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Archived Announcements

October 2024

REMINDER: Academic Actions Deadline to APO

We would like to thank you for your continued efforts in ensuring that all academic actions are submitted to the Academic Personnel Office (APO) following the published APO Personnel Payroll Deadlines.

The APO would like to encourage you to continue submitting your actions as early as possible. Submitting your actions to APO on or before our deadline will allow APO adequate time to complete the review process as well as address/resolve issues in a timely manner.

Any action submitted to APO after the deadline cannot be guaranteed to be processed and paid until the following payday.

Faculty Summer Salary Payments

We are pleased to report that the timeliness and accuracy of this year’s summer salary payments to faculty are greatly improved over the prior year. The Schools received 671 requests for summer salary payments so far this year; of those, 623 were paid on-time (92.8%). These figures include all summer salary requests received between May and July, including submissions received after the deadline. While there is still room for improvement, this is a substantial improvement over 2023, when 66.6% of payments were timely. We are grateful for the efforts of the Summer Compensation Workgroup, Schools, Research Administrators, Academic Personnel Office, and Payroll Office for their significant efforts to achieve this important improvement and outcome for our faculty.

Academic Appointee New Hire and Re-Hire Payroll Guidelines

Regardless of academic title, departments should be managing their hires by following these steps:

  1. Reviewing UC Path (Person Org Summary) to determine the current employment status of an anticipated employee prior to the expected hire date of the job/appointment. The current employment status (both locally and UC wide) should be determined from this review, which will tell the department whether this is a new hire, re-hire, concurrent hire, change of series, promotion or if an MLA is necessary.
  2. Departments need to timely request new hire or re-hire intake requests, if necessary, at least 5 to 10 days BEFORE the expected hire date, to allow for the employee to schedule and complete the onboarding documents prior to the anticipated hire date.
  3. Departments need to ensure a timely and accurate APW is submitted to APO/ pushed through GLAAS so that it is approved and forwarded to Payroll Services no later than the anticipated hire date of the employee. Payroll Services often receive onboarding documents from employees and have to reach out for the APW.
  4. Departments need to follow up with their hires and ensure they have completed onboarding documents before work assignments are given to the employee. There should be no instance where an employee is asked to perform any service of any kind (including training) without confirming completed hire.
  5. Departments should not hold appointments waiting for funding approval. Each department should have a suspense or general fund that can be used while waiting for the approval of specific funding, then Salary Cost Transfers can be processed later. Funding approval is not a reasonable justification for delay.

New Resource: Sample Position Description- Postdoctoral Scholar Series

With the help of Graduate Division, APO create a template position description for the postdoctoral scholar series. The template is available on the APO website under the “Forms” tab. As a friendly reminder, template position descriptions are also available for Academic Researchers and Other Academic Titles under the “Forms” tab.

Postdoctoral Scholar- Proof of Degree

Students who are currently completing their PhD or just finished their PhD that may not have the actual PhD certificate must obtain a conferral letter that they’ve completed all the requirements for their PhD before they can begin a Postdoctoral Scholar position. This letter can be from the Graduate Division or the Registrars’ office.

Details that APO looks for in a conferral letter:

  • Letterhead
  • Dated letter
  • Postdoctoral Scholar’s name
  • Signed by the Graduate Division or Registrar’s office
  • Confirmation language that the requirements for PhD have been completed
  • Date of completion (or use date of letter)
  • Official stamp/seal (preferred, not required)

Please keep in mind that the conferral letter format is not universal, therefore, each institution will compose this differently.

Please ensure that a transcript with the degree date award or an official PhD certificate is received and included in the box folder. This may take several weeks or months to obtain. It will be a requirement for reappointment.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Christine Lima.

Visitor Titles No Longer Requiring APO Review

After careful consideration, APO has delegated final review/approval to the Dean for Visitor titles. To clarify, the new process no longer requires APO review.

This is specific to the Visitor titles in APM 430: Visiting Scholars and Other Visitors. These include the following titles: Visiting Scholar, Visitor (Graduate Student), or Visitor (Undergraduate). Please note the following specific language when considering duration:

"4:30-14 Term of Appointment: Visitors are appointed for short periods not to exceed one-year (12 months), and more typically, for six (6) months or less. The appointment is self-terminating. Reappointment is permitted. The University of California may terminate the appointment without prior notice and withdraw associated privileges."

