Ohio Admin. Code 3337-3-15 - Policies and procedures for staff

(A) Introductory statement. The purpose of this section is to specify general practices regarding the employment of administrators.

(1) The university has the right to define its purposes and priorities and to require high standards of performance by each administrator in accordance with both institutional objectives and an agreed-upon statement of his or her responsibilities. The university has the responsibility to provide to the best of its ability employment conditions which enhance the opportunity for achieving its goals at least in part, through the personal and professional efforts of its administrators.

(2) The administrator has the right to express his or her professional beliefs. He or she has the duty to conduct himself or herself as a responsible citizen and to uphold the highest possible personal and professional standards. The administrator should be free to participate in any lawful on-campus or off-campus activity in accordance with university policies, provided that in so doing he or she is not compromising the ability of the university to maintain its programs or attain its goals.

(3) Administrative status. All full-time contract personnel have either faculty or administrative status. Those who have faculty status are those who are eligible for membership in the faculty senate. The procedures and policies contained herein govern those who have administrative status except members of the deans' council, those designated as senior administrators by the president, and the president.

(B) New appointments. The rights, privileges and responsibilities of administrators of Ohio university are governed by statements contained in the administrator's handbook and appropriate sections of the Ohio university policy and procedure manual. New appointees to the administration of Ohio university will be given:

(1) Written statements indicating the general nature of their duties, which statements shall be appended to and become a part of the standard contract of university. The understanding of and acknowledgment of the contract shall be indicated by the appointee's signing and returning their copies of the contract according to the instructions.

(2) Literature compiled by the personnel office, describing and explaining the university group life insurance plan, major medical expense insurance, the public employees retirement system of Ohio, the university travel accident insurance plan, the Ohio university employees credit union, the tax deferred annuities program, and the administrator's handbook.

(C) Special appointments. It is recognized that in some areas of the university there are positions dependent upon financial support from sources other than university general operating and auxiliary funds. Appointees to such positions will be provided with a written statement clearly setting forth the nature of their appointments and their dependence upon outside funding. The contract covering such an appointment will indicate that it is a "Special Appointment". In cases of termination for financial reasons, the provisions of section paragraph (E), contract termination, do not apply to such special appointments. Written notice of termination for financial reasons should be given as far in advance of the anticipated termination date as circumstances permit.

(D) Term appointments. In some cases it is necessary to make appointments of a temporary nature without intention of continuing employment. Such appointments may be made for specified periods of time, not to exceed twelve months, and shall be called "Term Appointments". Appointees to such positions will be provided with written statements clearly setting forth the transitory nature of their appointments. The contract covering such an appointment will indicate that it is a "Term Appointment". The provisions of section paragraph (E), contract termination, do not apply to term appointments. Term appointments may be extended or renewed once for an additional period not to exceed twelve months but only if the scope or time schedule of the original assignment was not fully known initially and an extension is necessary for completion of the project. If the term of the initial appointment covers portions of two fiscal years and therefore two separate contracts are issued, this shall not be considered a renewal.

(E) Contract termination (non-renewal).

(1) It is the intent of Ohio university to provide reasonable procedures and policies with respect to the termination of contract status. As Missed herein, contract termination refers to decisions that have been made that preclude the renewal of a contract for the following fiscal year. This section does not apply in cases of suspension or dismissal as outlined in section paragraph (F), although the reason(s) for failure to renew a contract for the succeeding fiscal year may include one or more of the reason(s) specified in section paragraph (F).

(2) The notice of termination shall include a written statement of the reason(s) for the decision that has been made. Except in the case of a termination based on the discontinuance of a position, such notice shall be forwarded no later than March 15fifteenth of the current fiscal contract year.

(3) If the termination is based on the discontinuance of a position either for budgetary reasons or because the function is eliminated, the notice of termination shall include a written statement of the reason(s) for discontinuing the position. Such notice shall be forwarded no later than fifteen days following the final action by the board of trustees on the university's budget for the next fiscal year. The employment termination date will be effective ninety calendar days from the date of mailing, except in cases where an administrator has a contract for a period of less than twelve months.

(4) The ninety-day notice is intended to apply from date of notice to the beginning date of what would have been an administrator's expected contract period for the following fiscal year. For example, an administrator normally employed for twelve months would require notice by April2second, the university would continue payment of the administrator's present contract rate following June30thirty of that year for whatever part of the ninety day notice period remained. An administrator normally employed for nine months (September 15fifteenth thru June15fifteenth, for example) would require termination notice by June17seventeenth to avoid continued employment and pay beyond September 15fifteenth In no case shall an administrator who is on less than a twelve-month contract receive payment for the period in which work is not normally performed by the administrator.

