After nearly one year of negotiations, the University of Cincinnati and its largest faulty union have reached a contractual agreement “in principal.”

The American Association of University Professors UC chapter met with officials from the university for nearly five hours Sunday after several rounds of mediation during the previous week.

There are some details that still need to be worked out before the agreement heads to the AAUP chapter for ratification, said Jeff Cramerding, AAUP representative. Once ratified by AAUP, the contract will go to the UC Board of Trustees for approval.

Cramerding said there is no timetable for when the agreement would head to AAUP for ratification. The Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet Tuesday in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center.

Prior to Sunday’s agreement, AAUP members were planning a massive demonstration at the meeting, said Greg Loving, president of UC AAUP chapter. Roughly 100 AAUP members packed the alumni center in December during a trustee meeting. Faculty members held signs with messages such as “Put students’ education first.”

But the protest will likely be avoided due to Sunday’s agreement, which followed Saturday’s round of mediation. AAUP officials can’t comment on the specific details of the negotiations due to legal reasons, Loving said.

The previous contract expired in June 2013. As news of the agreement broke, both sides said they were happy that an agreement could be reached.

“Our faculty are our greatest asset and are at the very core of our primary mission as a great research university,” said UC President Santa Ono. “It is an honor and privilege for me to serve on the UC faculty. I began my academic career as a faculty member and I look forward to one day returning to the faculty. I shall continue to advocate for them for as long as the university will have me as president.”

Ono also declined to comment on specifics of the agreement for legal purposes.

Talks between the two groups stalled when the discussion shifted to monetary issues including faculty health care, investments in faculty development and salary increases.

Union officials argued the university’s proposals would drastically increase the amount faculty members’ pay for health care and that stagnant wages would make it hard for members to keep up with the cost of living.

The university said throughout the process that both sides have to make tough choices and that both sides want what’s best for the university.

The agreement also will likely prevent any possibility of a strike, which was a topic of conversation during a chapter meeting in Tangeman University Center Thursday.

UC hasn’t had a faculty strike since 1993 when faculty members went on strike to protest negotiations while they were happening.