Policies, Expectations, and Guidelines

In accordance with Title H of SUNY Policies of the Board of Trustees, although the formal academic workload extends from the first day of classes in the fall through commencement in the spring, departments have a responsibility to participate in activities connected to the final registration and arrival of students during the 2 week period prior to the start of classes. The Department Chair or Director needs to plan how their department will meet that responsibility and advise their Dean if any problems are anticipated. Additionally, it is expected that faculty will continue to be responsible for work–including grading, syllabi preparation, and service requirements–as needed through school breaks. 

Faculty are required to report any suspected instances of academic dishonesty by undergraduate students to the Academic Judiciary. 

In the case of graduate students, please see the policy on grievances and appeals in the Graduate Catalog. 

Faculty in the Health Sciences Center (School of Health Professions, Nursing, Social Welfare, Dental Medicine) and the School of Medicine are required to follow their school-specific procedures. 

For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, refer to Academic Integrity.

Academic Integrity

Resources for All Students

Resources for Undergraduate Students
Please be sure that your undergraduate students are aware of the services available to help them succeed and thrive. 

Academic Success Resources 

Resources for Graduate Students

The Graduate School, in collaboration with the Writing Center and the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, offers writing support to master’s and doctoral students on East and West campuses. 

Graduate Student Writing Support

All course content must be accessible to all students. Please refer to CELT’s Accessibility Resources and Support page for support and guidance. 

CELT Accessibility Resources

Students who require specific disability-related accommodations must contact Student Accessibility Support Center for assistance (2-6748 or sasc@stonybrook.edu).

If a student directly approaches you for a disability-related accommodation and you have not received a letter from the Student Accessibility Support Center, please inform the student to contact the Student Accessibility Support Center using the information provided in your syllabus. You should not accept any disability-related documentation from the student.

Faculty are expected to work with students and SASC to implement approved accommodations. SASC can help faculty determine the best ways to incorporate accommodations without a fundamental alteration to their course.

Neither individual faculty members nor departments may grant waivers or substitutions for general education requirements or any other college- or university-wide requirements. 

Undergraduate students should be directed to the Division or Undergraduate Education or the CEAS Undergraduate Office for information about the process for requesting an exception.

Division of Undergraduate Education

Graduate students should be directed to their Graduate Program Director. 

It is expected that all course syllabi will contain measurable learning objectives. This is always good pedagogical practice and a university requirement.

Self-Guided Course: Creating Student Learning Objectives

INTRO PARAGRAPH HERE

• Responsibilities in the Classroom
• Absentee Policy
• Course Responsibilities
• Academic Progress
• Interactions with Faculty, Instructors, and Other Students
• Minimal Instructional Responsibilities
• Classroom and Conference Responsibilities
• Course Definition and Requirements
• Required Syllabi Statements
• Assessment of Student Performance
• Professional Conduct with Students

Please review this policy in the University Policy Manual.

Policy on Final Exams

Please review this policy in the University Policy Manual.

Policy on Submission of Grades

All course syllabi should be available to students as early as possible for the upcoming semester, but available before the first day of class.

Syllabi should be uploaded to the university's Learning Management System.

Faculty who expend additional effort in obtaining research funding from external sponsors and perform corresponding research effort can be compensated for their additional effort.

As with course overload and other additional responsibilities, payment is through "also receives" within HR's payroll department. This provides an annualized supplemental payment to total compensation, subject to applicable withholdings, but is not added to base salary. The intent is to compensate faculty investigators who successfully pursue additional external funding beyond normal expectations for sponsored scholarly activity.

Such compensation is available during the academic year* to faculty with 9-month or 12-month appointments in state positions who are principal investigators or, in some cases, co-PIs.

Eligibility and implementation will be determined by the respective dean in consultation with the department chair. Faculty should reach out to their chair for more information.

* This does not apply to the summer period for faculty with 9-month academic year state appointments. Those faculty may wish to assign effort to sponsored research grants during the summer period before requesting participation in the additional research compensation plan.

Guidelines for Cross-Departmental, Secondary Academic Appointments of Full-Time Faculty

These guidelines cover the following types of appointments:

• Affiliated faculty appointment,
• Joint title faculty appointment,
• Joint appointments (budgetary),
• Non-salaried or courtesy appointments.

The list of secondary appointment types below outlines categories and descriptions for appointing current Stony Brook University faculty to a secondary appointment in a department, program, or school.

These guidelines establish consistency of nomenclature across departments and programs. Each department or program sets its own further criteria within these broad appointment categories. Any specific criteria for secondary appointments with these titles should be defined and made explicit in the departmental by-laws, or the equivalent specification of procedural practices for those departments without governing by-laws.

Affiliated Faculty Appointments

• Type of appointment: Secondary, budgetary line entirely in primary department or program.
• Title of designation: None. Faculty member can be listed on the secondary department's roster as affiliated faculty (i.e. as a "friend" of the department, with intellectual or research interests in the work of the secondary department or program). The primary department should agree and the dean should be notified by the secondary department or program. 
• Rights and responsibilities: Involvement by formal invitation of secondary department only. There are no formal rights, including voting rights, or responsibilities in the secondary department. All involvement in the secondary department or program is voluntary.

Joint Faculty Title

• Type of appointment: Secondary, budgetary line entirely in primary department or program.
• Title of designation: Title includes both programs or departments, i.e. assistant professor of X and Y, where X is the primary department and Y is the secondary. These appointments are recommended by both departments, appointed upon the recommendation of the dean, and confirmed by the provost. An official letter of joint title appointment will be sent by the provost to the appointee and to each department to be kept in relevant personnel files.
• Rights and responsibilities: Limited involvement, as set by conditions of initial appointment, or by departmental by-laws or established departmental practices. These faculty may serve as "inside readers" on doctoral dissertations in both departments. Voting and other rights are determined by initial appointment and/or established by departmental by-laws.

Joint Appointment

• Type of appointment: Primary in both departments or programs. Budgetary line is divided between two departments or programs.
• Title of designation: Appointed, upon the recommendation of the dean and provost, by the president in the same manner as a regular appointment to a single department.
• Rights and responsibilities: Full rights and responsibilities in both primary departments, unless limited at the time of appointment.

Definitions

Affiliated Faculty Appointments
An affiliated faculty appointment is granted by the provost or executive vice president of Stony Brook Medicine (EVP SBM) to an active member of the faculty of Stony Brook University. The affiliated appointment confers limited faculty standing in a second department, program, or school on a member of another department, program, or school. Such an affiliation should not be confused with a joint appointment, which only the president can make.

The provost or EVP SBM may grant an affiliated faculty appointment upon the recommendation of the appropriate dean or director. It will be a temporary appointment granted for a definitive period of three to six years for junior faculty or a 10-year term for tenured or full professors. This temporary appointment may be terminated at any time upon the request of either the designated faculty member, the director or chairs of either the primary or secondary departments, or the appropriate dean.