(5) In all cases where the termination period extends into the following fiscal year and payment to the administrator is to be made after June30thirty, for services, a term contract shall be issued at the same rate of pay that the employee received during the year of termination. The terminated employee is still entitled to accumulated sick leave and/or vacation benefits. The terminated employee may elect to take his/her vacation during the ninety day period or be paid his/her vacation in a lump sum at the end of the ninety day period.

(6) Prior to the termination on an appointment due to the discontinuance of a position, the administration of the university shall make every effort within the confines of affirmative action policies to place the person in another suitable position within the university. If an appointment is terminated due to the discontinuance of a position, the position will not be filled by a replacement for a period of two fiscal years unless the released person has been offered reappointment.

(7) The administrator being terminated may appeal notice of a contract termination decision as outlined in section paragraph (E) under the provisions of section paragraph (G) hearing procedure. The above provisions do not apply to either special appointments (section paragraph (C)) which are terminated for financial reasons or term appointmentssection paragraph (D)).

(F) Suspension or dismissal. When appropriate, an administrator may be suspended or dismissed forthwith. Suspension or dismissal procedures must include written notification and grounds for such action. The administrator has the right of appeal (section paragraph (G) - hearing procedure). The grounds or causes for such suspension or dismissal are as follows:

(1) Action(s) of a probably felonious nature when such action is prejudicial to the administrator's ability to properly perform his/her assigned tasks and responsibilities or is prejudicial to good order in the university. When the action is only probably felonious, the suspension may be an "interim" one, pending a legal ruling. When an action is ruled legally felonious, the suspension may become a dismissal.

(2) Any conduct occurring in the performance of one's assigned responsibilities, which causes or could potentially cause serious interference in the ability of the administrator concerned or in the ability of other employees to carry on their duties and responsibilities.

(3) Insubordination, which refers to a willful refusal to obey, or knowledgeable disregarding of, the directions and/or supervision of a properly authorized supervisor acting in an appropriate capacity through the issuance of orders reasonably related to the fulfillment of his university responsibilities, without reasonable justification for such refusal.

(4) Serious breach of professional ethics.

(5) Gross incompetence, referring to a situation where an administrator is, from the beginning of his or her employment, or becomes, at sometime thereafter, essentially unable to fulfill the requirements of his or her position.

(6) Flagrant or consistent failure to conform to the rules or regulations of the department, office or agency to which one is assigned.

(G) Hearing procedures.

(1) If an administrator facing termination (suspension, dismissal for cause, or contract non-renewal) elects to pursue the internal review options available to him or her, he or she may begin by appealing the termination decision through the administrative chain of recourse, beginning with his or, her immediate supervisor and ending with the appropriate senior administrator.

(2) If, after following the procedures outlined in paragraph (G), above, the administrator facing termination (grievant) remains unsatisfied, he or she may request that the appropriate committee of the administrative senate privately and informally investigate the facts surrounding his or her case. In no case shall any member of the committee be an employee in the grievant's area, i.e., the administrative sub-unit or department in which the grievant is employed. The committee, upon completion of its investigation, shall submit a written report of its finding and recommendations to the grievant and to the appropriate senior administrator, who shall then reconsider the case and submit a written report of his conclusions to the committee and the grievant.

(3) If, upon conclusion of the procedures outlined in both paragraphs (G)(1) and (2), the grievant remains unsatisfied, he or she may request, in writing, that the president authorized a formal hearing for the purpose of according the grievant an opportunity to prove that the stated reason for his or her termination is without foundation. The president, at his discretion, shall grant the request if he concludes that a further review of the case is warranted.

(a) Should the president grant the grievant's request for a hearing, he shall, following consultation with chairpersons of the administrative and faculty senates, appoint a hearing committee consisting of five persons, four of whom shall be contractual employees with administrative status and one of whom shall be a contractual employee with faculty status. The president shall designate one of the administrative members as chairman of the committee. No member of the committee shall be an employee, in the grievant's area, i.e., the administrative sub-unit or department in which the grievant is employed.

(b) In the discharge of its responsibilities, the committee shall proceed as follows:

(i) The committee shall determine the time and place of the hearing which shall commence not later than thirty days from the date of the committee's appointment.

(ii) No later than three days following the date of the committee's appointment, the chairman shall notify the grievant of the time and place of the hearing and inform him or her of the basic procedures governing the hearing, which shall be closed.

(iii) At the hearing, the grievant shall bear the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence presented, that the stated reason for his or her termination is without foundation. The order of events at the hearing, Which shall be determined by the committee, shall reflect this requirement.

