December 1, 2009
Attachment
FACULTY GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
REPORT
Additional Revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix D.
Please
note these additional revisions follow those already adopted by the
Also
included here is a link to changes made
to the UNC Code, Section 603 that necessitated revisions specifically to Section
VI.
Original
proposed revisions (included in resolutions 09-11, 09-12, and 09-20)
are noted
in bold print and deletions are noted in strikethrough.
Additional
revisions are noted in yellow
highlighted bold print.
APPENDIX D.
TENURE AND PROMOTION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
OF
CONTENTS
I. Tenure
II. Faculty Appointments
A. General
Provisions
B. Fixed-Term
Appointments
C. Probationary
Appointments
III. Promotion
IV. Procedures for Initiation, Review, and Approval of Appointments,
Reappointments, Promotions, and the Conferral of Permanent Tenure (A description of "voting faculty"
may be found here.)
A. Unit
Committees
B. Role
of Unit Administrator
C. External
Peer Review for Promotion and the Conferral of Permanent Tenure
D. Documentation
for Personnel Actions
E. Initiation
of Recommendations
F. Notification
of Recommendations
G. Procedure
for Concurring Recommendations
H. Procedure for
Non-Concurring Recommendations
V. Procedure for Review Appeal of Any Notice of Non-Reappointment or Notice of Non-Conferral of Permanent
Tenure at the Completion of the
probationary Term
A. Deadlines
for Appeals
B. Request
for Hearing with the Faculty Hearing Committee
C. Validation of the Request for
Hearing
C. Procedures
for the Hearing
D. Procedures
After the Hearing
A. Deadlines
for Appeals
B. Request
for Hearing with the Faculty Hearing Committee
C. Validation of the Request for
Hearing
C. Procedures
for the Hearing
D. Procedures
After the Hearing
VI. Due Process Before Discharge or Imposition of
Serious Sanction
A. Penalties
B. Notice
C. Penalty
Without Recourse
D. Specification
of Reasons and Hearing Request
E. Due
Process Committee
F. Procedures
for the Hearing
G. Procedures
After the Hearing
H. Appeal
I. Suspension
During a Period of Intent to Discharge
VII. Termination of Faculty Employment
A. Reasons
Justifying Termination and Consultation Required
B. Termination
Procedures
VIII.
Effective Date
Tenure and
Promotion
Policies and
Procedures of
Prologue
Academic
freedom, the set of norms and values that protects a faculty member's freedom of
intellectual expression and inquiry, is essential to the achievement of
knowledge and understanding.
With respect to personnel
matters relating to Appendix D of the East
Carolina University Faculty Manual, academic units are defined as
departments described in the codes of operation of professional colleges and
schools, the departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, professional
colleges and schools without departments, Academic Library Services, Health
Sciences Library, and any other units in which faculty appointments are made.
In the
I. Tenure
Academic tenure serves to insure academic
freedom by guarding faculty members against negative consequences of expressing
unpopular points of view. Academic tenure refers to the conditions and
guarantees that apply to a faculty member's professional employment. Tenure protects a faculty member against
involuntary suspension or discharge from employment or reduction in rank except
upon specified grounds and in accordance with the procedures provided in
Section VI.; or against termination of employment except as provided for in
Section VII. During the term of such
guarantees, the faculty member may be discharged or suspended from employment
or diminished in rank only for reasons of incompetence, neglect of duty,
misconduct of such a nature as to indicate that the individual is unfit to
continue as a member of the faculty, or demonstrable, bona fide institutional
financial exigency or major curtailment or elimination of a teaching, research,
or public service program as detailed in Sections VII.A.1 and VII.A.2. (
A. Tenure While
Under Contract to
A faculty member who does not have permanent tenure
has the protection of tenure until the expiration of the faculty member's
employment contract.
