered only after the regular vacancy has been approved, and will require convincing evidence that the individual in all likelihood is the best available person for the position. The thoroughness of the search which resulted in hiring the individual, including its adequacy in reaching minorities and women, will be a consideration.

This policy will not necessarily apply when a term position is reestablished as a “new” term position. In such cases the occupant of the position may, by simple renewal of appointment, be appointed.

Rationale: Some faculty members are appointed to positions which are scheduled to terminate at a definite time. It is reasonable to assume that such an appointment, being by definition temporary, is less desirable from the faculty member’s point of view than is a regular appointment. It follows that on the average the pool of applicants will be smaller for such positions and that some potential candidates who are of such quality as to be able to secure regular positions elsewhere will not be in the pool.

C. Policies on Teaching Load

1. Full-time Teaching

1. The maximum teaching load shall be six courses during the normal academic year of two semesters.
2. In semesters where it is necessary for the department to schedule multiplesectioned courses, each section shall, for the purpose of computing teaching load, be counted as a course.
3. ³While it is recognized that each faculty member should, on the average, serve between 140190 students per year, it is also recognized that there may be pedagogical necessities for some courses and some departments to vary from the norm.
4. Normally an instructor with lecture courses should carry a course load of three courses in each semester.

5. Normally an instructor teaching laboratory courses approved by the Academic Planning and Allocation Committee should carry a teaching load of 10 to 12 contact hours per week.

6. Normally a departmental chairperson shall have his/her course load reduced by one to two courses per year on the grounds of administrative responsibilities with the consent of the Provost after consultation with the Faculty Personnel Committee.

7. The distribution of course and student load within a department is a matter of departmental judgment. As a result, it may be that a department frees particular instructors for a semester so as to carry on special work by adjusting for their reduced student load averages within the departmental staff. The student load averages should be measured for the total department only after a two-year experience.

8. Adjustments in teaching load may be made for personnel coaching varsity athletic teams, directing plays, musical organizations, debate teams, and similar activities. Such adjustment shall be made by the Provost after consultation with the Faculty Personnel Committee.

2. Guidelines for Reduced Faculty Teaching Loads⁴

1. Faculty members on regular appointment may request reduced teaching loads by appeal to the Faculty Personnel Committee while retaining “regular faculty status” (see below) according to the following provisions:⁵
   1. No fewer than three (3) graduation credit courses (units) or the equivalent must be taught in an academic year.⁶
   2. Regular committee assignments, advising and other normal departmental and university responsibilities must be carried fully.
   3. Departmental approval is required for any reduction of the teaching load.
   4. Arrangements for a reduction in the teaching load will be made by the faculty member in consultation with the department chairperson and the Provost. Such arrangements must be approved by the Faculty Personnel Committee. Courses taught should normally be offered within the framework of regular course schedules.
   5. A reduced teaching load, at reduced pay, may be approved for a period not to exceed one academic year. Re-application may be submitted for subsequent years and will be processed according to the existing guidelines. Salary will be proportionate to teaching load, i.e., 3/6ths, 4/6ths, or 5/6ths.
   6. The reduced teaching load may consist of three, four, or five courses. Subject to the guidelines as set forth, the reduced load may be applied to one or two semesters.
   “Regular faculty status” as used above implies that:
   1. Individuals remain eligible for normal procedures as set forth in the Faculty Handbook concerning retention, promotion, merit increment, tenure, and in-rank progression.
   2. Individuals retain all fringe benefits. The 10% TIAA-CREF contribution by the University is based on actual salary paid. Those electing to maintain the 10% contribution will also remain eligible for the matching plan as described in Chapter VI .

D. Adjunct Professors

1. Duties

The main duties of an Adjunct Professor are to give advice to students who have professional goals in or related to the expertise of the Adjunct Professor and to serve as a resource person with whom both staff and students can consult. Adjunct Professors are permitted to supervise departmental honors programs and independent study projects and to serve in the apprenticeship program.

2. Selection, Appointment, and Review

Departments may make application on behalf of the person they wish to recruit. The application is to include the regular Ohio Wesleyan University application form, a vita, and a supporting document from the department. The application is to be presented for approval to the Provost and to the Faculty Personnel Committee. All Adjunct Professorships shall be reviewed by the Faculty Personnel Committee every three years.

3. Compensation

Normally, Adjunct Professors will serve without remuneration. However, if lectures or courses are given by the Adjunct Professor, separate honoraria or parttime contracts can be arranged as they exist for visiting and parttime personnel from outside the University. Fringe benefits are not included in such arrangements.

4. Privileges

Adjunct Professors are listed in the University catalog and directory, are placed on faculty mailing lists, and are admitted to general university activities during their period of appointment. Adjunct Professors can be admitted to faculty meetings and to appropriate committees by invitation.