The granting of an affiliated appointment to a faculty member of another department, program, or school entitles that faculty member to indicate their affiliated membership in the secondary department, program, or school in all official correspondence. Affiliated faculty status does not include the use of the secondary department, program, or school's name in the faculty member's faculty title of designation.

Since the affiliated faculty appointment confers only limited faculty standing, the extent of the affiliated faculty member's functions and privileges in the affiliated department, program, or school should be mutually agreed upon at the outset and specified in the memo to the dean or provost/EVP SBM requesting the affiliated appointment. Normally, affiliated faculty appointments do not include voting rights in the secondary department, program, or school. They may be invited to participate and vote in specific program committees or deliberations.

The granting of an affiliated appointment in no way affects or limits the nature of the faculty member's appointment in their primary department, program, or school as governed by the policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees. All personnel actions including promotions and leaves will be initiated by the primary department, program, or school. The primary unit should inform the secondary unit of the substance of its recommended personnel actions regarding the affiliated faculty member and may invite its endorsement or comment. Both departments, programs, or schools shall retain a copy of the letter of appointment in the faculty member's personnel file. The termination of the appointment of a faculty member who also holds an affiliated appointment automatically terminates the affiliated appointment as well.

Joint Title Faculty Appointments
A joint title faculty appointment is granted by the provost to an active member of the faculty of Stony Brook University. The joint title faculty appointment confers limited faculty standing in a second department, program, or school on a member of another department, program, or school. The joint title faculty appointment entails a greater involvement in the secondary department, program or school than an affiliated faculty appointment. A joint title faculty appointment should not be confused with a budgetary joint title appointment, which only the president may make.

The provost may grant a joint faculty title appointment upon the recommendation of the appropriate dean or director. It will be granted for an indefinite period and may be terminated at any time upon the request of either the designated faculty member, the director or chairs of either the primary or secondary programs/departments, or the appropriate dean.

The granting of a joint title appointment to a faculty member of another department, program, or school entitles that faculty member to include the title of the secondary department, program, or school along with the faculty member's professorial rank and title of designation in all official correspondence in the same manner as is done for their membership in the primary department, program, or school.

Since the joint title faculty appointment confers limited faculty standing, the extent of the joint title faculty member's functions and privileges in the secondary department, program, or school, including whether the joint title faculty member shall have voting rights in the secondary department, program, or school (or in one or more of its programs) should be mutually agreed upon at the outset and specified in the memo to the dean or provost requesting joint title faculty appointment.

The granting of joint title faculty appointment in no way affects or limits the nature of the faculty member's appointment in their primary department or school as governed by the policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees. All personnel actions including promotions and leaves will be initiated by the primary department or school. The primary department, program, or school should inform the secondary department, program, or school of the substance of its recommended personnel actions regarding the affiliated faculty member and may invite its endorsement or comment. Both departments, programs, or schools, shall retain a copy of the letter of appointment in the faculty member's personnel file. The termination of the appointment of a faculty member who also holds a joint title faculty appointment automatically terminates the joint title faculty appointment as well.

Joint Appointment (Budgetary)
A joint appointment (budgetary) confers full faculty standing upon the appointee in both appointed departments or schools. The joint appointee enjoys all the privileges and incurs all the responsibilities in each department or school of a normal faculty member in either. It is normally expected that the workload of the joint appointee will be divided between the two departments or schools in a manner commensurate with the budgetary commitment of each unit contributing to the position. Budgetary joint appointments that cross colleges are not permitted to be 50:50 to ensure that a college can be identified for personnel actions that involve college-level committees. It is recommended that budgetary joint appointments that cross colleges be structured as 75:25 appointments, although 51:49 appointments are permitted.

A budgetary joint appointment is made by the president upon the recommendation of the provost, who in turn bases their recommendation upon the recommendations of the departments and units involved and the appropriate dean or director. In addition, if the proposed joint appointment involves a completely new appointment, and if the rules of the appropriate college or center require it, the appointment will also be reviewed by the appropriate faculty committee on personnel policy. As with all academic appointments, a joint appointment must conform to the policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees and applicable local campus policies.

In the case of a joint budgetary appointee, personnel actions that involve recommendations of department-level committees, such as tenure and promotion, will be conducted by a committee of no less than seven members, appointed by the chairs of each unit, which includes representatives from both departments or units. The committee will submit its recommendation to the chairs of both departments or units, who will prepare a joint letter with their recommendation. Reviews and actions at the college or school level will be conducted by the college-level committee and dean of the college or school contributing a greater share of the budgetary line. It is recommended that the dean of the other academic unit also review and have input into the dean's letter for tenure and promotion. Other personnel actions such as leaves should be processed in the normal manner by the college or school that holds the larger share of the budgetary line, in consultation with the chairs and deans of both units.

(updated December 21, 2020)

Non-Salaried or Courtesy Appointments
A non-salaried appointment is made by the dean or provost upon the recommendations of the chair of the department involved and the appropriate directors, deans, and provost. As with all appointments, a non-salaried appointment must conform to the Policies of the Board of Trustees and applicable local campus policies.

A non-salaried appointment confers limited, non-salaried faculty standing in a department or school on an appointee who does not otherwise enjoy faculty standing on the campus. Normally, such appointments will be made for a term of up to three years and may be terminated at any time upon the request of either the appointee or the appointed department or school. A non-salaried appointment may be granted concurrently in more than one department or school but one department must be identified as the primary department.

The department or school in which a non-salaried appointment is made may determine the extent of the functions and privileges which the appointee may exercise within the department. 

A non-salaried appointee may be promoted upon the recommendation of the department or school to the dean or provost without the necessity for review by a faculty personnel policy committee.

(updated October 12, 2004)

Approval Process for Faculty Members who are Offered Appointments at Foreign and Domestic Institutions

Stony Brook University faculty members' achievements in research, education, and clinical care may lead to opportunities to visit, collaborate, and engage in scholarly work with colleagues at other domestic and foreign institutions. (Institutions refers here to universities, institutions of higher education, research institutes, and similar organizations.) An SBU faculty member's primary obligation is to SBU. When an institution offers to appoint an SBU faculty member to that institution's faculty, the principles outlined below will apply and the approval process below must be followed before an SBU faculty member may accept such an appointment.

Acceptance of an appointment at another institution (including appointments that carry adjunct or courtesy titles) must be reviewed and prospectively approved by both their respective department chair or director, and the dean to ensure that it does not interfere or conflict with primary obligations. In general, SBU recognizes that faculty being hired may need to maintain temporary adjunct status at their previous institution to conclude ongoing obligations to grants and continue advising graduate students. These types of arrangements must be reviewed and approved by the department chair or director, and dean and should be limited to the time needed for faculty to transition their research activities to SBU.

