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Faculty
Handbook
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Faculty
Handbook
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Section I.
Grievances
A. Definition: A grievance is a
claim based upon an event or condition that affects the terms and conditions of
employment. Such a circumstance must
contain grounds for formal complaint with the expectation of change or
correction. A grievance does not
include dissatisfaction with University policy challenged on grounds that the
policy is unfair or inadvisable.
B. Any member of the General
Assembly as defined under Section II, Membership, Part A has the right to
initiate a grievance procedure with the “burden of proof” resting with that
member, except in a grievance arising from the termination of a tenured faculty
member and when a university official is required to perform a duty or meet a
time limit, in which case the burden of proof shall rest with the University.
Section II. Grievance Procedure
A. Before filing a grievance
the member shall attempt to resolve the dispute through the University
administrative structure. The President
of the Faculty Senate shall be available to assist in this attempt.
B. A grievance shall be
initiated by the member (Grievant) by serving a written statement clearly
specifying the charges to the Vice President of the Faculty Senate with a copy
also directed to the Respondent, the party against whom the grievance is being
filed. A grievance shall be filed
within sixty (60) days after the occurrence of the facts upon which it is based
or within sixty (60) days* after the faculty member knows or, through the
exercise of reasonable diligence, should have known of the facts on which it is
based.
The grievance statement shall state the facts upon which the grievance is
based, the specific contractual or Handbook provision that was violated,
specify the remedy sought, be dated, and signed by the grievant.
* The word “days” means
calendar days and includes Saturdays, Sundays, school holidays, and vacation
periods. The day of the act or event
from which a designated period of time begins to run shall not be included in
computing any period of time. If the
last day of a designated period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, school holiday, or
vacation period or during summer session, the period shall run until the end of
the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, school holiday, or vacation
period, or during any summer session.
The term “vacation period” does not include the week of final exams.
C. The Vice President of the
Faculty Senate, within five (5) days after the grievance is filed, shall call a
meeting with both parties to hear verbal explanations of both sides of the
matter. The meeting shall be held
within ten (10) days of the filing of the grievance. The Vice President shall attempt to reconcile the differences and
seek agreement. The Grievant or
Respondent may, if either chooses, be assisted by a person from the University
faculty/staff or other sources herein designated as academic counsel. While a grievant is entitled to legal
counsel, cost of such will be the Grievant’s responsibility.
D. If the Grievant is not
satisfied with the results of the informal resolution of the dispute, the Vice
President of the Faculty Senate shall within five (5) days determine whether or
not to activate a grievance committee.
The Vice President of the Faculty Senate shall base this determination
only on the following three criteria:
1. Does the complaint meet the
definition of a grievance as stated in Section I, A above?
2. Is the complaint
significant?
3. Does the grievance state
the facts upon which the grievance is based, properly name the respondent(s),
detail the specific contractual or Handbook provisions that were allegedly
violated, and the remedy requested? If
the Vice President of the Faculty Senate determines not to activate a grievance
committee, then the officer shall within fifteen (15) days of the filing of the
grievance present a written explanation to the Grievant as to how the complaint
fails to meet the above criteria.
E. If the Vice President of the Faculty Senate does not activate a grievance committee, the Grievant may appeal to the Faculty Senate where a majority vote is required to override the Vice President’s decision. The vote will be by secret ballot. The President of the Faculty Senate shall limit the discussion of the grievance only to the three criteria in Part D above. If the majority is against the Grievant, this terminates the grievance.
F. The Vice President of the Faculty Senate shall randomly select five (5) eligible faculty members to serve on the Grievance Committee within fifteen (15) days of the filing of the grievance or within fifteen (15) days of the Faculty Senate’s decision to override the Vice President’s decision not to activate a grievance committee. Only tenured faculty who are not a party to the grievance (either a grievant or a respondent) shall be eligible to serve on a grievance committee. The Vice President shall arrange with and notify the parties in writing at least five (5) days in advance of the time and place of the drawing to name the committee.
