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Faculty Handbook: Section 2-1

Responsibilities of Academic Employees

Safety

A faculty member is responsible for the safety of students and employees under his/her supervision.  Besides insuring that appropriate safeguards are in effect, faculty are responsible for insuring that proper medical attention is given when an injury occurs and for completing, where applicable, the required accident report forms.

Personal Liability of University Employees

Section #17 - Indemnification of Officers and Employees of the State

  1. The state shall save harmless and indemnify all officers and employees of the state from financial loss arising out of any claim, demand, suit or judgment by reason of alleged negligence or other act by such officer or employee provided that such officer or employee at the time damages were sustained was acting in the discharge of his/her duties and within the scope of his/her employment and that such damages did not result from the willful and wrongful act or gross negligence of such officer or employee and provided further that such officer or employee shall within five days of the time s/he is served with any summons, com­plaint, process, notice, demand or pleading, deliver the original or a copy thereof to the attorney general.
  2. Upon such delivery the attorney general may assume control of the representation of such officer or employee. Such officer or employee shall cooperate fully with the attorney general's defense.
  3. This section shall not in any way impair, limit or modify the rights and obligations of any insurer under any policy of insurance.
  4. The benefits of this section shall inure only to officers and employees of the state and shall not enlarge or diminish the rights of any other party.

Reference: New York Public Officers Law

Article 7A (1977) of the State Finance Law allows any citizen, whether or not specially aggrieved, to bring an action against an officer or employee of the State who in the course of his/her duties has caused, is now causing, or is about to cause, a wrongful expendi­ture, misappropriation or any other illegal or unconstitutional disbursement of State funds or property. The statute permits the courts to require the offending employee to make restitution to the State for the value of the funds or other property unlawfully expended.

 

The following is a normal distribution of the responsibility of Teaching Faculty:

1. Effective instruction is the primary responsibility of the teaching faculty. This includes:

  1. Preparation, presentation, testing, evaluation and informing students of their progress.
  2. Selection of texts and auxiliary materials.
  3. Preparation of course outlines
    • An outline must be given to each student at the start of the semester/module.
    • Outlines should be reviewed each year, and revised as needed.
  4. Academic advisement.
  5. Evaluation of student progress and performance via tests, reports, papers, observation, and other appropriate means.
  6. Determining a course grade for each student
  7. Submitting a course grade for each student.
  8. Hold classes as scheduled or by arrangement with instructor in accordance with state law.
  9. Arrange for coverage whenever possible when a class must be missed.
  10. Have 5 regularly scheduled office hours per week to meet student needs. Office hours should not conflict with regular meeting times or other regularly scheduled obligations
  11. Give accurate and timely advisement--including advisement activities during new student orientation; have extra office hours during the first week of classes for add/drop.

2. Participation in:

  1. The developing of academic policies, procedures and regulations.
  2. The evaluation of courses and programs.
  3. The planning of courses and programs in accordance with goals of the College and the SUNY Master Plan.

3. Professional Development

  1. Teaching faculty should keep abreast of knowledge in their discipline, and in others, by a variety of means. These include: formal courses, informal courses, seminars, workshops, confer­ences, research, publications, artistic performances, individual study.

4. College Responsibilities

  1. To serve on committees.
  2. To support and/or participate in activities.
  3. To supervise and guide student activities.
  4. Regularly attend and participate in school, department and faculty meetings.
  5. Share responsibility for Open House Days and/or Accepted Student Days when possible.

 

Academic Employee Workload

Because of the diversity of requirements and demands arising from dif­ferent programs and courses, it is not feasible to attempt to specify in terms of numbers of hours, students, and preparations, what an academic employee's workload should be.  It is more appropriate under the circum­stances to establish guidelines to be followed in establishing total workload.  This total workload shall be determined by consultation between the academic employee and Dean and/or Department Chairperson.  The following are offered as guidelines:

  1. An academic employee's total workload should not be such as to adversely affect the quality of instruction.
  2. There should exist no serious imbalances in workload among academic employees except under exceptional situations caused by necessity.
  3. In the consultation between an academic employee and Dean and/or Department Chairperson regarding the teaching assignment, the following should be taken into consideration:
    • Number of contact hours
    • Number of different preparations
    • Number of students
    • Special requirements and demands of particular courses
    • Differences in scope or difficulty of courses
    • Other institutional services rendered by the academic employee
  4. A reduction in teaching assignments should be made whenever the College draws heavily on an academic employee's energies and time in other areas, subject to resources available.

