B.  Faculty Research Assistants

   1.  Academic Rank

      a.  Purpose  

            The ranks of Faculty Research Assistant and Senior Faculty Research Assistant are used for key support faculty members engaged in research. The positions require at least a Bachelor's degree, but not a doctoral degree, appropriate to the field in which the research is being conducted.

OSU uses the rank of FRA for positions which vary considerably both in scope and level of professional responsibilities. Faculty Research Assistants work with some, but often minimal, supervision in accomplishing the tasks assigned to them.  They are expected to be creative and innovative in fulfilling their jobs and to be contributing members of their research teams.  FRAs share responsibility with the rest of the faculty in carrying out the missions and programs of the University.  

      b.  Job Description and Position Description  

      At the time of recruiting, all University positions are required to have a job description stating clearly the responsibilities of the job.  With academic positions, duties may only be generally defined since faculty are expected to apply their own innovation to achieve the aims of their position. A copy of  all new job descriptions at the time of recruitment is maintained by the Office of  Affirmative Action.  A copy is also kept in your department personnel file.  If you feel that your job has changed since you were hired, discuss the changes with your supervisor at your annual review (or at any time).  Agreed upon changes should be recorded in your file for future salary considerations as well as for future references.

      Copies of current job descriptions and cvs are filed in the department office.  These should be updated annually.

      The position description is not the same as the job description. Position description, as listed on your Notice of Appointment, refers to the University category for your type of position, e.g. research, academic support.  

      c.  Funding, Appointments and Salaries  

      Understanding how grant funding affects the terms of employment is very important for the FRA, both initially and throughout the length of employment.  Your supervisor should keep you informed as to the status of your funding.  Most FRAs are funded from grants or contracts ('soft money') from sources external to the University and of limited, but usually specified, duration.  This is in contrast to most professorial faculty who are supported directly by the State.  For most FRAs, the length of their employment will depend on the particular grant(s) from which they are paid.  They therefore have a 'fixed-term appointment.'  The fixed term of the appointment is specified in the Notice of Appointment.  Appointments are made for a maximum of one year, but may be for less.  Fixed-term appointments are renewable subject to program needs, funding, and satisfactory service.  FRAs are not eligible for tenure, which is granted only to faculty members in the rank of senior instructor, associate professor, and professor.

      Although FRAs are paid from grant monies, grantors do not control FRA salary increase or working conditions.  A grant given to OSU is administered according to OSU rules.  Principal investigators should consider cost-of-living and merit pay increases when budgeting grants.  Occasionally, salary increase will be delayed or even eliminated due to funding and/or budgetary problems.  In some instances, time off for outside activities and classes will have to be limited in order to meet the terms of the grant.  

      The Notice of Appointment is your official employment notice agreement with Oregon State University.  It is issued with your initial appointment and then annually at the beginning of the fiscal year in July.  It legally binds the University to employ you for the period specified.  The University may not terminate the appointment prior to its completion except in very special circumstances and for very specific reasons (see: Termination and Resignation). The Notice of Appointment provides annual salary rate and full-time equivalent (FTE) at the time the notice was issued, and other information related to the faculty member's compensation and period of appointment. An Attachment, which is part of the Notice of Appointment, gives summaries of principal conditions of employment. Copies are available from the Office of Human Resources.

Salaries  

The University has no uniform system for determining FRA salaries, although a minimum recommended salary level has been established.  Salaries offered are subjectively based on job requirements, applicant qualifications, number of applicants, value of employee continuity, funding availability, etc.  Salary negotiation is possible, especially when a salary range is offered.  

Salary increases are normally determined by the State Legislature and the State Board of Higher Education which sporadically offer cost of living increases and usually a discretionary merit salary increase.  Salaries can be renegotiated, especially if job responsibilities or personal skills have increased, or if salary is below other similar positions.  All faculty salaries are public information, available in the reserve book room  at the Valley Library.  

