03. Faculty Handbook

Table of Contents

3.1 Policy

The OIST Graduate University Faculty Handbook describes policies governing the faculty, including teaching, research, appointments, promotion, and governance. The Dean of Faculty Affairs is responsible for implementation of University policy regarding appointments and promotions, salary setting, sabbaticals, grievances, and other general matters concerning the faculty. The Dean of Faculty Affairs ensures compliance with policies set by the Board of Governors and Faculty Council, maintains the Faculty Handbook and faculty records, works with OIST Graduate University (the “University”) officers and committees to develop new policy, and responds to external reporting requests.

3.2 Faculty Assignment

3.2.1 Composition of Faculty

Consistent with the principles outlined in the section on the “Purpose and Necessity of Establishment,” the University will work toward “best in the world” status by appointing outstanding faculty members. The aim of being “international” will be supported by ensuring that at least half of the faculty members are from outside Japan, and by attracting faculty members with strong international experience and perspective. The overall ratio of faculty to students will be about 1:3.

All faculty members will be expected to teach in English.

Faculty will be expected to maintain a program of excellent research and publication, to participate in the teaching program of the Graduate University, to supervise graduate research projects, and to assume appropriate responsibilities in the University academic community.

3.2.1.1 Full-time faculty
The full-time faculty will be composed of Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors, all of whom have independent research programs, teach in the Graduate University and supervise doctoral research.

3.2.1.2 Other categories of faculty

3.2.1.2.1 Adjunct Professor
Adjunct Professor appointments may be made to fill special needs that cannot be filled at the time with a full-time appointment or may be made in connection with collaborative inter-institutional projects.
Appointments of the Adjunct Professor at OIST are exceptional. The total number of Adjunct appointments should not exceed 10% of the full-time faculty. Adjunct Professors generally are under a non-employee relationship and do not exceed 25% time commitment. Their contract is for 3 to 5 years and can only be extended under exceptional circumstances and at the invitation of the President. Adjunct Professors will have research units with resources appropriate to their appointment. Adjunct Professors are eligible and encouraged to seek additional external funding.

A candidate for an Adjunct Professor may be proposed by the President, the Provost, the Deans, or the Chair of the Faculty Assembly. A Faculty Search Committee is formed upon approval by the President, and a recruiting process is initiated.

The application will be reviewed according to standard procedures described in PRP 3.2.4. The criteria for appointment are described in PRP 3.2.4.3(c). The recommendation of the Faculty Search Committee will be reviewed by the Dean of Faculty Affairs and forwarded to the President for a final decision on the appointment. The approved candidate consults with the Dean of the Graduate School and the Dean of Faculty Affairs to prepare a plan for research, teaching, and academic service with appropriate scope and content.

A review of Adjunct Professor units will follow the standard unit review process described in PRP 3.2.7 and will be completed by the end of the penultimate year of the appointment. Adjunct appointments may be renewed with the approval of the President.

Adjunct Professors in at least a tenured position at another institution who have done very well in their latest unit review at OIST (there needs to be at least one such) may be invited by the President to apply for a full-time regular faculty position at OIST. They may request an early unit review, if necessary, for this purpose. The OIST unit review and an equivalent review at their current institution should be submitted as part of this conversion application. In case an external review is not available, at least two letters of evaluation by established and independent senior scientists in their field will be required in lieu.

Besides the two review reports or equivalent, two additional letters of evaluation by appropriate and independent external experts will be required. Identification of these evaluators, acquisition of the letters, and a recommendation will be handled by a Faculty Conversion Committee to be appointed by the Dean of Faculty Affairs. Next, the Appointment and Promotion Committee will review all materials and make a recommendation to the President via the Dean of Faculty Affairs, who will also provide a recommendation to the President. The President may then make a final recommendation for conversion to full-time faculty, which must be approved by the Board of Governors.

3.2.1.2.2 Transitional Professor
Transitional Professor appointments may be made during transition periods for incoming professors whose appointments have already been approved, but before they can begin full-time work at OIST, and for outgoing professors to complete ongoing research and educational supervision.

3.2.1.2.3 External Professor
External Professors are not OIST employees and should not be counted as OIST faculty. They are appointed if they are of faculty rank at another institution and plan a substantial research collaboration with OIST, e.g. supervision of OIST students who conduct research activities in their external institution. External Professors must satisfy the qualifications set forth in Article 14 through 16-2 of the Standards for Establishment of Universities even though they are not full-time OIST faculty. External Professors will be appointed based on a service agreement with a typical term of three years.

External Professors do not have the same responsibilities as full-time faculty but teach courses and might be occasionally requested to participate in OIST faculty committees as external members. They are not entitled to having OIST research units and do not participate in our faculty assembly. External Professors are expected to be at OIST as needed and are provided resources at OIST as necessary (Guidelines for External Professors).

A faculty committee will be appointed by the Dean of Faculty Affairs to recommend the appointment and renewal of External Professor. The committee should solicit three or more letters from OIST and/or external institution faculty testifying to the mentoring and research capabilities of the candidate. Recommendations of the committee will be reviewed by the Dean of Faculty Affairs and forwarded to the President for a final decision on the appointment. This committee will also address any other issues dealing with External Professors.

External Professors will have a service agreement with OIST, which will follow the requirements of an OIST Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with their host institution. Such an MoU is mandatory in order to specify health and welfare for OIST students, housing, travel, research agreements, and other matters as necessary. The MoU should also describe the financial, travel, and research agreements of the External Professor and our personnel for this collaboration.

3.2.1.2.4 Visiting Professor and Sabbatical Visitor
Visiting Professors and Sabbatical Visitors should have existing external appointments in other universities. They will not have independent laboratory resources at the University but will spend significant time at OIST. Visiting Professors will contribute by directing or assisting in teaching University courses, contributing to University international workshops, and participating in collaborative research. Visiting faculty members will not be primary Thesis Supervisors but may serve on Thesis Committees.

The definition of Emeritus Professor is stipulated in PRP3.3.1.

3.2.2 Faculty Teaching Assignment

The University is dedicated to excellence in research and education. Access to opportunities to develop and coordinate a course is important for the professional development of faculty members because scholarship and teaching are the primary factors in evaluation for promotion and tenure. While the quality of teaching is paramount, an evenly distributed teaching load is also important to ensure that all staff can achieve and demonstrate excellence in a sufficient amount of teaching and that individual staff members do not carry excessive teaching loads.

The Dean of the Graduate School will assign faculty members to be Course Coordinators and determine which faculty members contribute to each course. The Course Coordinators will be responsible for overseeing the content, teaching, and examination requirements of the course. Faculty will be expected to have an in-depth knowledge of the area covered by the syllabus of the courses they teach.

