Several new and revised policies recently were approved. Please contact Angie Zirschky in the Policy Office or the responsible party listed in the policy with questions.
New Policies Approved
Parental Leave for Graduate Assistants (7580) – Approved 01/2020. New policy developed to provide up to six (6) weeks of paid parental leave for eligible graduate assistants. The Graduate College will provide six (6) weeks of funding for a department to secure temporary coverage while the Graduate Assistant is on parental leave.
Institutional Base Salary (7590) – Approved 01/2020. New policy developed to establish the University’s definition of Institutional Base Salary (IBS) as required by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR Part 200.
University Classroom Committee (9260) – Approved 01/2020. New policy developed to define and outline the responsibilities of the University Classroom Committee, a standing committee of the Facilities Planning Council, charged with ensuring University classrooms meet the needs of current and future students. The establishment of this committee will ensure a system of governance and broad-based input regarding University classrooms.
Revised Policies Approved
Student Code of Conduct (2020) – Revised 01/2020. Policy language revised under Section 9.5 – Appeals, allowing notification to a faculty member, along with a faculty member’s right to review appeal materials and submit a response within five (5) University business days for appeals involving academic misconduct; under Section 9.9 – Appeals, language revised requiring a sanction appeal to be reviewed against the sanctions listed or described in the course syllabus, or if not stated in the syllabus, if the sanction is unreasonable for the severity of the violation; and under Section 9.10 – Appeals, language revised requiring an Appeal Board’s decision to constitute a recommendation to the Office of the Provost if the Appeal Board decision involves a faculty member’s report of an academic integrity violation and the Appeal Board reverses a decision or amends a sanction.
Administrative Withdrawals (4185) – Revised 03/2020. Policy rewritten to update and provide additional clarification on the process for requesting and approving/denying a request for administrative withdrawal. New policy language requires the Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management to approve or deny a request for administrative withdrawal within five (5) University business days; removes the requirement to notify a student via certified letter; extends the student’s time period to correct a deficiency from 10 days to 15 University business days; and removes the “hold” language throughout the policy. “Holds” are governed by other University policies and processes.
Faculty Sabbatical Leave (4400) – Revised 01/2020. Policy revised under Section 3.1.1 – Sabbatical Leave Guidelines, adding subsection e., clarifying that a workload release or authorized leave of absence will not interrupt the service eligibility requirement for sabbatical leave. This revision helps clarify, in particular, that a faculty member who uses leave or takes a workload reduction under the Faculty Parental Leave Policy (7265) will not be subject to an adjustment in their six (6)-year eligibility requirement for sabbatical leave.
Workload for Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty (4560) – Revised 01/2020. Policy revised under the “Policy Purpose” and in Section 3.2 removing the exclusion for Library faculty under the policy. A workload policy was recently developed by the Library. This revision supports that effort and codifies the Library’s inclusion under the policy.
University Contracts (6030) – Revised 03/2020. Policy revised allowing the use of approved electronic signature tools for University contracts. In addition, the policy language was rearranged to improve clarity; general language revisions were made to help shorten and clarify the policy; and procedural requirements were removed and will be located on the Office of General Counsel’s (OGC’s) website.
Purchasing (6130) – Revised 03/2020. Policy revised under Section 3.3 – Waiver of Competitive Bidding (Sole Source), added example criteria to justify requests to waive the competitive bidding process; added Section 3.4.2B – Cooperative Purchasing specifying use of contracts issued by cooperative purchasing programs established by any association that offers its goods or services as a result of a competitive solicitation processes is allowed with approval by Purchasing; and under Section 3.4.4 – Situational Acquisitions, added subsections l. and m. These subsections bring the policy into compliance with Department of Purchasing policy directive.
Position Definitions (7000) – Revised 01/2020. Language added clarifying that Work-Study students may only work 20 hours per week using Work-Study funds (See Section 2.6.1.d.).
Background Verifications (7005) – Revised 01/2020. Under the Policy “Scope,” and under Section 4.1.1.c., language revised requiring background verifications for volunteers, affiliates, and affiliate faculty only if their duties meet the criteria for a safety-sensitive position as defined under the policy.
Student Employment (7470) – Revised 01/2020. Language added clarifying that Work-Study students may only work 20 hours per week using Work-Study funds (See Section 4.2.d.).
Desktop, Laptop, and Tablet PC Computing Standards (8030) – Revised 01/2020. Policy revised updating language, technologies, and procedures to reflect current operating requirements.
University Vehicles (9040) – Revised 03/2020. Policy revised under Section 4.3 – Authorized Driver Qualifications, adding a DLR/MVR check requirement for anyone to become an Authorized Driver, including individuals using a vehicle from the University motor pool; under Section 4.5 – Driver Training and Vehicle Requirements, added language requiring employees, students, and volunteers to complete any required training to become an Authorized Driver; under Section 4.5.1 – Multi-Passenger (8 or more) Vans, added language prohibiting the use of fifteen (15)-passenger vans due to safety reasons.