VPAP Hansford has agreed to a blanket exception for Visiting Grads on fellowship, specifically based on a fellowship letter that requires a duration longer than 12 months.

a reminder, these hires are exempt from recruitment per prior Provost/EVC Camfield's 2017 memo.

APO has agreed to capping COLA at $2K/month, $24K annually, no exceptions.

Updated Academic Student Employee (ASE) and Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) Templates

Please be advised that the ASE and GSR templates have been updated at the request of the Academic Council in collaboration and consultation with the System Labor Relations and the Office of General Counsel and Systemwide Academic Personnel.

The updated templates include Teaching Assistant, Teaching Fellow, Teaching Fellow IoR (Summer Only), Readers, Remedial Tutors and Graduate Student Researchers.

The revisions made to the templates have been made to address and set clear expectations on time and attendance, workload and conduct during their appointment.

The templates for the academic titles referenced above have all been tested and implemented to GLAAS on 9/27/2024 in time for Spring 2025 appointments.

September 2024

With the start of the new academic year, we would like to remind folks about the following policies:

1. Abusive Conduct in the Workplace Policy

Effective January 1, 2023, the University of California issued a new Presidential Policy that defines and prohibits Abusive Conduct in the Workplace. Please refer to the policy (hyperlinked) for definitions, prohibited conduct, responsibilities, and procedures. Additionally, please refer to the following link for more information and how to file a complaint: https://hr.ucmerced.edu/hr-units/employeelabor-relations/abusive-conduct....

2. Anti-Discrimination Policy

Effective February 20, 2024, the University of California issued a new Presidential Policy on Anti-Discrimination that defines and prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation in order to ensure equitable and inclusive education and employment environments. Please refer to the policy (hyperlinked) for definitions, prohibited conduct, responsibilities, and procedures. As provided in the policy, individuals may report to the Local Implementation Officer, any Responsible Employee, or another appropriate office such as the Academic Personnel Office (APO), Student Affairs, Human Resources (HR), or Office of the Provost. For questions regarding this policy, please contact the OPHD & Title IX Director, Kim Overdyck (koverdyck@ucmerced.edu).

We would also like to share some updates from our campus partner, Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD):

1. Accessibility and Disability Rights

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protect qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability. For more information and resources, please refer to the following link: https://ophd.ucmerced.edu/resources/accessibility-and-disability-rights

2. Pregnancy and Parenting

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title VII of the Civil rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex - including pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, and parental status - in education programs, activities, and employment. For more information and resources, please refer to the following link: https://ophd.ucmerced.edu/pregnancy-and-parenting

CAP Meeting Schedule AY 2024-2025

CAP’s Fall 2024 meeting schedule is available on the Academic Senate website:

Fridays from 1:30 – 3:30 pm via Zoom, starting September 27 and ending December 13 (exception: November 29/Thanksgiving week).

Schedule for Academic Personnel Actions

The Schedule for Academic Personnel Actions has been updated to include Career Equity Reviews (CER). The date due from the School to APO is February 1.

Postdoc Anniversary Date

Friendly reminder to check Postdoc Anniversary dates regularly.

Postdocs on an initial two-year appointment will have an anniversary date 12-months from the start date (or their initial start date as a transfer). As the postdoc approaches their 10th month, the PI will need to determine if the “release” portion of the contract will be used; if not, the unit or school staff will need to submit a Postdoc Anniversary Form to payroll to change the anniversary date to 24-months after the start date. Postdocs get 24-days of PTO for the first 12-months of the appointment. When the anniversary date is reset, this triggers UCPath to remove any remining PTO and a new 24-days of PTO. A new 12-days of sick leave will also be added.

Overview of APM 025 Policy Revisions

Please review the following resource for an overview of the recent policy revisions to APM 025- Conflict of Commitment and Outside Activities of Faculty Members and Designated Other Academic Appointees. The slides also discuss prior approval requirements and best practices.

Deadline for Sabbatical Requests – AY 2025-2026

All sabbatical requests for AY 2025-2026 should be submitted to the Academic Personnel Office no later than March 1, 2025. If you have any questions regarding the new deadline, please do not hesitate to contact Esmeralda Martinez at emartinez35@ucmerced.edu.

