I. ELECTIONS (see Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Criteria and Procedures for the University Libraries, Section VI.B.1)

B. Members are elected for four-year terms and shall be eligible for re-election. Elections are held in the spring of each year. Terms shall begin July 1.

C. Should a vacancy occur, an election will be held to fill the unexpired term.

D. The current Chair of the Committee (or designee) and the Faculty Secretary shall supervise all elections to the Committee and count the votes. In the event of a tie a new vote shall be taken. The Faculty Secretary shall transmit full election results to the faculty as soon as practicable after the election.

E. The Faculty Secretary shall maintain a current list of faculty eligible for nomination to this Committee. (For eligibility criteria see Section VI B 1 of Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Criteria and Procedures for the University Libraries document.)

F. The Chair of AP&T will issue a call for nominations, along with the list of all eligible faculty members, in the early spring of each year.

G. Regular faculty members may nominate eligible colleagues or themselves for election to the Committee, provided nominees have consented in writing to run. The candidate list shall be distributed to the Libraries’ faculty at least two weeks prior to the election.

II. OFFICERS

A. The Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure has two officers, a Chair and Vice Chair/Chair-elect. A new Vice Chair/Chair-elect is elected each year at the Committee's organizational meeting. Should the Chair resign, the Vice Chair assumes that office and a new Vice Chair/Chair-elect shall be elected.

B. The Chair shall establish agenda and times for the meetings of the Committee. The Chair shall preside at meetings and vote. The Chair shall also act as spokesperson for the Committee and prepare written reports for the Director of Libraries. The Chair appoints all necessary sub- committees and prepares the report of the Sixth-year reviews.

C. The Vice Chair presides in the absence of the Chair, writes reports for the Fourth-year reviews, counts ballots at Committee meetings, and reviews written reports prepared by the Chair when requested to do so. The chair and the Vice-Chair meet with the procedures oversight designee (POD) to set the calendar for the upcoming year.

D. An Affirmative Action Designee shall be appointed annually from the Committee by the Chair at the Committee’s organizational meeting. 

III. AP&T/PROCEDURES OVERSIGHT DESIGNEE RELATIONSHIP

A. The Procedures Oversight Designee, appointed by the Director of Libraries in consultation with AP&T, assists candidates in the preparation of the core of the dossier. (See Section VI B 1 of the Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Criteria and Procedures of the University Libraries document.)

B. The POD distributes to the Committee the lists of faculty members who must be reviewed in the fourth year for tenure candidacy and of faculty members who must be reviewed for tenure in the sixth year.

C. The POD distributes to the Committee a list of names of all tenured faculty who are eligible for consideration for promotion. The POD reminds these faculty of their right to submit a self- nomination for promotion. Nominations for non-mandatory promotion are submitted in writing to the AP&T Committee.

D. The POD and the Vice Chair or other representative of AP&T meet with faculty members who are being reviewed for mandatory review and those considering non-mandatory review. They also meet with those being considered for promotion only. Discussion includes:

1. Requirements for tenure candidacy, tenure, or promotion as appropriate.
2. Documentation requirements (e.g., personnel files, letters of evaluation, etc.).
3. Any questions from the candidates.

E. The POD is responsible for the distribution of the Faculty Annual Report (FAR) forms and instructions to all Library faculty and the instructions for faculty evaluations to appropriate administrative evaluators. AP&T and the POD in consultation with the Director of Libraries set dates for completion of the FAR. The POD reminds all faculty by memo of their responsibility to update their personnel files.

F. The POD is responsible for the filing of documentation into the faculty personnel folders in the Human Resources Office.

IV. GENERAL PROCEDURES

A. Meetings.

1. Meetings are regularly scheduled the first and third Thursdays from 1-3 pm. Meetings may also be called by the Chair whenever deemed necessary to conduct business which falls under the jurisdiction of the Committee.
2. Meetings of the Committee shall be in executive session. Attendance at these meetings for anyone except elected Committee members and the POD shall be by invitation only.
3. A quorum shall be necessary to conduct business at a meeting. A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the members eligible to discuss the case.
4. Any Committee member in the direct reporting line of a candidate is automatically excused from the discussions and the vote on that person. Any Committee member who has written half or more of a candidate’s evaluations or has written an evaluation more recently than three years prior to the review shall be ineligible to participate in the discussion and vote.
5. In all meetings concerning tenure candidacy, tenure, non-renewal, and promotion decisions, all members eligible to vote must vote and should be present during all discussions, if at all possible. Written absentee ballots must be received prior to the meeting in which the the vote is taken. (See Section VI.B.2 of Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Criteria and Procedures for the University Libraries.)

