Monthly OAA Announcements

November 2020 OAA Announcements

• Change in COVID-19 Tenure/Appointment Clock Extension for Professoriate
• COVID-19 Extension for Clinician Educators
• Change to FASA Department Approved Requirements
• Updates Restrictions on Visiting Postdoctoral Scholars & Visiting Scholars
• Upcoming Workshops for Professoriate and CEs
• University Faculty Search Resources
• Clinical Excellence Survey Template updates
• Reminder: OAA Staffing Changes
• Reminder: Please use most up-to-date Professoriate Toolbox Resources
• Reminder: Updated Visiting & Short Term Checklists
• Reminder: Professoriate Effective Dates and University-Level review
• Reminder: University Guidelines for Faculty Remote Work Arrangements Outside of the U.S
• Reminder: Winter Closure Impact

Change in COVID-19 Tenure/Appointment Clock Extension for Professoriate

The Provost’s Office has announced a change in the implementation of the 1-year COVID-19 tenure/appointment clock extension. It is our understanding that the Provost has emailed departmental chairs about this change.

As you know, the initial process required eligible faculty to request the COVID 19 tenure/appointment clock extension.  NOW, THE PROVOST’S OFFICE AUTOMATICALLY GRANTS THE EXTENSION UNLESS THE FACULTY MEMBER OPTS OUT. 

We have requested clarification and additional guidance from the Provost office regarding this change.  We will keep you updated as we learn more. 

COVID-19 Extension for Clinician Educators

In recognition of the serious academic and personal challenges posed by the COVID-19 viral pandemic, Clinical Assistant Professors are entitled to a one-year extension which we hope will alleviate stressors of working on a reappointment or promotion now.  If Clinical Assistant Professors and Chairs feel a COVID-19 Extension is needed the below procedure should be followed-

Procedure: FAAs should process requests for the COVID-19 Extension through the online FASA system before December 31, 2021.   The FASA form should also clearly note in the comments section that the extension request is for the COVID-19 emergency.

Changes to FASA Department Approver Requirements

FASA is the university-wide system that automates the academic appointment process, including department level approvals. The University’s business practice is to have the Department Chair/ Institute Director personally approve the academic appointment within the FASA system for each FASA transaction.

At the direction of the University, SoM will begin requiring the Department Chair or Institute Director’s personal signoff in FASA for all actions across academic lines, effective January 4, 2021. The FAA must assign the Department Chair/Institute Director as the Department Approver instead of themselves. Please note, this is not a new business practice, but one that the University is now directing SoM to enforce.

We recognize this is a major shift in process for many SoM units. To that end, we conferred with University offices for an alternative:

The Department Chair may delegate department level approval in FASAto the unit’s Director of Finance and Administration (DFA) or to the unit’s Division Managers. Please note that the delegation cannot be re-delegated past the finance officer of the unit. To clarify, this means the department approver in FASA must either be the Department Chair, DFA or Division Manager. OAA will be sending a survey to each unit to confirm FASA authority.We appreciate your understanding as we work together to ensure we are following the appropriate university-wide guidelines for the FASA system and the academic appointment process.

Updates Restrictions on Visiting Postdoctoral Scholars & Visiting Scholars

The Stanford Research Continuity Team of the COVID Academic Policy Group has communicated updated restrictions on Visiting Student Researchers, Visiting Postdoctoral Scholars and Visiting Scholars in response to COVID-19. New appointments will not be able to start until at least April 2021. There is a process to request an exception (https://med.stanford.edu/academicaffairs/COVID-19.html). Departments were contacted on October 31 if they had impacted visitors with pending appointments.

We have also requested clarification from the Provost office on the titles delegatedfrom their office to the school (visiting instructor, visiting faculty, adjuncts, lecturers). We have asked if they are also planning to suspend these new appointments and if so, what parameters we must follow. We have not yet received a response. We willkeep you updated as we learn more.

Upcoming Workshops for Professoriate and CEs 

Eligible faculty will receive a personal email invitation for the workshops that pertain to them. We highly encourage faculty to attend these informational workshops. 

University Faculty Search Resources

The university has consolidated faculty search resources into one central place: https://facultydevelopment.stanford.edu/recruitment/search-committee-resources (SUNet ID required). Please bookmark and direct departments/search committees to this webpage for guides, checklists, availability pool data, job posting sites, and videos, literature reviews on best practices.