 

Board of Trustees Appointments, Reappointments, Promotion and Evaluation (Process) for Academic Employees

  1. Upon hiring, each academic faculty member will receive an "Initial Employment Status Form" based on information provided in the resume and application.
    This form will explain how many years will be granted for continuing appointment, based on guidelines in Policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University, Article XI, Title C, #3 which states:

    Initial Appointment

    A person who is appointed to a professional title in which permanent appointment may be granted, must be granted a temporary appointment for the first year of that person’s employment in such title when the appointment is made to a position vacated by a professional employee who is serving a probationary appointment pursuant to Title C, section 5, or Title D, section 6; otherwise the person shall be granted term appointment, except where a temporary appointment is appropriate.  Upon completion of the initial temporary or term appointment, the professional employee may be granted a further appointment in accordance with this Article.  Service in a temporary appointment pursuant to this section shall be counted toward the satisfaction of the eligibility requirements for initial permanent appointment

    Service Credit will be granted for continuing appointment base on guidelines in Policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University, Article XI, Title B, #3 (d) which states:

    Service Credit

    (1) In determining eligibility for continuing appointment under subdivision (b) of this section, satisfactory full-time prior service in academic rank at another accredited academic institution of higher education may, at the request of the appointee and in the discretion of the Chancellor, or designee, be credited as service, up to a maximum of three years, at the time of appointment at a college. Waiver of all or part of this service credit shall be granted upon written request of the employee to the chief administrative officer not later than six months after the date of initial appointment. (2) In computing consecutive years of service for the purposes of appointment or reappointment to the academic staff, periods of leave of absence at full salary shall be included; periods of leave of absence at partial salary or without salary and periods of part-time service shall not be included, but shall not be deemed an interruption of otherwise consecutive service.

    Initial Employment Status Form (p.47)

  2. General Guidelines

    An academic employee's appointment, reappointment, promotion and evaluation are made on an individual basis in accordance with:

    • Articles XI and XII of the current Policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University;
    • Campus guidelines for eligibility for rank
    • Campus guidelines for criteria for evaluation
  3. Evaluation

    Purpose

    The primary purpose of the evaluation system is self-­improvement.  Evaluation is also an integral part of the decision involving promotion and/or reappointment. The evaluation and subsequent recommendation of academic employees is primarily the responsibility of School Deans/Director of the Library after consultation with the Department Chairperson, if applicable. In cases of continuing appointment, the department must meet to review and recommend appointment. 

    Professional growth conferences shall take place at the request of the Dean, the Department Chairperson, the Director of the Library, or the academic employee. These conferences may occur as frequently as deemed appropriate and mutually con­venient. A written summary of the personal conference shall be filed in the academic employee's personnel folder in the office of the Dean or Director of the Library, and in the official personnel file.

    Evaluation for reappointment

    Evaluation for reappointment shall take place each year the academic employee is eligible for reap­pointment. The evaluation will be completed prior to notification of change of contract status.  An academic employee will be pro­vided with a copy of the evaluation after the evaluation is discussed with the employee.

    Evaluation for promotion

    Academic employees seeking promotion must first be declared eligible for consideration. A completed “Promotion Eligibility Form” shall be submitted to the Department Chair by the third (3rd) Monday in November.

    • The Department Chair signs the form to acknowledge the request for promotion and passes it along to the Dean who does the same.
    • The form is then forwarded to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs for verification.

    After eligibility for promotion is verified by the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, the approved form is returned to the academic employee with a copy to the Dean.

    To complete the application process, the academic employee must submit a full and complete portfolio in accordance with the criteria and guidelines contained in the Faculty Handbook to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs no later than the first Monday in April.



  4. Reappointment and Promotion Review
    1. Department Chairs must present information to their respective members concerning any department faculty eligible for reappointment or continuing appointment and promotion applications. A review of this faculty member will be conducted by a Departmental Review Panel (DRP). The Departmental Review Panel may consist of all, or selected, members of the department to assess and discuss any concerns and to provide any recommendation or conditions to be met for a future reappointment term or promotion, if any. Membership composition is to be determined by the Department. The faculty member eligible for review must submit their full portfolio, including their completed self-evaluation and supporting documentation, to the DRP for evaluation. A vote will be conducted according to departmental guidelines and the results will accompany a written summary of any recommendations.
      • The DRP should generally be composed of faculty on continuing appointment; however, the composition is determined by the Department in accordance with Department Bylaws.
      • The completed “Departmental Peer Evaluation Form” with the results of the voting and the summary is returned to the academic employee who signs to acknowledge receipt and may attach a statement regarding the evaluation if they so wish.
      • The completed from and statement (if any) are added to the faculty member’s portfolio and it is forwarded on to the Dean for further evaluation.
    2. The Dean or his/her designee will review the portfolio and complete the “Academic Faculty Evaluation Form” including a recommendation in favor of or against the action sought.
      • The evaluation is shared with the academic employee who signs to acknowledge receipt and may attach a statement regarding the evaluation if they so wish.
      • The completed form and statement (if any) are added to the faculty member’s portfolio and the complete package is forwarded to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.
    3. The Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs makes all evaluations available to the Academic Personnel Policies Committee.
    4. The Academic Personnel Policies Committee will review faculty portfolios. The Committee will then make a decision to concur or to not concur, with the evaluator's recommendations based on the information provided.
      • The Committee will forward a short letter about the decision to the following: President, Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean, Faculty member.
    5. The Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs will review all materials submitted and will forward a copy of his or her recommendation to the President and to the Faculty member.
    6. The President has the responsibility for the final action on the recommendations.

     

    Timetable for Reappointments
      Faculty Year of Employment
    Reappointment Steps to Take 1 Year 2 Years More than
    2 years
    Dept/School evaluation sent to Provost/VP for Academic Affairs 2nd Monday December 2nd Monday October 2nd Monday March
    Provost/VP for Academic Affairs forwards evaluation materials to APPC by January 20 November 1 March 30
    Faculty members review folder during 2nd week February 2nd week November 1st week April
    APPC reports to President by February 15 November 15 May 1
    President's letter to faculty if non-renewal not later than March 1 December 1 August 31
    Letter of Intent June 3 June 3 June 3

     

  5. Notifications/Communications

    Written notice that a term appointment is not to be renewed upon expiration is to be given to the appointee by the President or his/her representative as soon as possible and not less than:  Three months prior to the end of a term expiring at the end of such employee's first year of service within the University, but not later than March 1 for terms ending in June or August;

    Six months prior to the end of a term expiring after the com­pletion of one, but not more than, two years of service within the University, but not later than December 15 for terms ending in June, July, or August, and;

    Twelve months prior to the expiration of a term after two or more years of service with the University.

    At the beginning of each academic year, the Office of Human Resources will publish for academic employees a complete list of all promotions and appointments.

 

Criteria for Reappointment, Continuing Appointment,
and Promotion
(Approved by the Faculty 3/28/13)

The new criteria will be applied to Faculty members hired after the recommendations are approved by the Faculty (approved 3/28/13) and subsequently implemented by the administration (approved 6/3/13). Faculty hired before this date will be evaluated according to the current criteria in the 2007 Faculty Handbook for period of five (5) years, after which the new criteria will apply. The 2007 Handbook does not require a terminal degree for promotion to the higher ranks. As we do not wish to disadvantage current faculty and as the new guidelines do require a terminal degree for promotion beyond Assistant Professor/Senior Assistant Librarian, the 5-year grandfathering period is intended to allow current faculty reasonable time to earn promotion under the 2007 guidelines. Current faculty will not lose earned rank or continuing appointment at the end of the 5-year period.  Faculty hired before June 2013 may choose to waive his/her right to a grandfathering period and be evaluated according to the new criteria immediately if they so wish.  A letter to the Provost, copied to the faculty member’s Dean and Department Chair, will suffice.

