Glossary

Academic employee
This is not an official category at the UO. Unclassified employees are categorized as Officers of Instruction, Officers of Research and Officers of Administration. Officers of Instruction and Officers of Research are sometimes called "academic employees".

Academic rank
Academic rank is assigned to qualifying Officers of Instruction and Officers of Research. Academic ranks used at the UO are professor, associate professor, assistant professor, senior instructor, instructor, research associate, research assistant, senior research associate and senior research assistant.

Affirmative action
Affirmative Action is a management tool required of federal contractors to ensure equal employment opportunity. It requires a good faith effort to achieve and maintain a workforce in which women and people of color are represented at a level commensurate with their availability in the labor pool from which the employer can reasonably be expected to recruit. Affirmative action does not establish quotas or require employers to hire unqualified employees.

Applicant
A person who has notified the designated search committee representative of her/his interest in a position opening by submitting a letter, resume/vita, application, or combination of these materials, by email, fax, or in hard copy.

Applicant pool, open
Open applicant pools provide a means of filling limited duration positions quickly without the encumbrance of the regular full search process. Pooled position openings are posted, job seekers submit application materials, and qualified applicants are considered when positions become available.

Equal employment opportunity (EEO)
University of Oregon policy ensures the right to be afforded equal consideration for the rights and privileges connected with university employment and educational programs without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any other extraneous consideration not directly and substantively related to effective performance.

Executive
An occupational category for unclassified staff whose assignments involve major responsibility for the management of the university (president, vice presidents, deans, associate deans, and directors of major administrative units).

Extended search
The position had a previous closing date and the hiring authority has determined a new closing date.

Faculty
This term can be used to describe any unclassified employee, however it is more typically used to describe Officers of Instruction.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA)
This federal legislation establishes overtime wage requirements and defines specific exempt occupations.

Fixed-term appointment
An appointment that is limited to a specified period of time (usually no more than one year or until the end of the current fiscal year) with stated beginning and ending dates.

HRIS
The Banner Human Resource Information System that the UO implemented for employee information and payroll processing in January of 1999.

Indefinite tenure
Appointment made by the president in witness of the university’s formal decision that the faculty member has demonstrated such professional competence that the university will not henceforth terminate employment except for cause, financial exigency, or program or department reductions.

Jeanne Clery Disclosure Act
Originally enacted in 1990, amended and renamed in 1998, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires that the University of Oregon prepare an annual report on campus safety and security programs, and inform applicants of the report.

Job posting
Reflects a combination of job description information (job duties, qualifications, etc), and the terms and conditions of employment associated with the vacancy.

NAPO ("nay-poe")
Notice of Academic/Administrative Position Opening form used to initiate the unclassified recruitment and selection process.

NAPO packet
The packet consists of the NAPO form and its required attachments (described elsewhere).

NIRPR ("nur-pur")
Notice of Intent to Reorganize, Promote or Reassign.

Officer of administration
An unclassified appointment type for those who serve in administrative positions.

Officer of administration, fixed-term, annual renewal, non-tenure-related
An unclassified appointment type for administrative appointments which are short-term, in a non-regular position, or where funding is based on non-recurring funds and to be renewed annually. This appointment cannot be made for more than one year at a time.

Officer of instruction, tenure-related
An unclassified appointment type for faculty members in positions eligible for indefinite tenure.

Officer of instruction, adjunct, part-time, short-term or visiting
An unclassified appointment type for academic appointments at all ranks in non-regular, non-tenure-related positions.

Officer of instruction, instructor or senior instructor, non-tenure related
An unclassified appointment type for instructors or senior instructors without indefinite tenure who have the special skills or experience needed in certain clearly defined positions in instructional programs but who would not normally be appointed or promoted to the professorial ranks.

Officer of research
An unclassified appointment type for those whose responsibilities are wholly focused on research projects funded by outside agencies. The research ranks are research assistant, senior research assistant, research associate, and senior research associate. The research associate title may be expanded with the words "postdoctoral fellow" to indicate a student/employee relationship intended to continue research training beyond the doctorate.

Pooled position codes/numbers
Pooled positions are used to group similar types of appointments. For example, most adjunct instructors are appointed to the pooled "teaching/research" position number BUOFF9. All pooled position codes begin with "BUO" and end with three characters that describe the type of the position.

Position description
A position description is used to record the duties, responsibilities and management expectations of a position, as well as the minimum and preferred skills, training and abilities necessary to perform those duties. It provides a basis for determining the appropriate rank and/or employment type, and a basis for evaluating performance of the incumbent in the position.

Professional
An occupational category for unclassified staff whose assignments require either college graduation or specialized professional training but whose principal activities are administrative rather than instructional, e.g. Librarians, counselors, physicians, and some directors and department heads if more than 50% of their job is administration. (Most officers of administration are included in this category.)

Reference checks
A reference check is an inquiry about job performance, usually from people identified by the applicant. Reference checks are conducted to verify or confirm information obtained from a resume, an application, or during an interview. The reference check is also conducted to obtain additional information regarding applicants' work ethic, initiative, and performance.

Recruitment
The process the university undertakes to fill a full-time or part-time position by making known the qualifications and description of a job to potential applicants who are either within or outside the university.

Search committee
A group of campus representatives, normally selected by the hiring authority, who participate in application screening, interviewing, and selecting and/or ranking of the top candidate(s). At the discrection of the hiring authority, a search committee can include non-university representatives who have a shared interest in the search.

Search firms
A search firm is occasionally used for upper level searches.

Teaching or Research
An occupational category for unclassified staff engaged in instruction, research, or public service. (Academic department heads are included in this category if at least 50% of their job is committed to instruction/research.)

Tenure-related (tenure-track) appointment
An appointment given to faculty employed at .50 FTE or more in a position eligible for indefinite tenure.

Under-representation
Having fewer minorities or women in a particular job group than reasonably would be expected based on their availability in the community. (Department of Labor)

Vacancy
A budgeted position in which no employee is currently appointed.

Waiver of search
An exception to the regular recruitment and selection process, granted by the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity.