VCOM Faculty Handbook

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Mission and Objectives	2
of the	2
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine	2
The VCOM Mission as Applied to Faculty	4
VCOM Statement of Commitment to the Students, the Medically Underserved Regions, and the International Community	7
History of the College	8
Accreditation and State Licensure	10
142 E. Ontario Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2864	10
Phone: (888) 626-9262 Email: predoc@osteopathic.org	10
Recruitment Priorities	12
VCOM has a commitment to recruiting additional students from all rural areas. It is VCOM’s commitment to meet the physician shortage in rural areas throughout the Eastern and Mid-United States, especially within Appalachia and the Delta regions as a ...	12
VCOM is committed to producing physicians to meet society's health care needs. VCOM seeks students who are compassionate, knowledgeable, and committed to quality health care for all. The Appalachian outreach and international outreach programs, in w...	12
Location, Community and University Affiliations	13
VCOM Virginia Campus Overview	13
VCOM Carolinas Campus Overview	14
VCOM Auburn Campus Overview	15
VCOM has formed several collaborative research relationships within Auburn University including the Harrison School of Pharmacy, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, the College of Education, and the School of Kinesiology. VCOM’s University collab...	16
The VCOM – Auburn campus operates with a collaborative agreement with Auburn University for education, research, and student activities. This collaboration offers the Auburn campus faculty and students many benefits such as an opportunity to particip...	16
VCOM Louisiana Campus Overview	16
The main campus building is over 90,000 square feet and is situated on a 10-acre campus. Ample parking is available for all VCOM students and faculty. Handicapped and visitor parking is also available. VCOM’s information system provided through ULM...	16
VCOM Libraries	17
VCOM Governance Structure	17
Overview of the Educational Program and the Role of Faculty	27
Notice of Nondiscrimination	29
American with Disabilities Act	29
Faculty Recruitment, Hiring, and Appointment	30
Faculty Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure	33
Faculty Track Classifications	33
Faculty Appointment to an Academic Rank	36
Board Certification Requirements have changed throughout the years and so different levels of Board Certification are appropriate and are according to the year of graduation, to the area of teaching, and to the location of the teaching.	36
 Clinical Track Faculty who teach in the patient care environment at a VCOM affiliated core rotation site must:	37
o hold a current medical license in the state in which they practice with no sanctions; and	37
o have had AOA or ABMS board certification/board eligibility in the specialty being taught at some time in their career. Board eligibility is defined as having a pathway toward board certification or re-certification.	37
 Temporary faculty who teach in the patient care environment at a non-core rotation site must:	37
o hold a current medical license in the state in which they practice with no sanctions.	37
o It is preferred that these faculty have had AOA or ABMS board certification/board eligibility in the specialty being taught at some time in their career; however, it is not required.	37
 Faculty who have completed their MD or DO degree outside the United States and whose clinical practice is limited to the international setting must be fully qualified for their positions according to the laws within that country and must meet the co...	37
Academic Rank	38
Academic rank will be assigned according to the criteria stated under Faculty Appointments and Promotion and is subject to approval by the appropriate Campus Dean, Provost, and final approval of the Board.	38
The Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee	40
Initial Faculty Appointment	40
The Application Process for Initial Appointment	41
The Review Process for Initial Appointment	43
Temporary Initial Appointment	45
The Associate Dean is responsible for reviewing the credentials and licensure of the candidate, ensuring that the candidate has the appropriate basic credential to teach, and awarding the temporary appointment prior to the candidate teaching for VCOM.	45
Appointment Re-Credentialing	45
Appointment Re-Activation	46
Faculty Promotion in Academic Rank	46
Faculty Performance and Service Expectations for Promotion to the Ranks of Instructor, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor	47
Faculty Performance and Service Expectations for Promotion to the Rank of Professor	48
As a private college, VCOM receives no state funding for salary or a retirement plan; therefore, the status of tenure with VCOM is recognition of accomplishment and is not tied to salary, contract, office space, any administrative role or title, or ot...	49
Tenure is not defined by national standards, nor by the Association of University Faculty (who do not define tenure for private institutions). Tenure at VCOM is not defined by any prior legal action that has occurred at a state institution or any oth...	49
To be eligible for tenure, a faculty member must:	50
 Be employed by VCOM and be engaged full-time by VCOM with contributions in teaching, research, scholarly activity, and service. VCOM also values the contributions of education administration and contributions nationally on behalf of VCOM and the os...	50
