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Office of Legal Counsel and Compliance

Academic Affairs Procedures

  • To be eligible for emeritus status, a retired faculty member must have:

    • been employed by the University of Montana for no less than ten years, and

    • maintained a record of excellence in teaching, research/creativity, and service.

    • Please note, emeritus status is an honor conferred upon a retiree. It is not associated with employee/retiree privileges. For more information about retirees' benefits and privileges, please see the Retirees' Association website.

    • Once the Provost approves the nomination, it will be sent to the next available Board of Regents meeting. The BOR accepts these nominations at the March, May, September, and November meetings but they must be received several weeks in advance. (BOR meeting schedule)

    To nominate a retired faculty member:  

    1. The academic unit should prepare a proposal and submit it to their Dean. Please include a brief narrative with your nomination that describes the nominee's qualifications for emeritus status.

      1. Please use the ITEM TEMPLATE form found on the MUS Form Website

      2. sample proposal

    2. The Dean will make a recommendation to the Provost.

    3. The Provost will then make a recommendation and submit Level II BOR paperwork to the President.

    4. The President will send the recommendation to the Board of Regents.

       

    Additional Information:

    Questions? Contact the Academic Policy Manager within the Office of the Provost.

    1. Professional Licensure/ Certification Cohorts: UM will determine the location of a student for the purposes of providing professional licensure disclosures in the following ways:
      1. Prospective Students: The Permanent Address§ submitted by students via the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) admissions platform will be used for the purposes of determining a prospective student’s physical location.
      2. Current Students/ Relocating Students: The Permanent Address on record will be used as a default for the purposes of determining a current student’s physical location. The Registrar’s Office sends regular notifications to all students prior to census or the end of the third week of instruction in any given semester, reminding students to update their physical location data in GrizPortal (a web-based portal integrated with the UM SIS). The aforementioned default physical location will be used until such time that the University receives a student’s formal request to update their physical location address. Upon a student’s request to change their address, the new “physical location” address will be used as the default for determining the student’s physical location.
    2. State Authorization and Reciprocity Agreement (SARA): UM will determine the location of students for the purposes of reporting the number of distance education enrollments and out-of-state learning placements (OOSLP) to the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). No identifying information of the student is reported to NC-SARA other than the student’s physical location.
      1. Distance Education Enrollments: The physical location of students will be reported to NC-SARA for students who are enrolled exclusively in distance education courses. The Registrar’s Office sends regular notifications to all students prior to census or the end of the third week of instruction each semester. This notification reminds students to update their physical location data in GrizPortal if it changes at any time during the semester.
      2. Out-of-State Learning Placements: The physical location of students participating in OOSLPs will be reported to NC-SARA. The Experiential Learning and Career Success (ELCS) office at UM is responsible for collecting this information. OOSLPs are tracked through a digital platform used to facilitate internships and other experiential learning activities by units on campus. ELCS works on an individual basis to collect OOSLP information for units that have opted out of using the digital platform.

    STUDENT IDENTITY VERIFICATION PROCEDURE FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION

    The procedure for the University of Montana (UM)’s student identity verification policy for distance education shall be executed by a cross-sector work group chaired by the Director of Institutional Compliance and composed of the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) and representatives from UM Online, Information Technology (IT), Admissions, the Registrar’s Office, Financial Aid, Housing, and Enterprise Risk Management. This procedure fits within the broader context of the UM Student Code of Conduct (SCC), Article V, A, which prohibits acts of dishonesty such as falsification, unauthorized access, and false information and UM Online’s guidance on regular and substantive interactions in distance education courses and programs.

    The work group will bear responsibility for:

    • Ensuring the student who registers in a distance education course of program is the same student who participates in the course and receives credit.
    • Ensuring student privacy is protected.
    • Notifying students at the time of registration of any additional charges associated with verification procedures.