B. Sub-Committees.

1. The Documentation Review Sub-Committee reviews the documents of the Committee, including the Standing Rules, as directed by the Committee. It consists of at least two members.
2. The Sub-Committee on appointments meets with candidates for faculty positions and makes a recommendation to the Chair of the Search Committee and the Director regarding rank at appointment and comments on potential for success as a faculty member. It consists of three members.
3. TheAnnual review sub-committees conduct annual peer reviews of all probationary faculty members. These three-member sub-committees will change each year and may not include persons who write administrative evaluations for, or report to, the probationary faculty member under review. (Section IV.A.2 of Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Criteria and Procedures for the University Libraries.)
4. Visiting committees meet with candidates for sixth-year tenure review to observe and interpret the candidates’ performance in their primary assignment and to discuss research and service. Committees consist of three members:

   a) Two Committee members appointed by the Chair;

   b) One tenured faculty member chosen by the candidate (someone outside the candidate’s yearly evaluation process, not a member of the Committee, and not him/herself under evaluation for promotion).

   (See Guidelines for Visiting Committees to Candidates for Tenure and Section VI.B.3 of the Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Criteria and Procedures for the University Libraries for additional information.)

5. The Recognition sub-committee plans the annual event for recognizing those approved for promotion/tenure during that year.

C. Annual Reviews.

1. Annual reviews of untenured faculty who have been with OSUL at least three quarters are conducted in the spring.
2. The Chair will write a letter to all other new faculty members that will include an explanation of the annual review process, the importance of the personnel file, and other matters which should be called to their attention.

D. Promotion and tenure reviews.

1. All recommendations for promotion must be submitted to the Committee in writing.
2. Committee members review the personnel folders of all candidates for promotion, tenure, and tenure candidacy. Personnel files are available for examination by the Committee in the Human Resources office for at least two weeks prior to the discussions of the cases under consideration and they are available for review any time thereafter.
3. Personnel folders plus the summary vitae of candidates are available at meetings. All members of the Committee participate in the discussion and evaluation of candidates, except as noted in Section IV.A.3 above. Individual faculty members shall be evaluated on their performance in librarianship and teaching; scholarship, creative work and publication; and service. (See Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Criteria and Procedures for the University Libraries document for additional information.)
4. It is the responsibility of the Chair and the POD to ensure that reasoned and fair discussion is held. Vote is by secret ballot. In the event that one member (or more) of the AP & T Committee requests that a vote be postponed to a subsequent meeting, the Chair will automatically postpone the vote on a candidate. Discussion of the case may continue; however, no vote may be taken. Even if a majority of members requests to proceed, the Chair shall postpone the vote and reschedule it. Circumstances which might lead to a request for postponement may include (but are not limited to):

   a) Inadequate information in the candidate’s file

   b) Difference of opinion on information/need for follow-up

   c) New information presented in discussion that requires time for deliberation

   d) A difficult case requiring further reflection

5. After the vote is taken, the Chair (or designee), for cases of sixth-year review or promotion, or the Vice Chair (or designee), for cases of fourth-year review, shall draft a letter summarizing the discussion of the case and justifying the vote. At the next meeting of the committee, the chair (or vice-chair or designee) reads each letter to the committee and asks for comments. The letter is revised as suggested by the committee, and a final written version is communicated as a recommendation to the Director of Libraries. If the Director disagrees with the recommendation the Director must inform the Committee of the reasons for the disagreement.
6. Faculty being considered for tenure and/or promotion shall be informed by the Director of Libraries of the Committee’s recommendation and of the Director’s decision.
7. The Director of Libraries writes the formal letter of recommendation and includes a statement of the Committee’s concurrence or disagreement with that recommendation. The letter, accompanied by appropriate documentation, is submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs.

NOTE: 1) Roberts Rules of Order will be followed after consulting with The Ohio State University Board of Trustees' Rules of the University Faculty, the Office of Academic Affairs Policies and Procedures Handbook, and the OSUL Pattern of Administration.