 Be employed by VCOM for a minimum of seven years as a full-time faculty member at VCOM;	50
 Be awarded the rank of Professor; and	50
o Faculty members seeking both promotion and tenure must formally request consideration of both elements; however, only 1 portfolio is required to be submitted for review by the APT Committee. Tenure is a matter for separate consideration and is made...	50
 Have sustained outstanding performance in the areas of teaching, research (with research funding considered as essential), scholarly activity, professional service and leadership activities, with sustained evaluations at the highest level and who ha...	50
Tenure will not be granted solely upon meeting or exceeding the seven-year period of employment, nor is it granted solely upon attaining the rank of professor. Tenure is reserved only for those reaching the level of professor who have applied for ten...	50
The award of tenure may not exceed seven years. The review for tenure renewal will take place in the sixth year of the award period and will be repeated at seven-year intervals thereafter. Failure to apply or to show sustained outstanding activity i...	50
The VCOM Provost, with approval by the Board, at its discretion, may award a maximum of three years toward tenure upon hiring, if the faculty member was in a tenure track position before coming to VCOM and has achieved years toward tenure. This is a ...	50
Faculty who apply for and are not awarded tenure within seven years may continue as a non-tenured faculty and or may be dismissed at the discretion of the Provost and Board.	50
A faculty member who is denied tenure and continues as a non-tenured faculty may not reapply for tenure for a period of three years.	50
Faculty members seeking both promotion and tenure must formally request consideration of both elements individually. Tenure is a matter for separate consideration and is made apart from promotion in rank.	50
The Process of Applying for Promotion in Rank or Tenure	50
The Review Process for Promotion and Tenure	55
The Review Process for Equity in Promotion and Tenure	57
Honorary Appointments	57
Primary Responsibilities of all Faculty	59
Division Organization and Responsibility	60
Academic Freedom	61
Committees - College Service	62
VCOM Statement on Professional and Ethical Behavior of Faculty	63
American Osteopathic Association’s Code of Ethics	65
Personal Appearance and Professional Dress	69
Faculty Professional and Ethical Policies and Procedures	71
Confidentiality	71
Conflict of Interest	71
Copyright Policy	71
It is the policy of the College to respect the copyright protections provided by federal and state laws, including protections for digital materials and software. It is against College policy for faculty, staff or students to use College equipment or...	71
Copyright is a legal right, grounded in the United States Constitution, that gives the owner of said copyright the exclusive rights to:	72
 Reproduce (make copies of ) the work; and	72
 Modify or prepare derivative works based on the work (Examples of derivative works include translations, transforming printed works into musicals or films, rearrangements of scores, and any other recast, transformation, or adaptation of a work); and	72
 Distribute the work in any format by sale, publication, license, rental, or for free; and	72
 Publicly perform or display the work; and	72
 Authorize others to exercise some or all those rights	72
Intellectual Property of Instructional Materials	72
Instructional materials created as a part of an employee’s position at VCOM is the intellectual property of VCOM. To carry out its mission, VCOM retains a non-exclusive, no-cost license to use, reuse, reproduce, display, distribute, and make derivati...	72
Fair Use Doctrine	72
Duplicating Copyrighted Materials for Instructional Use	73
No Electronic Theft Act	75
Congress enacted the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act in 1997 to facilitate prosecution of copyright violation on the internet. The NET Act makes it a federal crime to reproduce, distribute, or share copies of electronic copyrighted works such as songs,...	75
The NET Act is applicable in situations such as running a file sharing application with outgoing transfers enabled, hosting files on a web account, transferring files through IRC, and other methods of making copyrighted material available over networks.	75
Educational Conflicts of Interest and Recusal	76
Email and Voice Mail	77
Employment of Relatives	77
Fatigue Mitigation	77
Gifts, Gratuities or Rewards	80
Internet Usage	80
Library, Printing and Multi-Media Services	80
Medical Student Patient Care Supervision and Expectations for Performance in Patient Care	80
Medical Treatment of VCOM Students and Employees by VCOM Physician Faculty or Other VCOM Students	85
Off-Campus Consultation or Academic Work	87
Outside Employment	87
Privacy of Employee Records	87
When an employee leaves the institution, only the employee’s personnel file will be maintained and for a period of seven years. No release of information, including those for references, will be made without written consent of the employee, unless ot...	88
Relationship to Students	88
Relationship to the College Community	89
