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Nepotism

All faculty and staff appointments will be made on the basis of qualifications and suitability of the appointee, subject to applicable statutes and the provisions of Section 03.01.11, Regents’ Rules and OP 70.08. No persons related to an administrator within a prohibited degree shall be eligible for initial appointment to a position in an area of responsibility over which the administrator has appointive authority, in whole or in part, regardless of the source of funds from which the position’s salary is to be paid. Exceptions to this restriction on the initial appointment of a person will be made only by the Board of Regents upon recommendation of the President and the Chancellor and then only when the administrator in question does not directly supervise the person to be appointed. If the appointment, reappointment, reclassification, reassignment, or promotion of an employee places the employee under an administrative supervisor who is related within a prohibited degree, all subsequent personnel and compensation actions affecting the employee shall become the responsibility of the next higher administrative supervisor. These provisions shall apply when two employees marry and one spouse becomes the administrative supervisor of the other. All instances in which an employee marries an administrative supervisor, is placed under the administrative supervision of a relative, or is made the administrative supervisor of a relative within the prohibited degree will be reported to the Board of Regents as an information item (OP 70.08, Section 03.01.11, Regents’ Rules).

Off-Campus Student Trips and Activities

OP 79.13, University-Related Travel by Motor Vehicle or Commercial, Charter, or Donor Aircraft, governs the use of motor vehicles in any activity related to the academic research and/or administrative responsibility of the department involved. This policy relates to travel undertaken by students to a university-related activity. It also applies to travel undertaken by registered student organizations.

Registered student organizations are free to make such off-campus trips as are deemed worthwhile by the membership and sponsors of the organization. Students and their parents should understand that participation in such off-campus trips and activities is at the student’s own risk. If personal injury or accident should occur to students or other persons during such activities, Texas Tech will assume no responsibility, financial or otherwise.

Faculty and staff sponsors and organization officers are urged to take all possible precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of all persons participating in the off-campus activity. The questions of financial liability for accident or injury and appropriate insurance coverage should be specifically identified by each group making an official off-campus trip as being the responsibility of each individual student.

Special instruction fees may offset the cost of travel for activities specially related to instruction for a course.

There is no official registration procedure for official off-campus trips, and there are no official excused class absences for students who participate in off-campus trips by student organizations. Students will be responsible for making their own individual arrangements with instructors for classwork missed while participating in an off-campus trip. Instructors will be free to set their own requirements for classwork missed under such circumstances; they must grant students an opportunity to make up all coursework missed while participating in an off-campus trip. Each student traveling to participate in a university-related activity must execute the Student Activity Release Form prior to the activity (OP 79.13).

The university provides an optional group accident and health insurance plan for students, with enrollment during registration for the fall and spring semesters. Also available is a very economical trip insurance plan for student groups and their faculty or staff sponsor. Insurance application forms may be obtained by the sponsor at the Contract Management Office. Trip insurance may also be purchased from private insurance companies (OP 34.06).

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Office Hours

Each faculty member is to maintain scheduled office hours as directed by the dean of the college and/or the chair or director of the individual department or school. Schedules should be published on syllabi and, as applicable, the university’s Learning Management System, and otherwise made available to students.

Open or Public Posting of Student Grades

Open or public posting of student grades poses several legal problems for the university. Texas Tech policy is that no grades should be openly posted at any time. Reference OP 34.12 for additional information on open or public posting of student grades. Reference the Faculty Dashboard available on the Registrar’s website for information specific to faculty members’ requirements concerning provision of mid-term, final, and other grades.

Operating Policies and Procedures

The Texas Tech University Operating Policy and Procedure (OP) system was developed to standardize university-wide policies and procedures and to provide a consistent and coherent method of defining university policies. The system is intended to:

• Ensure consistency among university-wide policies and procedures;
• Provide a university-wide pattern for developing policies and procedures;
• Outline a standard format for policies and procedures;
• Maintain a current and easily accessible online manual of all university-wide policies and procedures;
• Provide notification of policy and procedure changes to the university community; 
• Facilitate continuity regardless of changes in personnel assignments; and
• Ensure the periodic review and updating of all university-wide policies and procedures.

Texas Tech OPs are subordinate to higher authorities, including federal law, rules, and regulations; state law, rules, and regulations; and policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the TTU Board of Regents.

Should a conflict occur between policy and/or procedure of an OP and any other written or oral policy or procedure developed by any university department, the policy and/or procedure of the OP will prevail. The TTU OP Manual can be accessed online at www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual.

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Post-Tenure Review

Each faculty member who is tenured or who receives an academic promotion at Texas Tech University will receive a comprehensive performance evaluation no more often than once every year, but no less often than once every six years after the date the faculty member was granted tenure or received an academic promotion. Standardized procedures developed by a committee of the Faculty Senate and the Office of the Provost and approved by the Board of Regents may be found in OP 32.31. Comprehensive performance evaluations do not preclude the usual annual performance evaluations of faculty, as provisioned in OP 32.32. Annual evaluations remain a regular function for all faculty, regardless of rank or years in service.

Private Use of University Property

By state law, university property may not be used for the private benefit of members of the faculty and staff. Particular care must be taken that state-owned vehicles are used only for university business and that proper records are kept of such use (OP 10.11, OP 61.01, and OP 63.08).

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Faculty Handbook Contents

Introduction

General Information

Role of the Faculty

Facilities and Services

Office of the Provost

Research

Faculty Affairs

Benefits and Services

Emergency Procedures

Financial Exigency Plan

Faculty Directory

Operating Policies