G. In selecting a grievance committee, the Vice President of the Faculty Senate shall randomly draw the names of five (5) faculty members eligible to serve on the committee. After five (5) names are drawn, the grievant and then the respondent (or academic counsel) shall state whether either wishes to disqualify any individual from service on the committee. The Vice President shall then draw a number of names equal to the number of disqualifications that were exercised. The parties shall then state whether either wishes to disqualify any individual from that group. This process shall continue until five (5) committee members have been selected. The grievant and each individual respondent (if there is more than one named respondent) may exercise no more than four (4) disqualifications. The exercise of disqualifications is a confidential matter which may not be disclosed by the parties. It is the duty of every tenured faculty member to serve on a grievance committee during a contract period, if nominated. Faculty members who have served on a previous committee within one year are ineligible to serve on the committee.
H. A chair and a recorder shall be designated by the grievance committee from its own membership.
Section III. Hearing Procedure
A. Conduct of the Hearings.
1. The chairperson of the
Grievance Committee shall preside and a majority of the Committee as well as
the Grievant and Respondent or their respective academic counsel must be in
attendance at the hearings (see below if one is absent).
2. The Chairperson of the
Committee shall inform in writing both the Grievant and Respondent of the time
and place for the hearing at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing.
3. The Grievant and Respondent
shall provide to the chairperson and the opposing party a list of witnesses to
be called at least five (5) days prior to the hearing.
4. The hearing shall be held
within thirty (30) days of the selection of the committee membership. This time limit may be waived only with the
written consent of all parties.
5. The hearing shall be
closed. However, the grievant shall
have the right to request an open hearing prior to the commencement of the
proceedings. The granting of such
request shall be at the discretion of the committee.
6. A taped and a written
record of the hearing shall be kept.
7. Although both the Grievant
and Respondent or their academic counsel(s) must be in attendance at the
hearing, neither party can be required to testify.
8. If either party or their
academic counsel fails to appear for the formal hearing after receipt of notice
according to the provisions contained herein, the Committee may rule for the
opposite party by default.
9. Both parties may question
witnesses to elicit pertinent information only. The party with the burden of proof shall present evidence first. Then the opposing party shall present
evidence. The taking of rebuttal
evidence shall be at the discretion of the committee.
10. The Committee may question all witnesses about pertinent matters.
11. The Grievance Committee shall conduct the hearing to ensure that
both parties have the opportunity to present their cases in full. Only committee members at the hearing may
participate in the decision. The
committee may set reasonable time limits for the presentation of evidence and
argument by the parties.
Section IV. Resolution of the
Grievance
A. At the conclusion of the
hearing, the Grievance Committee shall issue a report containing its findings
of fact (those relevant facts which it found to be true), the specific
contractual or Handbook provisions that it found to have been violated or a
statement that it found that no such provisions were violated, and its
recommendation as to the requested remedy.
B. This report will be
transmitted to the Vice President of the Faculty Senate who shall make a report
to the Faculty Senate within twenty (20) days of the close of the formal
hearing. The Faculty Senate shall take
action on the report at that time.
C. The Faculty Senate will
review the report to determine that it complies with the format specified in
Part A above and to determine if the grievance committee’s recommendation as to
the requested remedy is appropriate.
The Faculty Senate’s decision regarding the report along with the report
shall be forwarded by the Vice President of the Faculty Senate to the President
of the University and to the parties within five (5) days of the Senate’s
consideration of the report.
D. The President of the
University will accept or reject the grievance committee’s recommendation, and
shall notify the parties of the decision in writing, within ten (10) days of
receipt of the report.
Section V. Appeal
The grievant or the respondent may request review of the President’s decision by the Board of Regents. Such request must be made within ten (10) days of receipt of the President’s decision. The Board, at its next scheduled meeting will review and by a majority of its quorum will approve, reject, or amend the findings, recommendations, or suggestions of the Grievance Committee and the subsequent action taken by the President. Reasons for approval, rejection, or amendment will be stated in writing and given to the parties. Most appeals to the Board of Regents shall be handled by a review of the record of the Grievance Committee. In such circumstances, as the Board in its absolute discretion deems appropriate, the Board may consider oral arguments. The parties shall be allowed academic counsel for any such oral arguments.