Guidelines for teaching assignment

All full-time faculty members are required to teach two credits per year starting from the second year of their appointment. For example, the two credits could be achieved by teaching one approved elective course of two credits or teaching two courses of one credit.
Elective courses taught by multiple faculty must appoint one faculty member as coordinator of the course. Such coordination will be equivalent to teaching 2 credits (for a 2-credit course) in the first year of coordination, and either 1 or 2 credits in subsequent years, negotiated as dependent on the complexity. For the participant teachers no credit is given; however, if the load of teaching is several weeks this can be negotiated with the Graduate School.
The credit loading may be amortized over two years, provided the overall teaching commitment of the University in any given year is realized. Faculty who offer a course where no students enroll should still teach their required number of credits through other means, such as supervising Independent Study or presenting a Special Topic. Details of Independent Study and Special Topics are described in the Graduate School’s web site.
Faculty may teach more than one elective course per year, provided this is committed to on a long-term basis to ensure the stability of the regular curriculum. Faculty are encouraged to supervise students who approach them for Independent Study, where such requests match their expertise. Independent Study or Special Topic courses may be counted towards annual required teaching credits when no students enroll in the regular elective offered by faculty.
The teaching expectation of Adjunct Professors is proportional to their time commitment to the University. For example, an Adjunct Professor with a 50% commitment to the University is expected to teach one credit annually. Adjunct Professors with less than 50% commitment should discuss teaching opportunities with the Graduate School.
External Professors have a teaching obligation at OIST.
We have a commitment and an obligation to MEXT to deliver teaching by accredited faculty members. Abdication of teaching responsibilities, either by refusing to teach or through the use of substitute teachers, will be communicated to the Faculty Affairs Office by the Graduate School and will need to be explained at the annual appraisal. The opportunity to enhance teaching by the participation of Visiting Professors or other Speakers is recognized, but certain guidelines apply.
Substitute teachers may not be used to deliver the faculty commitment, except under the sabbatical leave regulations. Guest lectures by visiting faculty are welcome but require prior approval by the Dean of the Graduate School, based on confirmation that the teaching content and methods will fulfill the course objectives. Applications must be submitted at least one month prior to the scheduled teaching on form [Link].
With the agreement of the Deans of the Graduate School and Faculty Affairs, non-faculty researchers (Senior Staff Scientists, Science and Technology Associates, Staff Scientists, and Postdoctoral Scholars) may contribute to courses under the supervision of a faculty member. Non-faculty researchers may not be the principal supervisor of graduate students but may assist in supervising their research assignments. If such members of the research staff are engaged in teaching, it should be connected with their project and enhance their academic development, and be recorded by the Graduate School. In such cases, it is expected that the University faculty member is present for the scheduled teaching hours to provide mentoring and quality control; this should not be used to replace faculty in teaching. Measures of performance of non-faculty researchers may include the contribution to teaching. Non-faculty members wishing to teach should consult the relevant section of the Graduate School Handbook.
Other teaching and administrative responsibilities do not offset the baseline faculty teaching expectation. Other teaching responsibilities include service as Academic Mentors, on Committees including the Admissions Committee and the Curriculum and Examinations Committee, supervision of Ph.D. Thesis Research, supervision of Laboratory Rotations, and supervision of Research Interns, etc.

3.2.3 Research Units

The Research Unit is the administrative entity for managing faculty research at the University. All full-time faculty members including Assistant Professors will be independent heads of Research Units. The non-hierarchical organization of the faculty and the absence of departmental structure will encourage interaction between Research Units and sharing of space, equipment, and expertise, which will promote interdisciplinary research activities. Research Units may appoint Postdoctoral Scholars, Staff Scientists, Senior Staff Scientists, or Technicians as fixed term employees. For continuing appointments, the Unit Head may make a proposal to the Research Staff Appointments Committee. Staff Scientists may be nominated as Senior Staff Scientists. Postdoctoral Scholars are always fixed term employees. Administrative personnel will be appointed according to the administrative needs of the Research Units, and may be shared between different Research Units. Faculty members have a high level of responsibility when employing fixed term research staff to ensure that their training and career development needs are taken into account.

3.2.3.1 Non-Faculty Research Appointments
There are five classes of non-Faculty Research Appointments; Postdoctoral Scholars, Staff Scientists, Senior Staff Scientists, Technicians and Science and Technology Associates. Non-faculty research staff may undertake limited teaching duties as described in 3.2.2 item 6. The definition of each non-Faculty Research Appointment is stipulated in 4.2.

3.2.3.2 Faculty responsibilities upon departure of a research unit member
When a research unit member leaves the unit, the faculty member is responsible for overseeing that the unit member follows necessary procedures without delay. This may include making changes to the research plan involving departing unit members and obtaining approval from the relevant internal committees and external funding agencies. In addition, the faculty member is responsible for keeping track of equipment, samples, and data used by the departing staff and for ensuring that the necessary procedures are followed for the handover, disposal, and archiving of such items.

3.2.3.3 Closure of Research Unit
When a faculty member who leads a research unit retires or resigns, the research unit will be closed at the end of their contract or at another time as specified by the Dean of Faculty Affairs. The departing faculty member is responsible for completing the necessary paperwork and procedures to properly close the research unit on time. The faculty member shall cooperate with the relevant sections to undertake various procedures required for the closure. This includes, but is not limited to:

Promptly inform unit members of the unit closure date to give them enough time to prepare for departure or transfer to another unit at OIST and instruct them to cooperate with the unit closure process.
Consult with the Dean of the Graduate School regarding the transfer of research supervision for remaining graduate students, if any
Take steps to terminate any ongoing research projects that require safety or ethics committee approval
Take steps to terminate or arrange to transfer collaborative research agreements, contract research for external funding, etc.
Take steps to store and transfer research data, research samples, lab notebooks, etc.
Take appropriate procedures for the management of intellectual property such as patents, if any
Take appropriate measures for the disposal of research reagents and waste liquids, etc.
Hand over fixed assets (software, IT equipment, research equipment, and furniture used in the unit) to the relevant sections in the IT division and to Core Facilities after conducting a fixed asset inspection at the unit. The departing faculty member or a delegated unit member should be present at the onsite inspection with the relevant office to check the condition and damage of such assets.
Clear out lab space, desk space, and office space assigned to the unit and dispose of any items that are not required for storage or handover.

See Unit Closure Checklist and Procedures [Link] for detailed procedures for closing the research unit.

3.2.4 Recruitment and New Appointment

Faculty members of the University are selected based on the highest international standards of evaluation of candidates to ensure the recruitment of the best available faculty. The procedures are described in the Faculty Search Committee Handbook.

The entire appointment proceedings require discussion of specific individuals, and the opinions of others regarding those individuals. This and other relevant information must be held in strict confidence by all participants. The University commits to extensive measures to protect the privacy of the candidates by preserving the confidentiality of the information it receives regarding the candidates

3.2.4.1 Strategies for Recruiting the Best Available Faculty
The University will recruit faculty through open competition and strict review with the highest academic and research standards, expressly including external evaluation. To attract world-class researchers, the University will need to provide an excellent research environment. An important consideration is internal funding. Funding is provided for each Research Unit based on a five-year approved budget plan, adjusted annually to conform to the actual budget and changes that may have occurred in the Unit. Faculty members also will be encouraged to seek external funding. To attract world-class researchers, the University will offer salaries, travel expenses, and other benefits that are competitive with top universities in other countries.

3.2.4.2 Age and Gender Distribution of the Research and Teaching Staff
The University’s recruiting policies will aim for a balance in the age distribution of the University faculty. This will ensure that both new researchers and more established researchers will be represented among the faculty. The University is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty. The University welcomes nominations of and applications from women and members of underrepresented groups, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the University’s research, teaching and commercial development missions.

3.2.4.3 New Appointment
The University will use standard tiered ranks of appointment enabling smooth transfer of personnel between institutions and enhancing recruitment at appropriate levels to maintain world-best standards of faculty teaching and research. This will consist of a tenure-track system comprising Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors. Appointments may be made at any of these levels. Tenure carries with it a commitment of employment until retirement. However, it does not guarantee internal research support. Tenured faculty will compete along with their fellow tenured and untenured faculty colleagues for internal research funding on a 5-year cycle.

For an appointment, the evaluation and recommendation phase is carried out by a Faculty Search Committee.

a) Process of Determining Rank and Tenure Status at New Appointment
Appointments follow a rigorous process of evaluation and recommendation from among the following ranks,

Assistant Professor is an untenured position.
Associate Professor can be made at the tenured or untenured level.
Professor is normally the position denoting tenure, although there may be some situations where this is not the case, such as when the individual is beyond the retirement age.

b) Structure and Membership of the Faculty Search Committee
The Faculty Search Committee is responsible for gathering data on scholarship, teaching, and other relevant matters. The Faculty Search Committee will consist of at least 3 and typically 5 to 8 members of the Faculty Assembly. The Dean of Faculty Affairs will appoint Faculty Search Committee members and the Chair. Faculty Search Committees may include external members, but the Chair should be from the Faculty Assembly. Members of the Senior Level Executives should not normally be members of Faculty Search Committees.

A member of the Faculty Search Committee will be assigned the responsibility of insuring that the diversity standards for the search are met.

c) Criteria for New Appointment
The University is dedicated to excellence in scholarship, teaching, technology development, and technology transfer. The purpose of the appointment evaluation of the candidate is to appraise, on the basis of the record to date, the standing and potential on at least two of these criteria, always including the quality of teaching and mentoring.

