Pattern of Administration (POA) for The Ohio State University SAMPLE TIU

POA of the Department of NESA

Pattern of Administration

for

The Ohio State University

Department of

Near Eastern and South Asian

Languages and Cultures

Approved by the Office of Academic Affairs: February 19, 2024

POA of the Department of NESA

Table of Contents

I Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3

II Department Mission ......................................................................................................................... 3

III Academic Rights and Responsibilities ............................................................................................. 4

IV Faculty and Voting Rights ................................................................................................................ 4

A Teaching Faculty Appointment Cap .......................................................................................... 5

V Organization of Department Services and Staff ............................................................................... 5

VI Overview of Department Decision-Making ..................................................................................... 5

VII Department Administration .............................................................................................................. 6

A Department chair ........................................................................................................................ 6

B Other Administrators .................................................................................................................. 7

C Committees ................................................................................................................................ 9

VIII Faculty Meetings ............................................................................................................................ 11

IX Distribution of Faculty Duties, Responsibilities, and Workload .................................................... 12

A Tenure-track Faculty ................................................................................................................ 12

i Special Assignments .......................................................................................................... 14

B Teaching Faculty ...................................................................................................................... 14

C Associated Faculty ................................................................................................................... 14

D Modification of Duties ............................................................................................................. 15

X Course Offerings, Teaching Schedule, and Grade Assignments .................................................... 15

XI Allocation of Department Resources .............................................................................................. 16

XII Leaves and Absences ...................................................................................................................... 16

A Discretionary Absence ............................................................................................................. 16

B Absence for Medical Reasons .................................................................................................. 16

C Unpaid Leaves of Absence....................................................................................................... 17

D Faculty Professional Leave ...................................................................................................... 17

E Parental Leave .......................................................................................................................... 17

XIII Additional Compensation and Outside Activities .......................................................................... 17

XIV Financial Conflicts of Interest ........................................................................................................ 18

XV Grievance Procedures ..................................................................................................................... 18

A Salary Grievances..................................................................................................................... 18

B Faculty Promotion and Tenure Appeals ................................................................................... 19

C Faculty and Staff Misconduct .................................................................................................. 19

D Harassment, Discrimination,and Sexual Misconduct .............................................................. 19

E Violations of Laws, Rules, Regulations, or Policies ................................................................ 19

F Complaints by and about Students ........................................................................................... 19

G Academic Misconduct .............................................................................................................. 19

POA of the Department of NESA

I Introduction

This document provides a brief description of the Department of Near Eastern and South Asian

Languages and Cultures as well as a description of its guidelines and procedures. It supplements the Rules

of the University Faculty, and other policies and procedures of the university to which the department and

its faculty are subject. The latter rules, policies and procedures, and changes in them, take precedence

over statements in this document.

This Pattern of Administration is subject to continuing revision. It must be reviewed and either revised or

reaffirmed on appointment or reappointment of the department chair. However, revisions may be made at

any time as needed. All revisions, as well as periodic reaffirmation, are subject to approval by the college

office and the Office of Academic Affairs.

II Department Mission

The Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures (henceforth NESA) aims to

build and cultivate a community of colleagues, which includes faculty, graduate students, undergraduates,

staff, and friends, to further our research, teaching, and service missions, stated below.

Geographically, NESA’s scope of concern spans the overlapping and historically connected areas of the

Near East, Middle East, northern Africa, South Asia, and Central Asia. These areas will be collectively

called the “NESA region.”

Linguistically, NESA is concerned with the Afroasiatic, Semitic, Turkic, and Indo-Aryan languages

spoken in that region. These include Arabic, Hebrew (modern and biblical), Persian, Turkish, Uzbek, and

Hindi; as well as a range of ancient Semitic languages such as Akkadian, Aramaic, Syriac, Ugaritic, and

Phoenician – an offering unmatched by the majority of U.S. universities. These will be collectively called

“NESA languages.”

Chronologically, NESA is concerned with the entire time span from prehistory to the present, bridging the

ancient, late antique, medieval, and modern periods.

Topically, NESA is concerned about language, culture, religion, scriptures, literary and scientific works,

law and society. We study these topics from an interdisciplinary range of approaches from the humanities

and social sciences. One distinctive value of NESA is our conviction that these concerns are best

understood through careful analysis of sources in original languages in their cultural-historical contexts.

Our research mission is to produce and disseminate new knowledge and fresh perspectives concerning the

social, political, cultural, and intellectual currents running through the NESA region and beyond. Our goal

is to create a departmental culture of regular, substantive intellectual exchange that also intersects wider

academic circles on campus and beyond.

Our teaching mission is to inspire generations of students to become excited and knowledgeable about

this region and the internationally vital issues that have emerged from it. We seek to teach a broad

undergraduate audience to think critically about the NESA region through deep knowledge of the

languages and cultures, encouraging some of them to pursue our major or minor programs, and preparing

them to apply their training to the professions or graduate work. We also endeavor to recruit bright

cohorts of graduate students and equip them with the methodologies and theories for study and research.

We train students for a wide range of careers, including international business, law, journalism,

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communications, translation, language teaching, government foreign service, military service,

development, nongovernmental organizations, religious vocation, and academia.

Our service mission is to apply regional knowledge for the campus, central Ohio, U.S. nation, and beyond

through various work for schools, organizations, institutions, and other parties. Columbus, for example,

harbors large communities from the NESA region, who use our translation services and attend our public

talks. We believe knowledge of this region has paramount importance to public interests, including issues

facing the local communities and world today.

