Athletics: General – Department Guidelines

*Additional information available on Gateway

Office Hours

The expected hours of the University are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. All employees must establish, communicate and maintain regularly scheduled office hours. Exceptions will be made when traveling, based on part-time, full-time positions and in-season-out of season. All staff members should maintain an Outlook calendar with their daily schedules and ensure the Director of Athletics and Assistant AD for Administration & Business knows their whereabouts. Coaches should communicate hours with staff and team members when office hours are altered. 

Please remember to contact the Director of Athletics and Assistant AD for Administration & Business to let each know if you will be out sick.

Please remember, per University policy, to enter your vacation and days off into Gateway to receive approval.

An Outlook Calendar is accessible to the administration, staff and coaches. All calendars are to be current and updated on a daily basis with, vacation, personal, sick, recruiting, etc. as this is a tool, whereby, the Director of Athletics or Business Manager can view them on an as needed basis.

Dress Code

All employees are expected to dress in a professional manner at all times reflective of their position and duties at any given time of the day. This includes the office, at a practice, competition and travel. University expectations will not conflict with applicable federal and local statutes including those prohibiting discrimination based on ethnic or national origin. 

Employee’s dress and appearance should be appropriate at all times to give a positive impression of the University.  Employees, in conjunction with their supervisors, may use their judgment regarding the appropriate dress determined by their schedule of activities and duties. Administrators, staff and coaches may be comfortably dressed for work, yet appropriate for an office environment. 

Keys and AA&CC Rooms

All keys for St. Mary’s facilities are issued and collected by the Assistant AD for Facilities & Operations. All key requests and locksmith work orders must be approved by the Director of Athletics or designee.

To reserve any classroom or the Hospitality Suite in the AA&CC, contact the Administrative Assistant, AA&CC/Campus Recreation via email. The Athletics Conference Room (located on Floor 3R) can be reserved on Outlook.

Hiring Procedures

All vacancies for all athletic department positions will go through a proper job search. The Department of Athletics will advertise the position in accordance with the Office of Human Resources and the institutional guidelines. All applicants must complete the necessary paperwork and have their background check completed and approved before beginning the job.  In addition, all employees are to be approved by the Director of Athletics prior to any hiring agreement which includes volunteers or part-time employees. 

Staff Evaluation

On an annual basis, administrators with sport oversight will evaluate each athletic staff member to review their performance. It will be the responsibility of each Head Coach to evaluate their coaching staff and submit a report to their sport oversight. This process will be in conjunction with the Office of Human Resources and the University policy concerning the evaluation of employees.

Head Coach Evaluation

At the end of every academic year, the administrators with sport oversight of their specific teams will meet with the Head Coach. This process will be in conjunction with the Office of Human Resources and the University policy concerning the evaluation of employees. Each coach will receive three evaluations in the following manner:

1. Coach is evaluated throughout the year by the Administrator with Sport Oversight
2. Coach is evaluated by student-athlete senior exit interviews and end-of-the season surveys with team
3. Coach meets with an Administrator with Sport Oversight

All reviews are on file in the Office of Human Resources and are available to the President upon his request.

Assistant Coach Evaluation

At the end of the year, each assistant coach will be evaluated by their individual Head Coach.  This process will be in conjunction with the Office of Human Resources and the University policy concerning the evaluation of employees. Each coach will receive three evaluations in the following manner.

1. Coach is evaluated throughout the year by their respective Head Coach
2. Coach is evaluated throughout the year by the administrator with sport oversight
3. Coach is evaluated by senior exit interviews and end-of-the season surveys with team
4. Head Coach meets with Assistant Coach for final evaluation
5. Head Coach submits final evaluation to the Administrator with sport oversight

Grievance Procedure

The University has established a grievance procedure in an effort to ensure that employees receive fair and equitable treatment in the application of University policy, to provide employees with an easily accessible procedure for expressing dissatisfaction, and to sustain sound employee relations through communications and resolutions of work-related problems. All employees who have completed their introductory period are covered by this procedure. Any perceived grievance before that time frame should be addressed to the Office of Human Resources. Any complaint or report of an alleged violation of the University’s Equal Opportunity, Nondiscrimination, Sexual and Other Forms of Harassment Policy or the Adjudication Guidance for Title IX Reports of Sexual Misconduct shall be handled in accordance with the respective Process, not this Grievance Procedure. (See Section 8.0)