In the request for approval, there must be clear, written delineation of the scope of the appointment at the other institution, the obligations associated with the appointment, and proposed compensation and/or expense reimbursement or other support (including non-monetary), if any, from the other institution to the SBU faculty member. The scope must explicitly outline any proposed research, teaching, patient care, and/or administrative responsibilities to be carried out at the other institution.

SBU faculty offered such appointments at another institution may wish to consider:

• Requesting a professional leave (unpaid) or requesting a sabbatical under the provisions of the policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees; or
• Reducing their appointment to part-time at SBU to work part-time at the other institution. The request for reduction to part-time is a discretionary decision for the respective department and dean's office.

SBU faculty members with an appointment at another institution approved through this process must notify the other institution of their status at SBU.

SBU faculty must disclose compensation and other forms of support received from any institution through myResearch COI, including honoraria, travel expense reimbursement, and non-monetary support associated with their relationship with the institution. Faculty may also have to report this to the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government.

Please also refer to the Office of Research and Innovation's Office of Research Security Standard Operating Procedures.

The following additional considerations apply to approved appointments at foreign institutions.

SBU faculty holding an approved appointment at a foreign institution may not bring students or trainees from that institution to SBU for research and educational opportunities, regardless of the duration of such student visits to SBU, unless there is a university-level agreement signed by an authorized signatory or their designee between SBU and the foreign institution, and there is prior compliance with necessary export control reviews. Please note that requirements for domestic students are identified under the university's Guests/Visitors Policy.

SBU faculty may not list their SBU-conducted research on a foreign institution's website, and may not carry out SBU research (particularly federally funded research) at the foreign institution without prior approval of the foreign component and review of any export control matters that are needed. Further instructions on obtaining approval for possible foreign components of federal grant activity may be obtained from the Office of Sponsored Programs and the Office of Research Security's export control regulations.

Engagement with foreign institutions may present export (or import) control concerns. Any transfer of funds, or the exchange of materials and information (e.g. data, technology and know-how), associated with the SBU faculty member's appointment at the foreign institution must be reviewed by the export control administrator, and the SBU faculty member will be personally responsible for ensuring compliance with the U.S. import/export control laws when engaged in their duties as an appointee of the foreign institution.

SBU has an obligation to ensure that the interactions of its faculty comply with the requirements of applicable laws, regulations, and guidance from our funders. Faculty are reminded that NIH, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense have all issued guidance and notices about limitations for some types of foreign support received by researchers who simultaneously receive funding from foreign sources. Faculty are advised to carefully consult these guidance documents, and seek advice from the Office of Sponsored Programs, the export control administrator, the provost, and/or the executive vice president for Stony Brook Medicine if they have further questions.

Stony Brook University is committed to the principles of academic freedom, free inquiry, and the open exchange of knowledge. These principles are the bedrock of scholarship and research. The university supports and encourages individuals to pursue and engage in external activities that promote the university's mission, contribute to professional fields, and enhance professional skills. Consistent with these principles, members of the university community are expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards as they fulfill their university obligations first and foremost, commensurate with their appointment requirements.

All members of the university community have an obligation to avoid conflicts of interest and commitment (defined below) when carrying out their external and university education, research, scholarship, or service responsibilities. All external relationships -- both domestic and international -- should be transparent and must be disclosed in a manner that is consistent with applicable requirements, including federal and state laws/regulations/agency guidance, as well as Stony Brook's own policies and procedures. Such disclosures must include activities that occur over summer/winter break months.

The following links provide more information on conflicts of interest and the university disclosure obligations.

Policies

• Disclosure of External Interests and Commitments Policy
• Export Control Policy
• Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarship Policy
• Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University Conflict of Interest Policy
• SUNY Conflict of Interest Policy
• SUNY Research Foundation Conflict of Interest Policy
• University Policy Manual

For More Information

• Office for Research and Innovation:
  • Organizational conflicts of interest
  • Sponsor disclosure requirements

Conflict of Commitment: a potential conflict of commitment exists when an individual's (and/or their Immediate Family Member(s)) external relationships or activities have the possibility (either in actuality or in appearance) of interfering or competing with the University's educational, research or service missions, or with that individual's ability or willingness to perform the full range of responsibilities associated with their position. 

Conflict of Interest: a conflict of interest exists when a person is or may be in a position to influence activities or decisions in the conduct of externally and applicable internally supported activities in ways that could lead to personal financial gain or give an improper advantage to third parties in their dealings with the University. Conflicts of Interest may also arise when an individual (and/or their Immediate Family Member(s)) have outside obligations of any kind that are in substantial conflict with their University responsibilities or the public interest.

(Last updated 9/16/2024)

Student comments will be considered for redaction if they:

• Appear to evaluate the instructor on criteria not related to their teaching performance and/or on a discriminatory basis (see the university's equity and access policies).
• Raise allegations of professional impropriety (including harassment or discrimination) on the part of the instructor.
• Include threats of violence. Such allegations may be referred to appropriate university authorities for investigation.

Redaction Procedure:

• All data will be published once faculty reports are released. This will be on the academic standing date provided by the Office of the Registrar.
• If we get redaction requests, those comments will be completely hidden until reviewed by the Provost's Office. These requests will proceed along the comment removal timeline below.

Comment Removal Timeline:

Faculty send requests to their chair or dean. Faculty are able to review their own evaluation reports, including student comments, before they are published to the university community, by logging into the course evaluation platform. Requests must be sent within six business days of the reports being made available to the faculty.

After reviewing student feedback from the evaluation reports, faculty may request redaction of any comments that harass, threaten, defame, slander, or otherwise fall outside the scope of the course delivery and instruction by submitting a request to the department chair or dean.

If the chair/dean determines the comment(s) require further review, they may forward the request to:

• Senior associate provost for undergraduate education for undergraduate courses
• Vice provost for graduate education for graduate courses

Within six business days:

• The requester will recieve a confirmation of the request.
• During this time, the complete comment in question will be hidden from view on the course evaluation site.

Within 10 business days:

• The request will be reviewed by the Provost's Office.
• The requester will be notified of any determination made and the course evaluation site will be updated to reflect those changes.

A fellowship provides funds to an individual to support academic study or research. The recipient has no employer/employee relationship with the organization granting the funds, and no services can be required for the fellowship.

At the time of application to a fellowship, faculty members should notify their department chairs and dean. This is especially important if the faculty member anticipates requesting a leave from the university to accomplish the goals of the fellowship. Early notification will also allow for university support to be planned in a timely fashion, and will enable departments to provide guidance on procedures to be followed if the fellowship is awarded. Decisions concerning the scope and level of university support will be influenced by the prestige of the award (e.g. Guggenheim, NIH, NSF, etc.).