III Academic Rights and Responsibilities

In April 2006, the university issued a reaffirmation of academic rights, responsibilities, and processes for

addressing concerns.

IV Faculty and Voting Rights

Faculty Rule 3335-5-19 defines the types of faculty appointments possible at The Ohio State University

and the rights and restrictions associated with each type of appointment. For purposes of governance, the

faculty of this department includes tenure-track, teaching faculty with compensated FTEs of at least 50%

in the department, and associated faculty.

The department of NESA makes tenure-track faculty appointments with titles of instructor, assistant

professor; and tenured faculty appointments with titles of associate professor, and professor. Tenure-track

and tenured faculty may vote in all matters of department governance. Tenure-track and tenured faculty

with joint appointments of at least 50% within NESA, but whose tenure home is elsewhere, have the same

voting rights in the department as those whose tenure home is in the department.

The department of NESA makes teaching faculty appointments with titles of assistant teaching professor,

associate teaching professor, and teaching professor. Any teaching faculty member appointed by the unit

may stand for election to serve as a representative in the University Senate subject to representation

restrictions noted in Faculty Rule 3335-7-11(C)(2).

The department of NESA makes associated faculty appointments with titles of lecturer, senior lecturer,

and visiting faculty titles of visiting assistant professor, visiting associate professor, and visiting

professor.

On September 17, 2021, the department faculty voted to extend governance rights to one teaching faculty

or associated faculty representative elected annually by both the teaching faculty and associated faculty

members of the department, with the exception of visiting faculty, who are not allowed to vote for this

representative or serve as one. This representative may vote in all matters of department governance

except personnel decisions and may participate in discussions of teaching or associated faculty matters

including promotion reviews.

Visiting faculty may be invited to participate in discussions on non-personnel matters, but may not

participate in personnel matters, including appointment, promotion and tenure reviews, and may not vote

on any matter. Emeritus faculty in this department are invited to participate in discussions on non-

personnel matters, but may not participate in personnel matters, including appointment, promotion and

tenure reviews, and may not vote on any matter.

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Governance rights are also extended to one graduate student representative elected annually by the current

graduate students of the department. This representative may vote in all matters of department

governance except personnel decisions.

A Teaching Faculty Appointment Cap

This department’s appointment cap on teaching faculty in relation to the total of tenure-track,

teaching practice, and research faculty is established in the college pattern of administration.

Detailed information about the appointment criteria and procedures for the various types of faculty

appointments made in this department is provided in the Appointments, Promotion and Tenure

Document.

V Organization of Department Services and Staff

Fiscal & Human Resources Team. The Fiscal/HR team manages the departmental budget and finances,

including reimbursements, ensuring compliance with University policy; manages visa services at the

department level; provides clerical and organizational support for hiring and contracts in line with

University and College requirements; maintains orderly personnel files for departmental faculty and staff;

and oversees all departmental concerns delegated by the College fiscal and HR operations.

Academic Program Coordinator (APC). The Academic Program Coordinator provides clerical and

organizational support to the chair, committees, faculty, and graduate students. The APC is responsible

for overseeing the daily administrative operations of the department, including hiring, assigning, training,

scheduling, and supervising student employees and ensuring appropriate coverage for front office

reception area; planning, coordinating, and implementing program and administrative support for the

Department of NESA; collaborating with other departments to work on projects and improve efficiency in

the department’s operations; representing the department and serving as a liaison to College and

University offices; responding independently to inquiries from students, faculty and the public; providing

administrative support to the department’s chair, faculty, administrative staff and graduate

associates/students and undergraduates; coordinating graduate admissions for the department; preparing

recruitment materials; coordinating course scheduling for the department, including being responsible for

locating rooms for events, speakers, reviews and exams upon request; communicating with undergraduate

majors and minors as requested; providing enrollment statistics and reports regarding department course

schedule; participating in special projects as directed; and providing back-up coverage for other

departmental APCs in Hagerty Hall for specified clerical tasks. The position contributes labor for all tasks

(both recurring and ad hoc) not otherwise explicitly assigned to fiscal/HR or undergraduate advising staff.

The Undergraduate Student Advisor is a primary liaison between the department and undergraduate

students. The functions of this staff person include providing clear guidance to students regarding their

degree programs in the department and alerting the chair, the APC, and relevant faculty about any

curricular or other issues affecting students requiring attention, particularly with respect to students’

progress towards their NESA degrees.

VI Overview of Department Decision-Making

Policy and program decisions are made in a number of ways: by the department faculty as a whole, by

standing or special committees of the department, or by the department chair. The nature and importance

of any individual matter determine how it is addressed. Department governance proceeds on the general

principle that the more important the matter to be decided, the more inclusive participation in decision

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making needs to be. Open discussions, both formal and informal, constitute the primary means of

reaching decisions of central importance.

VII Department Administration

A Department Chair

The primary responsibilities of the department chair are set forth in Faculty Rule 3335-3-35. This rule

requires the department chair to develop, in consultation with the faculty, a Pattern of Administration

with specified minimum content. The rule, along with Faculty Rule 3335-6, also requires the

department chair to prepare, in consultation with the faculty, a document setting forth policies and

procedures pertinent to appointments, reappointments, promotion and tenure.

Other responsibilities of the department chair, not specifically noted elsewhere in this Pattern of

Administration, are paraphrased and summarized below.