B. Permanent
Tenure
1. Permanent tenure may be conferred only by action of the Board of
Trustees of East Carolina University, and is always held with reference to
employment by
2. Conferral of permanent tenure shall be based on the faculty
member's demonstrated professional competence in teaching, research and
creative activity, and service; a potential for future contributions; and the
institution's needs and resources. While teaching is the first consideration,
neither teaching nor research and creative activity nor patient care nor
service is the sole measure of a faculty member's competence and contribution.
Permanent tenure is independent of promotion but sound academic practice
supports the concept that an assistant professor eligible for tenure should
qualify for promotion to associate professor.
II. Faculty Appointments
A. General Provisions
1. Categories of
Appointments
There
are three kinds of faculty appointments:
(a) Fixed‑Term
Appointments [cf. Special Faculty
Appointments, the UNC Code, 610 604C and
ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix C.]. Fixed-term
appointees do not hold professorial ranks, but are appointed with the following
titles: teaching instructor, teaching assistant professor, teaching associate
professor, teaching professor, research instructor, research assistant
professor, research associate professor, research professor, clinical
instructor, clinical assistant professor, clinical associate professor,
clinical professor, visiting instructor, visiting assistant professor, visiting
associate professor, visiting professor, artist in residence, writer in
residence, adjunct instructor, adjunct assistant professor, adjunct associate
professor, and adjunct professor. Fixed-term faculty members may
be paid or unpaid, per letter of appointment. Fixed-term appointments are without permanent tenure and do not
entitle the faculty member to consideration for reappointment or conferral of
permanent tenure. The
term of appointment in the appointment letter, and the letter of appointment, constitute
full and timely notice that a new term will not be granted when that term
expires (except as specified in
Section II.B.1). No obligation exists on the part of the contract will be renewed
(b) Probationary
Appointments and Reappointments.
Probationary appointments are made at the professorial ranks of
instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor. Probationary appointees are entitled to
reappointment reviews and, if reappointed throughout the probationary period,
are entitled to a tenure review. The
timing of these reviews is explained below.
(c) Appointments
with Permanent Tenure. Appointments with
permanent tenure are continuous until retirement, resignation, or removal
according to the provisions of Section VI or VII of this document. Appointments with permanent tenure may be
made at the professorial ranks of assistant professor, associate professor, or
professor.
2. Criteria for Initial Appointment and
Reappointment
All
appointments, including fixed-term appointments, and all reappointments of
candidates to probationary term positions
shall be based on assessments of candidates' demonstrated professional
competence, potential for future contributions, and the institution's needs and
resources.
3. Terms and Conditions for Appointment and
Reappointment
The
chancellor or the chancellor's designee[1]
shall set out in writing, with a copy to the faculty member, the terms and the
conditions of each appointment, including fixed-term appointments, and each
reappointment. The terms shall incorporate by reference appropriate sections of
the Faculty Manual and shall state
any conditions placed on the appointment or reappointment.[2] The responsibility for initiating the
inclusion of special terms and conditions in documents of appointment is with
the unit administrator. Prior to initial appointment the unit administrator
shall provide a copy of the unit’s criteria for evaluating faculty performance
to persons offered a faculty appointment in the unit. Criteria for evaluating
faculty performance shall be discussed by the unit administrator in a meeting
with each fixed-term and probationary-term faculty member at the beginning of
the first term of employment and at the beginning of each academic year
thereafter. A summary of this discussion shall be placed in the faculty
member’s personnel file. The responsibility for calling this meeting is with
the unit administrator.
Notice
of reappointment or non-reappointment to probationary-term persons shall be
written. The decision not to reappoint
probationary term faculty shall not be based upon (1) the faculty member's
exercise of rights guaranteed by either the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution or Article I of the North Carolina Constitution; (2)
discrimination based upon the faculty member's race, color, national origin, creed, religion, veteran’s status, gender, age, sexual
orientation, political affiliation, or disability; or (3) personal malice. (
4. Continued Availability of Special Funding
The
appointment or reappointment of a faculty member to a position funded in whole
or in substantial part from sources other than continuing state budget funds or
permanent trust funds shall specify in writing that continuance of the faculty
member’s services, whether for a specified term or for permanent tenure, shall
be contingent upon continuing availability of such funds. Exceptions to the
foregoing contingency requirement are:
(a)
That such a contingency shall not be included in a promotion to a higher rank
if, before the effective date of that promotion, the faculty member had
permanent tenure and no such condition is attached to the tenure.