The Faculty Search Committee will select candidates considered for possible appointments. The Faculty Search Committee will solicit advice from external advisor(s) about the standing of the chosen candidates, and suggest external reviewers (letter writers) who will write letters for the candidates. Letters from external reviewers (letter writers) are essential for an objective process and, in general, carry more weight than letters from reviewers of the candidate’s choice. The Faculty Search Committee aims to collect 4 letters from external reviewers (letter writers) for an appointment at the untenured level and 8 letters from external reviewers (letter writers) for tenure appointments, within 2 months from the initial request for the letters. If 25% of the letters at this point recommend non-appointment, it will require some other justification to make the recommendation to appoint. The external reviewers (letter writers) should neither be co-authors, mentors, nor close working colleagues of the candidate. When soliciting the opinion of internal or external reviewers (letter writers), the Faculty Search Committee should use the sample letters of request from the Faculty Search Committee Handbook.

The first criterion for an appointment is that the scholarship and research rank among the top 5-10 percent in their worldwide cohort at their level of professional development for the proposed appointment level. Scholarship can be evaluated by journal papers, conference proceedings, and/or intellectual properties (patents, software, designs, procedural documents, etc.). Letters from external reviewers (letter writers) should support this assessment in an unequivocal fashion.

The second criterion for appointment is a record of high-quality teaching that clearly establishes that the candidate can plan and sustain a quality teaching program. Given that some candidates (especially for appointment to the Assistant Professor rank) may not yet have had an opportunity to teach extensively, the Faculty Search Committee must assess whether the candidate has the potential to be a qualified instructor at the University. For candidates where the Faculty Search Committee is unsure of their teaching ability, a demonstration of teaching should be arranged. Teaching is broadly defined to include the classroom or laboratory, advising, mentoring, program building, and curriculum development. If available, evidence and testimonials of the teaching record should be included in the file.

The outcome of the Faculty Search Committee will be a file containing the Appointment Papers and a cover letter from the Chair submitted to the President, after review by the Appointment and Promotion Committee as described in the Faculty Search Committee Handbook, through the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

When a Faculty Search Committee process results in a positive recommendation for tenured appointments, there will be the following levels of review that are required in order to achieve ratification. Taken in the order they are:

Review by the President.
If the President agrees with the recommendation by the Faculty Search Committee, the file, accompanied by a letter from the President, goes to the Board of Governors for final approval.
If the President disagrees with the Committee's recommendation, the President will discuss how to resolve the disagreement with the Committee. They may convene a separate assessment for their own use if necessary.

When a Faculty Search Committee process results in a positive recommendation for untenured appointments, there will be the following levels of review that are required in order to achieve ratification. Taken in the order they are:

Review by the President.
If the President agrees with the recommendation by the Faculty Search Committee, they report to the Board of Governors.
If the President disagrees with the Committee's recommendation, the President will discuss how to resolve the disagreement with the Committee. They may convene a separate assessment for their own use if necessary.

3.2.5 Faculty Evaluation

Evaluations (Promotions Review and Tenure Review) follow a rigorous process of evaluation, recommendation and review. The procedures are described in the Promotion Review Evaluation Committee (PREC) Handbook and Tenure Review Evaluation Committee (TREC) Handbook, respectively.

The entire Promotion Review and Tenure Review proceedings require discussion of specific individuals, and the opinions of others regarding those individuals. This and other relevant information must be held in strict confidence by all participants. The University commits to extensive measures to protect the privacy of the candidates by preserving the confidentiality of the information it receives regarding the candidates.

3.2.5.1.1 Promotion Review (Applicable to tenured Associate Professors)
Associate Professor appointed with tenure will be reviewed for promotion to Professor during Year 4 after tenure appointment. Early review will be permitted in exceptional circumstances.

a) Structure and Membership of Promotion Review Evaluation Committee (PREC)
For a promotion review, the evaluation and recommendation phase is carried out by a Promotion Review Evaluation Committee (PREC).

The PREC will comprise three to five members of the Faculty Assembly. The Dean of Faculty Affairs will appoint PREC members and the Chair. The PREC may include external advisors, but the Chair should be from the Faculty Assembly. Details are described in the corresponding PREC Handbook.

The PREC is a non-standing committee that is established independently for each individual action. In evaluation, substantial input from external reviewers (letter writers) is required and the external reviewer (letter writer) input carries the most weight with regard to the final evaluation.

b) Outline of Promotion Review
The PREC has the responsibility for gathering data on scholarship, teaching, service and other relevant matters.

Members of the PREC should have no collaborative or mentoring relationship with the candidate, although this may sometimes be unavoidable or preferable to other alternatives. Any mentoring or collaborative relationship between the candidate and a PREC member should be clearly disclosed in the cover letter from the Chair.

Letters from external reviewers (letter writers) are essential for an objective evaluation process and, in general, carry more weight than letters from reviewers of candidate’s choice. The PREC aims to collect 6 letters from external reviewers (letter writers) within 2 months from the initial request of the letters. If 25% of the letters at this point recommend non-promotion, the case needs to be carefully reconsidered. The external reviewers (letter writers) should neither be co-authors, mentors nor close working colleagues of the candidate. When soliciting the opinion of external reviewers (letter writers), the PREC should draft the letter requesting the evaluation based on the template in the PREC Handbook.

A member of the PREC should be assigned the responsibility of insuring that the diversity standards for the promotion review evaluation are met.

c) Criteria for Promotion
The criteria for promotion concern the performance in scholarship, teaching and service while at OIST.

Scholarship: The first criterion for promotion is that the individual's scholarship and research ranks among the top 5 or 10 percent in their world-wide cohort at his or her level of professional development for the proposed promotion level. The appraisal of the scholarship will be based on the letters received from the external reviewers (letter writers), and on the quality of the three nominated papers for review, and their impact and originality. Letters from external reviewers (letter writers) should support this assessment in an unequivocal fashion.

Teaching and mentoring: The second criterion for promotion is a record of high quality teaching that clearly establishes that the candidate can plan and sustain a quality teaching program. The appraisal of teaching performance will be based mainly on the experience at OIST. Teaching is defined to include the classroom and laboratory, as well as advising, mentoring, program building, and curricular development. In evaluating teaching, testimonials from students, postdoctoral scholars and OIST faculty will be important. As part of the CV and Academic Service Record, the candidate can provide relevant, yet objective, feedback from students attending courses presented by the candidate, and/or examples of mentoring practice. The Dean of the Graduate School and others may be consulted for an appraisal.

Academic Service: Supporting the University in its widest sense through committees and other service work, and the international scientific community through, for example, service on conference organizing committees, editorial boards and peer review committees is an important part of the academic duties. The Provost, the Dean of Faculty Affairs and others (for example, Committee Chairs) may be consulted for an appraisal.

There is no fixed weighting of these aspects. However, excellence in scholarship and teaching is required, and the performance in service work must be, at least, assessed as good. It will not be possible to be promoted if the performance in either teaching or service work is unsatisfactory.

d) Process after Promotion Review
The PREC recommendation will be a file containing Promotion Review papers and a cover letter from the Chair of the PREC, submitted to the President, after review by the Appointment and Promotion Committee as described in the PREC Handbook, through the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

A positive recommendation from the PREC will proceed through the following levels of review. Taken in order, these are:

Review by the President
If the President agrees with the PREC recommendation, the file, accompanied by a letter from the President, goes to the Board of Governors for final approval.
If the President disagrees with the PREC recommendation, the President will discuss how to resolve the disagreement with the PREC. He/She may convene a separate assessment for own use if necessary.

A negative PREC recommendation with which the President concurs, will be sent to the candidate, and will also be reported to the Board of Governors.
No review for promotion will be undertaken for at least 3 years.

3.2.5.1.2 Appeal Process
The purpose of the appeal process is to determine whether the promotion review procedures were correctly followed. The Appeal Process itself is not a reevaluation of the decision. The grounds for an appeal are limited to determining whether there were procedural errors (such as the failure to bring proper facts and criteria to bear on a decision, or the introduction of improper facts and criteria, or the failure to follow procedures correctly) that substantially affected the outcome. An unsuccessful candidate who believes there was a procedural error in the promotion review can file an appeal with the Dean of Faculty Affairs within ten (10) business days from receipt of the failure notice. Detailed appeal documents, if any, should be submitted within one month of registering the appeal.