• To have general administrative responsibility for department programs, subject to the approval of

the dean of the college, and to conduct the business of the department efficiently. This broad

responsibility includes the acquisition and management of funds and the hiring and supervision of

faculty and staff.

• To plan with the members of the faculty and the dean of the college a progressive program; to

encourage research and educational investigations.

• To assign workload according to the department’s workload guidelines (see Section IX) and

faculty appointment type (and rank).

• To evaluate and improve instructional and administrative processes on an ongoing basis; to

promote improvement of instruction by providing for the evaluation of each course when offered,

including written evaluation by students of the course and instructors, and periodic course review

by the faculty.

• To evaluate faculty members annually in accordance with both university and department

established criteria; to inform faculty members when they receive their annual performance and

merit review of their right to review their primary personnel file maintained by their department

and to place in that file a response to any evaluation, comment, or other material contained in the

file.

• After consultation with the eligible faculty, to make recommendations to the dean of the college

regarding appointments, reappointments, promotions, dismissals, and matters affecting the tenure

of members of the department faculty, in accordance with procedures set forth in Faculty Rules

3335-6 and 3335-7 and this department’s Appointments, Promotion and Tenure Document.

• To see that all faculty members, regardless of their assigned location, are offered the privileges

and responsibilities appropriate to their rank; and in general to lead in maintaining a high level of

morale.

• To maintain a curriculum vitae for all personnel teaching a course in the department’s curriculum.

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• To see that adequate supervision and training are given to those members of the faculty and staff

who may profit by such assistance.

• To prepare, after consultation with the faculty, annual budget recommendations for the

consideration of the dean of the college.

• To facilitate and participate in prescribed academic program review processes, in collaboration

with the dean of the college and the Office of Academic Affairs.

Day-to-day responsibility for specific matters may be delegated to others, but the department chair

retains final responsibility and authority for all matters covered by this Pattern, subject when relevant

to the approval of the dean, Office of Academic Affairs, and Board of Trustees.

Operational efficiency requires that the department chair exercise a degree of autonomy in

establishing and managing administrative processes. The articulation and achievement of department

academic goals, however, are most successful when all faculty members participate in discussing and

deciding matters of importance. The department chair will therefore consult with the faculty on all

educational and academic policy issues and will respect the principle of majority rule. When a

departure from majority rule is judged to be necessary, the department chair will explain to the faculty

the reasons for the departure, ideally before action is taken.

B Other Administrators

Faculty service in the department includes fulfilling specific roles that are either fixed or determined

on an ad hoc basis at the chair’s discretion. Normally committee chairs and officers are appointed for

a term of two years, but this will necessarily vary at the chair’s discretion as faculty members obtain

leave for research or for other reasons. Among the standing roles are the following.

1. General Procedures Oversight Designee (POD). The POD is a tenured professor other than

the department chair appointed by faculty vote annually. The function of the POD is to ensure

that the procedures of the department, College, and University are observed correctly and

fairly within the department.

2. Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). The DGS supervises the MA and PhD students and

their progress in consultation with students’ academic advisors. The primary responsibilities

of the DGS are:

a. To chair the Graduate Studies Committee.

b. To coordinate graduate student advising and to facilitate the appropriate

assignment of students to advisors. To verify at least annually the work of the

entire Graduate Studies Committee that each graduate student is meeting their

program benchmarks adequately and on schedule.

c. To ensure that the examinations of graduate students are coordinated in a timely

fashion by their advisors.

d. To oversee all record-keeping concerning graduate students in NESA. This

includes providing the department’s Academic Program Coordinator with copies

of records and transmitting these records to any successor DGS in an orderly

fashion.

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e. To make applications for admission to the NESA graduate program available to

the departmental faculty in order to obtain their advice on admissions for the

Graduate Studies Committee.

f. To ensure that NESA meets the University’s and the College’s requirements for

graduate program assessment.

g. To collaborate with the other members of the Graduate Studies Committee in

fulfilling its responsibilities.

3. Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS). The DUS supervises the NESA curricula for

undergraduates. The primary responsibilities of the DUS are:

a. To coordinate planning for NESA’s schedule of courses for future academic

terms, along with the Academic Program Coordinator, Undergraduate Student

Advisor, and Vice Chair (if appointed). To make recommendations to the chair

about faculty and graduate student teaching assignments so that departmental

curricular goals and optimal enrollments may be maintained. To monitor course

enrollments for the next semester and, if necessary, recommend to the chair about

course cancellations and teaching re-assignments.

b. To study the undergraduate curricular offerings to ensure consistency, coherence,

and high quality of course offerings. To assess the necessity of new courses and,

when appropriate, to ask NESA faculty to create new courses or revise existing

courses, including for the General Education curriculum, to fit student needs and

optimize departmental enrollments.

c. To convene a meeting with any number of the Area Officers, or of all of them

together as the full Undergraduate Studies Committee, whenever general

consultation or significant changes to the undergraduate curricula are required.

d. To plan and implement events for undergraduates in any NESA program in order

to foster a community of NESA students.

e. To serve as the liaison representing the NESA undergraduate curriculum at the

level of the College or the university or to other entities.

f. To lead and organize ongoing efforts to assess the undergraduate curriculum and

to ensure that NESA meets the University’s and the College’s requirements for

undergraduate program assessment.