(b)
That such a contingency shall not be attached to the faculty member’s contract
if the faculty member held permanent tenure in East Carolina University on July
1, 1975, and the contact was not contingent upon the continuing availability of
sources than continuing state budget or permanent trust funds.
(c)
That such a contingency may be waived for health affairs faculties because of the
unusual dependence of programs in the health professions on income from sources
such as clinical receipts.
This
contingency shall not be included in a faculty member's contract if the faculty
member held permanent tenure in the institution on July 1, 1975, and the
contract was not then contingent upon the continuing availability of sources
other than continuing state budget or permanent trust funds.
5. Notice of Resignation
A
fixed-term or probationary-term faculty member should provide the unit administrator
with 90 days advance notice, in writing, of resignation from employment. A permanently tenured faculty member should
provide the unit administrator with 120 days advance notice in writing of
resignation from employment. In no case should a resignation occur in
mid-semester.
B. Fixed‑Term Appointments [cf. Special
Faculty Appointments, The UNC Code, 610 604C]
Fixed-term
faculty appointments are without permanent tenure and do not entitle the
faculty member to consideration for conferral of permanent tenure. No
obligation exists on the part of
1. Contract and Notice
A
contract for a fixed‑term appointment shall set forth in writing the
beginning and ending dates of the term, the type of appointment and the pay status (i.e., paid or unpaid). The
specification of the length of the appointment in the contract/letter of
appointment shall be deemed to constitute full and timely notice of
non-reappointment when that term expires Tthis specification of the length of the appointment constitutes
full and timely notice of non-reappointment when the term expires. Whenever possible multi-year contracts, of up
to five years, with eligibility for renewal, will be offered to
fixed-term faculty members who have demonstrated their effectiveness and
contributions and/or who have outstanding credentials. These faculty
members are eligible for a new appointment. The provisions of
Section 604 and 602(4) of The Code of The University of North Carolina do not
apply to these special faculty appointments. No
obligation exists on the part of If a the fixed-term faculty member, not earlier than 180
calendar days nor later than 90 calendar days before the current term expires,
provides the unit administrator with a written request for a new appointment contract renewal, the
unit administrator shall so notify the chair of the unit Personnel Committee.
Within 30 calendar days of receiving the request the Personnel Committee and
the unit administrator shall notify the faculty member in writing of their
respective recommendations and that any recommendation is subject to the
availability of position, funding, administrative approval, and continued
effective performance.
2. Fixed‑Term
Employment Evaluation Policy [cf. Special
Faculty Appointments, The UNC Code, 610 604C]
Any
faculty member employed in a fixed term position shall be evaluated annually in
accordance with the provisions of the employment contract. A fixed-term faculty member should submit a
portfolio to the Personnel Committee and the unit administrator prior to the
unit administrator and the Personnel Committee recommending a new appointment contract renewal. The portfolio
should contain information that demonstrates the effectiveness of the
fixed-term faculty member in carrying out the duties specified in the contract.
The specific contents of the portfolio shall be determined by the unit.
3. Initial recommendations for advancement in
title for faculty holding fixed-term appointments is the responsibility of the unit Personnel Committee
(see Section IV, A.1.).
C. Probationary
Appointments
Probationary
appointments are made at the professorial ranks of instructor, assistant
professor, associate professor, and professor. Persons appointed as instructors
shall not be considered for reappointment with permanent tenure until promoted
to a higher rank. Persons appointed as assistant professor, associate
professor, or professor are
eligible for permanent tenure.
A
faculty member appointed to an administrative position is eligible for
permanent tenure only as a faculty member in one of the professorial
ranks. There is no permanent tenure in
an administrative position.
1. Notice of Reappointment or Non Reappointment. (UNC
Code 604).
