Human Resources-Faculty

A complete description of faculty policies including rank, promotion and tenure, grievance procedures, etc., can be found in the COHE Agreement, as well as Chapter 4 of the Board of Regents Policy Manual. Both documents are available electronically on the South Dakota Board of Regents web site.

Appointment

Faculty members shall receive a term, tenure-track, or tenure contract offer signed by the President for each year they are employed. The faculty member shall have twenty calendar days to accept the offer and it must be approved by the Board of Regents before it becomes binding. See BOR Policy 4:1.

Commencement

Faculty members are required to participate in the annual fall and spring Commencement activities and are expected to wear appropriate academic apparel. Faculty not able to participate due to legitimate University related activities must seek written approval from the Vice President for Academic Affairs prior to Commencement.

Consulting/Private Practice

Faculty members (who do not earn annual leave) may enter into private practice, private consulting, additional teaching or research, or other activity for which additional compensation is received. Four consulting days per month will be allowed and will be cumulative to a maximum of six days, with all accumulated time to terminate at the end of the faculty member's contract period. The faculty member must:

1. Apply in writing to the President on a "Request to Engage in Private Practice/Consulting Form" prior to engaging in such activity or contracting to do so;
2. Report to the President the activity, duration of the activity, and the number of hours which were devoted to the additional activity;
3. Limit and restrict such activity so that it does not interfere with assigned responsibilities;
4. Reimburse DSU for any institutional space, equipment, personnel, and materials used for such additional activity

See BOR Policy 4:19.

Faculty Absence Due to Illness

In case of illness requiring special arrangements for covering or cancellation of classes, please notify the Dean as soon as possible in order that appropriate arrangements can be made. A University "Electronic Leave Request" must be completed as soon as the faculty member returns to work. Please reference Faculty Leave Request Instructions on the Human Resources website. 

Faculty Evaluation Process

Performance evaluations are established in accordance with procedures outlined by the Board of Regents. All faculty unit members are evaluated on an annual basis by their immediate supervisor. See BOR Policy 4:13 and COHE Agreement. Student Opinion Surveys are used as part of the evaluation of faculty unit members as required by Section XI of the COHE Agreement. See DSU Policy 02-41-00.

Faculty Office Hours*

Every faculty member is expected to have established office hours and to be in his/her office at the time scheduled. Full-time faculty will schedule a minimum of seven (7) office hours a week spread over at least a 3-day period. Faculty are expected to respond to email messages from advisees/students within 48 hours. However, when faculty teach on-line classes, they are expected to respond to those student inquiries within 24 hours. Part-time faculty will prorate this amount. These office hours are to be posted and also provided to the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the beginning of each semester.  (*Currently under review by Workload Committee.)

Grievance Procedure

A formal grievance procedure is available to faculty members. Procedures are outlined in the Agreement between the Council of Higher Education and the Board of Regents (COHE Agreement, Section VII). See also BOR Policy 4:7.

Personnel Records

A single official personnel file will be maintained on each faculty member at a central location designated by the President. Faculty personnel files are housed in the President's Office. Payroll records concerning faculty may be maintained in the Human Resources Office.

Faculty shall have access to their personnel and payroll record files, exclusive of confidential pre-employment placement credentials, during normal business hours and may request copies, at their own cost, of the contents of the file. For more information, refer to the COHE Agreement, Section XVII.

Sabbatical/Faculty Improvement Leave

A faculty member may apply for sabbatical leave after six or more consecutive years of full-time employment and for faculty member improvement or career redirection leave after three consecutive years of full-time employment. Approval for such leaves must be obtained from the Board of Regents and is contingent upon the faculty member presenting plans for formal study, research, or other experiences which are designed to improve the quality of service of the faculty member to the institution. Procedures are outlined in the BOR Policy 4:15 and COHE Agreement, Section XXI.