Definitions –  Process – Term Sheet Tips – Startup and Other Financial Details – Addenda

Definitions

Term Sheet: The term sheet spreadsheet. Can also be a reference to the Offer Input tab of the spreadsheet, as that is the sheet where the terms of the offer are described.

Offer Summary: (Optional) Quick recap of the terms that have been discussed with the candidate. Can be generated by the unit from the offer summary tab of the term sheet spreadsheet, updated if needed, and emailed to the candidate to get initial confirmation. Note: This is NOT an official offer and has been updated for AY23-24 to include only key details for candidates during the negotiation phase of the search.

Draft Offer Letter: Documentation of official contingent offer. Generated by TTF Offers, based on the terms defined in the term sheet. Always paired with Policies & Procedures Addendum (see Offer Package below) and OtP Opportunities Addendum. Remains contingent until contingencies are satisfied and final notice of appointment is issued by Human Resources.

Addenda: Attachments that help further define nuances of an offer (e.g., startup, space, joint appointment, welcome). Created by the unit. See Addenda section below for approval expectations.

Contingent Offer Package: The final PDF that will be sent to the candidate. Includes the offer letter, Policies & Procedures Addendum, and any other addenda submitted by the unit. Generated by OtP and sent to the candidate by the dean/unit.

Process

Read more about TTF hiring processes by reviewing the document (Word document) below. This process document will cover the newly updated entire search process including early conversations about offer package elements and the steps to request a contingent offer package.

The exact internal process may vary by college/school/division. Please contact your dean’s office for direction specific to your unit.

Click here to open or download the AY23-24 TTF Hiring Process Information document for Deans.

Once the finalist has been approved by the dean, outreach and exploration into potential offer terms to propose to the provost's office can begin with the identified finalist. Deans are encouraged to notify TTF Offers if they plan to use named or endowed positions, if they are requesting Inclusive Excellence Funds, or if they would like to pursue an accelerated or expedited tenure review process. 

After initial discussion with a finalist, the unit can work to propose potential offer terms to the provost's office by providing their dean with the completed term sheet, any addenda, the CV, and any language revisions for a contingent offer package. Upon approval, the dean or designee* will email all necessary information and documentation to TTF Offers with a request for a contingent offer package (or offer letter). TTF Offers will review all terms and perform their vetting processes at this stage. There might be some exchange of information between the dean's office and the provost's office OR there might be corrections/clarifications on materials for a contingent offer package. Once reviewed and approved, TTF Offers will then provide the dean with a contingent offer package in PDF, consisting of the finalized offer letter and addenda. The Dean's Office will confirm the elements of the offer and route for appropriate signatures. 
* Only Deans and approved designees may submit term sheets to TTF Offers.

The school/college will then send the offer to the candidate, requesting that they sign and return the offer package. The school/college will keep OtP posted on the results of the offer. If the candidate accepts the offer:

• The unit will disposition the other candidates in MyTrack.
• If the whole search was not conducted via MyTrack (e.g. search used Academic Jobs Online), the unit will submit the successful candidate’s application materials to HR and follow HR's instructions to finalize the search documentation.
• The dean will forward the signed offer package to TTF Offers, as well as those listed as cc's in the offer letter.
• HR will complete the MyTrack offer card, complete search review and appropriate degree/background checks, and issue the final notice of appointment (this replaces the RTO/contract) to the candidate. Once the candidate confirms, HR will finalize via MyTrack.

Tips

To fill out the term sheet, simply enter term information into the blue cells of the “offer input” and “startup commitment detail” tabs. As you add terms, the pane on the right-hand side of the “offer input” tab will adjust with approximate offer letter language, so you can see approximately how the offer might read. If a field isn’t applicable, simply leave a “0” or a blank, and it won’t be included in the letter. You can “select” a blank value in a cell by simply deleting what is in that cell.

Please note that dragging and dropping one cell into another will break the tool. If you accidentally do it, please “undo” immediately. 

The below information provides details on specific situations one may encounter when filling out the term sheet. Questions or suggestions for further clarification can be addressed to Katy Krieger (kkrieger@uoregon.edu) or TTF Offers (TTFOffers@uoregon.edu). Since we have a new process, please reach out early as you fill out term sheets. A reminder the Offer Summary Language can be used but this information only captures potential proposed terms to the provost's office and is NOT an official offer (nor does it mean those terms are approved).