When a tenured or tenure-track Stony Brook faculty member is awarded an externally funded fellowship, the faculty member may request, with approval by appropriate administration officials (department chair, dean, provost, and president), one of the following options:

• Release time with a reduction in FTE and salary equivalent to the value of the fellowship (less any travel or incidental expenses included in the fellowship). If an individual's effort and state salary are reduced, there may be benefits implications, and TIAA/CREF contributions will be reduced in accordance with the reduced effort.
• Remain on full salary and reimburse the university for the percent of release time equivalent to the value of the fellowship (less any travel or incidental expenses included in the fellowship). The Office of the Controller will invoice individuals for any salary reimbursement. Such reimbursements would be deposited into an income fund reimbursable (IFR) account designated by the dean.
• Release from all university obligations and leave without pay. The individual would be responsible for continuance of benefits and no university contributions would be made to TIAA/CREF contracts for the leave period.
• Sabbatical leave, if eligible, at half pay for a full academic year or at full pay for a semester and keep the full value of the fellowship during the sabbatical period. This is subject to the policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees on sabbatical leaves.

In all instances, fellows would deposit their fellows would deposit their fellowship award checks into their personal bank accounts. Any payments to the university for reimbursement of salary would be by personal check. Fellows are advised to seek advice from a tax consultant regarding income tax implications.

Please review this policy in the University Policy Manual.

Policy on International Engagements

When a funding agency requires nominations of a limited number of faculty for an award, an internal competition takes place.

The Office of Proposal Development disseminates the information from the funding agency to the appropriate recipients (deans or department chairs), and defines guidelines for submission of materials and deadlines for the internal competition. The nominations received are then evaluated by a committee of faculty with relevant expertise, and the chosen nominee is notified (in most cases approximately four weeks before the submission deadline). The Office of Proposal Development is expected to help the nominee in the preparation of the proposal, and facilitate its submission to the funding agency.

Examples of Limited Competitions

• W.M. Keck Foundation
• Dana Foundation: David Mahoney Neuroimaging Program
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Sloan Research Fellows
• NY Stem Cell Foundation: Stem Cell Investigators Awards, Neuroscience Investigator Awards
• Arnold and Beckman Foundation: Young Investigators
• Pew Biomedical Scholars
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund
• March of Dimes

The Office of Proposal Development is dedicated to providing Stony Brook University's research community with high-level support to identify extramural funding opportunities, build networks, and foster collaborations for the development of large, complex, and innovative proposals.

To accomplish these goals, OPD:

• Manages limited competitions and the faculty interest database;
• Organizes workshops and trainings in grantsmanship;
• Connects researchers to institutional resources;
• Proofreads content in the grant applications;
• Oversees the administrative components of the proposal development process.

In order to promote Stony Brook University's missions of education, research, public service, and health care and to provide the citizens of New York State greater access to quality public higher education within the realm of those missions, the university will consider proposals for off-campus credit-bearing instruction consistent with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) definition of extension site activity. This policy describes the university approval process for extension site activity proposals and is consistent with the guidelines stated in the SUNY Memorandum to Presidents, vol. 88, No. 9, dated December 12, 1988.

• Off-campus credit-bearing instructional activity refers to credit-bearing courses and/or programs that are taught off campus. It does not refer to field trips, internships, student teaching, cooperative education, international programs or the like that are supervised by an on-campus faculty for students enrolled primarily in on-campus programs.
• This policy does not apply to SUTRA contract course programs. For guidelines on SUTRA programs, consult the Office of Budget, Financial Planning and Analysis.

The Office of the Provost shall approve extension site activity proposals, and will coordinate and supervise such off-campus credit-bearing activity. The Provost's Office will be responsible for maintaining the list of sites where all such instructional activity takes place.

Extension site proposals must:

• Involve the delivery of courses for an existing, approved university program;
• Involve 15 or fewer courses to be delivered at the off-site location;
• Involve no more than 350 course registrations at the off-site location for the entire year.

The complete program may not be delivered at the off-site location. Completion of the program by each student must involve at least one course being taken at the university's main or Southampton campus. For simplicity of reference throughout the rest of this policy, these two campuses shall be referred to as on-campus.

Note that web-based delivery of an on-campus course does not satisfy the "at least one course" requirement.

If the number of courses offered comprise more than 50 percent of a program, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education may require a site visit.

Any proposal for an extension site activity must address the following points before approval will be considered:

• The community need for delivery of the courses off-site, rather than on campus;
• The appropriateness of the facilities to be used for instruction;
• A plan for providing accessible and adequate library facilities for the courses offered off site;
• A plan for providing adequate academic advising, financial aid information, counseling services, and other necessary student support services;
• A plan for advising students of the availability of the resources offered above.

Once an extension site activity is approved, no change in off-site location can occur without approval from the Office of the Provost. A proposal for a location change must address the above-listed points.

Any part-time faculty employed in extension site course teaching must be hired according to the policies and procedures used for part-time faculty hired on-campus. The policies and procedures used shall be those of the school or college in which the program resides.

Courses will be eligible for teaching off-site only if they have been approved through the normal course approval process for on-campus courses, e.g. the curriculum committee of the school or college in which a given course is taught.

The evaluation of faculty who teach extension site courses shall be done according to the policies and procedures used for faculty who teach on campus. The policies and procedures used shall be those of the school or college in which the program resides. All extension site courses are required to run course evaluation surveys using the same instrument used on the main campus.

Any part-time faculty employed in extension site course teaching must be provided with an orientation on the policies and procedures that govern their responsibilities. The polices and procedures shall be those of the school or college in which the program resides and the orientation must be consistent with that given to part-time faculty who teach on campus.

Any part-time faculty employed in extension site course teaching must be provided with the opportunity to interact with their full-time faculty colleagues in the program (e.g. faculty meetings). Such opportunities shall be consistent with opportunities given to part-time faculty who teach on campus.

If an extension-site activity falls within the geographic region of another SUNY unit, it shall be the responsibility of the university's Office of the Provost to notify, in writing, the presidents of all SUNY units within this geographic area. This written notification shall take place even if the other SUNY unit(s) cannot offer the proposed off-campus activity. If the proposed off-campus activity is one that the other SUNY unit(s) have the capacity to offer and would be willing to offer, the Office of the Provost shall obtain the approval of its plans from the other SUNY units prior to scheduling the activity. If an agreement cannot be reached between two SUNY units about the offering of an off-campus activity, the conflict shall be submitted to the SUNY Provost for final resolution.

Consultation by faculty members with outside organizations can be a source of valuable professional experience. The university permits such consultation, subject to the conditions set forth in this policy statement.