The
decision not to reappoint a faculty member at the expiration of a term of
service shall be made by the appropriate unit committee and the administrative
officers, early enough to permit timely notice to be given.
For
full-time faculty at the rank of instructor, assistant professor, associate
professor, or professor, the minimum requirement for timely notice shall be as
follows:
(a)
During the first year of service at
(b)
During the second year of continuous service at
(c)
After two or more years of continuous service at
Notice
of reappointment or non reappointment shall be written. If the decision is not
to reappoint, then failure to give timely notice of non reappointment will
oblige the chancellor thereafter to offer a terminal appointment of one
academic year.
Probationary
appointments are made at the professorial ranks of instructor, assistant
professor, associate professor, and professor. Persons appointed as instructors
shall not be considered for reappointment with permanent tenure until promoted
to a higher rank. Persons appointed as assistant professors, associate professors,
and professors are eligible for permanent tenure.
In
accordance with the UNC Code, 604A1, the faculty member shall be notified not
later than twelve months before the end of the probationary period whether he
or she will be recommended for permanent tenure. faculty member appointed to an
administrative position is eligible for permanent tenure only as a faculty
member in one of the professorial ranks.
There is no permanent tenure in an administrative position.
During
the second year of continuous service at
2.
1. Probationary Terms
Although the chancellor may recommend that a faculty member be granted permanent tenure at any time, the faculty member shall be notified not later than twelve months before the end of the probationary period whether he or she will be recommended for permanent tenure. The normal probationary term for the professorial ranks, as established at the time of initial appointment, shall be as follows:
(a) Instructor.
The rank of instructor is reserved for persons who lack the
qualifications for appointment as assistant professor. Faculty members appointed as instructors are
eligible for an initial three-year appointment and one successive reappointment
of two years. Instructors promoted to
the rank of assistant professor no later than the beginning of the fourth year
of employment are eligible for a final two-year probationary appointment in the
higher rank. The maximum probationary
term is seven years.
(b) Assistant
Professor. The maximum probationary term is seven years, consisting of an
initial three-year appointment and two successive two-year appointments.
(c) Associate
Professor. The maximum probationary term is five years, consisting of an
initial three-year appointment followed by a two-year appointment.
(d) Professor.
The probationary term is three years, consisting of one three-year
appointment.
All
time served in a probationary appointment at East Carolina University must be
continuous, excluding any leaves of absence as noted in Section II.C.3.
When
a faculty member in probationary appointment requests and is awarded promotion
in rank before the end of the probationary term, the original contractual
probationary term shall not be altered.
In
order to afford the maximum opportunity for tenure, the probationary term for
personnel hired at the professorial ranks, whose contract date occurs earlier than
the beginning of the Fall semester (or July 1 for faculty in the Division of
Health Sciences and Academic Library Services), will be measured from the
beginning of the subsequent Fall semester (or July 1 for faculty in the
Division of Health Sciences and Academic Library Services).
3. 2. Reduction of the
Reduction
of the normal probationary term may be granted for previous full-time faculty
employment at the time of initial appointment as assistant professor, or
associate professor. The granting of
such reduction shall require the agreement of the appointee, a simple majority
of the unit Personnel Committee, the unit administrator, the dean, and the appropriate
vice chancellor. The maximum reduction
at each professorial rank shall be as follows:
(a) For a
candidate appointed at the rank of instructor, no reduction is allowed.
(b) For a
candidate appointed at the rank of assistant professor, a maximum reduction of
three years is allowed.
(c) For a
candidate appointed at the rank of associate professor, a maximum reduction of
two years is allowed.
(d) For a candidate appointed at the rank of
professor, no reduction is allowed.