When an appeal is filed, the matter is automatically referred to the Provost, the Dean of Research and the Dean of the Graduate School to select an ad-hoc Appeal Committee comprised of tenured faculty. If the Appeal Committee finds that there were procedural errors that substantially affected the outcome, the Appeal Committee may recommend actions to correct the errors. The details of the corrective actions will depend on the nature of the procedural errors, but may involve a new PREC, new external reviewers (letter writers), new letters, or other changes. If the Appeal Committee finds that there were no procedural errors that affected the outcome, the recommendation will be to dismiss the appeal. The Appeal Committee, itself has no authority to recommend or deny promotion.

The recommendation of the Appeal Committee is final and is communicated in writing to the President and to the candidate who filed the appeal within 2 months from registering the appeal. The candidate may not challenge the outcome of the appeal. If further actions are recommended by the Appeal Committee, it is the responsibility of the President to implement those actions.

3.2.5.2.1 Tenure Review (A)
[Transitional Provision]
Tenure Review (A) is applicable to Assistant Professors and untenured Associate Professors who were negotiated their contracts or appointed as faculty members at OIST SC between November 1st 2011 and December 31st 2016. However, they may choose Tenure Review (B) in consultation with the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

The detailed information of the Tenure Review (A) can be referred to the TREC Handbook. For Assistant Professors, a tenure evaluation is conducted in Year 6. Untenured Associate Professors will be evaluated for tenure in Year 4.

Scholarship and teaching are the primary factors in evaluation for tenure because the University is dedicated to excellence in research and education. Service to the University and/or the community is also a relevant consideration. Scholarly distinction is especially important because it sustains both the University's research and teaching mission, which derives its strength from the ongoing involvement of the instructors in research at the forefront of a field. The purpose of the tenure evaluation is to appraise, on the basis of the record to date, the standing and potential in the relevant scholarly discipline, quality of teaching and mentoring, and quality and relevance of service.

The tenure decision is based on the career scholarly, teaching and service achievement during the full career, not solely the achievements at OIST.

The Tenure Review Evaluation Committee (TREC) has the responsibility for gathering data on scholarship, teaching, service and other relevant matters. The Dean of Faculty Affairs will appoint the TREC members after discussion of potential membership and possible external advisors with the candidate. The TREC will comprise three to five members of the Faculty Assembly with chair nominated by Dean of Faculty Affairs.

The TREC may enlist an external advisor to assist with identifying suitable external reviewers (letter writers) and should include an external member to assist in assessing the case for tenure, with full membership of the TREC and voting rights.

Members of the TREC should have no collaborative or mentoring relationship with the candidate, although this may sometimes be unavoidable or preferable to other alternatives. Any mentoring or collaborative relationship between the candidate and a TREC member should be clearly disclosed in the cover letter from the Chair.

A member of the TREC should be assigned the responsibility of insuring that the diversity standards for the tenure review evaluation are met.

Letters from external reviewers (letter writers) are essential for an objective evaluation. The TREC aims to collect 8 letters from external reviewers (letter writers) within 2 months from the initial request for letters. If 25% of those collected at this point recommend against tenure, that should be sufficient to refuse tenure.

The external reviewers (letter writers) should neither be co-authors, mentors nor close working colleagues of the candidate. When soliciting the opinion of external reviewers (letter writers), the TREC should draft the letter requesting the evaluation based on the template in the TREC Handbook.

The first criterion for a tenure appointment is that the candidate has achieved the highest level of distinction in scholarship and research that places them within the top echelon of their international peer group. The peer group comprises world-wide scholars that are at the same level of academic maturity who work in research areas that are similar or closely allied to that of the candidate. Letters from external reviewers (letter writers) should support this assessment in an unequivocal fashion.

The second criterion for a tenure appointment is a record of high quality teaching that clearly establishes that the candidate can plan and sustain a first-rate teaching program. Teaching is broadly defined to include the classroom or laboratory, advising, mentoring, program building, and curriculum development. A letter from the Dean of the Graduate School is required to document and evaluate the teaching, rotation supervision and mentoring roles.

In some cases, service to the University can be relevant to the tenure decision. But service, however exemplary, cannot substitute for major shortcomings in scholarship or teaching.

The outcome of the TREC will be a file containing the Tenure Review Papers and a cover letter from the Chair of the TREC to the President, after review by the Appointment and Promotion Committee as described in the TREC Handbook, through the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

The positive recommendation of the TREC will proceed through the following levels of review. Taken in order they are:

Review by the President
If the President agrees with the recommendation by TREC, the file, accompanied by a letter from the President, goes to the Board of Governors for final approval.
If the President disagrees with the TREC recommendation, the President will discuss how to resolve the disagreement with the TREC. He/She may convene a separate assessment for own use if necessary.

A negative TREC recommendation with which the President concurs, will be sent to the candidate, and will also be reported to the Board of Governors.

For an Assistant Professor, the award of tenure automatically involves promotion to Associate Professor.

Under exceptional circumstances, an Assistant Professor who has had a negative tenure outcome can be reviewed for promotion to Associate Professor without tenure. In such exceptional case, the second review as Associate Professor without tenure is conducted in Year 8 from the initial appointment as an Assistant Professor and follows the similar procedure stipulated in Tenure Review (B). Such tenure review must be completed by the end of Year 9 from the initial appointment as an Assistant Professor.

For an Associate Professor, TREC may solicit from the external reviewers (letter writers) an opinion on whether to promote to Professor and on the basis of the responses may make such a recommendation.

In the case of a negative decision for tenure, the appointment will terminate as in the contract, or after a year if the remaining time on the contract is less than a year. The unsuccessful candidate should work with the Provost and the Dean of Faculty Affairs to ensure an orderly transition, including making proper provision for the timely completion of any theses that are in progress, for redeployment of any continuing staff and for the completion of the contracts for the fixed-term staff and post-doctoral scholars.

3.2.5.2.1 Tenure Review (B)
Tenure Review (B) is applicable to untenured faculty who negotiated their contracts after January 1st, 2017. The main difference from Tenure Review (A) is that a unit review is conducted by an external review committee (ERC) and the review itself, letters from at least 3 experts on the ERC, and letters from additional external letter writers as in system (A) are considered by the TREC; in system (A) there was no associated unit review and therefore, of course, no letters from ERC members.

Detailed information of this Tenure Review (B) can be found in the TREC (B) Handbook.

a) Structure and Membership of Tenure Review Evaluation Committee (TREC)
The tenure review process is carried out by the TREC, which consists of 3 or more faculty appointed by the Dean of Faculty Affairs with advice from the Appointment and Promotion Committee (APC) and after discussion of potential membership with the candidate.

A member of the TREC should be assigned the responsibility of insuring that the diversity standards for the tenure review evaluation are met. A member of the ERC is appointed as a non-voting member of the TREC; typically this is the chair of the ERC.

The TREC is a non-standing committee that is established independently for each individual action. In evaluation, substantial input from external reviewers ( letter writers) is required and the external reviewers’ / letter writers’ input carries the most weight with regard to the final evaluation.

b) Outline of Tenure Review
The ERC has the responsibility for conducting an on-site review, providing liaison with the TREC via the one member who is appointed to the TREC, and writing evaluation letters (each of the experts on the ERC writes one letter). The TREC then analyzes all external letters and the data on scholarship, teaching, service and other relevant matters, and finalizes a report.

The purpose of the tenure review is to appraise, based on the record to date, and an on-site unit review, the standing and potential in the relevant scholarly discipline, quality of teaching and mentoring, and quality and relevance of service.

The tenure decision is based on the career scholarly, teaching and service achievement during the full career, not solely the achievements at OIST.

Letters from external evaluation letter writers are essential for an objective evaluation. The TREC aims to collect 8 letters from external evaluation letter writers, including those from at least 3 experts on the ERC (as external evaluation letter writers), within 4 months from the TESD (Tenure Evaluation Starting Date). If at least three letters recommend against tenure at this point, that should be sufficient to refuse tenure, although it is recommended the committee wait until 8 letters are received before proceeding.

c) Criteria for Tenure
The first criterion for a tenure appointment is that the candidate has achieved high levels of distinction in scholarship and research that places them within the top echelon of their international peer group. The peer group comprises world-wide scholars that are at the same level of academic maturity who work in research areas that are similar or closely allied to that of the candidate.