For those on full-time service to the university, the guiding principle is that university duties are the primary obligation of the faculty member while consultation is a personal activity. 

Consulting activities must be in compliance with SUNY policies and applicable law, and should not detract from the prestige of the university or professional stature of the faculty member. Before committing to any outside consulting activities, faculty members should visit the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics and Lobbying in Government website and familiarize themselves with applicable Stony Brook University policies.

Time Commitment

Although obligations of faculty are multifaceted and often cannot be precisely defined in number of hours, universities must be able to provide a reasonable accounting of the professional activities of full-time employees. Because of the complexity of these obligations and the difficulty in reporting faculty activities, it has generally been accepted that universities place limits, as a matter of policy, on the amounts of time and effort full-time faculty members may devote to outside consulting. The intent of this policy is to provide faculty members with flexibility to consult subject to the limitations set forth in this document.

During periods of full-time service to the university, consulting work for outside organizations is limited to the equivalent of four days per month. Faculty on appointments that accrue vacation (typically those on calendar-year appointments) should consult with their dean on whether accruals should be charged on these days. Consulting work must not detract from the faculty members' full-time obligation to the university.

Full-time clinical faculty members are not permitted to perform clinical work outside the university and affiliate hospitals without permission of the dean. Part-time faculty and faculty in qualified ranks have the obligation to deliver the effort described by the terms of their appointment. Professional activities outside the specific scope of their appointment must not interfere with their ability to meet performance requirements or obligations to the university.

Approval Process

Written requests for permission to consult should specify the organization for which the work is performed, a statement of the amount of time required, the period of the consulting arrangement, and a statement of whether the work will or will not interfere with the faculty member's responsibilities to the university or present a conflict of interest or commitment. The request should have the approval of the department chair, the appropriate dean and, if applicable, the provost or executive vice president of Stony Brook Medicine (EVP SBM). In situations where consultation in excess of four days per month is requested, approval, if any, must be given by the provost or EVP SBM, as appropriate. If the amount of consulting time interferes with the faculty member's full-time obligation to the university, they should not engage in the consulting work or should request a leave of absence or salary reduction. Final disposition of these requests rests with the provost or EVP SBM. Faculty members engaged in consultation should resolve in advance any questions about the amount of consultation to be performed to avoid excess consulting in conflict with their obligation to the university.

Agreement

When a faculty member's outside work is for remuneration, consultants should have an agreement in place that clearly defines the technical scope and financial terms of the consulting activity. This is a personal agreement between the consultant and the outside entity for which the consultant is personally responsible and to which SBU is not a party.

Intellectual Property

Faculty members are subject to SUNY's Patents, Inventions and Copyright Policy, which can be found in the SUNY Policies of the Board of Trustees.

Before signing an agreement with an outside entity, faculty should make certain that their rights and the university's intellectual property rights are protected. A clause should be inserted in the agreement that reads:

"[Company] acknowledges that [Consultant] is a faculty member at SBU and is subject to university policies including the Patent, Inventions and Copyright Policy, including obligations to disclose external inventions. [Company] also acknowledges that [Consultant] is not acting in an official capacity for SUNY during this engagement and that use of university facilities for this engagement may require an agreement with the university."

Under the Patent, Inventions and Copyright Policy, university faculty are obligated to disclose to the Intellectual Property Partners (IPP) all inventions, including those made in the course of outside professional and consulting activities in compliance with SUNY's Procedures for Disclosure and Management of Patents and Inventions. The conditions of disclosure of such inventions can be discussed with the IPP in a way that respects the business interests of the business entity involved in any non-disclosure conditions in the consulting agreement. A faculty member is not permitted to use intellectual property, including confidential information, owned by the university or the SUNY Research Foundation in connection with outside consulting without written agreement from IPP.

Conflicts of Interest

University Policies/Employment
It is the responsibility of faculty members to ensure that the consulting agreement is consistent with their university employment obligations, including the university's Conflict of Interest Policy. Specifically, a consulting agreement should not interfere with a faculty member's research and employment obligations at the university and cannot conflict with university policies. Faculty should be sensitive to potential conflicts between their outside consulting activities and teaching responsibilities vis-à-vis graduate and other students working under supervision. Faculty should not hire or directly supervise an SBU student in employment or consulting activities outside the university while simultaneously serving as a student's advisor on a dissertation committee, instructor, or in a similar role. Exceptions to this rule should be rare and subject to advanced written approval by the provost or, as applicable, the EVP SBM. Faculty members may want to review an agreement with an outside entity, at their own expense, with a personal attorney to ensure their rights are protected and that the terms do not conflict with their university employment.

To avoid conflicts between the faculty member's full-time obligation to the university and the terms of the consulting or other agreement with a third party, the following clause must be included in any such agreements:

"[Company] and [Consultant] acknowledge that [Consultant] is not acting on behalf of the State University of New York or the State of New York; neither the State University of New York nor New York State is liable for [Consultant]'s performance under this Agreement. In the event the terms and conditions of this agreement are in conflict with the terms and conditions of my employment with the State University of New York at Stony Brook, or with those of grants or contracts administered by the Research Foundation of SUNY for which I perform service, the latter shall prevail."

Public Officers Law
Faculty members should refer to the State Public Officers Law §73 and the Code of Conduct in New York Public Officers Law §74 to ensure compliance with state ethics laws. The consultant is also required to disclose additional compensation as per the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government.

For research conflicts of interest, see Standard Operating Procedures for Disclosure of External Interests and Commitments Policy.

Use of University's Facilities/Services/Name

Use of university resources in connection with outside consulting is not permitted. A consulting faculty member or the company for which the consultation is being performed may follow the process and pay the customary and usual fee for use of any service centers open to external users.

In addition, use of the university's name is subject to the Stony Brook University Use of University Name or Logo Policy. A faculty member may identify themselves as a consultant and also as a member of the faculty at SBU as part of a description of their background. Faculty members may not use their university office or title to suggest that their work for the outside entity is part of their work at the university or endorsed by the university in any way.

Additional Related Policies

• Business Responsibility and Financial Transactions Policy
• Disclosure of External Interests and Commitments Policy
• Standard Operating Procedures: Researchers Component of Disclosure of External Interests and Commitments Policy

Introduction

A key expectation of faculty, staff, and students at a research university is that they will author publications, creative work, and other scholarly products. Recognizing that authorship issues can be complicated, and norms can vary between disciplines, Stony Brook University encourages its faculty, staff, and students to engage in proactive discussions of authorship.

Applicability

These recommendations apply to all participants at Stony Brook University engaged in the publication of research, defined broadly as all forms of scholarly investigation or creative work.

Academic units are encouraged to develop additional "best practices" recommendations regarding authorship for their faculty, staff, and students that address discipline-specific issues.