The guidelines consist of minimum eligibility requirements for each rank, followed by evaluation criteria in the areas of teaching/librarianship, scholarship, and service. An Advancement Evaluation table summarizing necessary ratings for advancement through the ranks is included, as is a new process for those wishing to appeal denial of reappointment, continuing appointment, or promotion.

Eligibility for Faculty Ranks

Lecturer

The position of Lecturer signifies that an individual is an effective educator in his or her specialty area. A Lecturer will have experience in the field of specialization, or have established a reputation in the discipline. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in the discipline is required.

Instructor | Assistant Librarian

The rank of Instructor/Assistant Librarian signifies that an individual is an effective educator/librarian in his or her specialty area. Minimum qualification for the rank of Instructor is a master’s degree. A bachelor’s degree with specialization in the discipline is acceptable when the candidate has an established reputation in the field. Minimum qualification for the rank of Assistant Librarian is a master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program in the field of information studies or directly related field.

Assistant Professor | Senior Assistant Librarian

The rank of Assistant Professor/Senior Assistant Librarian signifies that an individual is an effective educator/librarian in his or her specialty area and has demonstrated ability as a teacher/librarian. An Assistant Professor/Senior Assistant Librarian will have an earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree in his or her discipline as determined by his or her department, or have completed all requirements for a doctorate but the dissertation (ABD), or have a master’s degree with specialization in the field.

Associate Professor | Associate Librarian

The rank of Associate Professor/Associate Librarian signifies that an individual is an outstanding educator/librarian, an emerging scholar, and has a strong record of service to the College and the profession. At minimum, an Associate Professor/Associate Librarian will have an earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree in his or her discipline as determined by his or her department, or have completed all requirements for a doctorate but the dissertation (ABD). It is preferred that the candidate also have six (6) years at SUNY Cobleskill or elsewhere at the rank of Assistant Professor/Senior Assistant Librarian.

Professor | Librarian

The rank of Professor signifies that an individual is an outstanding educator/librarian, an established scholar, and has a sustained record of service to the College and the profession. A Professor /Librarian will have an earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree in his or her discipline as determined by his or her department. It is preferred that the candidate also have six (6) years at SUNY Cobleskill or elsewhere at the rank of Associate Professor/Associate Librarian and a minimum of twelve (12) years of teaching/librarianship experience.

 

Areas of Evaluation

Teaching/Librarianship

Teaching is a multifaceted activity that is composed of classroom teaching, working with students outside the formal classroom setting, advising students, and developing courses, curricula, and teaching materials. Librarianship is a multifaceted profession devoted to the furthering of the educational mission of the college. Responsibilities are comprised of but not limited to research and reference consultation, developing collections of both physical and online resources, information literacy integration, automated systems administration, budget management, and resource sharing at the local, regional, and national levels.

Criteria for Evaluating Teaching

Criteria for Evaluating Librarianship

The above criteria are meant to be illustrative not definitive. Documentation of the criteria may include but is not limited to: evaluations by peers and supervisors; librarianship-related awards; development of internal library materials; and development of new programs and services.

Scholarship

Scholarship in higher education can result from a diverse set of activities including but not limited to research, publications, seminars, workshops, creative achievements, exhibition, and intellectual involvement in professional organizations or societies. The principal defining outcome of scholarship is the advancement of a body of knowledge and/or its application through a peer-adjudicated process.

Criteria for Evaluating Scholarship

The above criteria are meant to be illustrative not definitive. Evidence of publication and research can include but is not limited to: journal articles; books; book chapters and reviews; off-campus presentation of scholarly papers; partnerships; and other peer-reviewed research activities.

Service

Service is the demonstration of leadership, involvement, and sharing of expertise with the College, the University, Community, and the Profession.