E. Awards for Teaching and Scholarly or Artistic Achievement

1. The Welch Meritorious Teaching Award

1. Background
   The Bishop Herbert Welch Meritorious Teaching Award was established in 196263 by the New York Alumni Association for the purpose of recognizing outstanding teachers at Ohio Wesleyan University. The award is made annually at Commencement (or an equally appropriate occasion) to one recipient chosen secretly by the Faculty Personnel Committee, and is accompanied by a stipend to be provided by the New York Alumni Association. All fulltime teaching faculty members on regular appointment are eligible to be nominated. The basis for selection is to be distinguished service in teaching which has made significant contribution to the academic climate at Ohio Wesleyan University. Persons who have once received the award are not eligible to receive it a second time. The names of Meritorious Teachers will be entered on an appropriate plaque, to be displayed permanently in an appropriate place on campus.
    
2. Criteria for Selection
   1. Recipients shall have demonstrated distinguished service in teaching which has made significant contribution to the academic climate at Ohio Wesleyan University.
   2. The Meritorious Teacher shall:

      1. Possess a comprehensive, scholarly knowledge of his/her field and an abiding interest in the area of study.

      2. Organize and present his/her subject matter effectively, so that what is taught is consistent with the objectives of the course and is related to other fields of learning and human activity.

      3. Stimulate thinking and develop understanding in such a way that students are challenged to critical thinking and selfdirected interest in the field of knowledge.

      4. Arouse student interest by making the subject matter relevant and significant to them in personal terms and in relation to their educational purposes.

      5. Make good use of human and material resources that are available to the course and the specific class or situation.

   3. Other factors which may be pertinent:

      1. Assistance to students involving individual and group problems.

      2. Contribution to research and publication in the area of subject matter taught.

      3. Participation in professional organizations or groups.

      4. Contribution to the development of his/her department, or the University.

      5. Participation in worthy student and community activities.
          

3. Method of Selection

   1. ​​​The Faculty Personnel Committee shall recommend to the President a recipient of the award in any given year. Members of the Committee and faculty spouses of members shall not be eligible.

   2. By means of an appropriate general announcement, faculty, staff, students, and alumni may suggest candidates to the Faculty Personnel Committee.

   3. The name of the person selected shall be kept secret until the time of actual award.

2. The Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers

1. Background

   1. The Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers was established in 196364 by Mr. and Mrs. William H. Ryan of Sacramento, California, to identify, encourage, and honor Ohio Wesleyan faculty members with high potential as teachers. The award will consist of a cash grant and a certificate, and will be made at Commencement (or other appropriate ceremony).

      Candidates for the award must have been full-time members of the Ohio Wesleyan teaching staff for at least three years prior to the year of selection, and have had less than ten years total experience in the teaching field, including public school teaching and proportionately computed college part-time teaching (such as graduate assistant teaching).

   2. Criteria
      The criteria shall be essentially those used in selecting for the Welch Award, appropriately modified to apply to younger members of the Faculty.

   3. Method of Selection

      1. The Faculty Personnel Committee shall recommend to the President a recipient of the award in any given year. Members of the Committee and faculty spouses of members shall not be eligible.

      2. By means of an appropriate general announcement, faculty, staff, students, and alumni may suggest candidates to the Faculty Personnel Committee.

      3. The name of the person selected shall be kept secret until the time of actual award.

3. The Welch Award for Scholarly or Artistic Achievement​

1. Background

   This award is intended to recognize distinguished scholarly or artistic achievement among Ohio Wesleyan University faculty members. All full-time teaching faculty members who have been employed at Ohio Wesleyan for at least eight years are eligible to be nominated. The award will consist of a certificate and a cash grant in an amount not to exceed the amount of the Welch Meritorious Teaching Award, and will be made at Commencement (or other appropriate ceremony). Persons who have once received the award are not eligible to receive it a second time. The names of award winners will be entered on an appropriate plaque, to be displayed permanently in an appropriate place on campus.

2. Criteria for Selection

   1. The award may be given for a distinguished body of work or for an individual accomplishment.

   2. Scholarship that has been disseminated to and evaluated by disciplinary peers beyond the OWU community or the presentation or exhibition of creative work to the larger community will carry more weight than work that has been shared only within the university community.

3. Method of Selection

   1. The Faculty Personnel Committee shall recommend to the President a recipient of the award in any given year. Members of the Committee and faculty spouses of members shall not be eligible.

   2. By means of an appropriate general announcement, faculty, staff, students, and alumni may suggest candidates to the Faculty Personnel Committee.

   3. The name of the person selected shall be kept secret until the time of actual award.

F. Miscellaneous Administrative Procedures Concerning Faculty Employment

1. Initial Appointment

As soon as possible after arrival on the campus, a new faculty member should visit the Business Office to obtain detailed information about the University’s personnel policies and the benefits program and to complete the necessary governmental and university forms.

