Changes to appointment process for DGS, DGC, DUC positions
Office for Faculty Advancement and The Graduate School have collaborated on a new process for appointing Directors of Graduate Studies and Directors of Graduate Certificate Programs. OFA is also including Directors of Undergraduate Certificates in the changes, for consistency. Please see the details below.
Effective August 1, 2025, the appointment process for Directors of Graduate Studies, Directors of Graduate Certificate Programs, and Directors of Undergraduate Certificate Programs is changing. The reasons for these changes are:
- To ensure a single system of record (the Faculty Database) for administrator appointments
- To ensure consistency in how administrator appointments are documented (through an appointment board action)
- To ensure clear communication with faculty members about their appointments and expectations (with offer letters)
- To ensure fair access to administrator appointments and faculty input on those appointments (through OFA reviewing offer letters and supporting documentation for evidence of faculty input on the selection process)
The changes to the appointment process are as follows:
- All administrator appointments, including DUS, DUC, DGS, and DGC appointments, will require an offer letter that has been pre-vetted by the Associate Provost for Faculty Advancement. Offer letters should be submitted through the OFA Approvals workflow prior to being extended to the faculty member. Letters are required for both new appointments and reappointments. These letters should include the following information:
- Title of the position
- Start and end dates
- Notice that the position is "at will" of the Dean
- Information regarding the DOE % assigned to the position (or overload information, if it is an overload)
- Information regarding a stipend if one is being offered
- Evidence of faculty input in the appointment process (for instance, a faculty vote, a search or appointment committee recommendation, results of a faculty survey, etc. see https://ofa.uky.edu/faculty-administrator-appointments)
- If a college has a standard form that includes this same information, that may be submitted in lieu of a literal letter, but through the same pre-vetting process.
- Final, signed documents should be sent back through the OFA Approvals Portal as supporting documentation for the Administrator Appointment Board action type.
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If the previous occupant of the position is leaving it early, please tell us that person's name and end date in the "Notes to OFA" section of the OFA Approvals submission form so that we know to end date that person's appointment in the Faculty Database.
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- All administrator appointments, including DUS, DUC, DGS, and DGC appointments, will require an Administrator Appointment Board action in the Faculty Database. A few notes on this:
- No administrator positions will be able to be directly entered into the database without a board action, effective August 1. This is to ensure consistency in how appointments are documented.
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DUS, DUC, DGS, and DGC appointments do not require approval by or referral to the Board of Trustees and will be considered "approved" once the action is approved at the Provost level tab in the Faculty Database. The documents do not have to be embargoed until a Board meeting and will be returned immediately after the action is approved in the database. The documents should be filed in the faculty member's Standard Personnel File.
- The DGS/DGS appointment form on the Graduate School's website is being discontinued. Effective August 1, the offer letters submitted to OFA are the documentation of DGS/DGC appointments (hence the requirement that every appointment have one).
- OFA will also be reviewing the offers to DGS/DGC positions for compliance with the Graduate School's requirements for Directors of Graduate Studies in terms of rank, graduate faculty membership, tenure status, etc. as found in the Policies and Procedures for Directors of Graduate Studies Handbook.