Section 4: Faculty Rights, Responsibilities, and Policies
4.9 Faculty Grievance Policy and Procedure
4.9.1 Definitions A grievance is a complaint made by a member of the faculty concerning a decision, action, or lack of action by a person or group of persons acting in an official capacity, which directly and adversely affects the professional or personal well-being of the grievant and which can be corrected by the University. A grievant is a member of the faculty who has made a complaint that constitutes a grievance.
4.9.2 Coverage Any full-time or part-time member of the University teaching faculty is covered under this grievance policy.
4.9.3 Non-grievable Actions Any grievances that satisfy the definition in §4.9.1 but are dealt with by their own specific policies and procedures, as outlined elsewhere in the Handbook, are considered non-grievable actions. Excluded matters include the following:
.1 non-reappointment of non-tenured faculty (see §3.16) ;
.2 decisions regarding the awarding or withholding of tenure (see §§6.5 - 6.8);
.3 actions of dismissal of faculty for cause or financial exigency (see §3.17.3);
.4 actions awarding or withholding promotions (see §§6.1 - 6.4);
.5 any action related to evaluation of performance or salary adjustment (see §§5.1 – 5.8);
.6 denial of rights of free expression or inquiry (Appendix D); and
.7 disciplinary action taken following an incident of racial or sexual harassment (§7.7.4).
4.9.4 Pre-panel Procedure The faculty member should first make every effort to resolve the potential grievance directly with the individual(s) involved.
4.9.5 First Filing of the Grievance All grievances shall be presented as soon as possible and in no event later than ten days after the occurrence of the action or event causing the grievance:
.1 A faculty member with a grievance against another faculty member within his or her department shall present the grievance to the department chair.
.2 A faculty member with a grievance against another faculty member not in his or her department, with a grievance against his or her department chair, or with a policy or practice of the department shall present the grievance to the Dean.
.3 A faculty member with a grievance against the Dean or another University administrator shall present the grievance to the President.
.4 A faculty member with a grievance against a College or University policy or procedure or the application thereof shall present the grievance to the President.
4.9.6 Grievance in a Case of Alleged Discrimination In a case of alleged discrimination, the first step for the grievant is to complete and sign the University form (secured from the AAEEO Officer and returned to the Human Resources Office) providing the following information:
- the basis for alleged discrimination (sex, race, age, etc.);
- a clear statement of the facts upon which the grievance is based, including an explanation of how the person has been adversely affected;
- an identification of the person(s) or the College or University policy or procedure considered responsible for the alleged discrimination upon which the grievance is based and an explanation of why the person(s) is considered responsible or why the College or University policy or procedure is considered improper;
- a copy of any pertinent Board of Visitors or College or University policies or regulations, State statutes, contractual agreements, or other documents of custom or practice upon which the grievance relies; and
- statement of the specific relief sought.
4.9.7 Attempt at Informal Resolution The individual receiving the grievance shall seek to mediate a prompt and satisfactory solution of the grievance. If an allegation of discrimination is involved, the University AAEEO Officer will review all of the facts provided by the grievant and will thoroughly investigate the alleged discrimination. The findings of this investigation and any proposed resolution of the matter will be communicated in writing to the grievant within two weeks after the AAEEO Officer has received the completed University form. No written record or official report of the informal grievance procedure shall be established.
4.9.8 Creation of a Formal Panel to Hear the Grievance If the grievance of a faculty member is not resolved through the informal procedure, the faculty member may, within thirty days thereafter, pursue a formal grievance procedure and request a hearing by a grievance panel specifically convened to investigate the grievance and recommend a resolution.
4.9.9 Formal Request for a Panel A faculty member requesting a hearing by a grievance panel shall present a written statement of charges to the President.
4.9.10 Statement of Charges, Preparation and Distribution The statement of charges submitted by the faculty member shall contain the following information and material in a form whereby multiple, legible copies may be reproduced:
- a clear statement of facts upon which the grievance is based, including an explanation of how the faculty member alleges he or she has been adversely affected and the specific relief requested;
- an identification of the person(s) or the College or University policy or procedure considered responsible for the alleged adverse condition, action, or inaction upon which the grievance is based and an explanation of why the person(s) is considered responsible or why the College policy or procedure is considered improper;
- a copy of any pertinent Board of Visitors or College or University policies or regulations, Commonwealth statutes, contractual agreements or other documents of custom and practice upon which the grievant relies;
- a list of witnesses to be presented at the hearing; and
- the identification of any counsel, adviser, or observer to be present during the hearing.
4.9.11 Method of Selecting Panel Members The grievance panel shall consist of six tenured members of the faculty. The President shall, within seven days of receiving the statement of charges, develop and provide the faculty grievant and the Dean a list of names of twelve tenured members of the faculty, none of whom is in any way connected with the grievance at hand. From the list of twelve names, a panel of six shall be selected in the following way: within ten days of the receipt of the list, the faculty grievant shall designate two members, and the Dean shall designate two members to serve on the panel. These four members shall jointly select the remaining two panel members from the President’s list. The grievance panel shall elect a chair from its membership to preside over the hearing.