2. Salary

One-twelfth of the annual salary will be paid each month on the first day following the month in which the salary has been earned. If the first of the month is on Saturday or Sunday, payroll checks will be distributed on the preceding Friday. Checks for the month of December will always be paid on the first working day of the new year. This provision is made for income tax purposes so that one does not have thirteen paychecks in a calendar year.

Prior to the completion of an academic year, the faculty member will receive written official notice from the Provost regarding the following year’s appointment. If an offer of employment is made for the following year (for those faculty members who have not received tenure), this information as well as the salary terms for the next year are included. To accept, the faculty member signs and returns one copy to the Office of the Provost. This action constitutes a mutual agreement, binding upon both parties for the period involved.

The payroll is prepared by the Payroll Office and any questions of a specific nature should be referred to that source.

3. Termination

When the appointment of a faculty member terminates, he/she will coordinate with the Business Office arrangements for his/her insurance and other benefits, and turn in all university property.

4. Leave of Absence

When a faculty member will be on leave during any part of the following academic year, he/she should contact the Business Office to make arrangements for the continuation of some of his/her benefits and other related matters.

G. Policy Statement on Appointment of Librarians⁷

Librarians make a significant contribution to the educational program and general academic life of a college. They have an important responsibility for developing library collections, for bibliographical control over these collections, for informing students about library resources and uses, and for advising faculty in the use of the collection. They answer questions, compile bibliographies, and strive to improve library processes and practices. Their work involves high-level skills of communication, analysis, organization, and follow-through, among others. It requires trained intelligence and graduate professional education.

Given the close involvement of librarians in support of the faculty’s teaching and the student’s learning, professional librarians at Ohio Wesleyan will be voting members of the Faculty and will be eligible for election to the committees of that body. Because the duties and responsibilities of librarians are significantly different in important respects from those of the classroom faculty, appointments of librarians will not necessarily be governed by the terms and conditions applicable to classroom faculty, but will, except as explicitly noted herein, be governed by those of the non-faculty professional staff of the University. In addition to membership in the faculty body as noted above, the following special terms and conditions will be applicable to librarians.

1. Performance appraisals of librarians, including the Director of Libraries, will make use of several sources of information including a self-report, evaluations from librarian-colleagues, and evaluation by library patrons. The Library Subcommittee of the Committee on Teaching and Learning will determine appropriate procedures for evaluation by patrons. Using the above information and consulting with the Director of Libraries except, of course, when his or her own case is involved, the Provost shall make final personnel recommendations to the President.

2. The normal highest degree for professional librarians is the master’s degree in library science. Librarians entering employment with this degree will be paid at the level of entering teaching faculty with comparable training and experience. They will also participate in salary increases on the same basis as faculty members and other professional staff.

3. Librarians will be eligible to apply for paid study leaves after six years since start of service or since the last leave. Such leaves will not be automatic, but must be approved by the Provost upon recommendation of the Director of Libraries in consultation with the Library Subcommittee of the Committee on Teaching and Learning for projects which promise to advance the contribution of the library to the academic life of the institution. They normally will be granted for an eight-week period in the summer, which period shall be in addition to the usual one-month annual vacation.

4. A librarian may be the instructor of record for creditbearing student work upon approval of the Provost who will make an appropriate appointment on the recommendation of the department or program which has responsibility for the course(s) involved. On the recommendation of the Faculty Personnel Committee, this appointment may be a continuing departmental “courtesy appointment.” In other cases it will be for the academic term of the course(s) involved.

5. A librarian may use the appropriate appeal process in the Faculty Handbook for a case he or she believes involves violation of his or her academic freedom.

_______________

¹In cases of tenure decisions and retention decisions after the fall of the second year, all members of the Department concerned are asked to complete rating forms for the faculty member under review.

²Members of the Committee will not read materials related to, or deliberate and vote upon, cases involving themselves, colleagues in their Department, their relatives or family members,
or 
others with whom their personal and/or business relations may be deemed to constitute a conflict of interest.  Similarly, Committee members who serve (or have served within the preceding two academic years) on the governing board of an Interdisciplinary Program will not read materials related to, or deliberate and vote upon, cases involving those faculty members whose appointments are to that Program (rather than to a Department.)  

³Originally approved by the Faculty January 21, 1963, and the Board of Trustees February 9, 1963; deleted by faculty action November, 1983; Board of Trustees action pending.

⁴These guidelines are based on the present Ohio Wesleyan two-semester calendar. Any substantive change in the calendar will obviate the guidelines.

⁵Faculty members who receive a reduced teaching load as a result of serving as Department chairperson or because of being on a Regular Paid Leave or on Special Released Time for Scholarly Production are exempt from this policy and need not appeal to the Faculty Personnel Committee.

⁶In areas or departments where faculty assignments are not based solely on graduation credit courses (e.g., library), commensurate arrangements may be negotiated.

⁷The policies described do not apply to librarians who have been appointed as faculty librarians before the 1982-83 academic year. The term ‘librarian’ in this policy statement refers to all other professional librarians– professional library staff with graduate library degrees.