| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.02 |
| Liaison | Megan Litke |
| Submission Date | Sept. 17, 2024 |
American University
AC-8: Responsible Research and Innovation
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
7.00 / 7.00 |
Lucy
Yearling Sustainability Intern Sustainability |
8.1 Published ethical code of conduct for research
Online location of the institution’s ethical code of conduct for research:
Copy of the institution’s ethical code of conduct for research:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
8.2 Recognition of integrated, community-based, and extra-academic research
Description or text of the promotion/tenure guidelines or policies that explicitly recognize integrated research:
Faculty Manual: https://www.american.edu/policies/academics/upload/american-university-faculty-manual-may-2024.pdf
From the Faculty Manual: In order to reach an associate professor/librarian or higher position, "a faculty member must demonstrate significant scholarly accomplishments appropriate to the field and/or significant cross-disciplinary achievements."
Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment Guidelines Update https://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/upload/tpr-update_5_scholarship.pdf
The update states that DEI work will be rewarded but not mandated and outlines the use of cross disciplinary research for this.
Guidelines for Tenure: https://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/tenure/tenure-promotion.cfm
Example of tenure guidelines for Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies department: "Faculty members are responsible for reviewing files for action and determining if a candidate’s
performance contributes significantly to the field and/or generates cross-disciplinary knowledge
and insights..."
Other examples of departments that explicitly include cross-disciplinary research recognition:
Biology
Chemistry
World Languages and Cultures
Do the promotion/tenure guidelines or policies that recognize integrated research cover all of the institution’s research-producing academic divisions?:
Does the institution have published promotion or tenure guidelines or policies that give explicit positive recognition to community-based research?:
Description or text of the promotion/tenure guidelines or policies that explicitly recognize community-based research:
Guidelines for Tenure: https://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/tenure/tenure-promotion.cfm
https://www.american.edu/policies/academics/upload/american-university-faculty-manual-may-2024.pdf
Example of positive recognization for community based research in the Department of Health Studies:
"In addition, DHS values community based scholarship and research activities which result in public impact, which can be demonstrated through a number of different professional and public outlets."
Other examples of departments that explicitly include community-based research:
Psychology
Anthropology
History
Literature
Neuroscience
Philosophy and Religion
Psychology
Sociology
Communication Studies
Film and Media Arts
Journalism
Education
Public Adminstration
Justice, Law, and Criminology
Do the promotion/tenure guidelines or policies that recognize community-based research cover all of the institution’s research-producing academic divisions?:
Does the institution have published promotion or tenure guidelines or policies that give explicit positive recognition to research impact or reach outside of academic journals?:
Description or text of the promotion/tenure guidelines or policies that explicitly recognize research impact or reach outside of academic journals:
Guidelines for Tenure: https://www.american.edu/provost/academicaffairs/tenure/tenure-promotion.cfm
Example of tenure guidelines that regonize research impact outside of academic journals in the Department of Anthropolgy:
"Reviewers similarly will value rigorous, labor-intensive works of collaborative public anthropology with broad public impact over publications with limited scholarly or public impact."
Other examples of departments that explicitly include research impact outside of academic journals:
Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies
Sociology
Communication Studies
Public Administration and Policy
Do the promotion/tenure guidelines or policies that recognize research impact or reach outside of academic journals cover all of the institution’s research-producing academic divisions?:
If Yes to any of the above, provide at least one form of evidence (website URL or document). If reporting on multiple guidelines or policies, provide the best available example and/or a website that provides an overview of promotion/tenure for academic employees.
Copy of the institution’s promotion/tenure guidelines or policies:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
8.3 Inter-campus collaboration for responsible research and innovation
Description of the institution’s inter-campus collaborations for responsible research and innovation:
American Univeristy is a member of SPARC. "SPARC is a non-profit advocacy organization that supports systems for research and education that are open by default and equitable by design. We believe everyone should be able to access and contribute to the knowledge that shapes our world."
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
8.4 Support for open access publishing
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the open access repository:
American University’s Digital Research Archive provides access to scholarly works, teaching tools and other literature produced by the AU community including articles, conference presentations, working papers, online journals and newsletters, syllabi, and podcasts. American University’s Digital Research Archive also provides access to some but not all of AU’s digital collections including the American University History Photograph and Print Collection, Drew Pearson's Washington Merry-Go-Round, the John R. Hickman Collection, the Jack Child Slide and Stamp Collections, the Peace Corps Community Digital Archive, the Photographic Material and Other Art Work of Herbert E. Striner, and the Washington College of Law Historical Collection.
https://www.american.edu/library/collections/digital_repository.cfm
Does the institution have one or more published policies that require its employees to publish scholarly works open access or archive final post-peer reviewed versions of scholarly works in an open access repository?:
Do the open access policies cover all of the institution’s research-producing academic divisions?:
Text or online location of the institution’s open access policies:
Copy of the institution’s open access policies:
Does the institution provide an open access article processing charge (APC) fund for employees?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the open access APC fund:
The library's Open Access Fund helps faculty researchers pay the article processing charges (APCs) associated with publishing in open access journals. We are providing these funds in order to encourage researchers to publish their work in high-quality open access publications. The articles must be published in fully open access publications and funding for one article per author per year is considered.
https://www.american.edu/library/oafund/
Does the institution negotiate or participate in transformative open access agreements that are consistent with ESAC guidelines?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s transformative open access agreements with publishers:
American University has currently signed several transformative agreements that align with ESAC standards, including agreements with Cambridge, ACS, ACM, and Company of Biologists. We are currently pursuing agreements with PLOS and De Gruyter, and expect to have signed deals go into effect in 2025. We also participate in several Subscribe to Open or similar collective initiatives which align with ESAC standards, including Annual Reviews, Project MUSE, and SCOAP3. We have adopted a values-led framework for the evaluation of open access agreements to ensure that we are prioritizing open access deals that are equitable and financially sustainable and recognize that transformative deals that prioritize APC payments for gold and hybrid journals do not represent the highest degree of equitability or sustainability for both global readers and researchers wishing to publish in these journals. We are currently looking into ways to fund additional open access infrastructure and diamond OA titles, and hope to increase our support in the future.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.