4. Vice Chair. The Vice Chair position is optional, filled at the discretion of the chair. Its

purpose is to serve as counselor to the chair on routine departmental matters that do not

require consultation with committees or the full faculty. The Vice Chair may also conduct

work that does not fall under any particular committee, to help in the function of committees,

or to attend events requiring the chair’s presence when the latter cannot. The Vice Chair

lends service to departmental work that requires more labor for periods of time, such as

curricular revision, strategizing course offerings for new General Education requirements, or

Academic Program Review.

5. Area Officers. Area Officers are called upon when expertise specific to some of the

languages and cultures of the NESA region is needed in the function of the department. The

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chair determines which areas will have an Area Officer appointed for them. For many years,

NESA has had Area Officers for Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish/Uzbek, South Asia, Jewish

Studies, and Islamic Studies. A faculty member can serve on more than area as officer.

Terms are normally for one academic year, renewable.

Area officers have the following responsibilities:

a. To advise students, including honors students, enrolled in the degree majors and

minors that they supervise, when expertise beyond the Undergraduate Student

Advisor’s scope is needed.

b. To assess syllabi of courses, sent to them by the Undergraduate Student Advisor,

that students took at other institutions to determine if credit can be granted for

sufficient equivalence to an existing OSU course in our department.

c. To supervise and work with the appropriate language coordinator in the latter’s

duties in determining staffing of language courses, language curriculum changes,

training of language instructors, etc. Language coordinators are teaching faculty

or lecturers in our department.

d. To ensure, in consultation with the DUS and chair, that adequate courses are

offered to enable students to fulfill their NESA major or minor for timely

graduation.

e. To inform and work with the DUS and chair regarding changes in staffing needs

to teach area and language courses, and curricular problems (e.g., students

requesting substitutions for their major or minor requirements).

f. To make efforts, in coordination with the DUS, to increase enrollments in area

and language courses, to increase the numbers of majors and minors, and to

enhance the quality of the programs that they oversee.

C Committees

Much of the development and implementation of the department’s policies and programs is carried

out by standing and ad hoc committees. The chair is an ex officio member of all department

committees and may vote as a member on all committees except the Committee of Eligible Faculty.

1. Chair’s Advisory Committee (CAC). A committee will be convened annually by the

chair to assist and to advise in matters of merit increases in salary. The committee shall

act only in a deliberative and advisory capacity. The Chair’s Advisory Committee will

consist of the Director of Graduate Studies, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and

Vice Chair (if appointed). The Chair’s Advisory Committee has the following functions:

a. With respect to salary increases reflecting merit, the Chair’s Advisory

Committee, after due deliberation and consultation, will present a ranking of the

tenure-track faculty as recommendations for salary increases as are deemed

commensurate with each member’s meritorious achievement and performance.

b. The Chair’s Advisory Committee will meet with new tenure-track faculty

members early in the semester of their arrival to apprise them of the substance

and spirit of NESA’s “Appointments, Promotion and Tenure Document: Criteria

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and Procedures for the Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages

and Cultures,” and to offer suggestions and answer questions as they arise.

c. The Chair’s Advisory Committee will serve as a consultative body for items

whose importance does not rise to the level of the faculty as a whole.

2. Committee of Eligible Faculty. The composition, duties, and procedures of this

committee are described in the department’s Appointment, Promotion and Tenure

Document. Procedures governing faculty with joint appointments are described in

memoranda of understanding signed at the time of appointment or reappointment, and in

the Office of Academic Affairs Policies and Procedures Handbook.

3. Graduate Studies Committee. The Committee consists of three faculty members

including the DGS. The DGS is the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee. All three

are appointed by the chair of the department on an annual basis. The Graduate Studies

Committee has the following functions:

a. To ensure the existence of a graduate student handbook updated annually and

approved by the department chair.

b. To administer graduate admissions and to oversee the progress toward degree of

enrolled students in accordance with the rules specified in the Graduate School

Handbook.

c. To act as the liaison between the Graduate School and the graduate faculty

members in NESA.

d. To receive and evaluate academic petitions of graduate students seeking

adjustments to the standard requirements for their degree programs.

e. To confer with the Graduate Studies Committee to make sure that all graduate

courses required for graduation, or appropriate substitutes as identified, are

scheduled to be taught in an appropriate cycle.

f. To decide questions pertinent to the administration of the NESA graduate

program wherever ambiguities or disagreement in interpretation of the program

arise, either on a case-by-case basis or proposing further definition of the

graduate program, to be determined by vote in the general Faculty Meeting.

4. Undergraduate Studies Committee. This committee consists of the DUS and 1-3

faculty members appointed by the chair on an annual basis and is chaired by the DUS.

Appropriate Area Officers, the Vice Chair, and the chair may be brought in on an ad hoc

basis for specific meetings and tasks. This committee will meet when needed to discuss

the state of the undergraduate curricula. The DUS may otherwise poll the Undergraduate

Studies Committee by e-mail on issues requiring advice, adjudication, or a vote. Votes of

the Undergraduate Studies Committee are decided by a simple majority. The

Undergraduate Studies Committee has the following functions:

a. To ensure the consistent quality of all sections of the undergraduate curricula in

NESA, including any courses that do not fall clearly under the rubric of a specific

major or minor.

b. To coordinate the department’s General Education and honors offerings.