(iv) During the proceedings, the grievant shall be permitted to have an advisor of his or her choice. Likewise the senior administrator responsible for the grievant's area or his or her designated representative (the university representative) shall be permitted to have an advisor present. The functions to be performed by each advisor shall be determined by the person whom he or she is advising.

(v) The grievant shall have the aid of the committee in securing the attendance of persons who possess relevant information.

(vi) The grievant and his or her advisor or both and the university representative and his or her advisor or both shall have the right to confront and question all persons who make statements before the committee.

(vii) The full proceedings shall be tape-recorded by the university, which, upon request, shall make a copy of the master tape available for a reasonable period to the grievant, the university representative, the committee, or the president.

(c) Upon completion of the hearing, the committee shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the president, with copies to the grievant and the university representative. The president shall then reach a final decision in the case, which decision shall be communicated in writing to the grievant, the university representative, and the committee. The president shall not make a public announcement of his decision unless requested to do so by the grievant.

(d) If the grievant was suspended or dismissed from his or her position during all or any part of the appeal procedures outlined above in stages paragraphs (G)(1), (2), or (3) and if, during such period, a final decision not to uphold the termination is made by the appropriate senior administrator or, following a hearing, by the president, the grievant shall be reinstated in his or her position and compensated for all salary and fringe benefits lost during the appeal procedures.

(H) Recommendation for salary status and contract renewal. It is the intent of these paragraphs to express the principle that action regarding salary status and contract renewal should originate at the departmental level, with systematic evaluation of each administrator by the department head.

(1) Prior to February 15fifteenth each year, the immediate supervisor shall review the performance records of all administrators on his or her staff and shall invite each administrator to an appraisal/apprisal interview. The results of interviews involving marginal or unsatisfactory performance are to be forwarded in writing by March 1first to the supervisor's immediate superior, with a copy to the employee. A brief letter verifying satisfactory performance and eligibility for salary increase by March 1first is adequate for employees performing satisfactorily.

(2) Within fifteen working days after tenative expenditure levels for the next fiscal year have been assigned to each administrator by the president, the immediate supervisor shall submit, in writing, his or her recommendations regarding contract renewal and salary status for all administrators on his or her staff to the supervisor's immediate superior, with a copy to the employee. If a supervisor recommends non-renewal of a contract due to the discontinuance of a position either for budgetary reasons or because the function is eliminated, notice of termination shall be forwarded to the employee when the supervisor's immediate superior has approved the recommendation. Such notice will begin the termination notice period specified in section paragraph (E).

(3) Contracts for the next fiscal year, specifying both position and title for administrators whose contracts are to be renewed shall be sent to such persons within fifteen days of final action by the board of trustees on the university's budget for the next fiscal year.

(a) Term contracts for administrators who have received notice of termination as a result of section paragraph (H)(2), and who are to receive pay during the next fiscal year, shall be for/awarded to such persons within fifteen days of final action by the board of trustees on the university's budget for the next fiscal year. Such contracts shall be issued in compliance with the termination notice provisions specified in section paragraph (E).

(b) If trustee action on the university's next fiscal year budget necessitates the non-renewal of contracts that were not provided for insection paragraph (H)(2), notice of termination and a contract for the next year shall be forwarded to such persons within fifteen days of final action by the board of trustees on the university's budget for the next fiscal year. Such contracts shall be issued in compliance with provisions specified in section paragraph (E), including the termination notice period.

(I) Contract acceptance or resignation.

(1) Contracts should be formally accepted or declined within thirty days of the date of mailing of the contract. Contracts which have not been accepted or formally declined within thirty days shall be declared null and void.

(2) Contract personnel should give thirty days advance written notice of resignation.

(J) Familial appointments. Each appointment is made on its own merits, whether members of one immediate family are in the same department or not. Decisions on promotion, salary status, or termination are to be made for each under exactly the conditions which apply to other administrative staff members. Only under the most unusual circumstances should one member of an immediate family have a significant supervisory role with respect to another member(s) of that family.

(K) Retirement. The Ohio university board of trustees established the mandatory retirement age of administrative officers from their administrative duties at age sixty-five. Exceptions to this rule are seldom made and then only upon recommendation of the president and approval by the trustees. An administrative officer reaching the age of sixty-five after June 30 is permitted to complete the fiscal year starting July 1 of that year. Retirement before age sixty-five is possible.

Notes

Ohio Admin. Code 3337-3-15

Effective: 3/14/2015
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 111.15
Rule Amplifies: 111.15
Prior Effective Dates: 3/16/1978