Dear Faculty Relations:听What is the difference between the PRD versus the PRR? 鈥� Lost in the Alphabet Soup.
听
Dear Lost:听Hot off the press, the Professional Rights and Responsibilities of Faculty Members and Roles and Responsibilities of Academic Leaders听(PRR) was approved by the BFA听and accepted by Provost Moore on June 8. The PRD had great bones; the PRR didn鈥檛 mess with them but made them even stronger!

Here are some highlights of the new policy:

  • Clarity of language.听 The PRR is more user-friendly. It improves the logical flow of content, updates terminology, and the writing is more understandable.听
  • Faculty rights.听The PRR is more explicit about faculty due process rights, what they are and how they work. It is more of a 鈥渉ow-to鈥� document so that administrators and Responding Faculty Members know what to expect.
  • Academic Leader Training.听 In Part III, there is an emphasis on听introductory听and听ongoing training听for academic leaders as an essential piece of the PRR and ensuring faculty rights. This is especially important when it comes to informal resolution and the options available for resolving disputes.
  • Emphasizes options for听resolution.听The Part IV process for addressing unprofessional conduct is more flexible and transparent. Supervising Administrators have better discretion to resolve concerns proportional to their level of severity, pattern, or pervasiveness. Part IV now details a range of informal responses for lower-level concerns that can be resolved with informational reminders or warnings about conduct standards. More robust written notice and meeting process are used when higher-level concerns may need to result in more formal consequences, such as a letter of reprimand or reassignment. These responses were designed to help preserve relationships and be fundamentally fair to all participants.
  • Consistent听with current policy.听The PRR incorporates updates to Regent Laws, Regent Policies, and university policies, with expanded citations.听听

Written by Suzanne Soled, PhD, Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Support; Director of Faculty Relations, Office of Faculty Affairs, 麻豆影院, June 2021