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c. To approve syllabi for proposed courses.

d. To recommend and implement changes to the curriculum where necessary for

their maintenance.

e. To receive and evaluate academic petitions of students seeking adjustments to the

standard requirements for their degree programs.

f. To ensure that NESA meets the College and University requirements for program

assessment.

g. To nominate qualified undergraduate students for appropriate awards and

fellowships.

5. Ad hoc Committees. Ad hoc committees are appointed by the chair when needed to carry

out the teaching, research and service missions of the department. Among these are

Faculty Search Committees, the composition and duties of which are discussed in the

department’s Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Document.

VIII Faculty Meetings

The department chair will provide to the faculty a schedule of department faculty meetings at the

beginning of each academic term. The schedule will provide for at least one meeting per semester and

normally will provide for monthly meetings. A call for agenda items and completed agenda will be

delivered to faculty by e-mail before a scheduled meeting. Reasonable efforts will be made to call for

agenda items at least seven days before the meeting, and to distribute the agenda by e-mail at least three

business days before the meeting. A meeting of the department faculty will also be scheduled on written

request of 25% of the faculty. The department chair will make reasonable efforts to have the meeting take

place within one week of receipt of the request. The department chair will distribute minutes of faculty

meetings to faculty by e-mail—within seven days of the meeting if possible. These minutes may be

amended at the next faculty meeting by a simple majority vote of the faculty who were present at the

meeting covered by the minutes.

Special policies pertain to voting on personnel matters, and these are set forth in the department’s

Appointments, Promotion and Tenure Document.

For purposes of discussing department business other than personnel matters, and for making decisions

where consensus is possible and a reasonable basis for action, a quorum will be defined as a simple

majority of all faculty members eligible to vote.

Either the department chair or one-third of all faculty members eligible to vote may determine that a

formal vote conducted by written ballot is necessary on matters of special importance. For purposes of a

formal vote, a matter will be considered decided when a particular position is supported by at least a

majority of all faculty members eligible to vote. Balloting will be conducted by e-mail or secure online

balloting website when necessary to assure maximum participation in voting. When conducting a ballot

by email or website, faculty members will be given one week to respond.

When a matter must be decided and a simple majority of all faculty members eligible to vote cannot be

achieved on behalf of any position, the department chair will necessarily make the final decision.

The department accepts the fundamental importance of full and free discussion but also recognizes that

such discussion can only be achieved in an atmosphere of mutual respect and civility. Normally

department meetings will be conducted with no more formality than is needed to attain the goals of full

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and free discussion and the orderly conduct of business. However, Robert’s Rules of Order will be

invoked when more formality is needed to serve these goals.

IX Distribution of Faculty Duties, Responsibilities, and Workload

The chair assigns faculty service assignments for the academic year at its beginning.

During on-duty periods, faculty members are expected to be available for interaction with students,

research, and department meetings and events even if they have no formal course assignment. Faculty

members should schedule one office hour per week per course taught, at a minimum; when on-duty but

not teaching, faculty must be available to meet students when necessary. On-duty faculty members

should not be away from campus for extended periods of time unless on an approved leave (see section

XII) or on approved travel.

Telework exception: Faculty members with responsibilities requiring in-person interaction are to

work at a university worksite to perform those responsibilities. Telework and the use of remote,

virtual meetings are allowed at the discretion of the department chair if such work can be performed

effectively and faculty members are able to fulfill their responsibilities. Telework will be encouraged

under certain circumstances if it serves the needs of the department, college, university, and/or

community. The department chair has the discretion to require faculty to work on campus if there are

concerns that responsibilities are not being fulfilled through telework.

The guidelines outlined here do not constitute a contractual obligation. Fluctuations in the demands and

resources of the department and the individual circumstances of faculty members may warrant temporary

deviations from these guidelines.

A full-time faculty member’s primary professional commitment is to Ohio State University and the

guidelines below are based on that commitment. Faculty who have professional commitments outside of

Ohio State during on-duty periods (including teaching at another institution; conducting research for an

entity outside of Ohio State; external consulting) must disclose and discuss these with the department

chair in order to ensure that no conflict of commitment exists. Information on faculty conflicts of

commitment is presented in the university’s Policy on Outside Activities and Conflicts.

In crisis situations, such as life-threatening disease (COVID, for example) or physical dangers (natural

disasters, for example), faculty duties and responsibilities may be adjusted by the department chair to take

into account the impact over time of the crisis. These adjustments may include modifying research

expectations in order to maintain teaching obligations. These assignment changes must be considered in

annual reviews.

A Tenure-track Faculty

Tenure-track faculty members are expected to contribute to the university’s mission via teaching,

scholarship, and service. When a faculty member’s contributions decrease in one of these three areas,

additional activity in one or both of the other areas is expected, but there is no substitute for sustained

research and publication of the results of research.

Teaching

All tenure-track faculty are expected to contribute to the department’s teaching, including large

enrollment and specialized courses in both the undergraduate and graduate curriculums. The standard

teaching assignment for full-time tenure-track faculty members is four courses per 9-month academic

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year (50% time allocation to total workload), with the remainder of their time allocated to research

and service. Faculty members are also expected to advise undergraduate and graduate students and

supervise independent studies and thesis and dissertation work.

In unusual circumstances, adjustments to the standard teaching assignment may be made to account

for teaching a new class, the size of the class, whether the class is taught on-line or team-taught, and

other factors that may affect the preparation time involved in teaching the course.