In some cases, service to the University can be relevant to the tenure decision. But service, however exemplary, cannot substitute for major shortcomings in scholarship or teaching.

d) Timeline of Tenure Review
Assistant Professor (as such at initial appointment)
The Tenure Review begins on or by the TESD, which is the last day of the 6th month of Year 5 (4 years and 6 months after initial appointment). The 1st Tenure Review of an Assistant Professor must be completed by the end of Year 6. The TESD is the deadline for receiving tenure materials from the candidate. The Tenure Review decision will normally be made within 6 months of the TESD. The TESD cannot be delayed, except for the circumstances in accordance with the “Stop-the-Clock” Policy in PRP3.2.5.2.2. An early review will be permitted in exceptional circumstances.

Year 1: Appointment as Assistant Professor begins. A Mentor is appointed.

End of Year 3: The candidate should submit the following to the Dean of Faculty Affairs: a CV including publication list, two 1-page outlines: an outline of research highlights at OIST or prior to joining OIST, and an outline of a research plan for the next five years.
The Dean of Faculty Affairs will send a copy of these to the candidate's faculty mentor, and to another tenured faculty member appointed by the Dean of Faculty Affairs. The candidate then has a meeting with these two faculty. Following this meeting the two faculty write a status report about the candidate’s readiness for the tenure review, and this report is submitted to the Dean of Faculty Affairs. Finally, the candidate has a status meeting with the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

Between the mid-Year 5 and Year 6: The 1st Tenure Review is conducted. By the end of Year 6, the Tenure Review must be completed (The TREC’s recommendation is sent to the President and the candidate is notified of the Tenure Review outcome by the President). There are four possible outcomes:

Tenured Full Professor: The Assistant Professor is awarded tenure and appointed as a Professor with approval from the Board of Governors.
Tenured Associate Professor: The Assistant Professor is awarded tenure and appointed as Associate Professor with approval from the Board of Governors.
Untenured Associate Professor: The Assistant Professor is promoted to untenured Associate Professor with approval from the President.
“Unsuccessful”: The contract is terminated at the end of the contract period, or one year from notification of the failed review, whichever is later, subject to the limitation in PRP3.2.5.2.4.

Year 8: The 2nd Tenure Review is conducted for those that received the outcome "Untenured Associate Professor" in the 1st Tenure Review. This review must be completed before the end of Year 9 (The TREC’s recommendation is sent to the President and the candidate is notified of the Tenure Review outcome by the President). There are three possible outcomes:

Tenured Full Professor: The Associate Professor is awarded tenure and appointed as a Professor with approval from the Board of Governors.
Tenured Associate Professor: The Associate Professor is awarded tenure with approval from the Board of Governors.
“Unsuccessful”: The contract is terminated at the end of the contract period, or one year from notification of the failed review, whichever is later, subject to the limitation in PRP3.2.5.2.4.

Associate Professor (untenured at initial appointment)
The Tenure Review begins on or by the TESD, which is the last day of the 6th month of Year 4 (3 years and 6 months after initial appointment). The Tenure Review of an Associate Professor must be completed by the end of Year 5. The TESD is the deadline for receiving tenure materials from the candidate. The tenure review decision will normally be made within 6 months of the TESD. The TESD cannot be delayed, except for the circumstances in accordance with the “Stop-the-Clock” Policy in PRP3.2.5.2.2. An early review will be permitted in exceptional circumstances.

Year 1: Appointment as Associate Professor (untenured at initial appointment) begins. A Mentor is appointed.

Between mid-Year 4 and Year 5: The Tenure Review is conducted for the Associate Professor (untenured at initial appointment). By the end of Year 5, the Tenure Review must be completed (The TREC’s recommendation is sent to the President and the candidate is notified of the Tenure Review outcome by the President). There are three possible outcomes:

Tenured Full Professor: The untenured Associate Professor is awarded tenure and appointed as Professor, with approval from the Board of Governors
Tenured Associate Professor: The Associate Professor is awarded tenure, with approval from the Board of Governors
"Unsuccessful”: The contract is terminated at the end of the contract period, or one year from notification of the failed review, whichever is later, subject to the limitation in PRP3.2.5.2.4.

e) Process after Tenure Review
The TREC recommendation will be a file containing Tenure Review papers and a cover letter from the Chair of the TREC, submitted to the President, after review by the Appointment and Promotion Committee as described in the TREC (B) Handbook, through the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

A positive recommendation from the TREC will proceed through the following levels of review. In order, these are:

Review by the President
If the President agrees with the TREC recommendation, the file, accompanied by a letter from the President, goes to the Board of Governors for final approval.
If the President disagrees with the TREC recommendation, the President will discuss how to resolve the disagreement with the TREC. The President may convene a separate assessment of the candidate for additional advice, if necessary.

A negative TREC recommendation with which the President concurs, will be sent to the candidate, and will also be reported to the Board of Governors.

The unsuccessful candidate should work with the Provost and the Dean of Faculty Affairs to ensure an orderly transition, including making proper provision for timely completion of any theses in progress, for redeployment of continuing staff, and for completion of contracts for fixed-term staff and post-doctoral scholars.

3.2.5.2.2 “Stop-the-Clock” Policy for Tenure-track faculty
Tenure-track faculty may request a contract extension and postponement of tenure review to accommodate parental responsibilities relating to childbirth, adoption of a child, or rearing of a baby. A second extension may be requested. Stop-the-Clock cannot be multiplied for multiple births (e.g., twins).

This policy is independent of maternity, parental, or childcare leave. Taking such leave does not automatically lead to application of Stop-the Clock Policy. An extension of the TESD does not alter the candidate’s normal duties (i.e. teaching, supervision).

The form [Link] must be submitted to the Dean of Faculty Affairs prior to the TESD. Upon approval of the form by the Dean of Faculty Affairs and the President, the following actions will be taken.

The TESD will be postponed one year.
The employment of the candidate will be continued for one more year.
The unit funding will be extended one year.
The contracts of unit staff will not automatically be extended.

In case of extenuating circumstances (e.g., multiple births, difficult pregnancy, premature birth, or medical conditions associated with childbirth), the Dean of Faculty Affairs may grant an additional 3-6- month discretionary extension. A request for an additional extension must be submitted to the Dean of Faculty Affairs together with supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate).

OIST Tenure Review offers a flexible timeline. With approval from the Dean of Faculty Affairs, “Stop-the-Clock” requests and other delays of the TESD arising from exceptional circumstances may be accommodated.

The total period of fixed-term contracts should not exceed 10 years for either Assistant Professors or untenured Associate Professors, subject to 3.2.5.2.4.

Under the Tenure Review (B), when an Assistant Professor received the outcome Untenured Associate Professor” in the 1st Tenure Review and undertakes a 2nd Tenure Review, that review must be concluded before the end of Year 9. When the outcome of the 2nd Tenure Review is negative, the contract of the candidate will be terminated at the end of the contract period.

3.2.5.2.3 Appeal Process
The purpose of the appeal process is to determine whether the tenure review procedures were correctly followed. The Appeal Process itself is not a reevaluation of the decision. The grounds for an appeal are limited to determining whether there were procedural errors (such as the failure to bring proper facts and criteria to bear on a decision, or the introduction of improper facts and criteria, or the failure to follow procedures correctly) that substantially affected the outcome. An unsuccessful candidate who believes there was a procedural error in the tenure review can file an appeal with the Dean of Faculty Affairs within ten (10) business days from receipt of the failure notice. Detailed appeal documents, if any, should be submitted within one month of registering the appeal.

When an appeal is filed, the matter is automatically referred to the Provost the Dean of Research and the Dean of the Graduate School to select an ad-hoc Appeal Committee comprised of tenured faculty. If the Appeal Committee finds that there were procedural errors that substantially affected the outcome, the Appeal Committee may recommend actions to correct the errors. The details of the corrective actions will depend on the nature of the procedural errors, but may involve a new TREC, new external reviewers (letter writers), new letters, or other changes. If the Appeal Committee finds that there were no procedural errors that affected the outcome, the recommendation will be to dismiss the appeal. The Appeal Committee, itself has no authority to recommend or deny tenure.