Clinical Excellence Survey  Template Updates 

In response to your questions and feedback, the Clinical Excellence Survey template has been updated. When downloading the reports, the presentation of data will no longer include the unesscessary bar graph for questions 8 through 18.  

Please use the revised survey for all new actions initiated after December 1. Actions currently being processed with the existing Qualtrics template will be accepted in the transition. Please see the Qualtrics Video tutorial  for help with uploading the new template. If you have any questions please contact Lisbeth Fuentes-Fernandez. 

Reminder: OAA Staffing Changes

The Office of Academic Affairs is delighted to announce the addition of a new team member. On October 26, James Eubank joined OAA as a Faculty Affairs Specialist. James comes from the Department of Medicine where he worked as a Faculty Affairs Administrator. He will partner with Mary Catherine Watten on all visiting and short-term faculty actions. James is an expert on the visiting and short-term faculty populations and OAA will benefit from his departmental experience and perspective.

While James is making the transition to OAA, we ask that you do not yet submit FASA transactions directly to him.  Departments should continue to list Mary as the School of Medicine approver on all FASA transactions for the visiting and short-term faculty populations.  Together, Mary and James will review and process the FASA transactions. Effective January 4, 2021, departments can begin listing James as the School of Medicine approver on the FASA transactions. Also, please continue to send your inquires to the shared inbox: som-visiting_short_term@stanford.edu.

Denise’s last day in OAA was October 20.  We would like to thank Denise Reyes for her contributions to OAA and congratulate her on her new role in the Department of Psychiatry. OAA is in the process of recruiting for a Faculty Affairs Administrator to replace Denise. In the interim, coverage of her responsibilities will be as follows: 

Alex and Jessica S-M are processing leave requests (Sabbatical, PDL, LWOS and LOA).  Please note, we have transition to using a shared email inbox for all leave actions and questions.  The email address is som-leaves@stanford.edu.  The shared inbox will increase our ability to provide better cross-coverage.  Please direct your messages to this email address immediately. 

Todd is processing practice policy exemption requests.  Please submit these requests directly to Todd with Ashley and Jessica S-M copied.   

Reminder: Please use most up-to-date Professoriate Toolbox Resources

The SoM-Professoriate group has reviewed and updated available Professoriate Toolbox resource documents. Please use the updated resources (i.e. forms) when preparing your request. 

Reminder: Updated Visiting & Short Term Checklists 

The updated checklists will be required for FASA transactions received by OAA beginning November 1, 2020.

Reminder: Professoriate Effective Dates and University-Level Review

As communicated in May 2020, we are experiencing a delay with all long forms requiring University-level review. The Provost Office had told us to plan for at least a 4-month time frame for long form review at the campus level. In practice, we have often experienced delays longer than 4-months. We anticipate that the extended winter closure (now 3-weeks) could have an additional impact on the review of files. We recognize that this is frustrating and has a direct impact on our faculty. We appreciate your efforts to partner with us in advocating for our faculty.

To ensure that we are appropriately managing expectations, all new offer letters will continue to reflect a start date of at least 6-months from the date of offer letter approval. This time frame accounts for the reality of the steps of review for a submitted long form, including OAA and School Committee reviews. As is current practice, an earlier start date may be possible if the University completes its approval of the long form in advance of the anticipated timeline.

Please refer to this chart for an overview of the Professoriate Appointments, Reappointments, and Promotions levels of review.

Reminder: University Guidelines for Faculty Remote Work Arrangements Outside of the U.S.

Due to the ongoing COVID emergency, it is anticipated that a small population of our incoming faculty will be unable to enter the U.S. prior to the start of their appointment due to travel restrictions, the inability to obtain required visa documents or pre-existing health conditions that preclude travel.  Additionally, some faculty may wish, for personal reasons, to temporarily work remotely from outside of the U.S.

Requests for remote work outside of the U.S. should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the cognizant Dean.  Individual exceptions for faculty should be limited, recognizing the higher level of compliance risk associated with these individuals as compared to graduate students. 

This guidance does not apply to faculty in research travel status, including sabbatical. 

Initial Assessment

The faculty affairs officer, in coordination with the faculty member, must consider the following in the assessment of the remote work request.  Schools will be responsible for both internal and external costs associated with evaluation and execution of the remote work arrangement.

