UMass Boston Faculty Handbook
The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs maintains this handbook as a resource for all UMass Boston faculty members. It is intended to be used as a reference and provides useful information about the campus, faculty employment, teaching, research, faculty governance, and academic and personnel policies.
The Faculty Handbook includes the following sections:
Section II: Faculty Employment at UMass Boston
Section III: Teaching at UMass Boston
Section IV: Research at UMass Boston
Section VI: Academic Personnel Policy: The Red Book
Section VII: Selected Other Academic Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines
For general information about being an employee of the University and for information regarding Benefits or University personnel policies, please visit the Employee Handbook.
The University of Massachusetts Boston was established in 1964 to provide the opportunity for superior education at moderate cost to the people of greater Boston. The University of Massachusetts Boston, one of five campuses of the University of Massachusetts, is nationally recognized as a model of excellence for urban universities. This section provides general information about UMass Boston and about the University Massachusetts system.
a. Fact sheet
Section II: Faculty Employment at UMass Boston
This section covers information and issues specific to faculty employment at UMass Boston. For information about benefits or general employment at the University, please contact Human Resources at 617-287-5150 or visit their website at http://www.umb.edu/hr/.
a. About UMass Boston's Faculty
c. UMass Boston Faculty Staff Union
d. Academic Calendar (2007-2008)
Section III: Teaching at UMass Boston
This section covers information about teaching at UMass Boston including memoranda from the Provost concerning guidelines on faculty workload and minimum faculty responsibilities. Also included in this section are resources for teaching and the University’s Code of Student Conduct which is a framework for acceptable behavior for students.
a. Guidelines on Faculty Workload
d. Resources for teaching
- Bookstore
- Center for Improvement of Teaching
- Course Packets
- Electronic Reserves
- Graduate Studies
- Information Technology
- Instructional Technology Center
- Library
- Ross Center for Disability Services
- Undergraduate Studies (includes information about General Education requirements)
- University Advising Center
Section IV: Research at UMass Boston
This section provides information concerning research at UMass Boston. One of the most valuable resources for research at UMass Boston is the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Information about the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, policies relevant to administering sponsored research, and internal grant opportunities are included in this section.
a. Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
b. Office of the Vice Provost for Research
d. Internal Grant Opportunities
The Faculty Council ensures the representation of members of the faculty in the governance of the Boston campus and the University of Massachusetts as a whole. It is the highest faculty governance body at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Section VI: Academic Personnel Policy: The Red Book
The “Red Book”, which is the Academic Personnel Policy of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Boston, and Worcester, commits the University to the preservation of academic freedom for all members of its professional staff "who perform teaching or research functions whether or not such persons occupy ‘academic positions.’" Academic personnel policies and procedural standards are fully and clearly set out in the Red Book. This document distinguishes the roles and responsibilities of faculty and each level of University administration in personnel matters; provides detailed procedures and criteria for personnel reviews, recommendations, and decisions; and defines both the rights of faculty members and their conditions of employment. Also in this section are the Implementation Guidelines that have been created in an attempt to clarify the policy and procedural standards set out in the Red Book.
a. The Red Book
Section VII: Selected Other Academic Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines
This section contains important University academic policies and procedures including information about: Faculty Periodic Multi-Year Review, the Annual Faculty Report, additional compensation, and the university's policy on sabbatical leaves. Policies and guidelines issued by the Board of Trustees as well as the the academic master calendar for the current academic year are also included in this section.
a. Faculty Periodic Multi-Year Review
c. Academic Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines
d. Policies and guidelines issued by the Board of Trustees
e. Calendar