Faculty Grievances and Appeal Procedures
The Collective Bargaining Agreements for tenured or tenured-track faculty and for FTNTT faculty outline the grievance and/or appeal procedures available to a faculty member adversely affected by an academic judgment, for example, in the areas of reappointment, tenure or promotion, academic freedom, professional ethics, sanctions for cause, and disciplinary actions.
1. General Appeal Process for Tenured or Tenure-Track Faculty. The Collective Bargaining Agreement for tenured or tenure-track faculty describes in detail the general appeal process available to those faculty members whose employment status is adversely affected by a substantial academic judgment in the areas of granting or denial of tenure, reappointment, or promotion at the level of the Provost or President, academic freedom, professional ethics, or sanctions for cause (see CBA). The CBA refines the general appeal process for appeals resulting from the denial of tenure, reappointment or promotion.
2. Appeals Following the Denial Promotion, Tenure or Reappointment at the Level of the Provost or the President. The CBA for tenured or tenure-track faculty describes the appeal process specifically resulting from the denial of tenure, promotion or reappointment at the level of the Provost or the President. This appeal process is similar to the general appeal process, but it specifies certain options and restrictions.
3. Procedures for Appealing Negative Tenure, Promotion and Tenure-Track Reappointment Recommendations. Besides these appeal avenues, a faculty member may appeal a negative tenure, promotion or reappointment recommendation to the administrator at the next level of review. This type of appeal allows the faculty member to present his/her case orally to the administrator and/or advisory committee at the next level of review and is initiated by the faculty sending an appeal letter to the administrator at next level of review (amongst other places). The reader should consult the appropriate CBA appendices or sections of the annual Procedures and Policies Governing the Review of Faculty for details regarding how to initiate an appeal following a negative recommendation letter and related issues like how to attach a written statement to a file addressing alleged procedural or errors of fact contained in a recommendation letter or obtaining advisory ballots when they are not automatically forwarded to the candidate.
4. Grievance and Arbitration Procedures. The CBA for tenured or tenure-track faculty and Article VI of the CBA for FTNTT faculty outline the procedure for handling faculty grievances and the arbitration process that may result in an unresolved grievance. If a formal grievance is filed, the Grieving Party is represented by a designate of the Association in all formal meetings with the University. If after the grievance procedure has ended and the Association is not satisfied with the University's response, the Association has the right to appeal the grievance to arbitration.
5. In the grievance process for FTNTT faculty, there is a stronger emphasis on informal resolution and there are differences in the deadlines for written statements to be submitted. Otherwise, the grievance process for FTNTT faculty is fairly similar to the grievance process for tenured or tenure-track faculty.