PS #3528
| TITLE: |
Faculty Appeals Committee |
| AUTHOR: |
Chief Academic Officer |
| APPROVAL DATE: |
January 11, 2010
|
| EFFECTIVE DATE: |
January 11, 2010
|
| PURPOSE: |
To establish and delineate the functions of the Faculty
Appeals Committee |
| REVIEWER AND |
Chief Academic Officer |
| REVIEW DATE: |
Fall 2006 and every five years thereafter
|
| OPERATING DETAILS: |
|
1. The Faculty
Appeals committee functions to review, upon request from an aggrieved
faculty member or from the Faculty Research Committee, cases involving
contractual disagreements and other grievances that may exist between
faculty members and the university administration. Contractual
agreements may include, but are not restricted to, cases of non-renewal
of contracts, dismissal or termination of both tenured and non-tenured
faculty, cases involving the denial of a salary raise, and cases
involving the denial of tenure or promotion. Other grievances may
include, but are not restricted to, alleged violations of academic
freedom that lead to contractual disagreements or other forms of
alleged discrimination. Academic employees should follow the procedures
outlined in the Employment handbook for grievances other than
termination appeals prior to requesting a meeting with the Faculty
Appeals Committee.
2. An aggrieved
faculty member may petition in writing for a hearing before the
Committee through the Chief Academic Officer. The petition should state
the nature of the case. The Faculty Research Committee may also refer a
case to the Committee through the Chief Academic Officer. The Chief
Academic Officer will call the Faculty Appeals Committee together
within seven working days of the receipt of the petition or the
referral, present the grievance or the case to the committee, and serve
as temporary chair until a chair is elected from the membership of the
committee. The chair will serve until the end of the hearing on the
grievance or the case presented. A different chair will be elected for
each new grievance or case presented to the Committee. Based on the
nature of the case, the Faculty Appeals Committee will determine the
proper course of action.
3. In cases of the
non-renewal of contracts for non-tenured faculty or the dismissal prior
to the expiration of a term contract, the Committee may investigate, if
it feels investigation is needed, and may attempt to help the parties
reach an agreement by recommending appropriate action to the President.
This recommendation may include granting the faculty member a formal
hearing of alleged violations of academic freedom, if the Faculty
Appeals Committee is of the opinion that the reasons for dismissal
violate academic freedom or contractual relationships. Such a
recommendation must detail specific instances of the denial of academic
freedom or contractual irregularities.
4. In cases of
dismissal or termination of tenured faculty and cases of denial of
tenure or promotion, the Committee may investigate, if it feels
investigation is needed, and will recommend appropriate action to the
President. In this capacity the Faculty Appeals Committee shall serve
as the University Tenure committee. In cases involving dismissal or
termination of tenured faculty, the Committee's recommendations may
include the imposition of some lesser penalty than outright dismissal.
If the recommendations of the committee are not accepted by the
President, or the petitioner, further hearings, if necessary, will be
conducted, including hearings of alleged violations of academic
freedom.
5. Except in cases
of alleged violations of academic freedom, the Committee will complete
deliberations within twenty working days and will forward their
recommendations to the President and the petitioner. Any requests
for extensions of time by the petitioner or by the Committee must be
approved by the Chief Academic Officer.
6. In cases of
alleged violations of academic freedom, the Committee may hold
hearings. It is the Committee’s responsibility to determine whether the
faculty member’s academic freedom has been violated according to the
university’s academic freedom policy and whether the faculty member has
fulfilled the responsibilities of his or her position. In cases of
misconduct in research, it is the Committee’s responsibility to
determine whether a violation of MUW’s policy statements has occurred
and to recommend appropriate action, depending on the nature of the
misconduct.
7. At least one
month before the date set for the hearing of an alleged violation of
academic freedom, the Chief Academic Officer will prepare a statement
of charges and deliver it to the faculty member. At the hearing,
faculty members shall have the opportunity to be heard in their own
defense, and they shall be permitted to have an advisor of their own
choosing who may act as counsel. The faculty member and chosen
counsel shall have the right to question witnesses and to produce
depositions from witnesses unable to be present. If the faculty member
so desires, a full stenographic record of the hearing shall be made
available without cost. If there are charges of incompetence or failure
to maintain professional standards of conduct, the testimony shall
include that of teachers and other scholars. Such hearings are not open
to the public, but observers from professional organizations shall be
allowed to be present at the request of any of the parties concerned.
8. Following the
hearing of an alleged violation of academic freedom, the Faculty
Appeals Committee will make its recommendation for action in the case
to the Chief Academic Officer, basing the recommendation upon
substantial evidence presented in the hearing, and will present to the
Chief Academic Officer and the faculty member concerned a copy of its
record of the hearing. The Chief Academic Officer shall forward the
recommendation to the President.
9. If the President
does not concur in the recommendation of the Faculty Appeals Committee,
the Committee will be presented with a written explanation of the
grounds for disagreement. The Committee shall respond to this
explanation in the form of a new written recommendation. Additional
hearings may be conducted at the discretion of the Committee or at the
request of the President. A copy of this recommendation and a record of
any additional hearings shall be forwarded to the faculty member
concerned.
10. After a second
review, the President will take action as deemed necessary in the best
interests of the University. If this action includes termination or
dismissal of the faculty member, this recommendation shall be forwarded
to the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning, together
with the recommendation of the appropriate individual and/or committee,
and such other documents as may be deemed pertinent, including the
President's final statement to the Faculty Appeals Committee and its
response.
11.
Membership on the Faculty Appeals Committee shall consist of two
faculty members from each College or School and one faculty member from
the Library. Faculty members should be tenured. If an above
mentioned unit does not have the required number of tenured faculty
members, the unit could lose representation. Representatives from a
College must be from different departments within the College.
Revised: January, 1983,
10/01/03, 11/28/05, 1/11/10
Reviewed: 03/23/04