August 2024

Office Hours: AP Recruit

AP Recruit Office Hours will be held every third Thursday of the month from 11am- 12pm starting on August 15 through the end of the year. Although attendance is optional, we encourage you to stop by to ask questions or to learn from what others are asking. Please note, you may join and leave the meeting at any time.

Updated Template

The Appointment/Offer Letter Template for Academic Research (RA Unit) has been updated and available in BOX.

Faculty Success Resources and APO’s Responsibilities

Friendly reminder that Faculty Success Office Hours are held every Tuesday from 9-10 am. Please stop by anytime during the hour and ask Faculty Success specific questions.

Recently, the schools were delegated the responsibility of updating Faculty Success with case/appointment specific data within the Permanent Data and UCM Employment sections. For your convenience, a procedure and how to video was created. Please email clima4@ucmerced.edu to request access to the video.

APO will continue to lead the following areas in Faculty Success:

  • Roll-Overs: Every July APO will complete what is referred to as a roll-over. This will create a new AY year for the upcoming school year within the UCM Employment History section. All individuals that a new AY year line was not created manually, will be included in the roll-over.
  • Systemwide Salary Range Adjustments: APO will ensure that all accounts are updated with a note of the adjustment as well as the salary details being updated.
  • Add new users: Please email APO at the Faculty Success email the full name, UCM email address, department, title, employee ID to get new users added into the system.
  • Deactivate users: Please email us if an individual has separated. Keep in mind that their account needs to be fully updated prior to requesting an account to be deactivated. Once it is deactivated, it is no longer visible.
  • Scheduled Teaching on large and small scales is also done by APO. Please email clima4@ucmerced.edu.
  • Work requests/Troubleshooting

Readers and Remedial Tutors Do Not Auto-Terminate for Summer and Academic Year

This is to confirm that Reader and Remedial Tutor appointments do not auto-terminate for Summer and Academic Year (Fall or Spring).

School processors need to submit Academic Separation Webform, under the Academic Actions header, preferably 10 days before the end of the appointment with the accurate last day worked and date of separation reflected.

 

July 2024

Change in APO Work Areas in Support of ORUs and ORED

Effective July 1, 2024, job actions for Academic Researchers and Other Academic Titles should be submitted to the following Senior/ Academic Personnel Analyst(s)-

Pam Moody

SSHA

Nordene Smith-Hayles

SOE

Jessica Salas-Mendonca

SNS
Health Science Research Institute (HSRI)

Valley Institute for Sustainability, Technology & Agriculture (VISTA)

Office of Research and Economic Development  (ORED)
 

Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS)

 Community Labor Center  (CLC)                                     
  Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI)  

Christine Lima will continue to take the lead on all postdoc job actions in the ORUs and ORED.

Systemwide Policy Updates

Academic Personnel Policy Issuance: APM - 710

Issued May 31, 2024, by Provost and Executive Vice President Katherine S. Newman, revised Academic Personnel Manual (APM) Section 710, Leaves of Absence/Paid Sick Leave/Paid Medical Leave, is effective January 1, 2025. For reference, the issuance letter and revised policy can also be found on the Academic Personnel and Programs website.

Key Policy Revisions

  • Expands eligibility for paid sick leave accruals or a paid sick leave bank to certain policy covered academic appointees, including ensuring that all part-time academic appointees have access to paid sick leave;
  • Expands the reasons for which an academic appointee may use paid sick leave;
  • Provides protected paid sick leave, meaning that the academic appointee is entitled to take the leave for a qualifying reason;
  • Provides paid medical leave to Agronomists, Astronomers, and Curators who have a fulltime appointment for at least a full academic year;
  • Extends the period during which paid sick leave may be reinstated if an appointee is reemployed after a separation from employment;
  • Updated the policy title to clarify that the policy applies to paid sick leave.