4. 3. Extensions of the Probationary Term
Leaves
from all employment obligations which are granted to probationary-term faculty
may include extension of the length of the probationary term. (Leaves of
absence normally should be for not more than two academic years or occur more
often than once in three years). Extensions of the probationary term must should be requested by the faculty member and
shall be granted only in cases of severe personal exigency, such as illness,
childbirth, child care, or other compelling personal circumstances, and shall
be limited to a total of no more than two years. Probationary term faculty who
have received paid leave of at least 15 weeks under the ECU Serious Illness and
Disability Leave Policy shall receive an extension of the probationary term if
requested. Extensions of the
probationary term must be expressly stated in appointment or reappointment
documents or added by a written memorandum of amendment by the unit
administrator during the term of an appointment. The probationary term may be
extended in increments of one or more academic years: one year for leaves of
one or two semesters, two years for leaves of three or four semesters. All such
extensions must be approved in writing by the faculty member, the unit
Personnel Committee, the unit administrator, the dean, the appropriate vice
chancellor, and the chancellor or the chancellor's designee. A
probationary-term faculty member who assumes a full-time administrative
position for one or more semesters may be granted extensions of the length of
the probationary term in the same way.
5. 4. Progress Toward Tenure Letters
Each
Spring semester, the unit Tenure Committee and unit administrator will review
the annual reports of each
probationary term faculty member. On the basis of this review, the unit
administrator, in consultation with the unit Tenure Committee, will write a
progress toward tenure letter to each probationary term faculty member. This letter will address the
cumulative expectations of the candidate’s contributions to date. In
the event the unit Tenure Committee and the unit administrator cannot agree on
the contents of the letter, the next higher administrator shall confer jointly
with the unit Tenure Committee and unit administrator, determine at his or her
discretion the content of the letter, and prepare the progress toward tenure
letter. Copies of the progress toward
tenure letter will be placed in the faculty member's personnel file, and a copy
will be sent to the unit Tenure Committee and to the next higher administrative
level. The unit administrator and a representative of the unit Tenure Committee
will discuss the progress toward tenure letter with the faculty member. In the event that the faculty member
disagrees with the contents of the progress toward tenure letter, it is the
responsibility of the faculty member to make this disagreement known in writing
addressed to the unit administrator for inclusion in the personnel file and the
PAD. Copies of this letter will be placed in the faculty member's personnel
file, and a copy will be sent to the unit Tenure Committee and to the next
higher administrative level. (See
Section IV.D.3.)
5. 6 Request for Early Permanent Tenure Request for Permanent Tenure Prior to the End of the Probationary Term
During
the Spring semester of the academic year, a faculty member who has not
completed the probationary term (see Section II.C.1-3) and who requests in
writing that consideration be given to conferral of permanent tenure will be
considered for permanent tenure during the Fall semester of the next academic
year.[3]
D. Initial Appointment with Permanent Tenure
A
faculty member whose initial appointment is to a professorial rank with
permanent tenure shall be regarded as having permanent tenure until retirement,
resignation, or removal according to the provisions of Sections VI or VII of
this document.
E.
Joint Appointments
Joint
appointments are made when faculty members are appointed with responsibilities
in more than one unit. The source of
funds for joint appointments may come solely from one unit, or it may come
separately from two or more units to which the faculty member has a joint
appointment.
Faculty
members who hold joint appointments in more than one unit or center within East
Carolina University shall be assigned to a primary academic unit with a greater
than half-time appointment in the primary academic unit. The letter of appointment will specify the
terms of the appointment, will identify the primary academic unit and will reference
all units in which the faculty member holds joint appointments. A single appointment letter signed by all
supervising administrators is preferable, but in instances where a jointly
appointed faculty member has disparate duties in the various units, a separate
joint appointment letter may be issued by the administrators of the units in
which the faculty member holds joint appointments, provided that a copy of each
joint appointment letter is forwarded to the unit administrator(s) of the other
supervising unit(s).
Each
appointment letter issued by the primary and joint appointment units will
specify the faculty member’s responsibilities, performance expectations, and
compensation, if any, for that department and/or program. Annual, written evaluations of the faculty
member will be prepared by the unit administrator of the faculty member’s
primary academic unit, in consultation with the administrator(s) of the unit(s)
to which the faculty member is jointly appointed. If the administrators of the units to which
the faculty member is jointly appointed disagree on the annual evaluation, the
next higher administrator to the primary academic unit will arbitrate the
disagreement and will write the final annual faculty evaluation, if agreement
cannot be reached among all joint appointment units.
