Section VI. Grievance Committee and Hearing Procedures

A. Purpose:

The Grievance Committee and these Hearing Procedures provide for an aggrieved faculty member to obtain a hearing before a well-informed, disinterested body of peers who are appointed by the faculty for that purpose.  These Procedures provide a means for a committee of faculty peers to determine whether a grievance is well founded and recommend resolution of disputes.  

B. Scope:  

Jurisdiction.  The Grievance Committee, and any hearing committee they appoint, shall have jurisdiction over the following:

  1. Faculty member allegations that a reappointment, tenure, or promotion decision was not made according to the procedures described in the Plan of Employment, Faculty Bylaws, or the rules of the Personnel Committee, which resulted in less than full and fair consideration of their performance and professional qualifications (Section VII);
  2. Termination of appointment (Section VIII);
  3. Faculty member allegations that the College has breached their freedom of speech, scholarship independence, or right to political or religious viewpoints (Section IX); and
  4. Issues relating to academic integrity or to extraordinary allegations of professional misconduct (Section X).

No Jurisdiction.  The Grievance Committee, and any Hearing Committee they appoint, shall not have jurisdiction over:

  1. Matters covered by Title IX or by the College’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, both of which shall be handled according to the College’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment;
  2. Any dispute that is the subject of any legal action or complaint against the administration or the College filed by or on behalf of the aggrieved faculty member in any court of law or before any governmental agency.  If any such legal action or complaint is instituted or filed after the commencement of the grievance proceedings described herein, these proceedings shall be terminated immediately.

C. Grievance Committee Composition.

The Faculty Executive Committee shall establish a Grievance Committee of twelve members of associate and professor rank. Members will be appointed to three-year terms. The terms will be staggered with appointments of four people each year.  A chair is chosen each year by a majority vote of the members of the Grievance Committee.  If a faculty member brings a concern identified in Sections VII- X, the Grievance Committee will stand up a Hearing Committee using the process and procedures set forth below.

D. Hearing Committee Composition and Function:

  1. A Hearing Committee shall be a subset of Grievance Committee members.  Within seven calendar days of a faculty member submitting a request for a hearing described below, the Grievance Committee Chair will select five members of the Grievance Committee to serve on a Hearing Committee.  In forming the Hearing Committee, the Chair must consider and weigh potential conflicts of interest of proposed committee members. Members of the Hearing Committee who believe they are biased or have a personal interest in the outcome of the hearing must inform the Grievance Committee Chair of those concerns and decline serving on the Hearing Committee.
  2. The function of the Hearing Committee is to consider the evidence for a Grievance under their jurisdiction, reach a conclusion about the merits, and make a report to the President.

E. Requesting a Hearing:

  1. A faculty member seeking a hearing of an issue within the Scope of a Hearing Committee shall submit a written request to the Chair of the Grievance Committee or to the Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee (for grievances related to Termination of Appointment) within twenty calendar days of receiving the decision they wish to grieve (hereinafter, Grievance).  The request shall specify the challenged decision, include a copy of the decision in writing, specify the issue(s) with which the faculty member disagrees, and the reason(s) the faculty member disagrees. 
  2. If the hearing request is submitted to the Faculty Executive Committee, the Faculty Executive Committee shall immediately inform both the Grievance Committee and the Provost.
  3. For hearings on procedural issues relating to reappointment, tenure, and promotion, the request must also identify actions or inactions that the faculty believes resulted in than less than full and fair consideration of their performance or professional qualifications.

F. Hearing Committee Procedures:

  1. A Hearing Committee shall convene within fourteen calendar days of its formation. The Committee will elect a chair and follow the general procedures in this Section VI as well as procedures specific to those issues covered by Sections VII, VIII, IX, or Section X, depending on the type of Grievance it is considering.
  2. Access to Information: The Hearing Committee may request from either the College or the Faculty Member all relevant information within their control. The College will provide the Hearing Committee such information to the extent it may do so without violating any rule, regulation, or law, or unnecessarily violating the privacy of individuals who are not a party to the Grievance.
  3. Confidential Information. The Hearing Committee shall follow all College policies relating to confidential information and will hold in strict confidence all information, evidence, or testimony provided by the parties to the Grievance during the course of its proceedings.
  4. The Hearing Committee will not be required to make a record of the proceedings, but the Hearing Committee may make a verbatim record for the purpose of reviewing testimony.
  5. Neither the Hearing Committee nor the parties to the dispute will be bound by legal rules of evidence.
  6. At the conclusion of the proceedings and when possible, the Hearing Committee will return all tangible evidence to its source.  All other documents, records, and notes will be destroyed in a manner consistent with the College’s document retention requirements and in a way designed to preserve their confidentiality.
  7. Hearing Conclusion. The Hearing Committee will submit a report or decision as specified below within twenty calendar days from the conclusion of its proceedings.
  8. Consensus.  The Hearing Committee will strive for consensus.  When there is a lack of consensus, all actions will be determined by majority vote. In cases in which there is no majority decision, the Hearing Committee will report to the Grievance Committee that it could make no recommendation