The term "publication" as used in this statement is meant to include any manner of report, paper, manuscript, article, book, patent, chapter, treatise, lecture notes or slides, video or multimedia presentations, exhibit, creation, composition, performance, or other publishable/publicly presented product regardless of format or medium.

Purpose and Expectations

Authorship assignments should honestly reflect actual contributions as a function of the ethical conduct of scholarship. Authorship explicitly assigns both credit and responsibility for intellectual and creative works.

These recommendations support those scholarly values. They are intended to eliminate authorship assignment rooted in power inequities (i.e., prejudiced by academic position, rank, or other hierarchical considerations), inappropriate practices, and conflicts of interest in the presentation of scholarly findings.

Participants are expected to engage in the idea generation, scholarly activities, and publication development process in open and clear communication about the assignment of authorship roles with their potential publishing colleagues. To reduce ambiguity and conflict arising later in the publication process, it is recommended that written agreements be established early in the scholarship process. These agreements should specify the details of authorship and expectations of individual contributions, and are recommended to reduce ambiguity and conflict later in the process.

Participants should also keep in mind that, depending on the nature, complexity, and longevity of the project, new participants may be added as the project unfolds. For that reason, changes in authorship (additions, deletions, and order) may become necessary. If one collaborator seeks a change in authorship (either inclusion, exclusion, or the ordering of authors), participants should engage in an open discussion. If an authorship agreement exists, it should be revisited with the inclusion of all relevant parties.

Attribution of Authorship

Authorship should be limited to those who meet both of the following criteria and expectations; all those who meet these standards should be included as an author:

• Significant sustained intellectual contribution to a project through conception and design, or data acquisition, data analysis, or interpretation of the findings; and
• Ability to identify their own contribution, and accept responsibility for its integrity and credibility, and defend the major aspects of the project presented in the publication, although not necessarily all the technical details.

In addition, it is expected that all authors will be aware of the writing process and agree on the division of responsibilities. Authors should be given adequate opportunity to participate in the drafting of the manuscript (or substantive revision of its scholarly content). They should also have the opportunity to approve the final version of the manuscript to be published, preferably in an explicit fashion.

Sole provision of logistical, financial, administrative input without significant intellectual support or other contributions (as indicated earlier in these guidelines) should not constitute a valid basis for authorship. Recognition of these types of input is appropriate for the acknowledgments section of a publication.

Practices Inconsistent with these Recommendations

The following are examples of acts that are inconsistent with these recommendations.

• Exclusion of a person as author who meets the criteria defined above in the Attribution of Authorship section.
• Acceptance or ascription of an honorary authorship. Honorary (guest, courtesy, or prestige) authorship is granting authorship out of appreciation or respect for an individual, or in the belief that the expert standing of the honored person will increase the likelihood of publication, credibility, or status of the work even in the absence of significant intellectual contribution.
• Acceptance or ascription of a gift authorship. Gift authorship is authorship granted within the context of an anticipated benefit (e.g., reciprocal gift authorship or enhanced citation counts) to an individual who has not appropriately contributed to the work.
• Acceptance or ascription of a ghost authorship. Ghost authorship is the failure to identify as an author someone who has made substantial contributions to the research or writing of a manuscript. This includes circumstances, for example, in which someone might be hired to create or improve a product with an understanding that no author credit will be assigned.

Dispute Resolution

A person who believes their authorship rights have been violated or who wishes to report other improper authorship practices should first attempt pursuing informal/collegial resolution of the issue within the research group, through facilitated discussion with a disinterested party such as the institution's ombuds officer and/or through departmental or collegiate channels (e.g., supervisor, graduate program director, thesis committee chair, departmental chair, dean or equivalent within their units). 

Note: These recommendations are adapted and modified with permission from Iowa State University.

Academic department chairs or academic area heads are essential and significant members of the university leadership. They represent their faculty colleagues to the administration and the administration to their faculty. They speak for the department (or area) to the college and university community, serving as a channel of communication on program, personnel, and budget matters. They encourage and foster excellence in research, scholarship, art-making; teaching; and professional and university service. They also provide crucial leadership in the pursuit of the university's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The major responsibilities of department chairs and area heads include:

At the department/area level

• Provide leadership to achieve the highest possible level of excellence in the research, art-making, teaching, and service activities of the unit. The chair/head articulates the goals of the unit and the unit's actions or requests in pursuit of these aims, and maintains a climate that promotes creativity and innovation and exemplary professional impact.
• Appoint undergraduate and graduate program directors, other administrators, and committee chairs and members as appropriate.
• Coordinate execution of the unit's educational programs with the faculty, and schedule courses and assign instructors to these courses in consultation with program directors, the faculty, and the dean's office. Monitor course registrations and make appropriate adjustments in course schedules and instructor assignments in cooperation with other departments/areas/programs and the dean's office.
• Oversee unit seminar series, lecture, and other activities.
• Review the unit's educational program for relevance and new opportunities.
• Coordinate the unit's service assignments in consultation with the faculty.
• Set and communicate expectations for the scholarly and creative activity of faculty.
• Evaluate faculty annually. Maintain and implement processes for appointment, reappointment, promotion, and tenure of faculty. Appoint committees and provide oversight for the compilation of faculty dossiers for such evaluations.
• Provide mentoring and mentoring structures for the unit faculty.
• Provide an environment that, within the limitations of available resources, is supportive of faculty professional activities and goals.
• Coordinate and plan sabbatical leaves and leaves without pay of the faculty.
• Supervise part-time faculty.
• Supervise staff and management operations in the unit.
• Report on all separations, resignations, retirements, and deaths of faculty and staff in the unit.
• Evaluate staff needs annually. Evaluate staff for the purposes of appointment, reappointment, and permanent appointment.
• Catalyze the bridging of both scholarly and educational programs across departments and schools/colleges.
• Plan and administer the unit's budget in consultation with the dean's office. Manage budget expectations, and present departmental recruitment requests.
• Lead the recruitment efforts, when resources are available, for replacement or net growth of faculty. The chair/head is responsible for making certain that the diversity goals of the department/unit and college/school are met by assuring a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates.
• Communicate and interact with Human Resource Services, Labor Relations, and the Office of General Counsel on personnel issues, when and as necessary.
• Oversee faculty adherence to compliance responsibilities and budgetary guidelines in the context of extramural solicitation of funding.
• Seek and facilitate external giving and resource development for the department/unit. 
• Oversee the safety, accessibility, and maintenance of facilities, including labs and equipment, libraries, meeting rooms, exhibition and performance halls and studios, seminar rooms, and other unit venues.
• Serve as a central figure available to address questions, concerns, and communications from students, faculty, staff, parents, guardians, and others with the expectation of a resolution of issues at the department/area level.
• Serve a critical role in the mediation of conflicts among constituencies within and beyond the department/area.

