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Faculty
Regulations
20. Appeal
Procedures for Recommendations or Final Action Involving Non-Renewal,
Non-Promotion or Denial of Tenure for Tenure Track Appointments
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| If a faculty member
has a grievance with respect to a recommendation or final action
regarding non-renewal or non-promotion or denial of tenure for
a tenure track appointment, the following procedures apply: |
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| a. If a faculty member disagrees with the
recommendation of the Washington College of Law’s Committee
on Rank and Tenure, the faculty member should place a written
statement in his/her file for action responding to the recommendation.
The faculty member should be given one week to provide
this written response before the file is forwarded to the dean. |
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| b. If a
faculty member disagrees with the recommendation the dean of
the Washington College of Law, the faculty member should place
a written statement in his/her file-for-action responding to
the recommendation.
The faculty member should be given one week to provide
this written response before the file is forwarded to the provost
or dean of academic affairs. |
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| c. If a faculty member disagrees with the
final action of the provost or dean of academic affairs, the
faculty member may appeal to the Faculty Grievance Committee,
which will present its findings to the president.
The request for an appeal must take place within three
weeks of the decision by the provost or dean of academic affairs.
A faculty member may file an appeal for the following
reasons: 1) improper procedure in handling of the grievance
which adversely affected the faculty member and 2) new, relevant,
and material evidence unavailable to the faculty member at the
time of the original hearing can be presented which may tend
to change the outcome of the hearing.
The review will be based on the original file for
action and the faculty
member’s written appeal. After
receiving the report of the Faculty Grievance Committee, the
president may meet with the faculty member or other persons
if the president considers it necessary and the president will
approve, reject, or amend the provost’s decision. The president must state the grounds for his
action in writing to the grievant, Faculty Grievance Committee,
and the provost. The
president’s decision is final.
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| 21. Disciplinary
Procedures |
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| a. Scope |
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| Unfortunately, from
time to time, a faculty member may be disciplined for incompetence,
misconduct, or conviction of a felony.
Disciplinary sanctions may include, but are not limited
to reprimand, suspension, or dismissal.
The University may terminate an appointment with continuous
tenure, or of a probationary or special appointment before the
end of the specified term, for adequate cause shown.
Disbarment from any bar for professional or ethical misconduct
raises a presumption of cause for dismissal. Adequate cause
for dismissal will be related, directly and substantially, to
the fitness or performance of the faculty member in his/her
professional capacity as a teacher or researcher or creative
member of his/her professional field. |
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| b.Concurrent
and/or Grievance Proceeding |
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| Where there is a concurrent
or pending related grievance action, the disciplinary action
will be consolidated with the grievance action and both the
disciplinary and grievance actions will be heard together by
the Faculty Hearing Panel (Section 21eii).
The disciplinary procedures will govern the handling
of both the grievance and the disciplinary matter in these situations. |
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c.Timeline
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| Each step in the informal
and formal resolution process should be taken in a timely fashion,
generally not to exceed three weeks, except when the University
is not in Fall and Spring sessions. |
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| d. Informal Procedures |
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| Where the University
proposes to discipline a faculty member, the faculty member
must be notified of the charges by the appropriate dean of the
college/school and be given an opportunity to respond.
Should informal discussion between the faculty member
and appropriate dean fail to produce a mutual settlement, that
dean shall request the Rank
and Tenure Committee to seek informal resolution of the matter.
The dean shall provide the faculty member with a copy
of the request. Should
informal discussion with the
Rank and Tenure Committee fail to reach a resolution,
the dean may request a formal hearing before the Faculty Hearing
Committee. |
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| e. Procedures
for Hearings before the Faculty Hearing Committee for Termination
with Cause and other major sanctions |
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i. Filing of Statement of Charges
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The dean of the college/school
will inform the provost, who will then submit a formal
statement of charges, framed with reasonable particularity,
to the Faculty Hearing Committee.