3.2.5.2.4 Total Period of Fixed-term Contracts
Under any circumstances, the total period of fixed-term contracts should not exceed 10 years counting from the fixed term contract start date executed on or after April 1, 2013 for either Assistant Professors or untenured Associate Professors.

3.2.6 Faculty Annual Performance Appraisal and Salary Increase
Faculty members will meet annually with the Dean of Faculty Affairs to discuss their performance during the previous fiscal year, and to provide them with mentoring as necessary. Details are described in the Guidelines for the Annual Faculty Appraisal. This is an opportunity to appraise the faculty member’s performance, including teaching, research, mentoring, university service, grants received (especially external grants), and faculty obligations. It is also an opportunity for them to obtain help and feedback, especially in the area of unit management, including implementation of OIST’s respectful workplace policy, and to set objectives for the subsequent year and to develop a plan of action to improve performance, if necessary.

If the performance is “Satisfactory”, faculty members may be eligible for a salary increase, depending on OIST’s budgetary status.

Research performance of units will be evaluated separately, as described in PRP 3.2.7, “Research Unit Budget and Evaluation”

3.2.7 Research Unit Budget and Evaluation

Each full-time and adjunct faculty research unit will receive multi-year subsidy support based on a proposal reviewed and approved at the time of hiring for new faculty, or for current faculty, reviewed and approved at a progress review conducted by a committee of experts from outside of OIST [Link: External Review Committee Handbook]. Faculty whose research is evaluated as mostly positive by the external review committee, may negotiate their salary with the President.

3.2.8 Conflict of Interest

OIST policies concerning conflicts of interest are described in PRP Chapter 22. Members of the faculty must declare conflicts of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest when these exist. The existence of a conflict of interest is not necessarily a barrier to employment or procurement relationships. However, special procedures must be followed to ensure the integrity of interactions with and the fair treatment of students, researchers, employees, contractors, vendors, and others associated with faculty in the execution of their duties.

3.3 Retirement

The normal retirement date for faculty members will be at the end of the academic year in which they reach 70 years of age, or on the date they reach 70, whichever is specified in the contract. Two years prior to retirement, faculty members should work with the Provost and the Dean of Faculty Affairs to ensure an orderly transition- i.e., making proper provisions for staff/postdocs, and other matters. Professors are not permitted to accept new PhD students and to serve as their primary supervisors after reaching 68. No external Unit review will be conducted after 65 years.

Faculty members may choose to retire early, after the age of 60, if they have served the university in a significant capacity for at least 10 years. Early retirement will be granted at the discretion of the President.

3.3.1 Emeritus Professor

OIST will apply the title Emeritus Professor indefinitely to all full-time faculty upon retirement, including those who have retired early. This comes with no salary, but with access to OIST resources and limited privileges for a period of five years, which may be renewed in negotiation with the President. Entitlement to emeritus status and access to OIST resources is conditional upon adherence to Japanese law and University policies, rules, and procedures. The President may rescind both emeritus status and access without notice in the event of a violation.

3.3.2 Continuing employment beyond retirement age

Upon invitation by the President, faculty members may extend their contracts beyond retirement age, subject to successful external review. Such cases will be highly unusual.

For continuing employment, faculty members will submit a research plan with a term of no more than 5 years to the President for agreement, including a strategy for closing the unit within the term, and for being substantially financed using external funds. The President and faculty members will discuss access to space and equipment with the Provost and the Dean of Faculty Affairs. If faculty members invited by the President wish to continue doing research after retirement, they must undergo an external review with their research plan in the academic year in which they turn 68 in principle. Faculty members thus approved after the external review will continue doing research and carrying teaching and service responsibilities and the title “Professor” during the agreed term beyond retirement age.

This is considered a fixed-term, untenured position and will involve a significant reduction in unit space and funds. Salary will be negotiable, but will normally be reduced.

3.3.3 Faculty members serving in executive capacities

Faculty members who have served in executive capacities (i.e. Dean or Vice President) for a certain period will be allowed additional time for research after the retirement date, that was negotiated with the President. This policy will function as an incentive for faculty members to assume executive functions. Research funds, salaries and unit space will not be affected during this period, and will continue as stipulated in their then current contract for the duration of their additional service.

3.3.4 Non-Faculty Research Appointments

There are five classes of non-Faculty Research Appointments; Postdoctoral Scholars, Staff Scientists, Senior Staff Scientists, Technicians and Science and Technology Associates. Non-faculty research staff may undertake limited teaching duties as described in 3.2.2 item 6. The definition of each non-Faculty Research Appointment is stipulated in 4.2.

3.4 Management Structure for Academic Issues

The management structure of the University is described in the Chapter 2. The administrative organization responsible for faculty governance and academic issues will be the Faculty Assembly (the “Assembly”). The Assembly will have an executive body, the Faculty Council (the “Council”). The Assembly and Council are described in sections 3.4.1 and 3.4.2, respectively. The administrative home of the members of the faculty will be the Dean for Faculty Affairs.

The Provost will administer research resources, promote good conduct in research and ensure that the research program conforms to the highest ethical standards; lead appropriate subcommittees of the Core Facilities as well as represent OIST in research-related domains; liaise with the Deans of Faculty Affairs, of Research and of the Graduate School.

The Dean of the Graduate School will administer the OIST Graduate School. The position of Dean of the Graduate School will be a rotating position of the faculty with a three-year term, which is renewable at the discretion of the President.

The Dean of the Graduate School will manage the academic program, including the following matters:

Student recruitment and admissions
Curriculum and organization of courses
Student guidance and supervision
Student career development
Award of degrees and graduation
Enrollment, re-enrollment, withdrawals, transfers, overseas study, leave of absence
Appraisals and sanctions of students
Evaluation of teaching
Other matters relating to education

As necessary, the Dean of the Graduate School will appoint committees that the Dean of the Graduate School chairs, the Dean of the Graduate School’s committees, which include faculty members to advise on those matters requiring academic and educational input. For instance, faculty will staff the Admissions Committee. To enable changes to the curriculum in a given area, the Dean of the Graduate School will choose specific people to help in approving suggested modifications.

A Senior Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School will administer the student-related functions including financial aid to students, student housing, student organization, student activities, student welfare, mentoring and career development, and student records. The position of Senior Assistant is an administrative, non-rotating position that will provide continuity in administration of the Graduate School.

3.4.1 Faculty Assembly

3.4.1.1 Role of the Assembly
The Assembly is a self-governing body of the whole professoriate that provides the faculty with information about university matters and serves as a forum for open discussion of University affairs with the President. The Assembly is advisory to the President. The Assembly can bring issues that warrant the attention of the University management directly to the President. For operational efficiency the Assembly elects a sub-group, called the Council. The Council, under the leadership of the Chairperson of the Assembly, acts as the executive committee of the Assembly. The members of the faculty in addition have administrative duties on various committees. These functions are services to the University; the President, Senior Vice President, Provost, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty Affairs and Dean of Research make appointments to these committees.

3.4.1.2 Membership of the Assembly
The membership of the Assembly includes all full-time Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Adjunct faculty. Emeritus, Distinguished and Visiting faculty members may participate in Assembly meetings as non-voting members. Two student representatives (elected by the students), two researcher representatives (elected by the OIST Researcher Community) and one representative of the Science and Technology Group (elected by the Science and Technology Group Forum) may participate in the Assembly, with speaking rights but without voting rights.

The President, Senior Vice President, Provost, Secretary General, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty Affairs, and Dean of Research may participate as ex officio members. The ex-officio members and student and research representatives attend the Assembly meetings at the invitation of the Chairperson and may be excused when the Chairperson deems necessary.

3.4.1.3 Chairperson of the Assembly
The Assembly has a Chairperson. The Chairperson of the Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of the Assembly. Elections to the position of Chairperson will take place every two years. The term of office as Chairperson is two years. For the election of the Chair of the Faculty Assembly, a call for nominations will be made on February 1. Candidates will make their presentations at the Faculty Assembly meeting in March. The election will be held immediately following the Faculty Assembly presentations. If the Chair of the Faculty Assembly is unable to serve, the Faculty Council will appoint an interim Chair, who will hold elections within two months, to fill the position until the end of the previous Chair’s term.