At the dean's office level

• Participate in the strategic planning process of the school/college.
• Consult with the dean about the unit's educational programs and the scheduling of departmental/area courses and instructor assignments.
• Consult with the dean about student admissions to the department/program.
• Participate in and coordinate with the dean regarding the necessary processes toward program/area accreditation.
• Prepare annual departmental/area reports describing accomplishments in research and scholarship, in the educational mission, the university/professional service of the department/area, fundraising, alumni engagement, and community outreach efforts.
• Present an annual budget for the maintenance and growth of the department/area in support of the scholarship and teaching mission.
• Plan and administer the unit's budget in consultation with the dean's office, and present faculty and staff recruitment requests.
• Consult with Human Resources and Payroll as appropriate on faculty and staff matters and consult regarding fair employment practices with the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives.
• Participate in advancement and alumni initiatives.
• Take up additional responsibilities and assignments in consultation with the dean, the provost, or other relevant members of the university leadership.

In performing all these duties, the chair/head is expected to seek the advice of faculty colleagues in a systematic way, and to provide for the conduct of unit affairs in an orderly fashion through departmental/unit meetings and the appointment of appropriate committees. The chair/head is expected to seek student advice on matters of concern to students enrolled in the unit's programs. In large departments/areas, the chair/head may be assisted in their tasks by a vice-chair/vice-area head, an administrative/department/area administrator or other colleagues, and, when desired, by an executive committee chosen in an appropriate manner. The specific responsibilities of the chair/head should not, however, be delegated. It is normal practice that the chair/area head will discuss compensation and perquisites for the duration and the conclusion of their service term with their dean.

Sabbatical Leave

Sabbatical allows faculty to engage in scholarly development or other activities that will increase their scholarly achievement and capacity for university service. A sabbatical is a significant investment in and sign of support for a faculty member, and faculty are expected to return to the university for at least a year following their sabbatical.

Written applications for sabbatical leave must be submitted to the academic unit no later than October 1 of the year before the intended leave.

Policy
This document describes the policies on this campus regarding sabbatical or academic leaves. Its aim is to ensure coherent and uniform guidelines and procedures and to clarify state policies. Further information is to be found in the State University Policies and Procedures related to sabbatical leaves in Article XIII, Title E of the policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees.

A sabbatical leave is defined as a leave for the purpose of encouraging faculty members to engage in scholarly development or other activities that will increase their scholarly achievement and their capacity for service to the university. As a leave of absence with pay constitutes a significant investment on the part of the university in the future career of the individual faculty member, it is granted to eligible faculty on the understanding that the faculty member has an explicit obligation to return to their position at full service at the university for a minimum of one year. If a faculty member fails to return from sabbatical to accept employment elsewhere, they will be expected to remit to the university any salary paid by the university during the leave period. At the conclusion of the sabbatical leave, the faculty member must forward to the Office of the Provost, with the endorsement of their department chair and dean, a detailed report on professional activities and accomplishments during the period of the sabbatical leave.

Eligibility
Academic employees holding continuing appointments who have completed at least six consecutive years of service within the university or who, if they previously have had a sabbatical leave, have completed at least six consecutive years of service within the university from the date of return from their last sabbatical leave, shall be eligible for sabbatical leave.

General Information and Timeline
Application for a sabbatical should be made through Interfolio. 

The application should include a detailed description of the proposed research or other scholarly project and the relevance of the proposed activity in contributing to the university's objectives, as well as the suitability of the faculty member's background and qualifications for carrying out the project. Circumstances beyond control of the faculty member may necessitate a change in plans. All such changes must be approved, in writing, through the normal administrative channels as soon as such need is known. Applicants should also include information on significant scholarly contributions since the last sabbatical leave. If the request includes visiting an embargoed country/entity, please confirm that you have reviewed the proposed visit iwth the Office of Research Security's Export Controls and that the visit has been approved.

Sabbatical leave applications should include information on salary from any non-state university sources to be earned by the faculty member while on leave. Whether this sabbatical leave is for six months at full salary or one year at half salary, the total salary earned while on sabbatical from state plus other sources should normally not exceed the faculty member's full basic annual salary rate (for the faculty in the School of Medicine and the School of Dental Medicine who are subject to Article 29 of the UUP agreement, this means their total annual compensation). Faculty applying for sabbatical leave may, with prior approval, accept fellowships, grants-in-aid, or earned income to assist in accomplishing the purpose of their leave. Any such income during the leave period which is to accrue from non-state university sources for assisting in scholarly and research objectives, for relocation expenses, or to offset loss of certain SUNY benefits (such as health or retirement contributions) may be allowed if proper detailed justification is provided. Salary from grants, contracts, or fellowships may be paid for those on one-half leave. The amount to be paid can be as high as 50 percent of the regular annual salary, and the regular state line in all cases must reflect no more than a 50 percent salary rate.

To allow for the planning of teaching responsibilities for the coming academic year, the leave application request must be submitted to the academic unit no later than October 1 of the academic year prior to the one for which the leave is intended.

If the period of sabbatical does not start within the traditional academic year, the application must be submitted to the department chair no later than six months prior to the beginning of the date of the proposed sabbatical leave. Since no extra allocations of funds are available to implement the sabbatical policy, support of sabbaticals must be covered by regular departmental allocation. Therefore, the department chair's recommendation should include a statement about the proposed method of handling the normal duties of the faculty member on leave.

On or before November 1, the dean of the college or school shall review the application and, with their own recommendation, forward it to the provost or executive vice president for Stony Brook Medicine (EVP SBM). The provost or EVP SBM may approve such leave deemed appropriate and shall forward their recommendation to the president for final approval. It should be noted that administrative approval of applications for sabbatical leave will include both a budgetary and substantive review.

Illness, or other unplanned circumstances, may cause interruption of an approved sabbatical. In all such cases, the faculty member shall be placed on another leave, with or without salary as appropriate. The president may reestablish the balance of the sabbatical leave at the mutual convenience of the campus and the employee.

The above structure is to ensure the continued integrity of an extremely valuable university mechanism for the professional development of its faculty.

Applying for Sabbatical
Starting fall 2021, all sabbatical requests must be made through Interfolio. A Stony Brook University unified workflow template has been created and is available in the Review, Promotion, and Tenure module. This template is integrated with Faculty180 Faculty Activity Reporting System, and a faculty member's CV for the last six years is generated automatically based on their Faculty180 profile when the candidate submits their sabbatical request. Alternatively, a faculty member can attach their CV. In addition, this template will also be used for sabbatical report submissions after the faculty member returns from sabbatical.

In addition to providing the CV via Faculty180 or as an attachment, faculty will have to fill out the Sabbatical Request form via Interfolio.