The standard teaching assignment may also vary for individual faculty members based on their

research and/or service activity. Faculty members who are especially active in research can be

assigned an enhanced research status that includes a reduced teaching assignment. Likewise, faculty

members who are relatively inactive in research can be assigned an enhanced teaching status that

includes an increased teaching assignment. Faculty members who are engaged in extraordinary

service activities (to the department, college, university, and in special circumstances professional

organizations within the discipline) can be assigned an enhanced service assignment that includes a

reduced teaching assignment.

The department chair is responsible for making teaching assignments on an annual basis, and may

decline to approve requests for adjustments when approval of such requests is not judged to be in the

best interests of the department. All faculty members must do some formal instruction and advising

over the course of the academic year.

Assistant professors in the first four years of the tenure track are normally provided with a teaching

reduction of one course per year. This teaching reduction ends after the fourth year. The purpose of

the teaching reduction is to facilitate the publication of research in preparation for evaluation for

tenure and promotion.

Scholarship

All tenure-track faculty members are expected to be engaged in scholarship as defined in the

department’s Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Document. Over a four-year rolling period a

faculty member who is actively engaged in scholarship will be expected to publish regularly in high

quality peer-reviewed journals as well as in other appropriate venues, such as edited book chapters of

similar quality and length as articles. Faculty members are encouraged to apply for grants from

within or outside the University in order to facilitate their research as appropriate to their projects.

Service

Faculty members are expected to be engaged in service and outreach to the department, university,

profession, and community. For tenured faculty, typically this will include service on two committees

within the department and one outside the unit. This pattern can be adjusted depending on the nature

of the assignment (e.g. service as committee chair, service on a particularly time-intensive committee,

organizing a professional conference, leadership in an educational outreach activity, service in an

administrative position within the department, college, or university).

All faculty members are expected to attend and participate in faculty meetings, recruitment activities,

and other department events.

The department recognizes that some of its faculty members bear an inherent additional service

burden. That burden accrues when faculty members, often women and/or underrepresented

colleagues, are recognized as uniquely positioned to assist with work at the department, college, or

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university levels. Such individuals may be expected to provide more service than normal because

their particular expertise, perspective, or voice can help working groups, for example, or task forces

or students (through their mentorship of them) understand context, options, and opportunities in new

ways. This additional service burden does not derive from volunteerism. Rather, it is an unwarranted

and inequitable expectation.

Service loads should be discussed and agreed to during annual performance and merit reviews. When

heavy service obligations are primarily volunteer in nature, the department chair is not obligated to

modify the service load of the faculty member (reduce teaching and/or scholarly obligations). If,

however, a heavy service load is due to the faculty member’s unique expertise, perspective, or voice,

this should be noted in the annual performance review letter, considered when distributing the faculty

member’s other duties, and taken into account for the AMC Process. The department chair should

also consider this additional service burden in managing equity of service loads among faculty.

i Special Assignments

Information on special assignments (SAs) is presented in the Office of Academic Affairs Special

Assignment Policy. The information provided below supplements this policy.

Untenured faculty will normally be provided an SA for research for one semester during their

probationary period. Reasonable efforts will be made to award SA opportunities to all other

faculty members subject to the quality of faculty proposals, including their potential benefit to the

department or university, and the need to assure that sufficient faculty are always present to carry

out department work. The chair, consulting with the Chair’s Advisory Committee, will evaluate

all SA proposals. The chair’s recommendation to the dean regarding an SA proposal will be based

on the quality of the proposal and its potential benefit to the department or university and to the

faculty member as well as the ability of the department to accommodate the SA at the time

requested.

B Teaching Faculty

The department of NESA appoints teaching faculty. These appointments exist for faculty members

who focus principally on the education needs for department of NESA. Teaching faculty members are

expected to contribute to the department’s research and education missions, as reflected by

participation in graduate program development and teaching. Teaching faculty members are expected

to contribute to the university’s mission via teaching and service, and to a lesser extent scholarship.

The standard teaching assignment for full-time teaching faculty is seven courses per academic year,

with variations in assignments to account for enrollment fluctuations and service duties, such as

serving as language program coordinator. Service expectations are similar to those for the tenure-

track and their service commitments will generally align with their specific areas of programmatic

engagement.

Teaching faculty may be granted category M status with the Graduate School, engage in graduate

training through the M.A. level, and serve on M.A. committees. They may not serve as thesis advisor

of record.

C Associated Faculty

Compensated associated faculty members are expected to contribute to the university’s mission via

teaching or research depending on the terms of their individual appointments.

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Expectations for compensated visiting faculty members will be based on the terms of their

appointment and are comparable to that of tenure-track faculty members except that service is not

required.

Lecturers are associated faculty members who contribute to the departmental mission through

instruction in courses, mentoring students, and curricular supervision such as coordination of related

courses.

The standard teaching assignment for full-time lecturers is four courses per academic semester, with

variations in assignments caused by fluctuations in enrollment. Lecturers may be charged in addition

with coordination of curricula such as language programs or with other assignments related to

departmental instruction. Normally this is stipulated in the terms of hire.

D Modification of Duties

The department of NESA strives to be a family-friendly unit in its efforts to recruit and retain high

quality faculty members. To this end, the department is committed to adhering to the College of Arts

and Science’s guidelines on modification of duties to provide its faculty members flexibility in

meeting work responsibilities within the first year of childbirth/adoption/fostering, or care for an

immediate family member who has a serious health condition, or a qualifying exigency arising out of

the fact that the employee’s immediate family member is on covered active duty in a foreign country

or call to covered active duty status. See the college pattern of administration for details. See also the

OHR Parental Care Guidebook and the Parental Leave Policy in Section XII.

