Regent Communication Guidelines
What form should the communication have?
The communication should be free of spelling and typographical errors and be printed on plain white paper. The heading "THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN REGENTS COMMUNICATION" should be centered at the top of the page. A one inch margin should be used (see Examples section of this guide for communication examples). The communications should not be stapled. If using a paperclip/binder-clip please use a coated paperclip or put a piece of paper between the paperclip/binder- clip and the communication. Uncoated paperclips and binder- clips can leave marks on the paper. If the curriculum vitae is more than two pages long, please submit in double-sided format.
Who needs to sign the communication?
On the Ann Arbor campus, academic personnel actions are recommended by the Dean or the Vice President for Research and are endorsed by the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.
On the Dearborn campus, academic personnel actions are signed by the Chancellor.
On the Flint campus, academic personnel actions are recommended by the Dean and are endorsed by the Provost and the Chancellor.
When a faculty member is recommended for a joint appointment, courtesy signature(s) must also be obtained from the dean(s) of the school/college where the recommended faculty member holds a Regentally approved appointment. The courtesy signature line(s) should appear below the signature line of the Dean recommending the appointment.
Personnel communications recommended for academic administrators in Student Affairs are signed by the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Personnel communications recommended for academic administrators in Business Operations are signed by the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Operations.
When does a communication need to be submitted?
The Regents only approve academic personnel transactions at their regular monthly meetings. The Regents meet once per month September through July for a total of 11 times per year (see Section N, for meeting dates and deadlines).
The Regents do not meet in August; however, the President and the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs request permission from the Regents to grant interim approval of personnel actions during the month of August to complete staffing needs for the fall term. Actions that receive interim approval shall be reported to the Regent's at their September meeting.
In order to obtain approval of an academic personnel transaction at the monthly Regents' meeting, the communication and accompanying documents must be submitted to Academic Human Resources for review and approval. It is recommended that you submit communications to Academic Human Resources via e-mail or fax before obtaining signatures, since changes may be necessary before the communication can be submitted for Regental approval. Due to the limited time involved each month, there are no exceptions to the deadlines stated in the Meetings section of this guide .
All personnel actions must be approved by the Regent's before the effective date of the appointment. For example: a faculty member who has been appointed as chair on September 1, must be approved before the effective date of the appointment. If this is not possible due to specific circumstances, a late memo addressed to the Provost (Ann Arbor campus only) from the Dean needs to be submitted with the communication explaining why the communication has been submitted to the Regents after the effective date of the appointment. However, units/preparers should make every effort to process communications in a timely fashion.
To whom should I send my communications?
After obtaining the necessary approvals, the school/college or office initiating the action needs to send the communication to Academic Human Resources for approval. After Academic Human Resources has approved the communication you should obtain all required signatures (except for the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs [Ann Arbor campus]), and submit the original communication, with one copy, and any other required documentation to Academic Human Resources for processing.
Academic Human Resources reviews all personnel action request for all three campuses. They are responsible for preparing the personnel section of the Regent's monthly agenda, and submitting all to the office of the Secretary of the University for inclusion in the Regents' agenda.
How do I make a correction to a Regents Communication?
If a previously submitted communication needs to be corrected due to an error, a new communication will need to be submitted to correct the error in all of the appropriate affected areas. For an example please see the Examples section of this guide.
Differences between Academic Administrative and Professional Administrative appointments
If after reviewing the chart in this section and the Regent communication examples in the Examples section of this guide you have additional questions, please contact Academic Human Resources at 763-8938.
Academic Administrative and Professional Administrative Appointments
- TITLES that require Regental communications have not changed
- The type of appointment that is created in the HR system is determined by the INDIVIDUAL filling the position
- If the person also holds a regular (or clinical) instructional position(s) then the following applies:
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IF YES
Create an Academic Administrative Appointment |
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IF NO
Create a Professional Administrative Appointment |
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Required documents for submitting communications
The attached chart (see Attachment I) indicates the documentation you would need to submit for each different personnel action request. |