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ii. Hearing Panel
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A matter forwarded
to the Faculty Hearing Committee for formal hearing
shall be heard by a panel consisting of five members
of the Hearing Committee selected at random by lot.
The panel will select one of its members to serve
as chair. Members
deeming themselves disqualified for bias or conflict
of interest will remove themselves from the case, either
at the request of a party or on their own initiative.
Each party will have a maximum of two challenges
without stated cause.
The Faculty Hearing Committee will replace any
member so disqualified in the same manner as the original
selection process.
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When a hearing panel
considers a disciplinary matter or receives a grievance,
it has the prerogative to attempt informal resolution
before proceeding to formal hearings. If the hearing panel cannot resolve the matter
informally, then it will schedule a formal hearing. The following general hearing provisions will
apply:
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| a. The hearing panel may modify these procedures
if necessary for the fair and expeditious administration of
these proceedings. |
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| b. The hearing panel shall conduct a pre-hearing
session with the parties to simplify the issues, effect stipulations
of facts, provide for the exchange of documentary or other information,
and achieve such other appropriate pre-hearing objectives as
will make the hearing fair, effective, and expeditious. |
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| c. The chair of the hearing panel shall notify
all concerned parties of the time and place of the hearing. Notice of the hearing must be in writing and
made at least three weeks prior to the hearing. |
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| d. Extensions of time, or rescheduling requests
by parties may be granted by the chair for good cause. |
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| e. At the minimum, there must be a quorum
of the hearing panel for a hearing to proceed.
A quorum of the hearing panel ordinarily means a majority
of the members. In a
disciplinary matter, a full hearing panel must hear the case. |
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| f. All hearings are closed to the public.
The grievant or accused faculty member may request that
the hearing be public. Ordinarily,
the hearing panel will honor such requests unless there are
overriding interests to have the hearing closed (e.g. to protect
the identity of a sexual harassment victim).
Even in a public hearing, the hearing panel may limit
the number of observers based on the physical limitations of
the hearing room. The
hearing panel, at its sole discretion, may also remove observers
or participants in the hearing who are disruptive to the process. |
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| g. The panel may invite persons from within
or without the University to give testimony relevant to the
matter, and either party to the matter may request that the
panel invite such persons. University personnel will make every effort
to cooperate with the panel in securing witnesses and making
available documentary and other evidence.
The parties shall have the right to cross‑examine
all witnesses. |
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| h. The accused faculty member may receive
assistance of counsel of her/his choosing and at his/her costs. |
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| i. The hearing panel should be provided with
independent counsel. The
Office of the University Counsel shall be responsible for providing
such counsel. |
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| j. The hearing panel is not bound by strict
rules of legal evidence, and may admit any evidence which is
relevant and material. |
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| k. A complete and verbatim record of the hearing
will be kept. At the
conclusion of the hearing, the full record, together with any
documents or other materials which have been introduced during
the hearing will be made available to either party for copying
at the requesting party’s cost. These parties may file written closing statements,
based on the record, with the chair of the hearing panel. Copies of any closing statements received will
be transmitted by the chair to the other principals, and the
chair will accept rebuttals to the closing statements during
a specified period of time determined by the hearing panel. |
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| l. After an opportunity has been given to
the parties concerned to review the record of the hearing, to
submit closing statements, and to make rebuttals to the closing
statements of others, the hearing panel will deliberate in closed
session and prepare its report. |
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| m. The decision of the hearing panel will
be by majority vote and will be forwarded as
recommendations to the president.
The chair of the hearing panel will also deliver copies
of its report to the faculty member and the provost. |
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| n. The president may approve, reject, or
amend such findings and recommendations.
The president may also remand the report to the hearing
panel with specific instructions for reconsideration.
The hearing panel shall then review the matter in light
of such instructions, holding additional hearings and receiving
new evidence and testimony, as necessary, and rendering a decision
in the same manner as before.
