Deal Breakers: U Policies That Matter

For many of us, university policies concerning everything from digital scholarship to partner benefits can be a deal breaker. But policies and procedures are in constant flux, and department-level protocols are often hard to find online. For that reason, Academic Jobs wiki users are invited to file known policy and procedure information on this page, following the basic posting guidelines for the "Universities to Love" and "Universities to Fear."

Here, in particular, please be sure to end your post with the month and year. That will help site visitors put information into context and, when relevant, seek out updates.

Formatting for the table

|- New line | School || Department || Issue and Date

Please add responses using an asterisk to denote a bullet point.

Some formatting etiquette. Before you add your entry, please read this:

1) Please do not use the PRE button to format your entry.

2) Do not insert extra hard returns to create line spaces in any of the columns. This will throw the table formatting off and give everyone a headache.

To create a new Department entry in the same school and line up your comment with that Department, insert a new row and duplicate the school name, then add your Department and Issue/Date entry.

If you enter a new Department entry below an existing one in the same row and try to space it out using hard returns so that your comment lines up visually with your Department entry, you will throw the formatting off (and someone will have to spend hours fixing it again). Bottom line: please don't do that!

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Policies on Recognizing and Evaluating Digital Scholarship

For general information (as opposed to the specific info and links below), scholars interested in standing policies and guidelines for evaluating digital scholarship might like to check the Modern Language Association's Evaluation Wiki. The section called Links and Bibliography may be especially helpful.

