Full-Time Faculty Handbook - 13. Faculty Grievance Policy
This policy deals specifically with grievances related to faculty employment and any other issue related to faculty not explicitly covered by another university policy, e.g., discipline and allegations of discrimination. Faculty members should first try to resolve grievances through informal means. If their concerns are not resolved satisfactorily, they may submit a formal grievance.
Faculty grievances covered under this policy are classified into two main types.
- Those heard by the University Faculty Grievance Committee (UFGC) and that are connected to matters affecting full-time faculty in the areas of reappointment (PPR, RTA and RTA-OARS) and promotion to extended employment or tenure or in rank
- Those heard by school/college faculty grievance committees and that are concerned with matters affecting all full-time faculty related to teaching assignments, distribution of workload, leaves, or consideration for promotion in rank
University Faculty Grievance Committee
The provost shall obtain the advice of a standing committee of seven full-time faculty members nominated by the University Faculty Senate, but not necessarily members of that body. These nominations shall be forwarded to the provost no later than May 1 of each year. This consultative committee shall be called the University Faculty Grievance Committee.
The University Faculty Grievance Committee will review grievances brought by a full-time faculty member with regard to tenure and EE promotions or PPR and RTA reappointments claiming that the procedures followed in reaching a decision not to reappoint or to deny tenure or extended employment were violated. These are the exclusive grounds on which the University Faculty Grievance Committee will recognize a challenge to such a decision; the committee may not substitute its judgment for any substantive judgment in any of these cases. Upon completion of its review, the committee will forward its recommendations to the provost, who will make the final decision on all faculty grievances.
When a grievance arises from a negative tenure or extended-employment decision, a nonrenewal after a negative post-probationary (fourth year) review, or a nonrenewal of a renewable-term appointment, the faculty member may submit a grievance to the University Faculty Grievance Committee within 30 working days after being informed of the decision. This should be sent simultaneously to the chair of the University Faculty Grievance Committee and to the deputy provost. For the purpose of determining this and other periods of time in these grievance procedures, “working days” exclude Saturdays, Sundays, university holidays, and the period between commencement and Labor Day.
The grievance should take the form of a written statement specifying how the procedures for making the decision at issue were not followed. The University Faculty Grievance Committee will review the underlying process and submit a report to the provost with its recommendations within 30 working days of receiving the initial written grievance.
The provost may grant extensions of these deadlines in unusual circumstances.
Full-time faculty who receive notice of nonrenewal after a negative post-probationary (fourth year) review or a negative RTA reappointment review are not entitled by virtue of filing a grievance to any additional period of appointment beyond the date specified in the letter of nonrenewal.
To facilitate the committee’s evaluation of grievances, while minimizing the disclosure of confidential information, the committee and the provost will adhere to the following procedures.
- Upon receiving a grievance, the chair of the University Faculty Grievance Committee will establish a subcommittee drawn exclusively from the full committee and constituted appropriately for the case, to gather information that is relevant to the grievance. Email communication to the grievant from the University Faculty Grievance Committee will explain the broad timeline of the case.
- Membership of a subcommittee related to the grievance of a faculty member with either tenure or extended employment will consist exclusively of faculty from the relevant appointment type. If there are an insufficient number of similarly ranked faculty, faculty from another classification may be selected.
- Within five working days of receiving the grievance, the Provost’s Office will provide the committee with copies of all procedural documents in the case, from the ad hoc/departmental committee, the college review committee (if applicable), the college dean, the UPRC or UTRC, and the Provost’s Office. The Provost’s Office can redact sections where confidential external reviewers are mentioned.
- The subcommittee will consider the grievant’s letter and the procedural documents in the case to determine if there are additional questions regarding the procedural aspects of review process. If so, within five days of receiving the procedural documents of the case, the subcommittee will provide the Provost’s Office with a list of questions outlining the information it requires. Within ten working days of receiving this list, the provost or their designee will provide the subcommittee with answers and meet with the committee, as necessary. The University Faculty Grievance Committee and its subcommittee will meet only with the provost or their designee. It will not have authority to speak with other individuals or to solicit or receive information from anyone else directly as part of this confidential review.
Upon completing its review, the subcommittee will submit a report to the appropriate members of the University Faculty Grievance Committee, who will meet in executive session to discuss the subcommittee’s findings and decide upon their recommendations. As stated above, the final report must be submitted to the grievant and the provost within 30 working days of receiving the grievance.
School/College Faculty Grievance Committees
Each college or school shall establish a Faculty Grievance Committee to advise the dean on matters not handled by the University Faculty Grievance Committee. The membership of the school/college grievance committee shall be elected by the voting members of the school/college’s full-time faculty and shall be a standing committee of the school/college. It shall not include departmental chairpersons or program directors or any faculty member whose primary assignment is administrative.
The college/school Faculty Grievance Committees will review grievances not related to denial of tenure or extended employment, or non-reappointment on an RTA appointment, brought by all full-time faculty, including those related to teaching assignments, distribution of workload, denial of leaves, consideration for promotion in rank, or the abrogation of faculty rights to the free exchange of ideas and academic freedom. The school/college committee will forward its recommendations to the dean of the school/college, who will make the final decision on school/college grievances.
Disputes Related to Individual Letters of Appointment and Salary
Matters relating to individual contracts and complaints about salary or other benefits are not covered by the University Faculty Grievance Policy. Such matters should be discussed directly with the dean or their designee, whose decision shall be final.