The role of the Chairperson is to preside at meetings of the Assembly. The Chairperson will set the dates of meetings. The agenda is set by the Chair of the Assembly, but the President, Senior Vice President, Provost, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty Affairs, and Dean of Research should always be consulted and be invited to the meeting. The Chairperson will represent the faculty as ex-officio member of OIST administrative committees as deemed necessary. The Chairperson will communicate the results of the deliberations of the Assembly and its subsidiary bodies to the appropriate members of the administration (Board of Governors, Board of Councilors, President, Senior Vice President, Provost Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty Affairs, and Dean of Research).

3.4.1.4 Frequency of Convocation
The Chairperson will call meetings of the Assembly at least three times per year.

3.4.1.5 Items to be Discussed at Meetings of the Assembly
The Assembly will deliberate on policy matters, strategic direction and educational philosophy. The Assembly may consider specific matters as follows:

Election of the Council
Enrollment, re-enrollment, withdrawals, transfers, overseas study, leave of absence
New research initiatives
Common resources and space
Faculty recruitment, promotions, and tenure
Staff welfare
Information technology and libraries
Formation of subcommittees
Reports on academic matters
Reports on other committees
Other matters

The Faculty Assembly shall state its opinion for the admission and graduation matters and completion of academic programs. Authority is delegated to the Admissions Committee to select students for admission to the PhD program. Authority is delegated to the Curriculum and Examinations Committee to deal with matters related to the curriculum and individual student progress in the PhD program, The Admissions Committee and the Curriculum and Examinations Committee are advisory to the Dean of the Graduate School, and report to the Assembly through the Dean of the Graduate School.

3.4.1.6 Procedures and Rules of the Faculty Assembly

The Faculty Assembly may transact its business but shall not vote on resolutions unless a majority of full-time faculty members with voting rights is present.
Resolution of the Faculty Assembly shall be passed by a majority vote of attending faculty members with voting rights. Faculty members who hold Executive positions will be asked to abstain from voting on matters that relate directly to their responsibilities as members of the OIST Executive. The Chair shall decide in the event of a tie vote.
As deemed necessary by the Chair, faculty members may participate in the Faculty Assembly by teleconference and may exercise voting rights. Absent faculty members may not vote.
If there are resolutions that need to be voted on but a quorum of faculty members is not present, the Chair will decide and announce during the Assembly meeting whether to conduct voting online or to postpone voting until the next Assembly meeting. In regard to online voting, the Faculty Assembly shall formulate a summary of the topic under discussion or the Assembly may delegate this duty to the Chair. This summary will be circulated to faculty members, who will be given 5 business days to vote. A resolution will be deemed to have passed if there is an online quorum (i.e., a majority of faculty members with voting rights participate in online voting) and the majority of those who vote are in favor.
As deemed necessary by the Chair, people other than faculty members may be invited to attend the meeting.
Agendas and minutes of Faculty Assembly meetings shall be made available to all faculty members.

3.4.2 Faculty Council

The Council is the elected executive body of the Assembly and its role is to advise to the President on academic and administrative matters. The agenda is set by the Chair of the Council, but the President, Senior Vice President, Provost, Dean of the Graduate School Dean of Faculty Affairs and Dean of Research should always be consulted and be invited to the meeting. Other members of the administration can be invited as appropriate. These meetings are critical for the healthy operation of the institution and provide a venue in which the trust and cooperation between administration and faculty can be established and maintained. The Assembly delegates the responsibility to deliberate on specific matters to the Council. Council members are elected members of the Faculty, including the Chair of the Faculty Assembly, who is also the Chair of the Council. Consistent with the Japanese government gender equality goal of 30% women in leadership positions, at least 20% of Faculty Council positions will be reserved for female faculty members. In order for a quorum of the Faculty Council to conduct business, at least one female faculty member must be present. If the remaining reserved position(s) is/are not filled, then the position will remain vacant, to be filled via an election, when one or more female candidates become available.

Terms of Faculty Council members and the Chair of the Faculty Assembly start on September 1. Members are elected for a term of two years and may serve two consecutive terms. The Assembly may vote to increase the number of members on the Council proportionately as the faculty grows, but the number may not exceed 20% of the whole faculty. The following ex-officio members and the advisor may attend the Council. The composition of the Council is as follows:

Elected Members
Chair of the Assembly
Nine elected members of the Assembly

Ex-Officio Members
President
Senior Vice President
Provost
Dean of the Graduate School
Dean for Faculty Affairs
Dean of Research
Secretary to the Assembly

The Council will meet monthly. Council minutes will be available to all faculty members.

3.4.2.1 Election of Council members
It is important that the Faculty Council reflects the composition of the Faculty, with an appropriate mix of gender, ethnicity, scientific discipline, and seniority. All full-time Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors are eligible to serve as Council members. Voting members of the Assembly, including Adjunct faculty, are eligible to nominate and elect Council members.

For the election of the Faculty Council members, a call for nominations will be made on April 15. Candidates will make their presentations at the Faculty Assembly meeting in May, but if a quorum is not convened in May, a special faculty meeting may be called in June for candidate presentations. The election will be held immediately following the presentations at either of the foregoing Faculty Assembly meeting.

Election Rules and Procedures are as follows:

If the number of candidates does not exceed the number of positions to be filled, candidates who receive more than 50% of the votes cast will be elected, including reserved positions for female faculty members.
If the number of candidates exceeds the number of positions to be filled, the candidates who receive the greatest numbers of votes will be elected until all positions are filled.
Election results must be publicized to Faculty Assembly members as soon as practicable after the close of voting.
When there is a need to replace a Council member before his/her term completes, the Council will appoint the eligible candidate with the highest vote in the latest Council election within the last 6 months. If there has been no election for the last 6 months, the Council will decide whether to hold an election. The replacing member will serve for the remaining term of the departing member.

3.4.2.2 Procedures and Rules of the Faculty Council

A majority of votes is required to pass any resolution in the Faculty Council. Elected members of the Faculty Council have voting rights, but Ex-Officio Members and Advisors do not have voting rights. If there is not a majority of the members with voting rights is not in attendance, the Faculty Council shall not transact any business.
The Faculty Council agendas and minutes will be available to all faculty members.

3.4.3 The Secretariat of the Faculty Assembly and Faculty Council

The Faculty Affairs Office serves as Secretariat of the Faculty Assembly. A Secretary to the Assembly will work with the Chair of the Faculty Assembly and act as the Executive Secretary to the Assembly and to the Council, with the responsibility for preparing agendas, preparing or commissioning documents for meetings, serving any sub-Committees created by the Assembly or Council, and coordinating with Senior Executives.

3.5 Academic Program Evaluations

3.5.1 Basic Policy

The University will conduct regular assessments of education, research and results leading to technological developments. This will entail the review of organizational operation, facilities and equipment, and the release and dissemination of the research results and technologies and patents to the public.

3.5.2 Method

Assessment will be conducted regularly, based on the criteria set in advance, in regards to the goals of the University.

3.5.3 Structure for Assessment and Evaluation

The University will have an ongoing internal procedure of periodic review and assessment by committees of experts from the best universities in the world. In addition to this internal assessment, an external evaluation will be conducted by a third-party evaluation organization accredited by the government.

3.5.4 Publication and Utilization of the Results

The University will summarize the results of the external evaluation as a report to the Board of Governors, which has the responsibility for disseminating the report appropriately. The Board will deliberate on the results and use them to improve the education, research, technology impact and management of the University. Such results will be made publicly available by means of the University’s web site and other publications.

3.5.5 Major Evaluation Items

Major evaluation items include:

Purpose of the University
Research results
Technology impact
Organization for education and research
Faculty and supporting staff
Student admission
The contents and methods of education
Educational performance
Student support
Facilities and equipment
System(s) to improve the quality of education
Finance
Management

3.6 Strategies to Maintain and Improve the Quality of Teaching Staff

3.6.1 Basic Policy of Educational Development

The University must maintain and improve the quality of its faculty in order to provide an outstanding education at the University and to meet the different educational needs of each student. The office of the Dean of the Graduate School will play an active role in the development of faculty members by implementing programs for faculty development in teaching and supervision of graduate students.