    The work group meets regularly to monitor University compliance with student identity verification requirements and will consider questions such as:

    1. How do we currently verify student identity? Are there are new technical options for verifying identity that are in use or can/will be used as UM is adopting or has adopted new technology?
    2. Are we using online proctored examinations or online distance student meetings with faculty that include ways to identify who is participating? If so, how do we ensure privacy - for example meetings are one on one with faculty not as a whole group when showing ID.
    3. Are there any new ways privacy is being protected at UM?
    4. Is any new fee required related to verification?
    5. How do we communicate this policy to distance students and faculty?
    6. Does anything we have discussed require a change to current policy and procedure?

    Work group members determine whether University action is needed to ensure compliance with the student identity verification policy for distance education as well as with 34 CFR 600.02, 34 CFR 602.17, and the NWCCU policy on distance education. The work group is responsible for ensuring any needed actions are implemented and may adjust the set of questions regularly considered based on how UM’s methods to ensure compliance with these policies evolves over time. The work group documents its work, especially changes and modifications, which are kept in UM’s institutional compliance files.

  • Currently web-based at this site.

  • Written Pre-Approvals

    Obtain written pre-approvals required by the Faculty Consulting Policy by drafting a memo to the Dean, Provost/VP for Academic Affairs, and VP for Administration & Finance, including the following information:

    • Date;
    • A brief description of the proposed consulting activity;
    • Dates of proposed activity;
    • Name of sponsor(s) and sponsor(s) nature, i.e., state agency, private company, university, etc.;
    • The amount of time expected to be spent on the activity, along with the specific dates and
      times when the consulting activity is expected to occur;
    • A detailed inventory of University facilities and resources needed for the activity
      (including, but not limited to, supplies and equipment, administrative assistance, student
      time, long distance telephone and fax charges, photocopies, travel and transportation to
      be charged through University accounts, etc.), and the estimated cost to the University of
      such resources;
    • Any University of Montana-Missoula and other Montana University System employee(s)
      and/or student(s) likely to be used in the proposed activity, plus a description of the level
      of any such persons' involvement;
    • Whether the proposed activity is subject to sponsor(s) request for confidentiality
      regarding the activity or any aspect thereof, and if so, the specific nature of the
      confidentiality request should be described;
    • A description of any intellectual property rights, data, or publications the proposed
      activity is likely to produce (Note: use of any intellectual property in which the
      University has an ownership interest in any faculty consulting activity shall require
      approval from the AVP for Tech. Transfer, Office of Research and Creative Scholarship);
      • A description of any actual or potential conflict of interest of which the faculty member is
      reasonably aware and how such conflict(s) was reported and managed by the University’s
      Conflict of Interest Manager, Office of Administration and Finance, under Policy 703;
      and
      • An affirmative commitment in the Memorandum that the faculty member will reimburse
      the University in full, pursuant to a specific reimbursement schedule, for all such
      resources used.

    Process for Denial of Approval

    If the dean does not approve such activity, the faculty member may request UFA-Administration
    Committee review, per procedures detailed in the CBA.

    Requirement to Report Material Changes

    Once any consulting activity has begun, the consulting faculty member should report any material changes in any of the above information to the faculty member's academic dean in timely fashion, including resolution or termination of the consulting activities. In addition, the faculty member should provide a detailed accounting of all University resources used in the consulting activity once the activity concludes.

    Reporting Requirements

    Beginning of Year In-Progress Reporting

    • By September 1 – Dean reminds faculty of the annual Faculty Consulting Policy inprogress reporting requirements.
    • By September 15 – Faculty inform (in writing) the dean of any outstanding contracts in wherein the unit member receives compensation for services, including a statement that such contracts comply with all applicable policies, including the Faculty Consulting and Conflict of Interest policies.

    End of Year Inventory Reporting

    • By April 15 – Dean requests faculty to submit annual consulting reports.
    • By May 15 (or end of academic year) – Faculty inform the dean (in writing) of the
      number of hours of compensated consultation in which they engaged during the previous
      academic year, including a statement that such contracts complied with all applicable
      policies, including the Faculty Consulting and Conflict of Interest policies.
    • By August 1 – Deans submit consolidated summary of consulting inventory to the
      Provost.
    • By October 1 – The Provost submits the campus consulting inventory to the President,
      which shall be passed on the Board of Regents no later December 31.