VCOM is a professional osteopathic medical college where expectations of the medical community are often higher than that of the general population. Professional and ethical behaviors are expected of the college students, faculty, and staff always, w...	89
Social Media Policy	89
Cyberbullying	92
Official College Social Media Sites	93
Telephone Calls and Visitors	94
Timely and Regular Attendance	94
Travel	94
Violence in the Workplace Policy	94
VCOM has a policy of zero tolerance for violence in the workplace. Employees who engage in any violence in the workplace or threaten violence in the workplace will be subject to discipline, including immediate termination. Violence includes, but is ...	94
Workplace Site Expectations, Requirements, and Working Remotely	95
Acts of Discrimination, Harassment and Violence	96
Violation of the Discrimination, Harassment, and Violence Policy	96
Discrimination	97
VCOM is committed to providing an academic and employment environment in which all people are treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity. It is the policy of VCOM that no person shall, including on the basis of sex, be discriminated in, or be denied...	97
VCOM’s commitment to the principles of nondiscrimination includes and extends far beyond the federally protected classes and includes, but is not limited to, age, gender, sex, race, color, creed, national origin, religion, ancestry, marital status, pr...	97
Sexual Discrimination	97
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (amending the Higher Education Act of 1965) prohibits discrimination based on sex, including in education programs and activities that receive federal funding. ...	97
Sexual Harassment	97
Sexual Harassment at VCOM is unacceptable behavior and will not be tolerated. Sexual harassment is defined by the Title IX Final Rule as “Conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies one or more of the following:	97
 An employee of the College conditioning the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of the College on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual contact; or	98
 Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the College’s education program or activity; or	98
 Sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking.”	98
Sexual harassment includes unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other intimidating verbal or written communications, or physical conduct of a sexual nature toward a student and/or employee, by a person of authority or influence ov...	98
 Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with work performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or learning environment.	98
 Such conduct emphasizes the sexuality or sexual identity of the employee or student in a manner that prevents or impairs that person’s full enjoyment of employment or educational benefits, climate, or opportunities.	98
Violence	98
Reporting Acts of Discrimination, Harassment, or Violence	98
Grievance Procedure for Claims of Discrimination, Harassment, or Violence	99
Campus Facilities Policies and Procedures	99
Safety Mission	99
Alcohol and Drug Free Workplace	99
Alcohol and Drug Testing	99
Building and Grounds Etiquette	100
Workplace Cleanliness	101
Food and Drink in the Workplace	101
During the year there are special events where employees may bring food from home or that VCOM has catered (i.e., potluck lunches). The sponsoring department must ensure that all food and drinks are discarded at the end of the event. Other employees...	102
Campus Safety and Access	102
Fire Safety	102
Emergency Response	103
Firearms and Weapons	103
Inclement Weather and Emergency Notifications	103
Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens	104
Parking Regulations	104
Pets	105
Grievance Procedure	107
Formal Grievance Resolution	107
If the involved employees are dissatisfied with the resolution or a resolution cannot be reached through the informal grievance process, the employee(s) may file a formal grievance with the Director for Human Resources. The formal grievance must be s...	107
Faculty Contracts	108
Faculty Misconduct	108
Misconduct Disciplinary Action	109
Misconduct Appeal Process to Request a Hearing	110
Complaints Regarding Non-Compliance with American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Accreditation Standards	112
Faculty Benefits	115
Salary Information	115
Paydays	115
Direct Deposit	115
Payroll Deductions	115
Office Closings: Inclement Weather/Emergencies	116
VCOM Compensation and Equity in Salary	117
Salary Anti-Discrimination Policy	117
Posting of Salary and Pay Bands	117
Determining Initial Salary	117
New Hire Performance Evaluation	117
Employee Change of Status	118
Due Process for Employees Seeking to Improve Their Status Prior to Termination	119
Annual Employee Performance Evaluation	121
Annual Salary Review and Merit Increase Determination	121
Pay Equity Audit	122
Pay Equity Grievance Process	123
Leave	123
Leave Reports	123
Annual Leave	124
Holidays	124
Certain holidays falling on the weekend will be observed either on the Friday before the holiday or the Monday after the holiday they do not include the floating holidays.	124
If an employee is on military or educational leave without pay during a holiday, the employee will not receive an alternate day off.	124
VCOM will make reasonable accommodation for change in holiday dates for the religious needs of employees if such accommodation will not cause disruption of the educational program or cause the organization undue hardship. Leave for this purpose will ...	125