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U Policies

alphabetically by school

School	Department	Issue and Date
American University		Require minimum of 6 office hours/week for FT faculty (2010) (http://www.american.edu/provost/registrar/regulations/reg25.cfm)
American University in Cairo		As of 2006-07, the American University in Cairo's administration officially tolerated a serious case of verbal and physical harassment on campus.
Arizona
Ashland
Asian University for Women		No faculty governance, and a history of layoffs/firing instructors (3/25/11)
Auburn
Aurora University		Faculty governance being threatened by administration, forced buy outs of faculty contracts, contract denials, and harassment of junior faculty to invoke voluntary resignations. (3/2012 reported, actions began in October of 2011)
Barnard
Barry		Does not have a tenure system but a system that is the "equivalent" to tenure. This was not disclosed on the job ad but it was during the first-stage interview.
Baylor		Used to be more open, but they will ask about your religious affiliation by asking you to "respond" to their recently implemented mission statement: "to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community." While this sounds innocuous enough, they really are looking for evangelicals these days and if you are not willing to lie and say you will make the classroom a pulpit, they will end the interview process right there. Church attendance is required for tenure. Baylor's official position on sexuality is that the LGBTQ community is deviant and a misuse of God's gift and the biblical norm, and students shall not advocate for these groups: https://www.baylor.edu/student_policies/index.php?id=32295
Bellvue
Belmont U		http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2011-01-26-1707853827_x.htm
Birmmingham Southern
Boise State U		Excellent relocation benefits for faculty and staff
Bluffton
Bradley U
Bridgewater
Brigham Young U		From a recent job opening: "Brigham Young University is an equal opportunity employer sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and requires observance of Church standards."
Bryn Mawr C
Case Western Reserve University		Offers same-sex partner benefits including insurance coverage: "Case offers a comprehensive benefits program to all full-time and some part-time employees that includes Benelect, post-tax benefits, retirement, time off, education, personal assistance, discount program, financial conveniences, and recreation. Visit the program overview for further details. Benefits are extended to dependent children." http://case.edu/lgbt/policy/benefits/ And, though not a "policy," per se, Case is exceptionally attentive to LGBT matters on campus and in the larger community. My sixth year on campus, and I've seen nothing but the utmost respect and inclusion and support for the LGBT students, staff, and faculty. LGBT concern starts with the president of the university and goes down through the ranks to the freshman on campus. (9/10)
California State University System		Only the minimum maternity leave required by law is given--meaning up to 12 weeks--with 30 days of that paid. If you get pregnant, you cannot have the semester off unless you step away from your position for the semester and lose time towards your pension, etc.
Catawba
Central Michigan
Champlain		Offers tuition and medical/dental benefits for families, including same-sex spouses. (8/10) Beginning January 2014, new hires are limited to choosing between a high-deductable plan with HSA and no health insurance coverage. No tenure: 1-, 3-, or 5-year renewable contracts. First year of employment is a mandatory 1-year probationary contract regardless of rank at time of hire. Tuition costs have doubled in the last five years. (11/13)
City University, Hong Kong		No medical coverage for pregnancy and birth for spouse. Very poor track record of dealing with sexual discrimination. Very few women at Full Professor or above. Sexual division of labour with women faculty disproportionally loaded with admin and with less prestigious committees. In general a ridiculous number of committees and quantities of paperwork (yes, actual paper) that overloads faculty of every level. Good salaries but only offers 50% of the annual research leave offered by other Hong Kong universities and has draconian rules about only leaving Hong Kong when actually taking leave so you are trapped there all summer, for example. Same sex partners moving there with employees of CityU may not be offered same rights to work as other spouses (who get working visa linked to their spouses job at the university) due to Hong Kong's lack of recognition of same sex partnerships.
Clemson U
Costal Carolina
College of Coastal Georgia
Columbia U		Policies are pretty good--grad students and employees treated well
Concordia	Sociology	Concordia University Chicago: Told an interviewee to lie about their religion on the application form - Catholics are frowned upon - and in another case told a queer interviewee that they should not have mentioned their same-sex partner.
Curry C
Daemon C
DePaul U
Drake		1/6/12 - HRbot applications; requires birthdate and SSN in order to apply. States that refusal to provide will result in application not being considered.
Drew U
Duke
Eastern IL
Eastern Washington U		Domestic partner benefits, including medical and dental. No tuition assistance for spouse/children.
Fayetteville State U
Florida Atlantic U
Florida Atlantic U, Jupiter
Framingham State University		Has a fellowship called "Fellowship for Academic Diversity." From last year's job description: "the University is offering two full time one-year positions at the Assistant Professor level" but this means a 3/3 load with a FULL slate of committee work AND advising. WARNING! This is not a fellowship, it is a VAP with a fancy name!