  • No procedure.

  • Currently web-based at this site. 

    HONORARY DOCTORATE

     

    The honorary doctorate is the highest honor the University of Montana can confer upon an individual. Anyone affiliated with the University of Montana may submit a nomination for an honorary doctorate. Nominations can be submitted throughout the year using the nomination form. Consideration of nominations takes place during fall semester.

    Selection Criteria

    • Honorary doctorates are awarded to individuals who have achieved a level of distinction which would merit comparable recognition in their profession or area of expertise.
    • Honorary doctorate nominees should have a connection to Montana by birth, residence, education, or service. Those nominees lacking a direct connection but whose extraordinary accomplishments have either benefited Montanans directly, or whose stature will serve as an outstanding role model to young people, may be considered and require special justification.
    • Current employees of the Montana University System are not eligible to be nominated for an honorary doctorate.

    Nomination Process

    • Following initial review, nominators of qualified nominees will be invited to submit a full nomination consisting of the nominee’s CV and letters of support.
    • Full nominations will be reviewed by the department and school/college that would confer the honorary degree, followed by the UM Provost, President, and Faculty Senate.
    • Nominations are submitted to the Board of Regents for consideration in executive session in January, and for public approval in March.

    Confidentiality

    • All involved in the nomination of an individual for an honorary doctorate must maintain complete confidentiality at every step of the nomination and approval process.
    • More individuals are nominated for honorary doctorate degrees than can be awarded. Confidentiality about nominations is critical for this reason.

  • In accordance with the appointment procedures and conditions stipulated below, the Provost recommends to the President those persons qualified to hold appointments in non-tenurable categories. 


    Appointment Procedures: The following procedures govern non-tenurable appointments:  

    • The appointing College, School, or Department secures prior approval of the nontenurable position(s) before accepting applications. 
    • The individual submits credentials to the Program Director, Department Chair, or, where applicable, appropriate Dean; 
    • The School or Department faculty (see section II.C above) approves the recommended appointee, and the appropriate Program Director, Department Chair, and Dean support the recommendation to the Provost; and 
    • The Provost makes an independent recommendation supporting the appointment to the President. 
    Termination, Remedies, and Student Complaints: 
    • Colleges, Schools, and Departments must comply with applicable Board of Regents policy and University policies and procedures in order to terminate nontenurable faculty members for cause or to discontinue non-tenurable faculty members before contracts expire. 
    • After the third consecutive year of service, Lecturers and Clinical Faculty shall have the right to one semester’s notice of the intention to terminate the relationship. 
    • Non-tenurable faculty members covered by the CBA have recourse to the Grievance Procedure outlined in CBA, Section 19.000, to redress violations of this Policy. Faculty not covered by the CBA can seek corrective action from the appropriate Dean, with right of appeal to the Provost and ultimately President. 
    • Student complaints against non-tenurable faculty—except in the School of Law— follow the procedures in accordance with CBA, Section 21.000. 
    Annual Report: The University Data Office will prepare an annual report for submission to the Faculty Senate during the September meeting. The report will list the head count and FTE of faculty members serving on non-tenurable appointments by College, School, and Department for the prior academic year; the student-credit-hours generated by those faculty members; and the overall totals by College, School, Department, and University. 
    • The report will provide the names, positions, base salaries, FTEs, percentages of each FTE allocated to instruction or research, health and retirement benefits, AY or FY contracts, ranks, titles, and funding sources for all appointments. 
    • The report will also provide the percentage of tenured and tenurable FTE to nontenurable FTE identified by College, School, and Department and in a Universitywide summary 

    In accordance with the CBA, the Provost will submit progress reports to the Faculty Senate for the September meeting of the Senate.
  • Currently web-based at this site. 

     

  • No procedure.

  • No procedure.