A faculty member requesting a modification of duties and the department chair should be creative and

flexible in developing a solution that is fair to both the individual and the unit while addressing the

needs of the university. Expectations must be spelled out in an MOU that is approved by the dean.

X Course Offerings, Teaching Schedule, and Grade Assignments

The department chair will annually develop a schedule of course offerings and teaching schedules in

consultation with the faculty, both collectively and individually. While every effort will be made to

accommodate the individual preferences of faculty, the department’s first obligation is to offer the courses

needed by students at times and in formats, including on-line instruction, most likely to meet student

needs. To assure classroom availability, reasonable efforts must be made to distribute course offerings

across the day and week. To meet student needs, reasonable efforts must be made to assure that course

offerings match student demand and that timing conflicts with other courses students are known to take in

tandem are avoided. A scheduled course that does not attract the minimum number of students required

by Faculty Rule 3335-8-16 will normally be cancelled and the faculty member scheduled to teach that

course will be assigned to another course for that or a subsequent semester. Finally, to the extent possible,

courses required in any curriculum or courses with routinely high demand will be taught by at least two

faculty members across semesters of offering to assure that instructional expertise is always available for

such courses.

If an instructor of record is unable to assign grades due to an unexpected situation (i.e. health or travel), or

if they have not submitted grades before the university deadline and are unreachable by all available

modes of communication, the department chair may determine an appropriate course of action, including

assigning a faculty member to evaluate student materials and assign grades for that class. The University

Registrar will be made aware of this issue as soon as it is known and will be provided a timeline for grade

submission.

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XI Allocation of Department Resources

The department chair is responsible for the fiscal and academic health of the department and for assuring

that all resources—fiscal, human, and physical—are allocated in a manner that will optimize achievement

of department goals.

The department chair will discuss the department budget at least annually with the faculty and attempt to

achieve consensus regarding the use of funds across general categories. However, final decisions on

budgetary matters rest with the department chair.

Research space shall be allocated on the basis of research productivity, including external funding, and

will be reallocated periodically as these faculty-specific variables change.

The allocation of office space will include considerations such as achieving proximity of faculty in

subdisciplines and productivity and grouping staff functions to maximize efficiency.

The allocation of salary funds is discussed in the Appointments, Promotion and Tenure Document.

When possible, the chair will make limited funds available for travel to and attendance at conferences at

which faculty members are giving presentations. Faculty members should also seek outside sources of

funding for conference attendance wherever it is available.

XII Leaves and Absences

In general, there are four types of leaves and absences taken by faculty (in addition to parental leave,

which is detailed in the Parental Care Guidebook). The university's policies and procedures with respect to

leaves and absences are set forth in the Office of Academic Affairs Policies and Procedures Handbook

and Office of Human Resources Policies and Forms website. The information provided below

supplements these policies.

A Discretionary Absence

Faculty are expected to complete a travel request or a request for absence form well in advance of a

planned absence (for attendance at a professional meeting or to engage in consulting) to provide time

for its consideration and approval and time to assure that instructional and other commitments are

covered. Discretionary absence from duty is not a right, and the department chair retains the authority

to disapprove a proposed absence when it will interfere with instructional or other comparable

commitments. Such an occurrence is most likely when the number of absences in a particular

semester is substantial. Rules of the University Faculty require that the Office of Academic Affairs

approve any discretionary absence longer than 10 consecutive business days (see Faculty Rule 3335-

5-08).

B Absence for Medical Reasons

When absences for medical reasons are anticipated, faculty members are expected to complete a

request for absence form as early as possible. When such absences are unexpected, the faculty

member, or someone speaking for the faculty member, should let the department chair know

promptly so that instructional and other commitments can be managed. Faculty members are always

expected to use sick leave for any absence covered by sick leave (personal illness, illness of family

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members, medical appointments). Sick leave is a benefit to be used—not banked. For additional

details see OHR Policy 6.27.

C Unpaid Leaves of Absence

The university's policies with respect to unpaid leaves of absence and entrepreneurial leaves of

absence are set forth in OHR Policy 6.45. Unpaid leave of absence is normally granted only in

special circumstances.

D Faculty Professional Leave (FPL)

Information on faculty professional leaves is presented in the OAA Policy on Faculty Professional

Leave.

The Chair’s Advisory Committee will review all requests for faculty professional leave and make a

recommendation to the department chair based on the following criteria: (1) quality of proposed

academic activity, (2) contribution to the requestor’s field and community of scholars, (3) benefit to

the requestor’s academic career, including prospects of promotion, (4) benefit to NESA’s

departmental mission.

The department chair’s recommendation to the dean regarding an FPL proposal will be based on the

quality of the proposal and its potential benefit to the department and to the faculty member as well as

the ability of the department to accommodate the leave at the time requested.

E Parental Leave

The university, the college, and this department recognize the importance of parental leave to faculty

members. Details are provided in the OHR Parental Care Guidebook, Paid Time Off Program Policy

6.27, and the Family and Medical Leave Policy 6.05.

XIII Additional Compensation and Outside Activities

Information on additional compensation is presented in the OAA Policy on Faculty Compensation.

Information on paid external consulting is presented in the university’s Policy on Outside Activities and

Conflicts. The information provided below supplements these policies.