George Washington U
Georgia Gwinnett C		No tenure. 1, 3 or 5 year renewable contracts.
Georgia Southwestern
Georgia State U
Gonzaga U		Insurance does not cover birth control, no same-sex partner benefits. Have a tuition waiver policy dependant on amoutn of time at the institution that can be exchanged with other Jesuit schools.
Grand Valley State		"Grand Valley State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. It encourages diversity and provides equal opportunity in education, employment, all of its programs, and the use of its facilities. It is committed to protecting the constitutional and statutory civil rights of persons connected with the university. Unlawful acts of discrimination or harassment by members of the campus community are prohibited. In addition, even if not illegal, acts are prohibited if they harass or discriminate against any university community member(s) through inappropriate limitation of access to, or participation in, educational, employment, athletic, social, cultural, or other university activities on the basis of age, color, disability, familial status, height, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex/gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or weight. Limitations are lawful if they are: directly related to a legitimate university purpose, required by law, lawfully required by a grant or contract between the university and the state or federal government, or addressing domestic partner benefits." The take-away lesson is that GVS won't discriminate against you unless you want equal treatment under university policy. In that case, these "[l]imitations are lawful" and completely appropriate. (11/10)
Grandview C
Harvard
High Point U		Faculty must be on campus 5 hours per day, 5 days per week. Hours must be reported. Not mentioned during campus visit.
Indiana U-Purdue U Fort Wayne
Ithaca C
IUPUI
Kansas State U		They have an office of Diversity and Dual Hires, but with the economy such as it is, don't expect much aside from adjuncting for your partner. That is not to say that they didn't make an effort for me and mine, but the existence of the office itself seems to be something of an empty shell with no clout or power to get things managed.
Kennesaw State U		Department chairs/directors are (regularly) removed arbitrarily by administration in violation of departmental by-laws and Faculty Handbook. Anything from complaints by a small minority of faculty, to personal grudges of a dean can be the impetus. No investigations, no shared governance/consultation with dept. (2013/14)
Kent State
Kutztown U of PA
Lafayette C
Lander U
Lebanon Valley C
Lewis U
Lindenwood U
Longwood U		Has sexual orientation in non-discrimination statement and bias policy. Lists reported incidents on their Office of Diversity. Benefits not extended to non-married partners in any way (possibly due to Virginia's Defense of Marriage Act). Most LGB faculty are semi-closeted, and "out" folks in Student Affairs tend to leave after a few years.
Loyola U, MD
Marquette U		General information about Marquette Statement on Human Dignity and Diversity Employee benefits, general information . Health coverage, details re: domestic partner coverage .
Millikin U
Monmouth C
Monmouth U		Gives a semester of paid maternity leave, but only if the baby is actually born during a semester. (UPDATE: Contract now gives paid semester of parental leave regardless of timing of birth or gender of parent, with some flexibility on how the leave is taken.) Contract requires full-time faculty to be on campus four days a week.
Mt. Union
Morningside C
New York City College of Technology-CUNY
Northwest Missouri State U
Notre Dame
Oregon State University system		Provides 100% of healthcare for employee, spouse, and dependents (you don't have to pay a penny!). Employer also contributes approx 11 - 12 % of salary to retirement and provides tuition reduction of 70% for self, spouse, and dependents. (3/2011)
Pepperdine U
Philadelphia U
Pitzer C
Purdue U
Rider U
Roosevelt U
Rowan U
Russell Sage C
Ryerson
Saginaw Valley SU		Faculty contract is generally ignored by both the Administration and the Union.  Administration does whatever it wants without even pretending to follow procedures in the contract. Union reps are basically just mouthpieces of the Administration Adjuncts are given choices over which classes they teach whereas full time faculty are just given the left-overs.  And there are more adjuncts than full time faculty in most departments Look at the turnover rate of new faculty to see just how horrible this place is to work.  The only profs with tenure are those that have been there for 20- 40 years and those who are unqualified to be hired by any other academic institution.
Samford U
Simpson C
Southern IL U
Southern Polytechnic
St. Francis U
St. John Fisher C
St. Norbert C
Seton Hill U
Shepherd U
SOKA U
Southwestern Oklahoma SU
SUNY		NYS health insurance covers IVF (infertility) treatments up to a lifetime limit of $50,000.
Swarthmore C
Syracuse U		Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression included in non-discrimination policy. Domestic partner benefits are extended to partners regardless of gender identity (i.e., heterosexual non-married couples and same-sex couples are all eligible for benefits). (10/2010)
Texas A&M		Sexual Orientation is NOT covered under anti-discrimination statements and policies. No benefits for same-sex couples or domestic partners. Semi-hostile environment for LGBTQ people and un-married heterosexual partners. Great dual career services for married heterosexual partners. I can't speak to the experience of LGBTQ folks, but I have been here for 2.5 years, am an unmarried heterosexual, and have never experienced hostility. *Anthropology Department allegedly a snake pit of bullying and sexual harassment: http://michael-balter.blogspot.com/2019/09/texas-am-anthropology-rife-with-sexual.html