How to submit the application in Interfolio

1. Go to Cases and click Create Case; select the candidate and the template SBU-Sabbatical Request/Report.
2. Populate the appropriate committees in all case steps. Please note that the committees for the Provost's Office and Human Resource Services have been pre-populated. Deans should also be pre-populated, based on the faculty member's department and college/school.
3. After the case is created, click Return to Case. Under the Candidate Packet section, lock the Sabbatical Report section. This ensures the case will be able to move forward.
4. Click Send Case and then Notify the Candidate. Adjust the email message as necessary.
5. The candidate will receive an email notifying them that they must upload their CV, and submit the sabbatical request form.
6. Move the case forward through the subsequent review steps.

Title F Leaves

In addition to sabbatical leaves, academic employees may submit requests to the president for leaves of absence for employees at full salary or reduced salary, or without salary, for the purpose of professional development, acceptance of assignments of limited duration with other universities and colleges, government agencies, foreign nations, private foundations, corporations, and similar agencies, as a faculty member, expert, consultant, or in a similar capacity, or for other appropriate purposes consistent with the needs and interests of the university.

Leave of absence without salary may also be granted under appropriate circumstances, for the purpose of child care. Leaves of absence at full or reduced salary pursuant to provisions of this section shall be reported to the SUNY chancellor. The chancellor may require submission of such leave requests by an institution for their approval when they deem it in the best interest of the university.

This is in accordance with the policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees under Article XIII, Title F (Other Leaves).

Application for a Title F Leave
Please include the following materials:

• A request by the faculty member to the chair and the dean that includes the description of the project and the duration of the leave.
• CV, including course listing and status of employment (i.e. full-time, part-time, or on leave) per semester.
• Note of endorsement of the request by the chair to the dean, including a statement of how the faculty member's teaching responsibilities will be covered during the leave.
• A memo of support for the leave from the dean to the provost. The dean's memo should include how this leave will benefit the department and the university.
• PeopleSoft form requesting Title F leave.

Upon return from the leave, the department administrator must submit a PeopleSoft form indicating that the faculty member has returned from leave.

The faculty member should submit, within three months of return, a memo/report to the chair/dean detailing the results and accomplishments during the leave. Once the report is approved by the dean, a copy must be sent to the provost.

Stony Brook faculty need to be aware of copyright law and fair use doctrine when using the work of others in electronic teaching formats. 

Review Stony Brook's official policy on duplication of material protected by copyright.

The information below provides a synopsis of your rights and responsibilities as established by the TEACH Act of 2002.

The TEACH Act, 17 USC § 110(s), sets forth the conditions under which educational institutions may use copyright protected materials in distance learning, on websites, and by other digital means without permission from the copyright owner and without paying royalties. 

The Act applies to electronic supplements to traditional face-to-face learning, web tutorials, and courses taught wholly online. 

To enjoy this safe harbor, instructors who use copyrighted materials on learning management systems approved by the university or by linking to other websites must reasonably:

• Limit access to copyrighted works to students currently enrolled in the class;
• Limit access to copyrighted works to the time needed to complete the class session or course unit;
• Prevent further copying or redistribution of copyrighted works;
• Not interfere with copy protection mechanisms;
• Use only "reasonable and limited portions" of the copyrighted works; and
• Limit use of the copyrighted work to "an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session."

In other words, the TEACH Act does not permit instructors to scan, store, or upload complete works or significant portions of any type of work on a website for students to access throughout the semester, even if such access is associated with assigned coursework. Third-party material made available online is to be treated as the functional equivalent of material ephemerally heard, used, or displayed in a live classroom. Distance learning archives are not the functional equivalent for placing materials on reserve (or electronic reserve) in the library.

Every faculty member that uses a learning management system, an alternative website, blog, or other electronic system to provide distance education to the academic community must take steps to protect the integrity of copyright interests in material distributed for educational purposes. At a minimum, you should use the learning management system's program of built-in parameters to limit the scope and duration of student access to the online work, or manually remove the copyrighted materials from the website after a limited period of time.

If, as an instructor, you question your ability to comply with the TEACH Act requirements set forth above, you must obtain permission to use the work by contacting the copyright owner. Simply associating the author's name and affiliation with the work in issue may not be enough. The Copyright Clearance Center should be your point of origin when seeking permission to use a text-based work. Information about music and image permissions may be obtained from the Music Publishers Association and the MPLC (Motion Picture Licensing Company).

You may explicitly indicate your intention to protect your own work by posting the following language on your learning management site:

All federal and state copyright interests are reserved for all original material presented in this course through any medium, including lecture, electronic transmission, or print. Individuals may not sell, be paid, or receive anything of value for class notes made during this course from any person or entity without the express written permission of [Author]. In addition to legal sanctions, violation of these copyright prohibitions may result in university disciplinary action."

The provost endorses the University Senate Policy of 1996, which requires that "The FSA bookstore liaison, faculty student advocate be informed of all course materials required or recommended for courses offered in the following semester, even if orders are being placed at other bookstores or publishers."

This policy does not prevent a faculty member from placing a course material order at an off-campus retailer or working directly with a publisher, but it does require that the FSA bookstore liaison be notified of "all required or recommended" course materials which would be shared with the official course material provider.

The policy covers all semesters: fall, winter, spring, and summer.

1. Many students with financial aid or other types of financial assistance may need the assistance of the bookstore liaison to purchase course material which allows students to defer immediate out-of-pocket expenses. This type of assistance would not be available at off-campus retailers.
2. Scholarship students must purchase books at such sites with their own funds.
3. Having all course material available with our official course material provider enables one-stop shopping, which is particularly useful to disabled students.

The following policy has been drafted by the University Senate Executive Committee and the Provost's Office. The University Senate invites comments from faculty, staff, and students: Please send comments to sbu.university.senate@stonybrook.edu.

Faculty members who may profit from the materials they require students to purchase should provide a brief written justification for why their text best meets the instructional goals of the course well in advance of the deadline for ordering such materials for the next semester. The chair or their designee will review those justifications and either approve or reject them; the results of those reviews will be forwarded to the vice provost for faculty affairs for further review and approval. If the chair is one of the faculty assigning their own texts, the justification should be sent directly to the vice provost for review. Likewise, if the material in question is a workbook or other reading that produces revenue for the whole department, the justification should be sent directly to the vice provost for review.

The whole process of review from the department to the provost level must be completed by the following deadlines to ensure faculty get their book orders in on time:

• Requests must be received by the vice provost for faculty affairs by September 1 for the courses being held the following spring semester.
• Requests must be received by the vice provost for faculty affairs by January 1 for courses being held the following fall semester.

Departments should set any internal deadlines in advance of these dates to provide the chair with sufficient time for review.