Search Information

IHP Number: Enter the Institutional Hiring Plan number for the search (AY23-xxx-yy). The MyTrack requisition number and cluster information will automatically populate based on this number.
For Target of Opportunity hires, enter the number that you were given as part of the approval process (usually includes DH).

Joint Appointments: If the hire is a joint appointment, set the dropdown to “Yes” and enter the appropriate school/college and department information. If a joint appointment MOU is ready (see https://provost.uoregon.edu/joint-and-multiple-appointments), attach it as an addendum. If not, include an addendum with general idea of how the joint appointment will work. The joint appointment MOU needs to be completed and uploaded in MyTrack at the point of finalization.

Candidate Information

Degree Conferral: This section is important, as it ensures that "acting" assistant professor assignments are made accurately. If a candidate has already received their required/terminal degree and you only know the year of conferral, it is ok to input an estimated date. For candidates with pending degrees, please be as specific as possible.

Standard Offer Details

Rank: The examples below describe how to update the term sheet so the offer letter will reflect the situation:

• Assistant: Select rank of “assistant”
• Assistant with agreed-upon leave without pay (LWOP) prior to start: Select rank of “assistant”, and indicate LWOP details in the LWOP section. Please note that the unit must fill out a Request for Leave of Absence  to finalize the LWOP arrangement.
• Assistant with years of credit: Select rank of “assistant”, and indicate years of credit. The term sheet will calculate adjusted tenure timelines, which will be reflected in the offer letter.
• Assistant who will complete their required degree before their start date: Select rank of “assistant”, and complete the required/terminal degree section to indicate that the required degree has not yet been completed, and when it’s expected. The offer letter will include the “acting” language in case the candidate doesn’t finish when expected, as well as information about a reduced “acting” salary, for increased Oregon Equal Pay Act compliance.
• Acting assistant (candidate will not complete required degree before start date): Select rank of “assistant”, and complete the required/terminal degree section to indicate that it hasn’t been completed, and when it’s expected. The offer letter will include the “acting” language, as well as information about a reduced “acting” salary, for increased Oregon Equal Pay Act compliance.
• Associate: Select rank of “associate” and enter projected tenure review date. Projected review dates earlier than the default date must be confirmed by Karen Ford, Acting Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (fordk@uoregon.edu) and entered in the “Review Expected By” cell (highlighted in yellow).
• Untenured associate (very rare): Select rank of “untenured associate” and prepare an addendum that outlines the specific tenure expectations. This is only for associate hires who will not be reviewed for tenure within their first year at UO.
• Full: Select rank of “full” and enter projected tenure review date. Projected review dates earlier than the default date must be confirmed by Karen Ford, Acting Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (fordk@uoregon.edu) and entered in the “Review Expected By” cell (highlighted in yellow).
• Untenured Full (very rare): Select rank of “untenured full” and prepare an addendum that outlines the specific tenure expectations. This is only for full hires who will not be reviewed for tenure within their first year at UO.
• Pre-TTF-Contract Start Date: In rare cases, candidates are expected to arrive on campus before the start of the 9-month Aug/Sept TTF contract.  The term sheet allows for this.  Please note that any offer with this addition will be flagged for OtP review.

Tenure Clock: If you enter years of credit, you will see a credit clock section, and the offer letter will explain the candidate’s tenure clock options as outlined on the standard and credit clocks.

Teaching Load: Because, in some units, teaching/course load varies depending on the faculty member’s scholarship, the letter indicates an “initial” load. It also directs the candidate to the unit’s policies for further information. If a unit wishes to be more specific about the load, the unit may elaborate in an addendum.

Course Release: Course release indicates a reduced load from what was described in teaching load, above. Please do some quick subtraction (teaching load minus course release) to confirm that the offer will accurately reflect your intent (e.g. that you aren’t accidentally double-counting a course release). Please note that this number is the total number of releases within the indicated number of years (so if the intent is to grant 1 course release each year for 3 years, you will enter “3”). OtP believes that 2 course releases to be used within the first 3 years is appropriate. Also appropriate is 2 course releases to be used within the first 3 years and a third course release to be used after a successful midterm review. 

Granted Leave Without Pay (LWOP): The contingent offer letter is written to include LWOP if it has been approved by the dean. If LWOP is an option for a candidate but they haven’t chosen to go that direction, you may choose to outline their leave option in an addendum. Feel free to explain additional details of the leave in an addendum. LWOP information will not show in the offer summary.
Please note: The unit must fill out the HR Request for Leave of Absence to finalize the LWOP arrangement.