Criteria for Evaluating Service

Advancement Evaluation Table

Ratings on evaluation forms are as follows: Minimally Effective, Effective, and Highly Effective

Advancement Sought…

Criteria Evaluations Required in Teaching/Librarianship, Scholarship, Service…
Earn reappointment or continuing appointment while Assistant Professor / Senior Assistant Librarian or promotion to Assistant Professor / Senior Assistant Librarian No less than one-half of all ratings at the Effective level
Earn reappointment or continuing appointment while Associate Professor / Associate Librarian or promotion to Associate Professor / Associate Librarian No less than two-thirds of all ratings at the Effective level
Earn promotion to Professor / Librarian No less than two-thirds of all ratings at the Highly Effective level

Appeals

Faculty wishing to appeal denial of reappointment, continuing appointment*, or promotion have two (2) weeks following the receipt of notification to submit a letter requesting a review to the Chair/s of the Academic Personnel Policies Committee. The letter should be copied to the Presiding Officer of the Faculty, Department Chair, Dean, Provost, and President.(*If denial of continuing appointment is eligible for review under Article 33 of the UUP contract, that takes precedence and this appeals process does not apply.)

A tripartite Appeals Panel of tenured faculty shall be formed within one (1) month during the academic year. The Presiding Officer of the Faculty picks one member of the panel, the denied faculty member picks one member, and APPC picks the third. The panel then selects a chair (from the 3) and reviews all materials relevant to the case, including formal summary statements and copies of pertinent documents provided by the faculty member, administration, and APPC. Panel should request individual meetings with “all concerned” to conduct live interviews and consider testimony.

The recommendation of the Appeals Panel will be submitted to the President, with a copy to the faculty member, Department Chair, Dean, Provost, and APPC, no later than one (1) month following its initial meeting. 

The President will respond to the individual requesting the appeal, with a copy to the Department Chair, Dean, Provost and APPC, no later than one (1) month following receipt of the Appeals Panel’s recommendation.

If the outcome of the appeal process goes against denied faculty member, that original decision, including any applicable timelines, shall stand.

 

Leave of Absence

Sabbatical Leave

Policy

Sabbatical leaves for professional development may be made available to members of the professional staff who meet the require­ments set forth below. The objective of such leave is to increase an employee's value to the University and thereby improve and enrich its program. Such leave shall not be regarded as a reward for service nor as a vacation or rest period occurring automatically at stated intervals.

Purpose

Sabbatical leaves shall be granted for planned travel, study, formal education, research, writing or other experiences of professional value.

Eligibility

Academic employees having continuing appointments and College administrative officers not in a negotiating unit established pursuant to Article XIV of the Civil Service Law who have completed at least six consecutive years of service within the University or who, if they previously have had a sabbatical leave, have completed at least six consecutive years of service within the University from the date of return of their last sabbatical leave, shall be eligible for sabbati­cal leave. In computing consecutive years of service for the purpose of this section, periods of vacation leave and periods of sick leave with salary shall be included; periods of leaves of absences, other than vacation and sick leave with salary, and periods of part‑time service shall not be included, but shall not be deemed an interruption of otherwise consecutive service.

Terms and Conditions

Sabbatical leaves may be granted for periods of one year at rates not to exceed one‑half basic annual salary or for periods of one‑half year at rates not to exceed full basic annual salary.  Eligible employees on sabbatical leave may, with the prior approval of the Chief Administrative Officer, accept fellowships, grants‑in‑aid, or earned income to assist in accomplishing the pur­poses of their leaves. In such cases, the Chief Administrative Officer may adjust the sabbatical leave salaries to reflect such income, either prior to or during the periods of such leaves, pro­vided, however, that in no case shall sabbatical leave salary be reduced if total earnings are less than full salary

Applications

Applications for sabbatical leaves shall be submitted to the Chief Administrative Officer as far in advance as possible of the requested effective date of the leave, but in no event later than six months in advance of such date unless such requirement is expres­sly waived by the Chief Administrative Officer. Each application shall include a statement outlining the program to be followed while on sabbatical leave, indicating any prospective income, stating that the applicant will continue as a member of the professional staff for a minimum of one year upon return and stating that upon return, the applicant will submit to the Chief Administrative Officer a detailed report of professional activities and accomplishments while on sabbatical leave.

Approval

Consistent with provisions of Section 4 of this title, the Chief Administrative Officer may approve each sabbatical leave as he or she deems appropriate and such leave shall be reported to the Chancellor.

