One of the OPA's primary goals is serving as a central resource for the University community on information related to postdoctoral training. 

Postdoctoral Fellow appointment and training policies at Northwestern are currently under review and will be located here upon review completion.  Until then the policy for Research Staff Appointments  from the Office for Research are to be followed.  The OPA invites recommendations and input from across the University community to facilitate greater participation and transparency. The left navigation menu provides links to pages created on postdoctoral fellow categories, appointments and benefits. The sections associated with this page are intended to be informational and are subject to the outcome of the ongoing policy review.

In addition University policies pertain to postdoctoral fellows, including but not limited to the Patent and Invention Policy , Policy on Staff Conflict of Interest, Policy on Integrity in Research and Procedures for Reviewing Alleged Misconduct, Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual, which includes the policy on Evaluative Authority over Faculty or Staff, formerly called Employment of Relatives (see Chapter 1, "Employment," p. 10 of the PDF document), and the Northwestern University Staff Handbook.

Documentation of unsatisfactory performance must be consistent with the Department of Human Resources staff policies.  Any termination, layoff, or reduction in salary must be done in accordance with this policy, Research Staff & Visitor Appointments policy and Department of Human Resources staff policies, and must be approved by the school dean or University center director, as well as by the Department of Human Resources.  Documentation of lack of funding leading to reduction in effort and/or termination must be consistent with school or center policies and practices.