Definitions

Academic Rank

The category assigned to employees in the academic service, whether the service is teaching, research, extension, administration, or other. Academic rank is distinguished from professional faculty without rank and includes Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, Senior Instructor, Research Associate, Faculty Research Assistant, Senior Faculty Research Assistant, and Lecturer. Refer to the Office of Faculty Affairs Faculty Handbook.

Accelerated Search

An academic or professional faculty search lasting 13 calendar days or less in duration; requires approval from University Human Resources.

Affirmative Action Search Advocate

Appointed by the Dean or Department Head/Chair and trained by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access, and the AASA ensures accountability to OSU’s equal opportunity principles, affirmative action practices, and diversity values. The AASA helps committees recognize the potential for specific cognitive and structural biases in the search process.

Annual Tenure (Tenure-Track) Appointment

An appointment given to faculty employed at .50 FTE or more who are serving in a probationary status for indefinite tenure.

Classified Position

A position represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 503, Oregon Public Employees Union (OPEU) and the Graphic Communication International Union (GCIU).

Collective Bargaining Agreement  

A formal written agreement entered into between a union and the Oregon State Board of HigherEducation, acting by and through the Oregon University System (OUS) on behalf of Oregon State University and other universities within OUS, which provides the terms and conditions of employment for employees covered by the agreement. Oregon State University has collective bargaining agreements with the following unions: Coalition of Graduate Employees (CGE), and Service Employees International Union, Local 503, OPEI (SEIU).

Continuous Recruitment Pool

A recruitment that remains open on a continuous basis, making it possible for a hiring department to immediately identify qualified candidates for a vacancy.

Fixed-Term  Appointment

An appointment that is limited to a specified period of time (usually no more than one year or until the end of the current fiscal year) with stated beginning and ending dates.

Hiring Manager

An individual who has the authority to recruit and appoint new employees.

Indefinite Tenure

Appointment made by the President in witness of the university’s formal decision that the faculty member has demonstrated such professional competence that the university will not henceforth terminate employment except for cause, financial exigency, or program or department reductions.

Job Analysis

The process of investigating the duties, tasks, responsibilities, functions and purpose of the position for which one intends to fill.

Online Position Descriptions and Recruitment System

OSU system that automates the management of position descriptions and the recruitment processes.

OSCAR

The Oregon State Central Administrative Resource website that provides secured access to online tasks for recruitment and hiring.

Professional Faculty   

An employee working in an academic, student, or other administrative support position with professional titles, and without an assigned rank.

Significant Underrepresentation

The employment of women and/or persons of color in a particular group at a significantly lower rate than would reasonably be expected given the availability in the qualified population in the geographic region/labor area for the job group.  Affirmative Action Placement Goals are created annually for each College/Unit on campus to assist in avoiding underrepresentation.

Veteran Consideration

OSU’s hiring process extends the benefit of our established affirmative action practices  to individuals who self-identify as qualifying veterans.  A “qualifying veteran” is a veteran or disabled veteran who has been honorably discharged from U.S. Military service.  All postings offer applicants the opportunity to self-identify veteran status.  Special consideration will be given to qualifying veterans when the qualifying veteran applicant meets the minimum qualifications for the position for which they have applied, and when the veteran’s application materials show sufficient evidence of any transferable skills required and requested by the hiring unit.

Waiver of Search

An exception to the regular academic or professional faculty recruitment and selection process, granted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access (EOA). Review the Policy and Procedure for Waiver of the Regular Search Process (Academic or Professional Faculty Employees).