• Planned and Unplanned Faculty Absence Form
• Outside Employment Report Form
• Proposal Approval Form
• F&A/Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

Instructions for the Planned and Unplanned Faculty Absence Form:

Planned and Unplanned Faculty Absence Form

1. Objectives of the Policy

The regular meeting of classes is an important reflection of faculty concern for students which distinguishes Ohio Northern from some other institutions. Although the University is certainly interested in having faculty members involved in professional meetings and other development activities, and there are other circumstances justifying brief and infrequent class absences, neither should occur to the detriment of classroom instruction. Excessive faculty absences deprive students of the instruction for which they have paid and to which they are entitled.

2. Procedure

The Faculty Handbook (2.12.3) Absences for Personal and Professional Reasons specifies the procedure for handling the planned absences of faculty members. Note that such absences require the approval of the department chair (if there is one) and the dean and that these absences are to be reported to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The enclosed Report of Absence of Faculty Member from Campus Duties Due to Personal/Professional Reasons, indicates the information that should be obtained.
Faculty members who are unexpectedly unable to meet classes or other University responsibilities should promptly notify the department chair (if there is one) who, in turn, will notify the dean's office of all such unplanned absences. Each college should have a system for collecting and recording this information. It is the responsibility of the chair and the dean to take note of the reported or unreported absences and to make certain that the classes are made up in some fashion agreeable to students.
Protracted (e.g., one week) or frequent (e.g., producing three absences in three weeks or less) absences should be reported to the Vice President for Academic Affairs who will coordinate any additional inquiry as to the cause and, where appropriate, make a request that there be a doctor's report.

3. Monitoring: Dean or Director's Role

If administrative officers are to properly meet their management responsibilities, in the event that some personnel action becomes necessary, the University must be able to substantiate that all faculty members have received equal treatment in any procedure which produces evidence of excessive or critical absences. This equal treatment will include asking all faculty members to comply with the University Faculty Handbook and college reporting requirements and monitoring the compliance of all faculty members.

Please discuss these matters with your department chairs and faculty and present them in the most positive light, that is, obligations to the students, professional responsibility, and assistance to the University regarding insurance coverage. The deans and directors hold the primary responsibility for monitoring these matters.

Outside Employment Report Form

Instructions for the Outside Employment Report Form:

Please complete the attached Report Form on Outside Employment and return it to your Dean/Director for approval. The following is the statement from the Faculty Handbook (2.14) regarding outside employment:

No faculty member may engage in any outside work which will interfere with the competent performance of the faculty member's professional responsibilities.

Outside work for remuneration, including professional consultation and service, which does not interfere with the competent performance of professional responsibilities to the University may be undertaken if the faculty member notifies the Administration in writing of the proposed outside work prior to its commencement. The notice required hereunder shall include all pertinent details, such as employer, including self-employment, assigned hours or estimated hours and schedule, provided, however, that no such notice is required for occasional, non-professional work which does not cause the absence of the faculty member from assigned professional duties.

If, at a later date, you anticipate a change in your outside employment activity you should submit a new or revised form to the Dean or Director prior to commencement of any work.

Proposal Approval Form

Individuals interested in writing a proposal must confer with their immediate supervisor, who in turn will be responsible for seeing that the request is cleared by the proper individuals to avoid duplication and/or conflicts of interest. Before a proposal is put into final format, a brief narrative (one page maximum) should be submitted to the individual's immediate supervisor. A budget analysis reflecting project costs should also be included. The two page document is then covered with the Proposal Approval Form and routed for signatures to assure proper authorization.

Financial and Administrative Rate (F&A Rate) or Indirect Cost Rate

The Department of Health and Human Services, acting as the cognizant federal agency under the authority or OMB Circular A-88 has by negotiation agreement dated May 18, 2004, established a predetermined rate of 50% that is valid until May 31, 2008.

OMB Circular A-21 defines an F&A Rate as a device "for determining the cost applicable to research and development, training, and other sponsored work performed by colleges and universities under grants, contracts, and other agreements with the Federal Government. It is the ratio (expressed as a percentage) of the indirect costs to a direct cost base." The rate should be applied as instructed in the agreement.

The rate agreement can be downloaded using Acrobat Reader.

• Negotiated Rate Agreement-letter.pdf
• Negotiated Rate Agreement-page1.pdf
• Negotiated Rate Agreement-page2.pdf
• Negotiated Rate Agreement-page3.pdf