Leave Credits

Vacation leave and sick leave credits shall not be accrued or used during sabbatical leave.

Procedures for Applying for Sabbatical Leave:

Application for Sabbatical Leave (pg 102)

Title F. Other Leaves

Approval

employees at full or reduced salary, or may grant employees leaves of absence without salary, for the purpose of professional development, acceptance of assignments of limited duration with other universities and colleges, governmental agencies, foreign nations, private foundations, corporations and simi­lar agencies, as a faculty member, expert, consultant or in a similar capacity, or for other appropriate purposes consistent with the needs and interests of the University. Leave of absence without salary may also be granted under appropriate circumstances, for the purpose of child care. Leaves of absence at full or reduced salary pursuant to provisions of this section shall be subject to the approval of the Chancellor, and such leaves granted shall be reported to the Board of Trustees.

Application

Applications for such leaves of absence shall be made to the chief administrative officer. Each such application shall include a statement of the purpose for which the leave is requested, its anticipated duration and its values to the applicant and the University.

Leave Credits

Vacation leave and sick leave credits shall not be accrued or used during a period of leave pursuant to provisions of this section.

 

Guidelines for Professional Credits

Requests for Professional Credit are limited to twelve (12) credits for any one activity for the following reasons: 

Types of experience for which professional credits may be granted - these activities are supplemental to and not in lieu of formal academic study:

 

Types of experience for which professional credits cannot be granted:

Procedures for Application

Proposal Review Procedures for Requests of More than Three (3) Professional Credits

For requests of more than three (3) professional credits, an outline of the proposed professional activity should be presented to the School Dean or Dean of the Library and the Academic Faculty Personnel Policies Committee for review PRIOR TO THE ACTIVITY.

Application for Professional Credit

One Professional Credit (PC) equals 30 hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction.  For programs awarding CEUs, 3 CEU = 1 PC.  In non-CEU programs, "participation" should be defined as combinations of in-class instruction and out-of-class preparation, with the minimum in-class instruction totaling 15 hours. 

             For example, 1 PC = 30 hours instruction; or 20 hours instruction, + 10 hours preparation; or

             15 hours instruction, + 15 hours preparation.

             Some guidelines that can be used in determining the number of professional credits granted:

             Credit recommendations as listed in: 

 

Learning Activity

Professional Credits Granted
Weekend Workshop (substantial in content) 1/2 to 1
Week-Long Workshop 1 to 2
Semester Full-time Work experience Up to 12
Published article Up to 3
Published manual or book Up to 12
Chapter in a professional book Up to 4

 

The School Dean or the Dean of the Library will forward the application, along with their recommendation, to the Chairperson of the Academic Faculty Personnel Policies Committee. In addition, a copy of this recommendation will be sent to the faculty member.

 

Evaluation of Applications

The Academic Personnel Policies Committee will review the applica­tion and will make a recommendation to the President concerning the acceptability of the proposal and the number of professional credits to be granted (copy to Dean and Director of the Library and the faculty member). CEU’s earned outside of the Cobleskill Campus must be petitioned for acceptance. If additional input is required, it will be requested by the committee.

 

Definition – Continuing Education Units (CEU’s)

The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is an internationally recognized measure of participation in a continuing professional education program.  One continuing Education Unit (1.0) is defined as “Ten contact hours of participation in organized continuing education experience under responsible, qualified direction”.  (International Association for Continuing Education and Training, Criteria and Guidelines for Quality Continuing Education and Training Programs, 1998) 

The faculty member will receive final written notification from the President concerning the number of professional credits granted by.  A copy of this decision will be placed in the applicant's personnel file.

Credits that are to be used to meet promotion requirements must have been granted prior to the deadline for promotion application.

One professional credit shall be equivalent to one graduate hour in promotion requirements.  Professional credits may be substituted for not more than ten (10) semester hours of graduate credit at the level of Assistant Professor, twenty (20) at the level of Associate Professor and thirty (30) at the level of Professor.

Thirty (30) hours are the maximum number of credits that may be substituted by a faculty member.

Once professional credits are used for a promotion, they cannot be used again for a second promotion.

 

Application for Professional Credit (pg 110)

 

 

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