Faculty Acceptances, Faculty Separations and Updating the Senate Faculty Tracking Sheet

Faculty Acceptances

  • School Academic Personnel Leads are to send a copy of signed offer letter to Esmeralda Martinez, Jessica Salas-Mendonça (for APO systems updates) and their APO Senior Analyst
  • Include a copy of the new faculty’s current CV or provide a Box link where the corresponding CV may be located
  • Update the Current Senate Faculty Tracking Sheet: Two tabs need to be updated, ‘New Faculty’ and “Searches underway’

Faculty Separations

  • School Academic Personnel Leads are to notify Esmeralda Martinez, Jessica Salas-Mendonça (for APO systems updates) and their APO Senior Analyst of any confirmed faculty separations
  • Include a copy of the resignation notification provided by faculty as acknowledged by the dean
  • Update the Current Senate Faculty Tracking Sheet: One tab needs to be updated, ‘Confirmed Departures’

Postdoctoral Scholar Childcare Reimbursement Program

This program became effective October 1, 2023. Details about the program are at this link. For reimbursement requests to be accepted and processed, the receipts and UBEN-255 form will need to be emailed to academicpersonnel@ucmerced.edu by the posted deadlines, the next deadline has highlighted below:

Dates Expenses Occurred: Submission Deadline:
October 1-December 31 January 31
January 1-March 31 April 30
April 1-June 30 July 31
July 1-September 30 October 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated Template: Unit 18 Pre-Six Layoff Notice

Please see the updated Unit 18 Pre-Six Layoff Notice with a Department signature block added, available in BOX. Kindly ensure that all layoff notices include the appropriate Department signature.

End Dates Reports

To ensure upcoming job actions are managed in a timely manner, APO highly encourages schools/ departments to run weekly end dates reports via UCPath Cognos. APO has created the following resource to assist the schools and departments in the process of running end dates reports: How to Run End Dates Report in Cognos.

Late GSR Submissions

Given the number of late GSR summer appointment submissions, Graduate Division has advised that the schools will need to notify graduate students that have been impacted with a message about when they can expect to receive their paycheck. This process should be followed going forward. Schools/Departments may run a UCPath Cognos DOPE (Distribution of Payroll Expense) report to compare what you expected the employee to receive for the pay cycle, against what was submitted for processing. Academic Payroll Services has the following Job Aid resource on understanding the DOPE report.

Timely Onboarding

APO has noticed that we have had to calculate numerous additional pays across all schools due to academic appointees not completing their intake paperwork on or before their appointment start date. As a friendly reminder, schools must confirm completion of new hire intake paperwork. The documents that fulfill the requirements of employment are completed with Payroll Services on or before the first day of employment. Please note, an individual is not authorized to perform services for the University until completion of the hire (or re-hire) documents.

 

June 2024

Sherry Coane’s Retirement Announcement

It is with a bittersweet sentiment that we announce Sherry Coane will be retiring from the Academic Personnel Office (APO), effective June 27, 2024.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Sherry for her 23 years of service and for supporting the successes of UC Merced’s academic appointees. She has been a crucial member of the APO team, and we highly value her efforts toward supporting the School of Engineering (SoE) and the ORUs. More recently, Sherry has been working diligently toward sharing her depth of knowledge around all aspects of her work, with a focus on represented Postdoctoral Scholars and Academic Researchers.

Thank you, Sherry, for your incredible contributions to the APO. We will certainly miss you and would like to extend our warmest wishes as you embark on this new chapter in life.

Moving forward, Nordene Smith-Hayles will serve as a business partner to the SoE and ORED, including ORU actions.

Systemwide Policy Updates

Academic Personnel Policy Issuance: APM - 285, Professor of Teaching Series

Issued May 1, 2024, by Provost and Executive Vice President Katherine S. Newman, revised Academic Personnel Manual (APM) Section 285, Professor of Teaching Series, is effective immediately. For reference, the issuance letter and revised policy can also be found on the Academic Personnel and Programs website.

Key Policy Revisions

  • Change in title for the “Lecturer with Security of Employment” (LSOE) title series to “Professor of Teaching.” The revised title for the series is reflective of the professional and scholarly achievements required for promotion in the series and aligns with the naming convention of Senate titles. The current LSOE titles will be mapped to the new Professor of Teaching titles as follows:
    •  Lecturer with Potential Security of Employment = Assistant Professor of Teaching
    • Lecturer with Security of Employment = Associate Professor of Teaching
    • Senior Lecturer with Security of Employment = Professor of Teaching
  • This revision also includes the removal of Appendix A. Appendix A was created with the substantive revisions to APM - 285 issued in 2018 to allow a transition period to the new criteria for those LSOE faculty appointed prior to October 1, 2018. The transition period allowed in the APM ended June 30, 2023.