Only after study of the reconsidered decision of the
hearing panel may the president make a final decision. The president must state the grounds for his/her
action in writing to the hearing panel and the faculty member. The president’s decision is final in all cases
except as provided for below. |
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| o. Before, during, and after any hearings,
all persons directly or indirectly involved in the case are
requested not to discuss the matter at issue or to express any
opinions about it. If it appears desirable that any public statement
be made about the case prior to the completion of its work,
such a statement should be made only by the chair and should
be limited to what the Committee has authorized him/her to say. |
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| p. The final record of the case will be retained
by the Office of the Provost for four calendar years. |
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| q. The faculty member may be suspended by
the provost or assigned to other duties during the pendency
of the case. Suspension will be used in cases where the University
deems that there is potential immediate harm to others if the
faculty member continues in his/her current duties. |
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| r. The accused faculty member may waive the
hearing or respond to the specific charges in writing at any
time before the hearing. In
the event the faculty member waives the hearing, but denies
the charges or asserts that the charges do not support a finding
for the disciplinary action, the panel will decide its case
based on the evidence in
the record. |
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| s. If the accused faculty member fails to
appear at the hearing, the hearing will proceed in her/his absence. |
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| t. If the provost or designee fails to appear
at the hearing without good cause, the case will be dismissed
with prejudice. For this
purpose, only circumstances beyond the provost’s or designee’s
control which prevented his/her attendance at the hearing will
constitute good cause. The hearing panel will decide its case based
on the evidence in the record. |
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| u. The burden of proof that adequate cause
for dismissal exists rests with the University and shall be
satisfied only by clear and convincing evidence in the record
as a whole. |
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| f. Appeal
Procedures for Dismissal Actions |
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| A faculty member may
appeal a disciplinary dismissal action to the Executive Committee
of the Board of Trustees (Executive Committee) only for the
following reasons: 1) improper procedure in the handling of
the disciplinary process which adversely affected the faculty
member; 2) new, relevant, and material evidence unavailable
to the faculty member at the time of the original hearing can
be presented which may tend to change the outcome of the hearing;
or 3) the disciplinary action is not commensurate with the findings
of the hearing panel or president. The appeal will be reviewed
by the Executive Committee and
review will be based on the record and the faculty member’s
written appeal. The Executive
Committee may meet with the faculty member or other persons
if it considers it necessary. The Executive Committee may approve, reject,
or amend such findings and recommendations.
The Executive Committee must state the grounds for its
action in writing to the panel, president, and faculty member.
The Executive Committee’s decision is final. |
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| g. Procedures for Imposition of Sanctions
other than Dismissal |
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| If the provost believes
that the conduct of a faculty member, although not constituting
adequate cause for dismissal, is sufficiently grave to justify
imposition of a major sanction, such as suspension from service
for a stated period, the provost may institute a proceeding
to impose such a major sanction pursuant to the procedures outlined
in Section 21 e of this Manual. |
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If the provost believes
that the conduct of a faculty member justifies the imposition
of a minor sanction, such as a reprimand, the provost shall
notify the faculty member of the basis of the proposed sanction
and provide him/her with an opportunity to persuade the provost
that the proposed sanction should not be imposed.
A faculty member who believes that a minor sanction has
been incorrectly imposed under this paragraph may petition the
Committee on Faculty Grievances for such action as may be appropriate.
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| h. Terminal Salary or Notice |
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| If the appointment
is terminated, the faculty member will receive salary or notice
in accordance with the following schedule: at least three months,
if the final decision is reached by January 31 (or three months
prior to the expiration) of the first year of probationary service;
at least six months, if the decision is reached by December
15 of the second year (or after nine months but prior to eighteen
months) of probationary service; at least one year, if the decision
is reached after eighteen months of probationary service or
if the faculty member has tenure. This provision for terminal
notice or salary need not apply in the event that there has
been a finding that the conduct justifying dismissal involved
conviction of a felony. |
