Chair and Administration

What’s my job?

The university agreement defines the parameters of the Chairperson’s role. Although every department has unique needs, the faculty agreement can provide a list of expectations for Chairpersons across the university. The following is a non-exhaustive summary of the contract duties:

• Responsible for exercising academic leadership in the teaching, scholarship, planning, and other activities of the department.
• Developing course and teaching schedules and assigning members of the department to these activities;
• Implementing university regulations and policies within the department;
• Resolution, when possible, of problems, disagreements, and non-bargaining member faculty grievances among faculty, department employees, students, or other interested parties;
• Monitoring the attendance and time commitments of their departmental employees and, when appropriate, reviewing the proper discharge of faculty responsibilities;
• Instructing new faculty members on the responsibilities of their positions;
• Submitting budget requests, establishing expenditure priorities, and administering the department budget within the OU guidelines;
• As detailed in the contract, Chairs are expected to make independent judgments and recommendations on faculty and departmental employee appointments, reappointments, promotions;
• Overseeing departmental compliance with the Higher Learning Commission guidelines. (The HLC is the accrediting body for our university.)

Check with your Dean’s Office regularly for relevant dates and information, and refer to department and office websites.

Registrar List of Important Dates

A recent and updated list of all important dates for the academic year is located on the registrar’s homepage.

Faculty Feedback

Faculty are encouraged to submit feedback during weeks 2-5 of the semester. Deadlines are communicated via the Provost's Office each semester. Faculty Feedback at Oakland University is a system for providing feedback to students who may be falling behind in a course. Its success counts on giving students feedback early enough in a semester that they can act in a way that ensures their success. It is required for all courses up to the 2000 level, such as courses that begin with a 0-, 1-, or 2-. Faculty Feedback can be used at any point throughout the semester as often as an instructor wants, but using the system between weeks 2 and 5 yields the best results as far as student persistence and retention. The Faculty Feedback form can be accessed through Faculty/Staff SAIL log in webpage. Follow the tab labeled “Faculty Feedback” to see a list of courses/students eligible for feedback and comments.

OU Senate Meeting Dates

Meetings are typically on the third Thursday of the month, with the exception being December and May meetings on the first Thursday of the month. Meetings are not usually held in June to August. Find information about meetings on the Senate website.

Faculty Tenure and Promotion

These are selected dates from the collective bargaining agreement between Oakland University and the Oakland University Chapter of the AAUP (Faculty Agreement). See full details of processes, procedures, and all relevant dates in the agreement.

Things to keep in mind:

• New faculty contracts normally begin August 15 of any year.
• In terms of promotion and tenure review dates, in addition to the contractual deadlines, department or academic unit review statements provide deadlines for when faculty under review should turn in their materials. See your department or academic unit review statements for applicable deadline information.

Some Helpful Policies and Procedures

The Faculty AAUP Contract can be accessed through The American Association for University Professors chapter through the Agreement webpage. The contract contains important info regarding the Chair’s job description, tuition waivers for dependents, and merit pay.

Below is a listing of Oakland University administrative policies that may be particularly important to you as a department chair.  This is not a complete list, and there are many other OU policies which can be accessed. 

• 190 Classroom Scheduling
  • 190 Fall and Winter Time Modules
  190 Schedule Values, Optimization and Assignment
• 208 Business Meals And Hosting Expense
• 225 Funding Positions - Regulations and Procedures
• 257 Moving Expenses
• 350 Key Control
  • 350 Key Request
• 402 Exceptions to Administrative Policies and Procedures
• 406 Conflict of Interest Policy
• 430 Freedom of Information Act
• 455 Death of Faculty, Staff, Retiree, and Student - Notices and Floral Tributes
• 470 Release of Student Educational Records
• 481 Records Retention and Disposal
• 482 University Closing
• 488 University Communications
• 625 Student Sexual Misconduct Policy
• 640 Oakland University Ordinances
• 714 Workplace Bullying
• 750 Oakland University Faculty Hiring Procedures
  • 750 Appendix A, B and C
• 770 Temporary and Casual Employees
• 840 Preferred Name Policy
• 845 Gender Identity/Personal Pronouns on University Records
• 870 Software Regulations
• 1170 Student Employment
• 1200 Travel
  • 1200 Payment Voucher
  • 1200 Sales Tax Information

Faculty experiencing a pregnancy, adoption, or family illness? Resources exist within the university to help faculty during these life changes. Reaching out to Academic Human Resources can help the faculty navigate leaves (such as FMLA and/or disability). Currently, OU does not have a policy regarding maternity/paternity leave beyond the federally mandated FMLA. Individual College Deans should be contacted regarding workload and service adjustments.

Faculty overwhelmed and struggling to balance work and life? Academic Human Resources and WERG have created a brochure that provides a series of resources for faculty members (and Chairs) navigating work-life balance, which can be obtained by contacting [email protected]. Some highlights include: A summary of leaves available to faculty including military, FMLA, bereavement, and sickness. A brief description of the pathway to promotion and tenure. This includes some modifications to the typical progression (such as stoppage of tenure clock). Lists of support services and contact information such as OUCares (the University Center for Autism research), WISER@OU (women in STEM fields), and the Employee Resource groups.

Concerned about a student?

Several resources exist to report and support students struggling in or outside of classes:

• Report any behavioral concerns through the Dean of Students website. The Report Behavior form is located at the top of any mikeshiner.com webpage. The report and support concerns form is located under the Additional behavior concern information can be found on the Dean of Students’ Faculty and Staff Resources page. The Dean of Students office can be reached by phone at (734)-370-3465.
• The OU Counseling Center is available to any staff or student. Services include personal counseling, substance abuse evaluation and treatment, consultation, outreach and are available on a short-term basis and may be available same-day by calling (248) 370-3465 or walking into the Graham Health Center.
• Disability Support Services (DSS) acts as an advocate for students with disabilities, helps students understand university policies and practices, and assists with academic and personal concerns. The DSS office is located at 202 Wilson Hall and can be reached by phone (248-370-3266) or through the DSS website. DSS also provides students with letters for their faculty regarding required accommodations in the classroom.
• Any incident of dating violence/abuse, sexual assault, stalking or domestic violence involving a student should be directed to the Office of the Dean of Students’ website.

Concerned about a faculty member?

Similar resources are available for concerns regarding faculty behavior and well-being.

• Any behavioral concerns, such as incivility toward colleagues or inappropriate classroom behavior, should be reported to Academic Human Resources.
• The OU Counseling Center is available to any staff or student. Faculty receive some discounted sessions and can receive counseling on steps toward future counseling. Services include personal counseling, substance abuse evaluation and treatment, consultation, outreach and are available on a short-term basis and may be available same-day by calling (248) 370-3465 or walking into the Graham Health Center.
• Any incident of dating violence/abuse, sexual assault, stalking or domestic violence involving a member of the campus community must be directed to the Title IX Coordinator (Chad Martinez, [email protected] or 248-370-3496).