Salaried employees with exempt overtime status do not receive paid overtime.  However, in most cases, flexibility in working hours is possible.  If you believe that you are putting in excessive overtime without reasonable compensation, discuss the matter with your supervisor.  If the matter cannot be resolved, follow the normal grievance procedures.  

2.  Mentoring

      a.  Informal  

      An informal mentoring process is available for all FRAs within the Department.  This service is on a volunteer basis.  Senior FRAs and long-established FRAs have agreed to make themselves available to new employees to provide information regarding the workings of our department, the university, and our community.  Our hope is to enable better networking between the FRAs to facilitate research efforts and departmental cohesiveness.  The current contact person for FRAs is  Sherry Pittam (7-6606).  

      An e-mail list for research faculty is also available through the department.  Contact the receptionist in the departmental office to have your e-mail address added to this list.  Information such as seminar notices are regularly sent out.  All faculty research assistants and associates are included on this list, which can be used for both research and social information or questions.  

      Each fall, the FRAs gather for a pizza lunch in the departmental coffee room.  This informal meeting is also designed to familiarize new FRAs with their colleagues.  Notices will be sent out via the bpp-research e-mail list.  

           b.  Formal  

      Following notification of intent by the faculty member, a formal mentoring process for FRAs seeking promotion to the rank of Senior FRA is initiated.  Please see the information listed under Promotion in this section.  

3.  Promotion  

Faculty Research Assistants can be promoted to the rank of Senior FRA in acknowledgement of distinguished professional service.  Promotion is not automatic, nor is it granted for years of service alone.  The OSU criteria for promotion are stated below.

Promotion from Faculty Research Assistant to Senior Faculty Research Assistant may be considered after four years of service. To be promoted, a candidate must:

• have a graduate degree appropriate to the field in which the research activities are performed, or comparable educational or professional experience;
• demonstrate a high level of competence, achievement, and potential in research, or serve effectively in a position requiring high individual responsibility or special professional expertise; and
• demonstrate a high degree of initiative in research and leadership among research colleagues in the department, as documented in authorship, management responsibilities, and creative approaches to research.

The Department's current operating procedures are as follows:

In the Spring of each year, the P & T Executive Committee request candidate's wishing to be considered for promotion next year to notify their supervisor and the P & T Executive Committee.  The following September, a mentoring committee comprised of one P & T Committee member and one SFRA is appointed to advise the candidate on dossier preparation. The senior FRA will be present for discussion of the file with the P & T Committee.

      Within the department's P & T Guidelines, extensive instructions are listed for preparation of this dossier.  The dossier should contain:

a) A position description outlining responsibilities;

b) A c.v. emphasizing scholarly accomplishments in the current position;

c) A two page statement from the candidate summarizing the reasons for seeking promotion;

d) A supporting letter from the supervising faculty member;

      Additional material, which will be used by the Department's P & T Committee, includes:

e) 3-5 publications;

f) suggested names of referees;

g) other supportive documentation chosen by the candidate

 In preparation of the cv, FRA involvement in teaching (guest lectures, training sessions, or laboratory demonstrations) should be included.  Also, the section for scholarship and creative activity should include as much information as possible since this is where most FRAs make their largest contributions. You should start your dossier soon after beginning employment as a faculty member.  It helps to keep a running list of meetings, grants, reports, awards, publications, and any other activities with which you are involved.  These activities should not be limited to only your participation within the department, but should also document your involvement within the university and the community.

In early October, the candidate's dossier is presented to the Department P&T Committee, which is all faculty tenured in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology.  The candidate's file will also be evaluated by the Department Senior FRA's, who will prepare a letter of evaluation addressed to the Chair of P & T Executive Committee, which will be included in the dossier.  If this first evaluation is positive (2/3 vote), the P & T Committee will seek additional letters of evaluation, and schedule a final vote on the candidate in early December.  If the second vote is positive, the completed dossier will be forwarded to the Dean of the appropriate College in early January, and the outcome should be know by the following June.