Administrative Leave	126
Educational Leave	126
Leave Without Pay	126
Medical Leave or “Sick Leave”	127
Employee Emergent Sick Leave Sharing Program or “Sick Leave Bank”	128
Short-Term Disability and Family and Medical Leave Benefits	129
Military Leave	131
Health Insurance	132
Dental Insurance	132
Mental Health and Wellness	133
Employees have access to mental health and wellness services through VCOM. They can access these services through the following providers:	133
 the physician network within their Anthem health coverage;	133
 the Anthem – EAP (Employee Assistance Program); and/or	133
 VCOM’s Teladoc benefit for all full-time employees with or without health insurance coverage (VCOM full-time employees receive a discounted rate for therapy and psychiatry visits).	133
Retirement	133
Cafeteria Plan Services	134
Group Life and Disability Insurance	135
All eligible employees are enrolled in the school’s Short-Term Disability as well as Long-Term Disability coverage. These benefits are provided at no cost to the employee. For more details, contact the VCOM Human Resources Director. The life insura...	135
Education Assistance	135
CPE/CME and Professional Dues	135
Workers’ Compensation	136
Unemployment Insurance	137
Benefits Upon Termination	137
VCOM Faculty Assembly and Faculty Senate Overview	139
Campus Faculty Assembly	139
The Campus Faculty Assembly exists to provide faculty members the opportunity to freely exchange ideas and concerns.	139
Membership of the Campus Faculty Assembly	139
Meetings of the Campus Faculty Assembly	139
Campus Faculty Senate	139
Membership of the Campus Faculty Senate	139
Officers of the Campus Faculty Senate	140
Meetings of the Campus Faculty Senate	141
College-wide Faculty Senate	141
Membership of the College-wide Faculty Senate	141
The College-wide Faculty Senate will consist of twelve voting representatives (College Senators). College Senators will serve two-year terms and may not serve more than three consecutive terms. The College-wide Faculty Senate shall consist of:	141
a. The Chair of each Campus Faculty Senate (fulfilling four College Senator positions).	141
b. The Chair-Elect of each Campus Faculty Senate (fulfilling four College Senator positions).	141
c. One additional Campus Senator will be elected from the membership of the Campus Faculty Senate (fulfilling the remaining four College Senator positions). Each Campus Faculty Senate will elect this additional member from their campus.	141
Representation on the College-wide Faculty Senate should be made up as follows:	141
a. Four college Senators from the biomedical sciences discipline/department; one from each campus.	141
b. Four college Senators from the primary care discipline/department (family medicine, osteopathic	141
manipulative medicine, sports medicine, geriatrics, underserved care, internal medicine,	141
obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics); one from each campus.	141
c. Four college Senators from the medical specialties discipline/department (emergency medicine,	141
surgery, psychiatry, neurology, radiology); one from each campus.	141
d. New Branch Campuses will be given consideration for representation on the College-wide Faculty	142
Senate with three at-large, full time faculty members until equal representation amongst the three	142
divisions listed above is possible (usually within the 2nd or 3rd year of operation). When mature, the	142
Campus Faculty Senate will elect three College Senators, one from each division as noted above. The	142
new elections will be held no later than the next election date.	142
Officers of the College-wide Faculty Senate	142
Officers of the College-wide Faculty Senate will serve for a term of one year with the option of being elected to serve for an additional one-year term (two years total). The Chairs of each Campus Faculty Senate shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Colleg...	142
a. The Co-Chairs:	142
i. Preside over meetings of the College-wide Faculty Senate.	142
ii. Call the meetings of the College-wide Faculty Senate	142
iii. Set the agenda for meetings of the College-wide Faculty Senate, based upon the request of the Campus Faculty Senate.	142
iv. Represent the College-wide Faculty Senate on the President’s and Provost’s Council.	142
v. Submit all senate items requesting action, in writing, to the Provost and President.	142
b. The secretary will:	142
i. Keep minutes and records of all proceedings, including decisions, of the College-wide Faculty Senate.	142
ii. Distribute the approved minutes of College-wide Faculty Senate meetings to both the Provost and the President.	142
c. The College-wide Senators will:	142
i. Attend, participate in, and vote at meetings of the College-wide Faculty Senate.	142
ii. Serve on such committees as the College-wide Faculty Senate will designate.	142
iii. Represent the views of their Campus to the College-wide Faculty Senate.	142
iv. Make the College-wide Faculty Senate actions and views known to their respective discipline/departments.	142
Meetings of the College-wide Faculty Senate	142
Campus Faculty Assembly, Campus Faculty Senate and College-wide Faculty Senate Meeting Guidelines	143
Voting Procedures	143
Consensus	143
Minutes	143
Reports	143
Resignation or Other Vacancy of Campus and College-wide Faculty Senators	143

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