Faculty Handbook and Policies
UM-Dearborn Faculty Handbook Supplement
The University of Michigan-Dearborn accepted its first students in the Fall of 1959. Over the intervening years the campus has developed a set of policies and practices governing faculty activity that reflect the uniqueness of the Dearborn campus. This handbook attempts to bring many of these policies and practices together in a single document, thereby proving a useful reference for all faculty, both new and continuing. The handbook serves as a supplement to the University of Michigan Faculty Handbook.
The handbook is also complemented by the University of Michigan-Dearborn Student Handbook, which should be consulted for policies and procedures that relate to student academic and non-academic matters.
Ultimately, the Bylaws of the Regents of the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Standard Practice Guide take precedence in all matters related to faculty. This handbook is maintained by the Office of the Provost and will be updated as necessary.
The Academic Code of Conduct policy can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.
Faculty should complete the Online Reporting Form for reporting an Academic Code of Conduct violation. Please see the Reporting Academic Integrity Violations webpage for more information.
Academic Integrity Module
There is an importable module in Canvas Commons to teach UM-Dearborn students about our campus Academic Integrity standards so that they are informed about how to avoid academic misconduct and plagiarism. If you would like to use the module in your course(s), please search for "UM-Dearborn Academic Integrity" in Canvas Commons and follow these steps to import it to your course. If you have any questions, please contact Belen Garcia ([email protected]).
Faculty may also use the Academic Integrity Module housed on the university's webpage. Faculty can access the Academic Integrity Module quiz results.
Statement on Academic Integrity
The University of Michigan-Dearborn values academic honesty and integrity. Each student has a responsibility to understand, accept, and comply with the University's standards of academic conduct as set forth by the Academic Code of Conduct, as well as policies established by the schools and colleges. Cheating, collusion, misconduct, fabrication, and plagiarism are considered serious offenses. Violations will not be tolerated and may result in penalties up to and including expulsion from the University.
Faculty Senate, August 2000
Faculty may choose to document how COVID and its potential overlap with caregiving has affected their work. The Faculty Covid-19 Impact Statement provides examples of the range of issues that could be included in such a statement, which can be turned in along with their merit, promotion and tenure, and/or LEO evaluation portfolios. Faculty should consult with their Chairs and Dean for more information about how these Impact Statements will be considered in evaluation within their unit.
Please speak with your Department Chair or Dean to see if you are eligible to include a COVID Impact Statement in your casebook.
The faculty grievance process is available to those instructional faculty who are tenured, tenure-track, or clinical faculty; and research faculty, including those in the research scientist track and those in the research professor track. The procedure does not apply to LEO lecturers, librarians, curators, and archivists or to supplemental faculty such as adjunct faculty or visiting faculty. While it is hoped that most grievances would be resolved quickly through informal discussions with the department chair, should such informal methods not succeed, please consult the formal procedure described in the Faculty Grievance Procedure.
It is highly recommended that any faculty member contemplating filing a formal grievance first attempt to resolve the difficulty or complaint through consultation with the UM-Dearborn Faculty Ombuds.
Faculty members who want to utilize the grievance process must complete the Faculty Grievance Form and email it to the Director of Human Resources and the Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate.
Please visit the Faculty Senate's webpage for information about the Faculty Ombuds position along with the current officeholder.
The University of Michigan-Dearborn Promotion and Tenure Procedures sets forth core principles and procedures for the promotion and tenure process. These procedures are designed to support high academic standards in awarding promotion and/or tenure, and to ensure a comprehensive, rigorous, and fair review of the candidates. Achieving and maintaining the high academic standards the University of Michigan-Dearborn is known for is built upon the leadership of the Provost, deans, and department chairs working with tenured faculty to successfully implement and adhere to these procedures.
In regards to P&T, the Care and Equity Task Force compiled a list of resources for faculty, including materials for course preparation, course evaluations, service reduction, PDF spending, COVID impact statements, etc.
The University of Michigan-Dearborn "Sabbatical Leave Policy and Procedures" augment the Sabbatical Leave guidelines found in the U-M Standard Practice Guide (SPG) 201.30-2.
In addition to the eligibility requirements stipulated in SPG 201.30-2, sec. II.A, the Dearborn campus requires that all faculty sabbatical leave applications address the following areas:
- The quality of the sabbatical leave proposal
- Outcome(s) of previous sabbatical leave
- Recommendation for sabbatical leave by evaluation committee
- Teaching and administrative considerations
The "Sabbatical Leave Policy and Procedures" document provides details and clarifications for the four additional areas.
The policy went into effect at the start of the 2017-2018 academic year.
The Faculty Senate at the University of Michigan-Dearborn expresses its firm commitment to providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environment that is welcoming of all students. Universities are also places for free and open dialogue based on facts and evidence-based inquiry, as well as a diversity of viewpoints, and we are committed to free speech and artistic expression. With this in mind, we, as a Faculty Senate, express our strongest condemnation for all racist, Islamophobic, xenophobic, homophobic, sexist, ableist, anti-Semitic, and other hateful speech and acts wherever they occur, and we stand in support of those individuals and groups who feel vulnerable to such hatred.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on December 11, 2017
All UM-Dearborn should utilize the UM-Dearborn Syllabus Template when writing their syllabi.
The University of Michigan-Dearborn has adopted minimum standards of academic qualifications for tenure-stream and LEO faculty which are stipulated in the Tenure-Stream and LEO Qualifications Policy, approved by the Faculty Senate in December 2016.
The policy stipulates that the primary method for determining the qualifications of faculty is by credentials, meaning all faculty shall have an academic degree relevant to what they are teaching and at least one level above the level at which they teach, except in programs for terminal degrees. There are exception provisions for undergraduate, graduate, and general education instruction.
All faculty-hiring managers must complete the electronic Instructor Qualification Form before making an offer of appointment.
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Policies owned by: Office of the Provost
Last Reviewed: 8/2024
Next Review: 1/2029