Academic Personnel Policy Issuance: APM - 035, Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Issued May 3, 2024, by Provost and Executive Vice President Katherine S. Newman, revised Academic Personnel Manual (APM) Section 035, Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment, is effective retroactive to January 1, 2024. For reference, the issuance letter and revised policy can also be found on the Academic Personnel and Programs website.

Key Policy Revisions

  • The revisions add nondiscrimination for off-duty cannabis use consistent with Assembly Bill 2188, which added Section 12954 to the Government Code.
  • In addition, Appendix A was deleted and incorporated into policy, and language regarding pay transparency from the systemwide Anti-Discrimination Policy was moved to the APM because the new Anti-Discrimination Policy, issued effective February 20, 2024, applies to students and other nonemployees.

2024-25 Academic Salary Plan

UC Office of the President is implementing a salary increase budget of 4.2 percent for policy-covered staff and academic appointees at all locations. Please note, this salary program is contingent on the outcome of the State budget allocation. In the event the current budget expectations are significantly altered, UC Office of the President will provide an updated announcement at that time. Excluded from this program are staff employees and academics appointees who are represented by our various unions as their wages are governed by collective bargaining unit agreements. This information can also be found under the News tab of the APO website.

Overview of the 2024-25 Program

  • The overall salary scales for policy-covered academic appointees will be raised by 4.2% and will include modest smoothing to the scales to continue consistent increments between steps.
  • The annual academic merit review process to determine reappointments, as well as adjustments in rank and step will continue.
  •  There will be no increases off-scale salaries. Above-scale salaries will be increased by the same amount as the on-scale increase for Professor Step IX.
  • In line with established processes, for Senate Faculty the adjustment to the academic salary scales will be effective October 1, 2024, and July 1, 2024, for other policy-covered academic appointees.

Other non-represented academic appointees

  • The scales for policy covered non-faculty academic appointees (which includes policy-covered librarians and academic researchers) will be increased by a general range adjustment of 4.2% on July 1, 2024 for monthly paid or July 7, 2024 (the first pay period commencing after July 1, 2024) for biweekly paid academic appointees (the precise amount will vary due to rounding). Scales with ranges will be increased in a similar fashion.

Academic Actions Deadline to APO

We would like to thank you for your continued efforts in ensuring that all academic actions are submitted to the Academic Personnel Office (APO) following the published APO Personnel Payroll Deadlines.

The APO would like to encourage you to continue submitting your actions as early as possible. Submitting your actions to APO on or before our deadline will allow APO adequate time to complete the review process as well as address/resolve issues in a timely manner.

Deadline for any actions on:

June 1-June 30 (Paid July 1) --> May 24th

July 1-July 31 (Paid August 1) --> June 24th

August 1-August 31 (Paid August 31) --> July 22nd

Any action submitted to APO after the deadline cannot be guaranteed to be processed and paid until the following payday.

GLAAS 4.11 Release

On 5/29/2024, GLAAS underwent another maintenance to implement 4.11 enhancements and features.

Please note, this GLAAS version has important updates to comply with new contracts negotiated with ASE/GSR/Unit 18 Lecturers. New Written Notice of Appointment templates have been uploaded and available for Academic Student Employees (ASEs): Teaching Assistants (TA), Teaching Fellows (TF), Teaching Fellow IoR (TF IoR), Readers and Remedial Tutors to reflect Department Chairs as signees.

Here you will find the list of GLAAS 4.11 enhancements (also sent to all GLAAS users via email on 5/29/2024 and a screenshot was shared on the same day.)

Process for AY24/25 Eligibility Letters

We ask the schools to please include the signed-off eligibility letters in a Box folder by June 30, 2024. The following APO team members should be granted access to the folder:

  • Pam Moody
  • Jessica Salas-Mendonça
  • Nordene Smith-Hayles
  • Christine Lima

Verification of Employment (VOE)

VOE requests have been delegated to the schools, effective immediately. Please complete these requests by pulling information via UCPath. If requests require additional information that schools do not have access to, please contact the Academic Personnel Office.