3.6.2 Methods

Specifically, the University will conduct the following:

3.6.2.1 Teaching Guidelines
The Dean of the Graduate School’s office will create, maintain and distribute guidelines for quality teaching to ensure that uniform best-practice teaching standards are observed at the University.

3.6.2.2 Student Teaching Evaluations
Students will evaluate each course with a standardized questionnaire at the end of the course. The student responses will be reported to the Dean of the Graduate School’s office and will be distributed to the instructors and students. The Dean of the Graduate School’s office will assist the instructors to respond appropriately to this feedback. This feedback should be treated as confidentially as possible.

3.6.2.3 Peer Review of Teaching
Faculty members will support the development of their colleagues by participating from time to time as classroom observers, with the agreement of the instructor. The date of such observation will be reported to the Dean of the Graduate School’s office, and the observer will discuss their observations with the instructor in a collegial, respectful and supportive manner.

3.6.2.4 Instructor Training
The Dean of the Graduate School’s office will arrange training sessions, and workshops for faculty development from suitably qualified facilitators, in order to enhance the teaching ability of faculty members.

3.6.2.5 Mentoring
A mentoring system will be established so that faculty with less experience in teaching and thesis supervision can meet with more experienced faculty to receive advice and support. As a part of this system the Thesis Committee supervising each student will include junior and senior faculty members to facilitate the transfer of skills relating to supervision of research.

The Dean of the Graduate School’s office will implement these methods to ensure the improvement of the education and research of the Graduate University.

3.7 Faculty Leave

3.7.1 Holiday Entitlements

Holiday entitlements are defined in PRP Chapter 33 Leave.

3.7.2 Sabbatical Leave

Sabbatical leave offers tenured faculty members opportunities for study, research, acquisition of new techniques, and enhanced professional development. Sabbatical leave allows faculty members to focus on such matters without teaching and administrative duties. Details are described in the Sabbatical Leave Application Handbook.

Tenured faculty members are eligible to apply for sabbatical leave if they have served at least six (6) years since joining OIST as full-time faculty members. The tenure-track period is included as part of the sabbatical qualifying period so that untenured faculty members can apply for sabbatical leaves after being awarded tenure. Years from the OIST Promotion Corporation period are not counted.

For every three (3) years of academic service, tenured faculty members earn six (6) months of sabbatical credit. The maximum sabbatical credit that can be accrued is twelve (12) months.

Once eligibility is granted, at least nine (9) months before the start of the academic year in which sabbatical leave is to commence, the applicant must submit a “Request for Sabbatical Leave Application Form” online.

As part of sabbatical leave application process, an agreement between the host institution and OIST must be prepared. This agreement must include management of intellectual property that may result from the sabbatical research, and other pertinent sabbatical terms and conditions.

After submitting the online application form, the applicant must make necessary arrangements with the Deans of the Graduate School (DGS) and Faculty Affairs (DFA) to cover teaching, supervision of students and unit members, and administrative responsibilities during sabbatical leave.

When arrangements described in Sections 5 and 6in the Handbook have been approved in principle by the Provost and the three Deans (DFA, DGS, and DoR) and if the Executive Vice President for Technology Development and Innovation and General Counsel validate the Intellectual Property-related arrangements with the host institution, the Provost and the three Deans will sign the Sabbatical Leave Application Form. The application form will be sent by the Faculty Affairs Office to the President for final approval.

3.7.3 Leave without Salary

A leave without salary is a period of leave that is without salary from the University or its disability, retirement, or other benefits programs.

3.7.3.1 Requesting a Leave without Salary
Leave without salary should be requested on a standard leave request form for review and approval by the Dean of the Graduate School and the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

3.7.3.2 Review Criteria for Leave without Salary
In deciding a request for leave without salary, consideration will be given to the faculty member’s teaching and other academic responsibilities, scholarly productivity, number of doctoral theses supervised, previous leaves without salary, and any other relevant circumstances.

3.7.3.3 Effect of Leave on Term of Appointment
A leave without salary for faculty on fixed-term appointments extends the term of appointment by a period equal to the duration of the leave, unless there is advanced written agreement. This extension is not automatic and must be requested from and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School and Dean of Faculty Affairs.

3.7.3.4 Effect of Leave on Term of Research Support
With a leave without salary the period of research support may be extended by a period up to the duration of the leave. The total funds committed are not increased. Extension of the period of research must be approved by the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

3.7.3.5 Period of Partial Leave without Salary
Periods of partial leave without salary have the same effect on Term of Appointment and Term of Research Support as described in 3.7.3.3, and 3.7.3.4, but on a proportional basis.

3.7.4 Period of Pure Research Leave

Full-time faculty members may apply for a period of pure research leave, which is defined as leave from teaching and other institutional responsibilities during which the faculty member receives full or partial salary supported by the University.

3.7.4.1 Requesting a Period of Pure Research Leave
Applications for periods of pure research should be requested on the regular leave form for review and approval by the Dean of the Graduate School and the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

3.7.4.2 Reviewing a Request for Period of Pure Research Leave
In deciding a period of pure research leave request, consideration will be given to the faculty member’s teaching and other contributions to the educational program of the University, scholarly productivity, number of doctoral theses completed under his or her supervision, previous leave without salary, and any other relevant circumstances.

3.7.4.3 Effect of Leave without Salary or Pure Research Leave on Sabbatical Leave Service Accrual
Sabbatical eligibility does not accrue during periods of leave without salary or pure research leave.

3.7.5 Family and Medical Leave Policies

The family, medical, childcare and other leave policies for OIST employees are described in PRP Chapter 33 Leave. In addition to the standard leave options, faculty can request adjustments in time or amount of teaching through the Dean of the Graduate School.

3.8 Concurrent Appointment or Employment

Full-time faculty members may accept external visiting or adjunct appointments or employment in another university, research organization, or company provided that their educational, research and other activities in OIST are not affected and that there is no conflict with OIST PRPs, including intellectual property, research safety, animal care and use, human subjects or other relevant areas. Prior approval for external appointment or employment must be obtained from the Dean of Faculty Affairs in accordance with OIST Rules for Concurrent Appointment. Such appointments or employment may not exceed 20% time. There must be disclosure of any financial interests.

3.9 Resolving Complaints and Disputes

Procedures for resolving complaints and disputes are described in PRP Chapter 39 Resolving Complaints & Disputes. For complaints and disputes reported by faculty, the supervisor is the Dean of Faculty Affairs. The next level of management for the Dean of Faculty Affairs is the CEO/President. For Committee Level Dispute Resolution, the CEO/President will appoint a Dispute Resolution Committee. For complaints and disputes reported by employees supervised by faculty, the standard procedures described in Chapter 39 apply. For complaints and disputes reported by students, the procedures in Chapter 5 Graduate School Handbook apply.

3.10 Term and Conditions of Appointment

3.10.1 Employment Agreement

The term and conditions of academic appointments are stated in the Employment Agreement, a copy of which should be in the possession of both the University and the faculty member. The term of academic appointments may be either (a) for a fixed number of years for non-tenured appointments or (b) without limit of time for tenured appointments. A tenured academic appointment without limit of time extends from the effective date of the appointment to the date of academic retirement of the appointee.

3.10.2 Prior Notice of Non-renewal of Appointment

A faculty member holding a renewable, non-tenured appointment shall be notified by one year before the end of the term of the appointment if the appointment is not to be renewed. Failure to give timely notice of non-renewal shall entitle the individual to an extension of appointment for a period of one year from the time of notification.

3.10.3 Prior Notice of Non-renewal of Internal Funding

A tenured or non-tenured faculty member who after review has been notified that his or her internal funding will not be renewed will be provided with a negotiated level of funding to allow a scale-down during the last year of funding. Failure to give timely notice of non-renewal of internal funding shall entitle the individual to an extension of the current level of internal funding to the date of notification and to an extension of the scale-down period to a period of one year from the time of notification.

3.11 Discipline

Procedures for taking disciplinary action in response to conduct that violates the OIST PRPs are described in PRP Chapter 38 Discipline, which covers all OIST employees. For discipline of faculty members the supervisor is the Dean of Faculty Affairs, and if this cannot be resolved satisfactorily, the President.

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