Any employee of the University who believes that he/she has not been treated fairly in a job-related matter may make use of the grievance process within ten (10) working days of the incident. This process provides levels of action through which a grievance may be carried: the grievant’s immediate supervisor; the Director of Department; the Office of Human Resources and the Vice President for Administration and Finance. For the purposes of this policy, the senior administrator of the division is the Provost, a Vice President, a Vice or Assistant Provost, or the President, in the case of units directly reporting to the President. A grievance must proceed through each level before moving to the next higher level. In other words, no lower level can be bypassed before proceeding to the next higher level. Work related grievances occurring more than ten (10) working days prior to the filing of the written grievance will not be accepted and are deemed to be waived.

The University’s full Grievance Procedure can be viewed here.

Exit Procedures

It is requested that all employees provide the earliest possible written notice of a request to resign. All resignations are subject to approval by the University. The employee is expected to give notice, as a courtesy to the University,

to his/her supervisor, Director of Athletics, and the Director of Human Resources not later than 20 working days for an exempt employee or 10 working days for a non‐exempt employee prior to his/her last day of employment. 

In the event an employee retires or leaves the employment of the University, the employee will schedule an “exit interview” with the Director of Human Resources so that all matters pertaining to retirement, insurance, health benefits, and monetary concerns can be handled in an orderly manner.

Coach and Staff Meetings

All Head Coaches, full-time assistant coaches and athletics staff members will meet on a regular schedule that is established by the Director of Athletics after consulting game schedules and staff availability. All staff meetings are mandatory for full-time employees. Any staff member not able to attend one-on-one meetings with the Director of Athletics and/or the Coaches meetings must notify the Director of Athletics in advance.

Conference Meetings

Head coaches, athletic communications, compliance officer and athletic trainers are required to attend the conference meeting for their area via conference call or in person. Failure to attend a meeting without prior approval by the Lone Star Conference office may result in a fine by the LSC office, which the individual will be required to pay.

Extended Leave (Family and Medical Leave)

Staff members leaving office for an extended period of time (Family and Medical Leave) must report this information to

Human Resources, Director of Athletics and Business Manager at the earliest possible time. Human Resources will help with the request for leave of absence form and to verify the employee qualifies for the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Unexpected Leave

If staff members are going to be absent or late because of illness or any other reason, it is their responsibility to call their immediate supervisor prior to the employee’s scheduled starting time to report the absence and the date of expected return. If the employee cannot return at the expected time, the supervisor or department head must be called again with the employee’s expected length of absence. The University requests a physician’s note or other medical evidence after the third consecutive day of absence due to illness or injury. Additionally, employees are expected to maintain an Outlook calendar through coordination with the Business Manager. The calendar should reflect when the employee will be out of the office.

Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, Sexual and Other Forms of Harassment

Note: St. Mary’s University has developed interim policies and procedures guidance to comply with the Department of Education’s 2020 Title IX Final Rule revising the process that colleges and universities must use to receive and respond to reports of sexual harassment and misconduct within our communities.

This interim guidance is intended to replace the procedural responses to reports of sexual harassment and misconduct that are addressed in the University’s Equal Opportunity, Nondiscrimination, Sexual and Other Forms of Harassment policy (this document) and handled through the Equity Dispute Resolution Process.

This interim guidance document is available as a PDF.

St. Mary’s University affirms its commitment to promote the goals of fairness and equity in all aspects of the educational enterprise in full compliance with the requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and other federal, state, and local laws.

All alleged violations of this policy will be handled in accordance with the University’s Equity Discrimination Resolution Process. The Equity Discrimination Resolution Process applies regardless of the status of the parties involved, who may be students or employees (staff, faculty, or administrators). The University reserves the right to act on conduct that may constitute a violation of this policy occurring on campus or off campus, when the off-campus conduct could have an on-campus impact or impact on the mission of the University.

The University’s full Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, Sexual and Other Forms of Harassment policy can be viewed here.

Department of Athletics Policy on Medical Privacy in the Workplace

An employee’s medical situation should be treated as confidential at all times and an employee has the right to confidentiality regarding his/her medical situation. Such situations should never be discussed among employees.