 

May 2024

APO Staffing Updates

We are excited to announce that APO has hired three new staff. Please join us in welcoming our new team members:

On February 5, 2024, Samantha (Sam) Rolon joined APO as an Academic Labor Analyst. Sam is responsible for union inquiries and academic grievances. She comes to us with eleven years of experience in academic personnel from UC San Diego.

 On February 20, 2024, Jessica Salas-Mendonça joined APO as a Senior Academic Personnel Manager. Jessica serves as a business partner to the School of Natural Sciences and oversees academic personnel systems (ACRS, Faculty Success, GLAAS and UC OATS). She comes to us with thirteen years of experience in academic personnel from Stanford University, School of Medicine. On April 15, 2024, Nordene Smith-Hayles joined APO as a Senior Academic Personnel Analyst. Nordene serves as a business partner to the School of Engineering and ORED. She comes to us with seventeen years of experience in academic personnel from UC Riverside.

 

We are excited to see our new team members apply their experience and contribute to the continued success of the APO.

 

Systemwide Policy Updates

Academic Personnel Policy Issuance: APM - 210, Review and Appraisal Committees

Issued March 25, 2024, by Provost and Executive Vice President Katherine S. Newman, revised Academic Personnel Manual (APM) Section 210, Review and Appraisal Committees, is effective immediately. The revised APM - 210 may be found online on the Academic Personnel and Programs website. Summarized below are the key policy revisions.

Key Policy Revisions

The approved revisions include substantive changes to the following APM - 210 sections:

  • 210-1 Instructions to Review Committees That Advise on Actions Concerning Appointees in the Professor and Corresponding Series;
  • 210-2 Instructions to Review Committees That Advise on Actions Concerning the Professor of Clinical (e.g., Medicine) Series;
  • 210-3 Instructions to Review Committees That Advise on Actions Concerning the Lecturer with Security of Employment Series;
  • 210-4 Instructions to Review Committees That Advise on the Appointment, Merit Increase, Promotion, Career Status Actions for Members of Librarian Series;
  • 210-6 Instructions to Review Committees That Advise on Actions Concerning the Health Sciences Clinical Professor Series.

These changes include:

  • Addition of language concerning the consideration of mentoring to criteria and assessment: The policy revisions include additional language concerning the consideration of mentoring, as a component of teaching and as a form of service, to criteria and assessment for the Professor, Professor of Clinical (e.g., Medicine), Lecturer with Security of Employment, and Health Sciences Clinical Professor Series. The revised language clarifies that mentoring is a component of teaching, that it is not a separate criterion or a requirement for advancement, and that it does not replace the provision of formal instruction or intensive tutorial instruction. The revised language also clarifies that while mentoring alone generally does not satisfy the requirement for University and public service, certain mentoring activities could be documented as service.
  • Revisions to text on evaluation and evidence of teaching and mentoring effectiveness: The policy revisions include additional language concerning the evaluation and evidence of teaching and mentoring effectiveness for the Professor, Professor of Clinical (e.g., Medicine), Lecturer with Security of Employment, and Health Sciences Clinical Professor Series. Campuses are responsible for developing local guidelines for evaluating mentoring and sharing these guidelines with candidates and reviewing bodies.
  • Modification of existing language regarding contributions to diversity, equal opportunity, and equal access to education to reflect recognition of contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging: This revision has been approved in sections of the policy relevant to the Professor, Professor of Clinical (e.g., Medicine), Lecturer with Security of Employment, Librarian, and Health Sciences Clinical Professor Series.
  • Recognition of contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the review process for the Librarian Series: The policy revisions include language recognizing contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the review process for policy-covered librarians. The revised language clarifies that such contributions will be given due recognition in the academic review process, but that they are not a separate criterion or a requirement for advancement in the Librarian Series.

 

Systemwide Review of Proposed Revisions to APM - 016

The University invites comments on proposed revisions to the following policy:

APM - 016, University Policy on Faculty Conduct and the Administration of Discipline

Summarized below are the proposed key policy revisions that are being distributed for systemwide review.