For
probationary faculty appointments and permanently tenured faculty appointments,
the policies and procedures of the primary academic unit shall be used for
reappointment, tenure, and promotion of the faculty member, as appropriate to
the appointment type. Annual progress
toward tenure letters for probationary faculty will be prepared by the unit
administrator of the primary academic unit, in consultation with the
administrator(s) of the unit(s) to which the faculty member is jointly
appointed, and in consultation with the Tenure Committee of the primary
academic unit. If there is disagreement
on the progress toward tenure letter, the next higher administrator of the
primary academic unit will confer with the Tenure Committee of the primary
academic unit and with the administrators of the units to which the faculty
member is jointly appointed, determine at his or her discretion the content of
the letter, and prepare the progress toward tenure letter.
For
all faculty on joint appointments, annual salary increase recommendations will
be made on each funding source of the appointment according to the guidelines
of the units, the General Administration, and those of the University. If there
is one source of funding, the administrators of the separate portions of the
appointment will consult and recommend together. If there is disagreement, it
will be appealed to the next higher administrator of the primary academic unit.
All
faculty members who hold joint appointments are governed by the ECU Faculty
Manual, and all provisions of each faculty appointment must be consistent
with relevant sections of the ECU Faculty Manual. (
Persons holding the professorial rank of instructor, assistant
professor, or associate professor may be
promoted to the next professorial rank.
Promotion shall be based primarily on the faculty member's demonstrated
professional competence and achievement.
See Appendix C, Personnel Policies
and Procedures for the Faculty of ECU. Promotion is governed by the
policies and procedures set forth in Section IV, below. By the first week of March of every academic
year, a faculty member who wishes to be considered for promotion to the next
professorial rank shall write a letter requesting a personnel action of
promotion in rank to her or his unit administrator. The request for promotion shall be considered
by the appropriate unit committee during the Fall semester of the next academic
year.[4]
IV. Procedures for
Initiation, Review, and Approval of Appointments, Reappointments, Promotions,
and the Conferral of Permanent Tenure
(Please
refer to ECU Faculty Manual Interpretation #I06-22.)
Recommendations for appointments, reappointments,
promotion, and the conferral of permanent tenure to faculty are the
responsibility of unit committees and the unit administrator. Evaluation of faculty for appointment,
reappointment, promotion, and the conferral of permanent tenure shall be
initiated by the appropriate unit committee on notice from the unit
administrator and higher administrative authority. The appropriate unit committee shall also
evaluate faculty for promotion and the early conferral of permanent tenure at
the request of the faculty member. Once
the evaluation has been completed, the committee's recommendation and the
recommendation of the unit administrator shall be forwarded to the next higher
administrator above the unit level for initiation of administrative review of
the recommendations. The pertinent
structures and processes are set forth in this section. The timeline for these processes is set forth
in Part XIII. of the ECU Faculty Manual.
Confidentiality must be maintained when conducting
any substantive business pertaining to initiation, review, conferral of
permanent tenure, and approval of appointments, reappointments, and
promotions. Email should be used with
discretion because it does not guarantee confidentiality. Formal correspondences relating to any
substantive business pertaining to initiation, review, conferral of permanent
tenure, and approval of appointments, reappointments, and promotions should be
maintained in paper form.
Description of "voting faculty"
For the purposes of Section IV, voting faculty members are determined by the permanently tenured
faculty of the unit using the following criteria;
A voting faculty member of a unit is someone who:
·
holds a full-time faculty position with
·
is either a probationary term (tenure track) faculty member
or a permanently tenured faculty member.
·
has at least one-half of the teaching/research
duties normally assigned in the unit, as determined by the permanently tenured faculty of
the unit using standards appropriate to their discipline.
·
is in at least the twelfth
consecutive calendar month of appointment to the faculty of the unit as either a probationary
term (tenure track) faculty member or a permanently tenured faculty member.