This department adheres to these policies in every respect. In particular, this department expects faculty

members to carry out the duties associated with their primary appointment with the university at a high

level of competence before seeking other income-enhancing opportunities. All activities providing

additional compensation must be approved by the department chair regardless of the source of

compensation. External consulting must also be approved. Approval will be contingent on the extent to

which a faculty member is carrying out regular duties at an acceptable level, the extent to which the extra

income activity appears likely to interfere with regular duties, and the academic value of the proposed

consulting activity to the department. In addition, it is university policy that faculty may not spend more

than one business day per week on supplementally compensated activities and external consulting

combined.

Faculty with an administrative position (for example, chair, associate/assistant dean, center director)

remain subject to the Policy on Outside Activities and Conflicts and with appropriate approval, are

permitted to engage in paid external work activities. However, faculty members with administrative

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positions are not permitted to accept compensation/honoraria for services that relate to or are the result of

their administrative duties and responsibilities.

Should a department faculty member wish to use a textbook or other material that is authored by the

faculty member and the sale of which results in a royalty being paid to him/her/them, such textbook or

material may be required for a course by the faculty member only if (1) the faculty member’s department

chair and/or dean or designee have approved the use of the textbook or material for the course taught by

the faculty member, or (2) an appropriate committee of the department or college reviews and approves

the use of the textbook or material for use in the course taught by the faculty member.

Faculty who fail to adhere to the university's policies on these matters, including seeking approval for

external consulting, will be subject to disciplinary action.

XIV Financial Conflicts of Interest

Information on faculty financial conflicts of interest is presented in the university’s Policy on Outside

Activities and Conflicts. A conflict of interest exists if financial interests or other opportunities for

tangible personal benefit may exert a substantial and improper influence upon a faculty member or

administrator's professional judgment in exercising any university duty or responsibility, including

designing, conducting or reporting research.

Faculty members with external funding or otherwise required by university policy are required to file

conflict of interest screening forms annually and more often if prospective new activities pose the

possibility of financial conflicts of interest. Faculty who fail to file such forms or to cooperate with

university officials in the avoidance or management of potential conflicts will be subject to disciplinary

action.

In addition to financial conflicts of interest, faculty must disclose any conflicts of commitment that arise

in relation to consulting or other work done for external entities. Further information about conflicts of

commitment is included in section IX above.

XV Grievance Procedures

Members of the department with grievances should discuss them with the department chair who will

review the matter as appropriate and either seek resolution or explain why resolution is not possible.

Content below describes procedures for the review of specific types of complaints and grievances.

A Salary Grievances

A faculty or staff member who believes that his/her/their salary is inappropriately low should discuss

the matter with the department chair. The faculty or staff member should provide documentation to

support the complaint.

Faculty members who are not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion with the department chair

and wish to pursue the matter may be eligible to file an appeal with the college’s Faculty Salary

Appeals Committee. A formal salary appeal can also be filed with the Office of Faculty Affairs (see

Volume 1, Chapter 3 of the Office of Academic Affairs Policies and Procedures Handbook).

Staff members who are not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion with the department chair and

wish to pursue the matter should contact Employee and Labor Relations in the Office of Human

Resources.

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B Faculty Promotion and Tenure Appeals

Promotion and tenure appeals procedures are set forth in Faculty Rule 3335-5-05.

C Faculty and Staff Misconduct

Complaints alleging faculty misconduct or incompetence should follow the procedures set forth in

Faculty Rule 3335-5-04.

Any student, faculty, or staff member may report complaints against staff to the department chair.

The Office of Employee and Labor Relations in the Office of Human Resources can provide

assistance with questions, conflicts, and issues that arise in the workplace.

D Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Misconduct

The Office of Institutional Equity exists to help the Ohio State community prevent and respond to all

forms of harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct.

1 Ohio State’s policy and procedures related to affirmative action and equal employment

opportunity are set forth in the university’s policy on affirmative action and equal

employment opportunity.

2 Ohio State’s policy and procedures related to nondiscrimination, harassment, and sexual

misconduct are set forth in the university’s policy on nondiscrimination, harassment, and

sexual misconduct.

E Violations of Laws, Rules, Regulations, or Policies

Concerns about violations of laws, rules, regulations, or policies affecting the university community

should be referred to the Office of University Compliance and Integrity. Concerns may also be

registered anonymously through the Anonymous Reporting Line.

F Complaints by and about Students

Normally student complaints about courses, grades, and related matters are brought to the attention of

individual faculty members. In receiving such complaints, faculty should treat students with respect

regardless of the apparent merit of the complaint and provide a considered response. When students

bring complaints about courses and instructors to the department chair, the department chair will first

ascertain whether or not the students require confidentiality. If confidentiality is not required, the

department chair will investigate the matter as fully and fairly as possible and provide a response to

both the students and any affected faculty. If confidentiality is required, the department chair will

explain that it is not possible to fully investigate a complaint in such circumstances and will advise

the student(s) on options to pursue without prejudice as to whether the complaint is valid or not. See

Faculty Rule 3335-8-23.

Faculty complaints regarding students must always be handled strictly in accordance with university

rules and policies. Faculty should seek the advice and assistance of the department chair and others

with appropriate knowledge of policies and procedures when problematic situations arise.

G Academic Misconduct

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Faculty members will report any instances of academic misconduct to the Committee on Academic

Misconduct in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct. See also Board of Trustees Rule 3335-

23-05.