Key Policy Revisions

The policy revisions respond to the need to revise APM - 016 to address the handling of simultaneous academic misconduct investigations and personnel actions and include:

  • Pause on Academic Personnel Review Actions: At the beginning of a formal investigation of alleged misconduct by a faculty member, if the Chancellor (or Chancellor’s designee) finds that any of the alleged misconduct is relevant to the assessment criteria for academic personnel review actions, the Chancellor (or Chancellor’s designee) may impose a no-fault pause on any current or future academic personnel action (e.g., for merit, promotion, or advancement) of that faculty member. Locations are responsible for developing implementation procedures that address at what stage in existing local procedures the pause occurs and that identify the offices that have responsibility for providing written confirmation of the pause to the respondent, giving a respondent periodic updates on the status of the investigation, and for notifying relevant administrators of the beginning and end of the pause.
  • Conclusion of the pause: The pause will end when the investigative and disciplinary processes are concluded. In the event of a disciplinary process following a formal investigation, the pause will end when a final decision is made whether to impose disciplinary sanctions. The academic personnel process may then proceed according to campus procedures.
  • Assistant Professors in Year 8: If the investigative and disciplinary processes are not concluded by the beginning of the faculty member’s eighth year of service at the rank of Assistant Professor (or a combination of equivalent titles), the Chancellor is authorized to recommend to the President that the appointment be extended beyond the eighth year, in accordance with Regents Bylaw 40.3(c).

The proposed APM - 016 is posted to the Academic Personnel and Programs website under the “Systemwide Review” tab.

Please submit your comments, no later than July 8, 2024, to VP-ACADEMICPERSONNEL@ucop.edu and indicate “APM - 016” in the subject line. If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Woolston, Associate Director, Academic Policy and Policy Exceptions, at Rebecca.Woolston@ucop.edu.

 

Updated Templates

The Dean's Appointment/Offer Letter Templates for the Assistant Professor and Assistant Teaching Professor series have been updated and are available in BOX.  

 

GLAAS 4.10 Release

On 4/10/2024, GLAAS underwent a maintenance to implement 4.10 enhancements and features.

Please note, this GLAAS version has important updates to comply with new contracts negotiated with ASE/GSR/Unit 18 Lecturers.

Here you will find the list of GLAAS 4. 10 enhancements (also sent to all GLAAS users via email on 4/10/2024 and a screenshot was shared on 4/11/2024.)

 

GLAAS Approval Workflow

Beginning Fall 2024, Department Chairs will be included in the GLAAS approval workflow for Academic Student Employee (ASE): Teaching Assistant, Teaching Fellow, Reader and Remedial Tutor Appointment.

As a friendly reminder, Time Reporting System (TRS) requires both Primary and Secondary Approvers.

 

TRS Reviewers/Approvers

 

TRS Reviewers/Approvers

Academic Student Employees (ASEs) (TA, TF, Readers and Remedial Tutors)

 

Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs)

Reviewer/Approver: Instructor of Record

 

Reviewer/Approver: Principal Investigator (PI)

Secondary: Dean or designee

 

Secondary: Dean or designee

Backup: Department Chair or designee

 

Backup: Department Chair or designee

 

As per the ratified UAW contract, Academic Student Employees (ASE) and Graduate Student Researchers (GSR) are now required to complete and submit monthly time records in TRS.

Per Article 18 section C.1. of that contract, ASEs shall be eligible for "up to three (3) days of paid leave for semester campuses". Readers and Tutors already complete time records and will also be afforded this new leave provision. Such leave usage shall be prorated based on percent time of appointment.

For GSRs, it has been determined that Instructors of Record will be their Principal Investigators. Article 17 section C.1. provides the same language as that for ASEs.

Additionally, per Article 23 of the GSR contract, "personal time off shall be up to twelve (12) workdays for a full twelve-month period", and is also prorated based on appointment percent time. This equates to 5 days per semester and 2 days over the summer period.

 

Office Hours: GLAAS and ASE/GSR/Unit 18 Faculty

GLAAS and ASE/GSR/Unit 18 Faculty Office Hours will be held weekly on Wednesdays from 9-10 am starting on April 24th. Please stop by if you have any questions.