United States Military Academy
Unity C
U of AL, Fairbanks
U of CO, Denver
U of Dayton
U of FL
U of Houston
U of Houston, Victoria
U of KS
U of KY		Sexual orientation is included in the university's unfortunately named "Equal Opportunity, Discrimination, and Harassment" statement; while same-sex partnerships and commonlaw partnerships are not recognized per se, various benefits extend to members of household for both faculty and students (e.g., funeral leave). Health benefits extend only to conventional spouses and dependents. (1/2010) The previous poster is wrong. UK does extend health benefits to unmarried partners (including same sex partners). Employees may extend their health benefits to one "sponsored dependent", which can be anyone living in the same household (including domestic partners). (2/2010)
U of Louisville
U of MD
U of MA, Dartmouth
U of MI
U of MS
U of New England
U of NC, Pembroke
U of ND		As of 2010, University of North Dakota pays health insurance for employees and families (as in pays in full)! The mission statement is making many lofty promises that the university cannot fulfill. Despite mentions of spousal support on HR website, there is really no process in place for spousal hiring. The university is mostly run by personal interactions and connections, not really by formal process. -North Dakota prohibits unmarried couples (as, for example, same-sex couples) from living together, and the university, as a state agency, enforces this policy in faculty apartments. -The statement above on North Dakota's cohabitation law is false and has been since 2007. (In fact, the cohabitation law never prohibited unmarried same-sex couples from living together, as it only applied to a man and woman living together 'openly and notoriously as husband and wife'.) There is nothing in the UND policy on apartments that indicates faculty/staff must be married to share an apartment.
U of North FL
U of OK
U of Pittsburgh		Domestic partner benefits available to faculty for sure and I think also staff and grad students. The paperwork is pretty straight forward with what seems to be great coverage. Costs just over $200/month to cover for my partner comprehensive heathcare, dental, and vision. Pretty solid paid family leave is available in the instance of biological or adoptive maternity and paternity for full time faculty. I believe it is one semester plus four weeks of paid time off.
U of Pittsburgh-Bradford
U of St. Thomas, MN		2007, March. Health insurance offered to faculty of "University self-insured, high-deductible" variety. Employee contribution approximately $3000/yr for family coverage, with ~$3000 deductible before any costs covered. $6000 out-of-pocket = >10% of the gross earnings of a first year professor before benefits kick in. Ouch. Apologize if 'health insurance' is not the purpose of this board, but it seems broadly defined.
U of San Francisco
U of Southern CA
U of SC, Columbia
U of SC Upstate
U of SD
U of South FL		As of September 2009, the internets reported that U of South Florida would offer full domestic partner benefits to all employees, gay, straight, and otherwise. The university's Committee on Issues of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity is a good go-to site for more information and relevant links.
U of South FL, Polytechnic
U of Southern IN
U of TN
U of TX, Arlington
U of TX, Brownsville
U of TX, Pan American
U of UT
U of Waterloo
U of WI, LaCrosse
U of WI, Madison
U of WI, Oshkosh
U of WI, Stout
U of Wyoming		Looks favorably on spousal hires, though no official policy saying so; working toward granting domestic partners benefits (administration on board, just needs to get passed by trustees) Update, Sept. 2011: Domestic partner benefits passed. More info: http://www.uwyo.edu/acadaffairs/faculty/benefits.html
		STAY AWAY FROM WYOMING for the time being.  The State Legislature has lost their minds.  In one Legislative session, they have voted against recognition of gay marriage, recognition of dometic partnerships, and including sexual orientation as a protected category in existing state law.  The are voting in favor of allowing anyone to carry a concealed weapon in all public schools--including the university.  If you want to live your life on the edge, knowing that every student you teach might be armed and might shoot you at any moment, or that you might become the vicitim of an accidental discharge, or get caught in a shootout when the inevitable happens and students open fire in the Union or Library, come on out.  If you value your life and that of your family (public school staff and school children of age would be armed as well), stay as far away from Wyoming as you can.  It's the so-called Citizens and Students' Self Defense Act.  http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2013/Bills/HB0105.pdf
Virginia Military Academy	I don't know of any VMA; there is VMI though: Virginia Military Institute.	Tenure-track faculty who are US citizens are commissioned in, and must wear the uniform of the Virginia Militia (basically the US Army uniform) while performing official duties.  This is NOT required anywhere except on Post (campus); when you go to a conference, you dress like anyone else.  When you go grocery shopping, it's your choice.
Wake Forest
Warren Wilson		Domestic partners benefits available, but there is a tax issue that makes it slightly more expensive to be unmarried. They are working on this...
Wellesley
Wesleyan
Western Carolina
Winona State
Worcester Polytechnic		No paternity leave for faculty or staff (Nov. 2011)

Comments

February 1: Thanks to the person who set this table up. It looks like it might take some time to generate responses, but it's a great resource for thinking strategically about potential employers.