·
is not a unit administrator or an individual with one half
or more of his/her load assigned to administrative duties as determined by the
permanently tenured faculty in consultation with the unit administrator.
·
or normally meets
the above conditions and is on leave of absence from all university duties but
is in attendance at the meeting of the appropriate committee at the time of the
committee’s vote on a personnel action (reappointment, promotion, or tenure
recommendation). (
Related faculty within the
same academic department (or other comparable institutional subdivision of
employment) shall not participate, either individually or as a member of a
committee, in the evaluation of related persons for appointment, reappointment,
promotion, the conferral of permanent tenure, cumulative review, salary
recommendations, or any other personnel action.
A faculty member made ineligible for participation in the evaluation of
a related person does not count for quorum purposes and his/her ineligibility
does not constitute a recommendation against the proposed personnel action.
A. Unit
Committees[5]
1. Personnel Committee
a. Function
The Personnel Committee shall be responsible for
making recommendations regarding initial probationary appointments and initial
and additional special fixed-term appointments.
b. Composition
The composition of each unit’s Personnel Committee
shall be determined by the unit but shall consist of at least three members.
The membership of the committee shall be composed of some or all of the
permanently tenured and probationary-term voting faculty members of the unit,
including those who are on leave but in attendance at the meeting at the time
of the committee's vote, but excluding the unit administrator. At least two
thirds of the unit Personnel Committee membership shall be permanently tenured
voting faculty. When there are not enough permanently tenured voting faculty
members in the unit to satisfy this requirement, additional permanently tenured
faculty shall be appointed. All other members of the unit Personnel Committee
shall be elected by the permanently tenured and probationary-term voting faculty
of the unit. The chair of the unit Personnel Committee shall be permanently
tenured and shall be elected annually by and from the committee's
membership.
c. Additional Roles of Unit Personnel Committee
In addition to making recommendations to the unit
administrator on initial and additional fixed-term appointments and initial
probationary-term appointments, the unit Personnel Committee has the following
responsibilities:
1.
Notifying fixed-term faculty members that the Personnel
Committee will or will not recommend an additional fixed-term appointment when
the fixed-term faculty member requests notification not earlier than 180
calendar days nor later than 90 calendar days before the current term expires.
2.
Reviewing requests for reduction in the normal probationary
term at the time of initial appointment (see Section II.C.2).
3.
Reviewing requests for the extension of the normal
probationary term (see Section II.C.3).
4. Consulting with faculty members who are considering requesting
conferral of permanent tenure prior to the end of the probationary term (see
Section II.C.5).
5. Consulting with faculty members who are considering requesting
promotion (see Section III.).
6. Reviewing additional materials submitted by faculty members for
inclusion in their personnel action dossier; consulting with the unit
administrator regarding responses to such materials (see Section IV.B.).
7. The personnel committee may elect a search committee as
prescribed by the unit’s code to fulfill the responsibilities of soliciting and
screening applicants and recommending to the unit’s Personnel Committee
candidates for initial appointments.
A majority of the search committee must be voting faculty. For the
purposes of this section, administrators may not be a part of the committee.
8. Making recommendations for advancement in title for fixed term
faculty.
d. Role of the Chair of the Unit Personnel Committee
The chair of the unit Personnel Committee shall be
permanently tenured and shall be elected annually by and from the committee's
membership. The chair shall preside over
all committees making personnel recommendations to the faculty, and may
participate in the decisions of any committee of which the chair is a member,
except as noted below. If the chair of
the unit Personnel Committee holds a professional rank lower than that to which
a faculty member requests promotion, the unit Personnel Committee chair shall
not be eligible to participate and shall only be responsible for calling the
meetings of such committees and facilitating the election of a chair of the
committee from among its membership. In such cases where the Chair of the unit
Personnel Committee is ineligible to participate, he/she shall not attend any
meetings of the committee except to facilitate the election of the chair as
noted above. The elected chair of the
committee shall obtain and distribute materials to be used during the
deliberation of such bodies, insure that a valid vote has been taken,
communicate the results of such votes to the appropriate faculty and to the
unit administrator, and perform other duties as designated by the unit.
