Section 3356-9-01 - Selection, appointment, and evaluation of executive officers(A) Policy statement. The divisional executive officers of the university are the provost/vice president for academic affairs, vice president for institutional effectiveness and board professional, vice president for finance and business operations and the vice president for legal affairs and human resources. The president is considered to be the divisional executive officer for those work units that have a direct reporting relationship and for the staff assigned to work in the office of the president. The board of trustees is committed to establishing and developing processes designed to hire and retain effective, innovative, and strategic executive officers. In the selection and evaluation of executive officers of the university, the board of trustees is committed to the principle of collegiality, where, as appropriate, members of the university community (students, faculty, and staff) have an opportunity to participate in the decision-making processes of the university. The board of trustees acknowledges the need for the establishment of processes for the selection and regular evaluation of divisional executive officers of the university. The board also affirms the principles of collegiality and merit-based rewards in these processes that are directly associated with positive evaluation of these officers.(B) Parameters. (1) A position announcement, including the minimum and preferred qualifications, will be developed and brought to the board of trustees for review and approval prior to initiating the search.(2) Advertising to fill executive officer positions will be done in a manner that will create a diverse pool of candidates of racial, ethnic and social backgrounds, reflecting a wide diversity of values, ideas, and beliefs.(3) An individual selected to serve as an executive officer will be identified from an applicant pool obtained as a result of a national search process. With the approval of or when deemed necessary by the president, a search firm may be utilized. Filling these positions on an interim basis may be done without initiating a formal process (see rule 3356-9-10 of the Administrative Code, "Acting/interim appointments of university administrators").(4) In recognition of the principles of collegiality, advisory committees will be utilized during the process of searching, screening, and interviewing potential executive officers.(5) Evaluation involves an employee and supervisor in a yearly process of mutually identifying measurable objectives, regular review of progress toward their achievement, and year-end determination of whether or not the objectives were met.(6) The evaluation may involve merit salary considerations as part of the year-end sessions.(C) Role of executive officers. (1) Executive officers of the university maintain overall leadership for a particular division or unit. As university officials, each has the responsibility to represent the university and provide leadership in the specified areas of responsibility. The executive officers serve as primary advisors and the members of the president's cabinet. In addition, the president may designate other administrative officers to serve as members of the cabinet. Executive officers of the university include: (a) The provost and vice president for academic affairs is the chief academic officer of the university. As the president's first delegate, the provost and vice president for academic affairs has primary responsibility for the overall administration of the academic programs of the university.(b) The vice president for institutional effectiveness and board professional is the chief administrative officer responsible for the university's institutional effectiveness agenda; provides leadership for institutional research and strategic planning implementation and assessment, supports the president internally and externally, and supports the successful functioning of the board of trustees as a board professional.(c) The vice president for student affairs is the chief student personnel officer for the university and provides leadership for the division of student affairs and its major units.(d) The vice president for finance and business operations is the chief fiscal and administrative officer for the university; provides leadership for the division of finance and business operations, recommends fiscal policy to the president for consideration by the board of trustees, and is responsible for implementation of these policies.(e) The vice president of legal affairs and human resources and university general counsel is the chief legal officer of the university and administrative officer for the division of legal affairs and human resources. This position provides leadership to the division of legal affairs and human resources.(2) Other positions designated by the president with the approval of the board of trustees.(D) The procedures for selection and appointment. The procedures that follow provide an overall structure for executive level officer selection. It is recognized that these procedures may need to be adjusted to accommodate a particular situation in consultation with the chief human resources officer.(1) When there is a need to fill a vacant or new executive level position, the president will appoint a search advisory committee.(2) This committee will include representatives of the affected university division, a member of the board of trustees, as designated by the chair, and may include other members of the university community and other external members, as appropriate.(3) This committee will review all applications timely received, identify those that meet the pre-established qualifications, complete an initial check of references of the qualified candidates, and recommend a short list of candidates to be interviewed.(4) This committee will be involved in the process of interviewing all of the candidates visiting the campus.(5) The on-campus interview process may include a broad representation of each of the divisions of the university, students, appropriate community representatives, and others identified by the president.(6) The president will also host a meeting with each of the final candidates and members of the board of trustees.(7) The president, in consultation with the board of trustees, will identify the candidate to be extended the offer. The office of human resources will extend an offer of employment that is contingent upon the approval of the board of trustees. The offer will be in the form of either an appointment or employment contract. (a) Appointments will include a ninety-day notice of termination clause.(b) When it is in the best interest of the university, the president may issue an employment contract for multiple years. Both appointments and employment contracts of an executive officer must be approved by the board of trustees prior to the employment start date.
(8) The chief human resources officer will prepare and submit a summary of all personnel actions (i.e., appointments, promotions, reclassifications, transfers, demotions, salary adjustments, and separations) to the university affairs committee for recommendation for approval by the board of trustees. The personnel actions shall be contingent upon approval by the board.(E) Exceptions to the selection procedures. Exceptions to the above selection requirements may be granted in special circumstances where departure offers demonstrable benefits for the university. A request for such an exception must be submitted in writing to the office of human resources and the office of equal opportunity , policy development and title IX for review and recommendation. The request initiated by the president, together with the recommendations of human resources and equal opportunity, will be submitted to the university affairs committee of the board of trustees, which will recommend the final action to be taken on the request by the board of trustees.(F) Procedures for the evaluation of an executive level officer. The procedures that follow provide an overall structure for evaluation. It is recognized that these procedures may need to be adjusted to accommodate a particular situation. (1) The evaluation process is conducted on an annual basis.(2) The process will be initiated with one-on-one session(s) between the executive officer and the president.(3) The initial phase of the process will be devoted to dialog whereby mutually accepted annual objectives are identified and finalized in writing.(4) Through the course of the year, one-on-one sessions will be initiated by either party to review the progress being made toward the achievement of the objectives. Adjustments can be made to the objectives during these sessions.(5) At year's end, during a one-on-one session between the executive level officer and the president, the degree to which these objectives have been met will be determined and preliminary salary adjustment considerations may be discussed. The board of trustees considers it important to have the evaluation of executive level officers include the perspective of their constituents and subordinates. Therefore, an important component of the overall evaluation will be input from a sample of constituents and subordinates. The president will consult with the board of trustees during the evaluation process as to the performance of executive level officers and will inform the board of trustees about the results of their evaluation of each executive level officer.(6) When considering salary adjustments for executive level officers, the president will submit proposed adjustments to the university affairs committee for its review and approval prior to implementing said adjustment(s).Ohio Admin. Code 3356-9-01
Effective: 8/27/2023
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3356.03
Rule Amplifies: 3356.03
Prior Effective Dates: 11/04/1977, 06/16/2003, 11/15/2003, 07/10/2010, 08/23/2010, 02/10/2014, 03/10/2014, 08/31/2015, 04/04/2019, 05/14/2021