Location: The contigent offer letter includes information on the job location. Please indicate if the position is predominantly located in Eugene, OR/Portland, OR/Charleston, OR.

Startup and Other Financial Details

Startup

The greyed out information in the startup details of the term sheet is a summary of the information entered in the “startup commitment detail” tab. Be sure the startup updates in that tab. In the “startup commitment detail” tab, each line represents is a unique commitment of:

• Purpose category (what the money will be used for),
• Funding entity (who is funding it),
• Funding source that will be used,
• Amount.

While the details are very important, the summary-level information is what will ultimately appear in the offer letter. If you have questions about this section, please contact Katy Krieger (kkrieger@uoregon.edu) or TTF Offers (TTFOffers@uoregon.edu).

Startup-related notes:

• Since the UO provides a primary business computer to all employees, basic computer equipment is included in the offer letter and should not be considered “startup”. However, research equipment (including computers), should be included in startup.
• If your candidate meets the qualifications for the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) New Junior Faculty Research Award (assistant-level hire who does not otherwise have OVPRI funding), the New Junior Faculty Research Award verbiage will be automatically added to the offer letter. 
• If the offer involves OVPRI startup:
  • OVPRI must approve before the offer is finalized.  Send all startup requests to TTF Offers and they will coordinate with OVPRI for review and approval. 
  • Candidates who receive OVPRI start up will need to contact Yousef Alrahmani (yrahmani@uoregon.edu) in the summer before their arrival to develop a spending plan for their start up.
• GE support shows as a dollar amount in the offer summary and contingent offer letter. Especially for OVPRI-related GEs, please use the Startup tab “Description” cell to document additional GE specifics (“X person years of 12-month graduate research fellow support”). This will not be candidate-facing, however; to provide expanded information to the candidate about types of GE support (e.g. number of GEs and number of terms, the number of years within which they must be used), please include that detail as part of a startup addendum.
• For the purpose of the term sheet, “relocation expenses” describes funds for relocating a lab, etc. Funding for moving expenses should be listed on the “offer input” tab (above summer salary).
• If you attach a startup addendum, please be sure that the total numbers in the addendum match those in the contingent offer letter. Consult with OVPRI on addendum creation for central startup.
• College/school supplied startup funds should be included in the term sheet so that the offer letter and contingent offer package contain this information. 

Other Financial Details

Moving Expense Allowance: For the purpose of the term sheet, “moving expenses” describe personal moving expenses only. Funding for “relocation expenses” (relocating a lab, studio, etc.) should be listed in startup. Please consult the BAO guidelines and moving expense information. Keep to your school/college moving policy for all offers (Option 1 or Option 2 with a maximum amount). 

Summer Salary: Some units plan to grant salary starting the summer after a candidate starts at UO (for Fall 2023 start, this would be Summer 2024). Please document this summer salary in the term sheet offer input tab if your unit-offered summer salary fits within this simple statement: “X” months of summer salary for each of the first Y years”.  If your needs are more complex, you may choose to document the specifics in an addendum instead. NOTE: Do not add summer salary in both places, as it will appear that you are granting more funds than you intend.

Anticipated ASA: While the offer letter will default to “ASA” terminology, units who use other terms may select their preferred term from the “Local ASA Terminology” dropdown menu. 

Inclusive Excellence Funds: If the dean has submitted a request for Inclusive Excellence Funds (previously UMRP and sometimes called Provost startup) and that request has been approved by OtP, units should enter the IEF information into the term sheet accordingly. This information will appear in the offer letter.

Addenda

Must be attached (in Word or PDF) with the term sheet that is forwarded to TTF Offers.

With the exception of a few specific addenda that will be reviewed by TTF Offers or OVPRI, TTF Offers may spot-check addenda but (to facilitate speedy processing and contingent offer package alignment) will not do a detailed review: it is the dean’s responsibility to ensure that addenda are accurate.

Ideas for possible addenda (* indicates that TTF Offers or OVPRI review/approval will likely be required):

• Assignment
• Candidate-facing funding information
• Grant transfer
• Immigration sponsorship
• Joint appointment (required) *
• Endowed position *
• Moving Option(s)
• Space *
• Startup *
• Technology
• Untenured senior (associate/full) faculty (required) *
• Welcome letter