4.9.12 Procedure of the Panel Hearing and Distribution of Results
4.9.12.1 Conduct of the Hearing The chair of the grievance panel shall have prepared and distributed to each member of the panel and to the President, within five days after his or her election as chair of the panel, a complete copy of the statement of charges.
4.9.12.2 Preliminary Review and Decision The panel shall, within seven days after receipt of the statement of charges, review the charges and determine whether or not the panel will conduct a hearing. If the panel determines by a majority vote that the charges do not constitute a grievance, or that they are frivolous and/or without merit, the chair of the panel shall advise the grievant in writing of this finding with a copy of the communication to the President. The action of the panel shall be final.
4.9.12.3 Request for Reply to Statement of Charges If the panel determines to conduct a hearing, the chair shall advise the grievant and shall provide a complete copy of the statement of charges to each person against whom the complaint is made. If the grievance is against a departmental policy, decision, or action, rather than against the action of an individual, the department chair shall be the person against whom the grievance is made. If the grievance is against a College or University policy, decision, or action, rather than against the action of an individual, the President shall be the person against whom the grievance is made.
4.9.12.4 Reply to Statement of Charges Upon receipt of the statement of charges, the person(s) against whom the grievance is lodged shall, if he or she wishes to reply, have fourteen days to present a response to the charges to the chair of the grievance panel. The response, in a form whereby multiple, legible copies may be reproduced, shall include:
• a full statement of the position taken by the person(s) against whom the grievance has been lodged with respect to the charge;
• any commentary the cited party(ies) may wish to offer concerning any of the documents contained in the statement of charges submitted by the grievant and any pertinent documents or materials which the respondent(s) relies upon;
• a list of witnesses to be presented at the hearing; and
• the identification of any counsel, adviser or observer to be present during the hearing.
Within five days after receipt of the response to the statement of charges from the party(ies) against whom the grievance has been lodged, the chair of the grievance panel shall have prepared and distributed to the grievant and to each member of the grievance panel a complete copy of the response.
4.9.12.5 Review of Reply to Statement of Charges, and Decision The chair of the grievance panel shall schedule a hearing by the panel to begin not later than fourteen days after the distribution date of the response to the statement of charges. Should all members of the grievance panel, after reading the statement of charges and the response thereto, determine that the charges are frivolous and/or plainly without merit, the panel may convene and by formal resolution declare that it does not find adequate grounds for the grievance to be heard and, therefore, declines to hold a hearing. This action shall be promptly transmitted, in writing, to the parties concerned and to the President, and the action shall be final, unless the President shall direct the grievance panel to conduct a hearing.
4.9.13 Pre-Hearing Conference The panel may hold, with all parties present, a pre-hearing conference to define the issue involved and to resolve procedural matters for the hearing.
4.9.14 Procedure for Final Hearing The hearing shall be conducted according to the following procedures:
4.9.14.1 Attendees The hearing shall be private, with only the parties involved, witnesses, counsel, advisers, designated observers, and members of the grievance panel present, except that, with mutual agreement by the grievant and the party(ies) against whom the grievance is lodged, the hearing may be public.
4.9.14.2 Record of Hearing The full and complete hearing shall be recorded on two tape recorders, and all tapes shall be preserved until thirty days following action by the President, or in the case of an appeal, until final and conclusive action is taken by the Board of Visitors, or the Executive Committee thereof, at which time the recordings shall be destroyed.
4.9.14.3 Conduct of Hearing The hearing shall be convened by the chair; the grievant shall have full opportunity to present evidence and witnesses; the party(ies) against whom the grievance has been lodged shall have full opportunity to present a response and witnesses; and each party shall be provided an opportunity to question witnesses presented by the other party(ies); members of the grievance panel shall have the right and opportunity to question all parties and witnesses; each party shall have an opportunity to offer a concluding statement. No counsel, adviser, or observer may testify, present information, or participate in the conduct of any part of the hearing.
4.9.14.4 Decision After all testimony has been heard, the chair of the grievance panel shall recess the hearing, and the Panel shall go into closed session to determine its findings and prepare its report and recommendations.
4.9.14.5 Distribution of Decision Within six days after the recess of the hearing, the panel shall present its written report and recommendations, showing the vote of the panel on the recommendations, to the President and to all parties to the hearing. The report shall provide a summary of the facts presented in the hearing and the reasons for the recommendations of the hearing panel. Within twenty-one days after receipt of the grievance panel report and recommendations, the President shall communicate, in writing, to the parties involved and to each member of the grievance panel, his or her acceptance or rejection, in whole or in part, of the panel recommendations.
4.9.14.6 Appeal Ordinarily the decision of the President shall be final and conclusive. However, an affected party may present a request, in writing, to The Rector, within ten days after receipt of the President’s decision, asking the Board of Visitors, or the Executive Committee thereof, to review the record of the hearing. In such an event the affected party may be asked to furnish, at his or her own expense, a transcript of the tape recording of the hearing. Within thirty days after receipt of a request from an affected party, the Rector may either reaffirm the decision of the President or have the record of the hearing reviewed and a decision rendered by the Board of Visitors or by the Executive Committee thereof. The action of the Rector, the Board of Visitors, or the Executive Committee thereof, shall be final.