Although an employee may reveal the nature of a medical condition to his/her supervisor, such an action is normally at the discretion of the individual concerned. Some employees may need to know about the absence, and may be genuinely concerned and ask questions about the Medical absence/condition. However, supervisors and employees should not give details to other staff members without the employee’s permission. An employee’s wishes must be respected unless there is a legitimate business reason for revealing the information to others – in which case, the employee must explain that the information will be released discreetly and only to those who need to know.

Any employee about to embark on an action that could invade employee’s privacy should consider the ramifications. If the action makes an employee feel uneasy, the probably need to give it careful and thorough consideration before going forward.

All aspects of any employees’ medical leave should be channeled through Human Resources. This is not a topic for open discussion in the work place.

Emergency Procedures and University Closure

In the event the University opening is delayed due to any type of emergency, the employee is required to report to work at the announced time. If the employee does not report to work, he/she will not be paid for that entire day unless the employee has sick or vacation leave available.

Should inclement weather begin during a working day and the decision is made to close early, all departments will be appropriately informed and payment will be made for the hours closed. Should the employee feel he/she must leave early due to inclement weather when the decision has been made to keep the campus open, the employee will only be paid for such time if the employee makes up hours of absence within the same week of the emergency and at a time mutually agreeable to the employee and the supervisor or with sick or vacation leave the employee has available.

Professional Ethics

In our offices, we regard as necessary the creation of environments, which are marked by the free inquiry, mutual respect, and common support that encourage individual growth and development. In our personal interaction with fellow staff members and student-athletes, we must respect an individual’s personal space and right to confidentiality except where there is imminent danger to that person or to others. In our recognition of the trust and power inherent in the professional-student relationship, we expect wholesome interactions that do not use relationships for private advantage. In our vision of the best human potential, we promote in ourselves and in our students the value of an integrated life – including intellectual, physical, spiritual, and emotional flourishing – as a worthy ideal. In our efforts to build community, we affirm the need for a climate of trust that is free of manipulation, coercion, or belittlement, and supportive of respect for one another’s integrity and worth.  We specifically reject discrimination based on race, gender, age, or disability. Out of respect both for individual commitments and for our community’s Marianist heritage, we seek to reflect in openness upon our shared and differing beliefs, values, and traditions. In our recognition of civic responsibilities, we honor the laws, promote active citizenship, respect responsible dissent, accept accountability for our actions, and, specifically, reject the use of illegal drugs and the misuse of alcohol.  In our employment, we accept the duties and obligations appropriate to our individual responsibilities and to our common endeavor, and we seek to avoid conflicts of interest, misrepresentations of qualifications or associations, and situations that compromise our professional integrity.

In our efforts to uphold this statement of ethics, we affirm that we are guided by this statement’s vision of our life together.  From our peers and superiors, we seek collegial conversation for counsel and correction when necessary.

Consensual Relationships

The University prohibits sexual or romantic relationships under the following situations:

• Relationship with a student – it is prohibited for a member of the faculty, staff, advisory or alumni board members or for members of the Board of Trustees (non-students) to have a relationship with a student.
• Relationship with a supervisor – it is prohibited for a supervisor and subordinate to have a sexual or romantic relationship.
• Relationship with a university employee– it is prohibited for a member of an advisory or alumni board or for members of the Board of Trustees to have a relationship with a university employee.

The University strongly discourages sexual or romantic relationships under the following situations:

• Relationship where there is or may be an institutional power difference
• Relationships between faculty and staff with no power difference or supervisory authority but where employees are working within the same department or division.

Individuals who enter into relationships that are strongly discouraged must presume that if a charge of sexual harassment is lodged, it will be exceedingly difficult to prove mutual consent.  Thus, parties involved in these type of relationships assume all associated risks, and the University will hold both parties accountable if such a relationship creates any safety or security concerns or if it warrants an investigation.

It is the responsibility of the individuals involved in discouraged and prohibited types of relationships to disclose in writing the nature of involvement to the Human Resources department. If a remedy is available, then one will be discussed at the time of disclosure. Otherwise, all employees of the university as covered by the Personnel Manual who engage in a relationship that is prohibited or discouraged by this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

At the discretion of the University, one or both parties to the relationship may be subject to transfer or termination of employment. If transfer or termination is appropriate, the parties involved will be given the opportunity to determine which party will be subject to the change in employment status, to the extent possible. If the parties are unable to agree, the University will make the determination in its sole discretion.

This policy does not apply where the spouse of an employee is a student at the University provided that the employee has disclosed this information to the Human Resources Department.