• U.S. Embargoes/Sanctions are in place for Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and the Crimea Region of Ukraine.  Consult with the University Export Control Officer prior to proceeding with any remote work arrangement that will take place in these countries.

• Privacy/Security requirements must be considered related to the remote work location.  Some countries, such as China, do not permit login to the university’s VPN.

• Sponsor Approval may be required for remote work locations.  If the faculty member’s effort is funded via a sponsored project, s/he must notify the sponsor as a courtesy. Work with your OSR Contracts and Grants officer to obtain approval if the sponsor’s policies require it.

• Work Authorization for the remote work location is required.  Verify with the faculty member that they are a citizen or resident of their remote work location.  If not, they are likely not authorized to work from that location and an additional risk assessment should be requested.  A central office team is available to consult, but external resources may be required to evaluate complex situations.

• Reporting of each faculty member who has been temporarily approved to work from outside of the U.S. is required.  This list must be shared with the Dean’s Office according to procedures established by each School.  The Dean’s Office will consolidate data and share this information with Global Business Services (GBS). 
  •  SoM Procedure: Faculty seeking an exception should complete the Google Form after obtaining approval from their chair. Please be advised that these requests will go through 2 levels of review (Vice Dean, Senior Associate Dean for Research). Only complete requests will be reviewed. 

Additional Considerations for the Faculty Member

Faculty who are considering a remote work arrangement outside of the U.S. are responsible for:

• Verifying Access to Healthcare Resources in their remote work location by contacting the UHR Service Team.  It may be necessary to change healthcare plans or apply for supplemental local coverage.

• Complying with Individual Tax Requirements in their remote work location, as well as the U.S., seeking individual tax counsel as needed.
• Registering Travel with the university and consulting applicable travel advisories.
• Understanding International Activity Expectations by consulting the Dean of Research site. 
• Maintaining Visa Compliance, as applicable, by following regulations and frequently consulting Bechtel resources to remain current on requirements.

Costs associated with the arrangements above remain the personal responsibility of the faculty member.

Reminder - Impact of Winter Closure Extension on Processing Times 
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW DEADLINES 

The University will close for an additional week for Winter Closure in 2020. Stanford School of Medicine (including OAA) will follow the same schedule approved by the University - from Monday, December 14, 2020, through Friday, January 1, 2021. We want to make you aware of how this additional week of closure will impact our processing times. Please refer to the timelines/deadlines below (in all cases, deadlines refer to complete actions in final, approved form. If edits or additional material are needed this may delay the start date):

• Professoriate - Please note, actions received after November 30, 2020 we cannot commit to reviewing before January 2021. We will do our best to review it in December 2020 (volume allowing).
• CEs, Instructors, and Clinical Scholars - Due to Winter Closure starting early, we have had to reschedule both Clinician Educator Appointments and Promotions Committees for December 2020. The Clinical Assistant Professor A&P meeting will be held on December 8, meaning all Clinical Assistant Professor files assigned to December will need to be finalized no later than December 1. The Clinician Educator A&P meeting will be held on December 11, meaning all Clinical Associate Professor and Clinical Professor files assigned to December will need to be finalized no later than December 4. Files that do not meet the above deadlines will be deferred to January 2021 A&P meetings. 

For non-A&P actions (including Instructors, Clinical Instructors, Clinical Scholars, all FTE changes and extensions), please be sure these are submitted within the normal 45 to 60 days in advance of the proposed start date.

• ACF - Please be sure to submit ACF actions within the normal 60 days in advance of the proposed start date.
• Visiting/Short Term Faculty - If there is a visa- Bechtel International Center announced blackout dates for J-1 requests. Bechtel confirmed they will not approve any visa tied to an appointment (initial or reappointment) with a start date between 12/2/2020 and 1/3/2021. Actions with a 12/1/2020 start and 1/4/2021 start are allowable.
  • Requests for 1/4/2021 start dates must be received by OAA prior to 11/4/2020.
  • All requests received by OAA after 11/4/2020 will require an effective date of 2/1/2021 or later. 

If there is no visa - please submit actions within the normal 30 days in advance of the proposed start date.

• Leaves - Leave requests (sabbatical, PDL, LWOS, & LOA) should be made 45 to 60 days in advance of the leave start date. For instance, a sabbatical leave starting January 1, 2021, the request must be received by OAA no later than November 1, 2020. We will do our best to review it in December 2020 (volume allowing), however, the faculty member may elect to delay the leave.