Faculty Hiring & Qualifications

Faculty and staff hiring at Ohio University follows a similar process designed to promote collaboration, compliance, consistency, active recruitment, and best practices in diversity, access, and inclusion.

For information related to hiring practices and policies, please refer to:

• University Human Resources Staff and Faculty Hiring Process
• University Policy 40.121: Recruitment and Selection of Faculty and Staff
• University Policy 40.125: Pre-Employment Background Check and On-Going Duty to Self-Disclose

Qualification Verifications

Per University Policy 18.001: Faculty Credentials and Tested Experience , all OHIO faculty/instructional staff teaching courses or developing courses for college credit at Ohio, including part-time, adjunct, dual-credit, temporary, non-tenure track, and those involved in consortial or contractual programs and independent of delivery mode, are expected to be minimally qualified to serve in an instructional capacity.

University Policy 18.001: Faculty Credentials and Tested Experience details the two pathways through which faculty and instructional staff may be minimally qualified: academic credentials or equivalent/tested experience.

Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of prospective full-time or part-time faculty/instructional staff to provide the university with all documentation needed to demonstrate qualifications. The documentation includes, but is not limited to, a curriculum vita, official transcripts, and information regarding training/certification to teach online courses submitted directly to hiring department/college from the issuing institution; appropriate licenses or certifications; and verification of work experience related to teaching experience (as needed).

It is the responsibility of the academic unit (department/school or college) to ensure all faculty/instructional staff are qualified to teach each of the courses to which they are assigned. Documents needed to demonstrate qualifications (e.g., vitas, official transcripts, certifications/licensures, etc.) should be verified and reviewed prior to hire.

It is the responsibility of the Office of the Provost to verify/validate faculty/instructional staff qualifications and to coordinate with University Human Resources (UHR) to maintain documents.

Process

To collect and report qualifications is as follows:

Before making an offer of employment or after making an offer of employment contingent upon verification of requirements of employment:

1. Communicate requirements of employment (e.g., qualifications, background check, etc.) to the prospective full-time or part-time faculty/instructional staff.
2. Collect documentation needed to demonstrate qualifications from the prospective full-time or part-time faculty/instructional staff.
   1. If faculty/instructional staff are qualified using the academic credentials pathway, documentation typically includes official transcripts (sent by the granting institution to the department/school or college) and curriculum vita.
   2. When faculty/instructional staff are qualified using equivalent or tested experience, additional information (e.g., work experience related to teaching) is required. For guidelines, please refer to University Policy 18.001: Faculty Credentials and Tested Experience .
3. Review and verify qualifications using one of the two qualification pathways.
4. Submit the offer letter and an explanation of qualification basis to the Office of the Provost.
   1. When faculty/instructional staff are qualified using the academic credentials pathway, a statement affirming the academic unit’s review and verification of documentation is sufficient.
   2. When faculty/instructional staff are qualified using equivalent or tested experience, an explanation of the rationale for qualifications is necessary.

After qualifications have been established and verified, academic units may make an offer of employment (or confirm a contingent offer of employment).

Within 90 days following the start date:

1. Academic unit administrators should create a new user in Faculty Success Watermark and upload documentation. (Alternatively, administrators may request for a new user to be created.)
2. Faculty should complete the General Information sections in Faculty Success Watermark.
3. Department chairs, school directors, program directors (or designee) should verify qualifications for each course taught.

New Faculty Offer Letter Components

The following provide recommendations for components in an offer letter.

• The components noted with an asterisk (*) are specified as required by the Ohio University Faculty Handbook .
• The components noted with a carrot (^) are specified as required by the Ohio University Administrative Policy Manual .

Optional Components

• Initial teaching assignments
• Initial research responsibilities
• Initial office/lab space and equipment
• Initial advising assignments
• Initial committee assignments

Note: Do not include language in the offer letter that might change in the future, e.g., specific teaching load, teaching schedule.