Faculty Credentials and New Hires

 University Policy 18.001: Faculty Credentials and Tested Experience (est. 2020, eff. 2023) stipulates that all OHIO faculty or instructional staff teaching courses or developing courses for college credit at OHIO, including part-time, adjunct, dual-credit, temporary, non-tenure track, and those involved in consortial or contractual programs, independent of delivery mode, are expected to be minimally qualified to serve in an instructional capacity (cf. HLC Assumed Practices, Sect. B2, Faculty Roles & Qualifications; Faculty Hiring Practices, OHIO Executive Vice President and Provost).

Ideally, this policy is implemented at the time of hire. Several entities are responsible for implementing the various aspects of Policy 18.001 during the hiring process:

• Department Chair must review and verify that all new faculty or instructional staff are qualified to teach each of the courses to which they will be assigned. Documents needed to prove these qualifications typically include the CV, official transcripts, and any certifications or licensures. NB: if the alternative pathway for credentialing is used (i.e., using equivalent or tested experience) please consult policy 18.001 for additional information.
• Senior Associate Dean must receive these documents from the department chair along with an email explaining how the decision to teach was verified. The Senior Associate Dean will then forward this email to the Vice Provost along with their endorsement. The Senior Associate Dean is responsible for creating a Watermark Faculty Success (WFS) account as soon as a position is accepted, and a valid OHIO email is populated. The Senior Associate Dean will upload basic credentials and notify faculty about login details.
• Vice Provost is ultimately responsible for maintaining faculty records and credentials. Upon receipt of the Senior Associate Dean endorsement, they will confirm receipt of the credentials review and the hiring process can be completed.
• Faculty are responsible for supporting their WFS account. Faculty should complete the "General Information” section within 90 days of having their WFS account established. WFS is the enterprise tool used by OHIO to keep track of faculty accomplishments outside of the area of teaching. It is typically used for annual TRS salary evaluations as well as university accreditation.

Note that all elements, or any subsequent revision thereto, of University Policy 18.001or Executive Vice President and Provost Faculty Hiring Practices takes precedent over information provided here. Both policies should be consulted for additional or new information prior to initiating a new search.

Policy est. Dec 2024