At all stages of preparation and until the dossier is sent to the College, the dossier is open (except for external letters which may be covered by the waiver of access, see below) to the candidate for review and to make any changes or revisions.  The candidate will be given the opportunity to sign a waiver of access to external letters of evaluation solicited by the P & T Committee.

FRAs may also advance their careers by applying for other positions within their own or other departments.  All opening are filed with the Office of Affirmative Action and are listed in the Faculty and Staff Newsletter "OSU This Week" and at their website (http://osu.orst.edu/admin/hr/jobs).  

4.  Annual Reviews  

University regulations require appropriate reviews of all faculty members, including those on fixed term appointments.  Reviews provide a basis for recommendations regarding salary and all other conditions of appointment for the following year.  

a.  Guidelines for Periodic Review of Faculty  

A regular review of faculty can improve the quality of the teaching, research, and service functions of the University. In addition, it will benefit individual faculty members by assuring that they are regularly informed of their status. The written summary of the review shall be provided to the faculty member which they are required to sign. The faculty member shall have ample opportunity to add written rebuttals or explanations which will be included in their personnel file.  

b.  Frequency of Review 

The procedure for the actual review is best developed by the individual school, college, or division. Nevertheless, certain guidelines are appropriate for the University as a whole. All faculty with an FTE of 0.5 or more shall be reviewed as follows: 

1) Those on annual tenure shall be reviewed annually.

2) Those on indefinite tenure shall be reviewed as follows:

a) Assistant and Associate Professors shall be reviewed annually during their second through fifth years in rank at OSU and during any period in which they are reviewed intensively for promotion in rank. Otherwise, they shall be reviewed at least once every three years.

b) Professors and tenured Senior Instructors shall be reviewed at least once every three years.

3) Those on fixed-term Senior Research professorial appointments shall be reviewed as described for faculty with indefinite tenure.

4) Other faculty on fixed-term appointments, including those faculty without rank, other fixed-term faculty with professorial rank not described in (3), Instructors, Faculty Research Assistants, Senior Faculty Research Assistants, untenured Senior Instructors, and Research Associates, shall be reviewed annually during their first five years of service; during any period in which they are being reviewed intensively for promotion in rank or (for faculty without rank) advancement in professional title; and at least once every three years thereafter.

5) Faculty on multi-year or extended fixed-term appointments shall be reviewed annually. 

However, no periodic review is required for the following faculty members on fixed-term appointments:
     *Emeritus appointments
     *Temporary postdoctoral appointments
     *Visiting appointments for two years or less. 

Any faculty member eligible for review is entitled to a review at any time, upon the member's request.  Each school, college, or division shall annually report those members of its faculty reviewed to the Office of Academic Affairs. 

c.  Nature of the Evaluation 

In each instance, the evaluation shall include:

a) a statement of current responsibilities of the faculty member; and

b) signed comments on the faculty member's progress in teaching, research or other scholarly pursuits, extension, librarianship, professionally related service, and University service from those persons designated by the department, school, or University to make the evaluations.  

The sources of information used as the basis for the evaluation should be included. Sources to be used are current and former students, other faculty from this University or other universities, professional colleagues and, if appropriate, the public. In all instances, the evaluation shall be based only on material that is appropriate to the faculty member's profession and the performance of faculty assignments.  

The faculty member must be provided the opportunity of reading and initialing the evaluation and of furnishing written comments, explanations, or a rebuttal to the evaluations to be placed in the faculty member's personnel records file. Disagreements on the contents of the file should be handled through normal University appeal procedures.  

d.  Initiation and Disposition  

The initiation of the review, except one requested by a faculty member, is the responsibility of the department head or chair or the appropriate administrative officer. Principal investigators are reminded that all faculty on their projects, including Faculty Research Assistants, should be reviewed following OSU guidelines. The review and all related materials are to be placed in the faculty member's personnel records file that is maintained by the department.