 

Office Hours: Summer Salary

Summer Salary Office Hours are held weekly on Mondays and Fridays from 1:30-2:20 pm and Tuesdays and Thursday from 10:30-11:20 am, through the end of August. Although attendance is optional, we encourage you to stop by to ask questions or to learn from what others are asking. Please note, you may join and leave the meeting at any time.

 

Faculty Success Data Entry Procedure

Friendly reminder, APO now has multiple resources to assist the schools with the Faculty Success data entry process. We encourage you to actively engage and utilize the valuable resources below:

  • Office Hours are held every Tuesday from 9-10 am. We encourage you to stop by and ask any Faculty Success related questions.
  • APO also composed a comprehensive guide. The procedure document includes detailed screenshots and explanations to facilitate your understanding of the data entry process.
  • Additionally, APO produced a new Faculty Success Data Entry Training Video structured in alignment with the procedure document. Due to the sensitive nature of the content, access to the video is restricted to individuals directly involved in Faculty Success data entry. If you wish to access the video, please reach out to Christine Lima. Please note that maintaining the confidentiality of this video is crucial to our operations.

 

April 2024 

Abusive Conduct in the Workplace Policy

Effective January 1, 2023, the University of California issued a new Presidential Policy that defines and prohibits Abusive Conduct in the Workplace. Please refer to the policy (hyperlinked) for definitions, prohibited conduct, responsibilities, and procedures. Additionally, please refer to the following link for more information and how to file a complaint: https://hr.ucmerced.edu/hr-units/employeelabor-relations/abusive-conduct-workplace.

Anti-Discrimination Policy

Effective February 20, 2024, the University of California issued a new Presidential Policy on Anti-Discrimination that defines and prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation in order to ensure equitable and inclusive education and employment environments. Please refer to the policy (hyperlinked) for definitions, prohibited conduct, responsibilities, and procedures. As provided in the policy, individuals may report to the Local Implementation Officer (Kim Overdyck), any Responsible Employee, or another appropriate office such as the Academic Personnel Office (APO), Student Affairs, Human Resources (HR), or Office of the Provost. The individual or office that receives the report must then report to OPHD. For questions regarding this policy, please contact the OPHD & Title IX Director, Kim Overdyck (koverdyck@ucmerced.edu).

OATS Category I Approval Term

The current policy on Conflict of Commitment and Outside Activities of Faculty Members, APM -025, states Category I approvals are generally for one fiscal year but may be granted for a longer term, not to exceed five years. After careful consideration, Leadership has confirmed that UCM will grant Category I approvals for up to three years, consistent with other campuses practice. The OATS FAQ webpage has been updated to reflect this change.

New Clarifications and Policy Revisions - Academic Conflict of Commitment and Outside Activities

Effective March 1, 2024, the Outside Activities Tracking System (OATS) was updated based on policy changes effective July 1, 2024.

· Cover Letter

· APM - 025 Policy Revisions

· APM - 671 Policy Revisions

Ethics, Compliance and Audit Services (ECAS), UC Legal, and UC Academic Personnel and Programs created the two infographics on these changes.

· New Clarifications and Policy Revisions - Academic Conflict of Commitment and Outside Activities

· How to Identify a Non-US Talent Recruitment Program

Faculty Success Training

Faculty Success Data Entry Training was conducted on April 2nd. Schools are now responsible for updating their faculty member’s data within Faculty Success. If you were unable to attend the training, please reach out to a colleague for assistance. The session was recorded, APO will notify you when the recording will be released, how it can be found, and who is allowed to few the confidential video. Also, please stay tuned for additional information regarding all questions that were asked during the training and a procedure guide.

Faculty Success Office Hours

Faculty Success Office Hours will be held weekly on Tuesdays from 9-10 am starting on April 16th . Please stop by if you have any questions.

GSR Salaries for Summer 2024

We noticed an increase in requests for estimated Summer 2024 salary for Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs).

As a friendly reminder, school processors may generate the summer salaries for Summer 2024 by following these steps.

New Hire Documents Update for Postdoctoral Scholars

The Postdoctoral Scholar Offer and Notice of Appointment/Reappointment Template has been updated to include the information regarding completion of New Hire documents. Effective immediately, please ensure that you are using the correct template. If your school houses the templates in a personal folder, please make necessary updates.