Chairs, Associate Chairs and Department Heads OARDC Wooster Campus:
NOTE: If you do not have Wooster based faculty then this policy does not apply.
I was informed there was discussion related to use of physical facilities by outside groups on the Wooster Campus. Does OARDC have an official policy? The answer is that The Ohio State University Board of Trustees does have a policy related to University facilities. The policy is 3335-13-03 University facilities http://trustees.osu.edu/rules13/ru13-01-03.html.
In addition, rule 3335-13-01 "Drives and canvassing" relate to the use of facilities also. My interpretation is as follows:
3335-13-01 Drives and canvassing.
(A) Canvassing or solicitation for funds, sales, or subscriptions are prohibited on university campuses or in university buildings unless written permission therefor shall first have been granted by the office of the university registrar which may seek recommendation regarding requests for permission from appropriate university offices.
(B) The sale of merchandise of any kind whatsoever, or publications or services upon university property, other than by the regularly authorized stores, restaurants, departments or divisions of the university, is likewise prohibited except upon written permission of the office of the university registrar which may seek recommendation regarding requests for permission from appropriate university offices. The responsibility and authority of the office of the university registrar under this rule may be delegated by it to a member of the university faculty or staff.
(C) Any persons violating this rule shall be subject, upon proper notice, to eviction from university property or arrest.
This particular rule would indicate that use of university facilities for tupperware parties and similar activities is inappropriate and not allowed. However, approved OARDC sponsored activities such as Plan Discovery Day, for example are appropriate.
3335-13-03 University facilities.
(A) University facilities may be scheduled and used only if the meeting is sponsored by at least one of the following: the university; an administrative unit of the university; the president or a member of his or her staff; a member of the university faculty; a club or committee of university faculty members, university staff members, or their spouses; or a recognized student organization (see rule 3335-11-03 of the Administrative Code).
(B) The office of the university registrar shall be responsible for the scheduling of and shall have the necessary authority to schedule all university facilities. No meeting shall be scheduled in or announced for any university facility unless permission to use the facility has been obtained in advance from the office of the university registrar. All requests for the use of university facilities shall indicate the nature of the proposed meeting. If the proposed meeting is one to which a guest speaker is to be invited, the request for the use of university facilities shall indicate the name of the guest speaker and shall be submitted to the office of the university registrar at least two weeks prior to the date the meeting is to be held, but such two-week period may be waived by the office of the university registrar if the exigencies of the situation so require and the orderly scheduling of university facilities would not be unduly prejudiced (see rule 3335-5-06 of the Administrative Code).
(C) The word "meeting" as used in rules 3335-5-06, 3335-11-06, and 3335-13-03 of the Administrative Code means any meeting using university facilities to which the faculty, staff, students or public is invited, except regularly scheduled university courses, conferences approved under university procedures, and meetings of state, regional, national or international organizations approved under university procedures.
(D) The responsibility and authority of the office of the university registrar under this rule may be delegated by it to a member of the university faculty or of the staff of this university. (B/T 10/12/62, B/T 9/14/65, B/T 12/3/71, B/T 2/3/84, B/T 5/3/96)
According to part A of the above rule, as long as the meeting is sponsored and supervised by a university faculty or staff and the activities do not violate issues related to drives and canvassing, then conference rooms, classrooms could be used. However, OARDC has added additional rules over the past few years related to the use of some rooms.
In general, use of departmental conference rooms and the invitation of outside groups (such as 4-H, K-12 tours, community committees and civic groups, etc) should only be done with approval by your chair/associate chair. In some buildings, in which the public area (offices, conference rooms, etc) are not separated from access to laboratories it may be inappropriate for safety and security reasons to not allow these types of meetings in the building. This is why I firmly believe that future bldg renovations and construction must separate public access areas from laboratories areas and that entrance to hallways with laboratories need to be restricted access through keypunch or card swipe systems.
Proposed OARDC policy. OARDC will abide by the policy and rules related to the use of University facilities as stated by the OSU Board of Trustees. Departments are to determine whether use of conference rooms or classrooms in their buildings can be used by the public if the meeting is sponsored by a university employee or spouse as stated in 3335-13-03 A.
No meetings in which there is a direct or indirect sale of merchandise or products are permitted in University facilities unless this is approved as an OARDC sponsored event.
Departments should establish their own protocols as to whether the use of conference rooms, classrooms, by public groups or committees is appropriate for their building. If deemed appropriate, departments should determine how to inform chair/associate chair of such useage.
If conference rooms are used by sponsored public groups, the group is responsible for the removal of all materials, trash, etc., from the room after the activity. The room should be returned to the status present at the beginning of the meeting.
Prior rules related to facility use by public groups within departments and by OARDC administration will still be honored as long as these do not violate the rules stated by the OSU Board of Trustees.
If you have additional questions, please contact my office.
|
