Labor-Management Committee – RTP and Merit Policies Communication

September 7, 2016

Dear BGSU Faculty:

As members of the joint Labor-Management Committee formed under the new collective bargaining agreement, we wanted to provide a quick update on our recent work on RTP and Merit policies.

The new CBA requires both minor and substantive changes in RTP and Merit policies at BGSU. Our objective is to provide a plan for making this a smooth transition. We are aware that some academic units have completed work on both policy documents whereas other units have not. We also recognize that a plan that anticipates the possibility of changes to RTP and Merit policies in future contracts could help reduce unnecessary effort by faculty members and faculty administrators down the road.

Based on these considerations, and with the endorsement of the Provost and the President of the BGSU-FA, we will soon be distributing information on dividing both the RTP and Merit policies into two linked documents:

• Part I: CBA-Required Processes. Part I will specify those aspects of the policy process as required by the CBA. All academic units must follow the process included in this document. Current changes (as required by the new collective bargaining agreement) and future changes (if required by future collective bargaining agreements) will be provided centrally and will not require any additional efforts by the academic units.


• Part II: Unit Academic Expectations/Standards and Local Processes. This document will include each academic unit’s approved expectations and standards of performance for reappointment, promotion, and tenure and merit for its RTP and Merit policies, respectively, as well as optional process language permitted by the CBA (e.g., faculty involvement in APR process). This section more simply and clearly communicates academic standards and expectations to faculty members, faculty administrators, and external reviewers. Future changes to academic expectations and standards, independent of required changes to policy process/procedure, should be an easier task.
  

For those academic units who have approved RTP and Merit policies, the transition to the forthcoming Part II: Academic Expectations/Standards and Local Processes will be a straightforward cut-and-paste effort that should be relatively easy to accomplish. For those academic units who are currently working to finalize their RTP and/or Merit policies, please continue to work on finalizing your academic expectations and standards for reappointment, promotion, tenure and merit for approval, which then can be easily cut and pasted into the forthcoming document.

Our committee hopes to share in the very near future the final version of the two linked documents for both the RTP and Merit policies for your use in finalizing your policy documents.

Sincerely,

Bill Balzer, Co-Chair
Phil Stinson, Co-Chair
Sara Bushong
Steve Demuth
Julie Haught
Ted Rippey