2. Promotion Committee
a. Function
The Promotion Committee shall be responsible for
making recommendations for promotions in rank and for recommending the ranks of
initial appointments at the associate professor or professor level.
b. Composition
The membership of the Promotion Committee shall be
composed of those permanently tenured and probationary-term voting faculty members
who hold rank at least equal to the rank for which the candidate is being
considered, including those on leave but in attendance at the committee's
meeting at the time of the committee's vote, but excluding the unit
administrator. The composition of the committee shall thus vary with the rank
to which a faculty member is being considered for promotion. When a unit has
fewer than three permanently tenured voting faculty members of sufficient rank
and not holding administrative status, the next higher administrator above the
unit level shall appoint permanently tenured faculty at the required rank from
other units across the university to increase the committee's membership to
three, with at least two-thirds of the members being permanently tenured faculty.
These appointments to the committee must be from one list of candidates
selected by a vote of the permanently tenured and probationary-term faculty
having rank at least equal to the candidate(s) being considered for promotion.
The list forwarded to the next higher administrator by the faculty will contain
at least twice the number of faculty members required to complete the
membership of the committee. Before voting on the list to be forwarded to the
next higher administrator, the chair of the committee will ascertain that
faculty members nominated to have their names placed on the list are willing
and able to serve in this important capacity. The list of faculty names
recommended to the next higher administrator may not be returned for revision.
Meetings of the promotion committee shall be convened
by the Chair of the unit’s Personnel Committee.
The first order of business for a newly convened Promotion Committee
shall be to elect a Chair from among its membership.
3. Tenure
Committee
a. Function
The Tenure Committee shall be responsible for making
recommendations
for reappointments of probationary-term faculty
members, the granting of permanent tenure, and conferral of tenure for initial
appointments with permanent tenure.
b. Composition
The membership of the Tenure Committee shall be
composed of the permanently tenured voting
faculty of the unit, including those who are on leave but in attendance
at the meeting at the time of the
committee's vote, but excluding the unit administrator. When a unit has fewer
than three permanently tenured voting faculty members not holding
administrative status, the next higher administrator above the unit level shall
appoint permanently tenured faculty from other units to increase the
committee's membership to three. These appointments to the committee must be
from one list of candidates selected by a vote of the permanently tenured and
probationary-term faculty of the unit. The list forwarded to the next higher
administrator by the appropriate faculty will contain at least twice the number
of faculty members required to complete the membership of the committee. Before voting on the list to be forwarded to
the next higher administrator, the voting faculty will ascertain that faculty
members nominated to have their names placed on the list are willing and able
to serve in this important capacity. The
list of faculty names recommended to the next higher administrator may not be
returned for revision.
c.
Additional roles of the unit Tenure Committee.
A Code Unit may establish, in its Code of Operation,
procedures for fulfilling their additional roles; however, if the Code of a
unit is silent in this regard, it is hereby established that the entire
membership of the unit Tenure Committee will participate in these additional
roles. In accordance with the unit code,
if the unit’s Tenure Committee has more than five members, the unit Tenure
Committee may elect a subcommittee of at least five members to participate in
these additional roles. The unit Tenure
Committee (or properly constituted subcommittee):
1.
Consults with the unit administrator who writes a progress
toward tenure letter to each probationary term faculty member as described in
Section II.C.4.
2.
Produces a list of possible external reviewers and selects
external peer reviewers from lists produced by the Committee and by the
candidate (see Section IV.E).
3.
Selects, with the unit administrator, the research and
creative activity materials to be sent to external peer reviewers (see Section
IV.C).
4.
Prepares a cumulative evaluation in narrative form of the
candidate’s teaching, research, service, and any other relevant duties.
B. Role of Unit
Administrator
The unit administrator serves to provide leadership,
support, and guidance to the total functioning of the unit. As indicated at the beginning of this
section, the personnel recommendations of the unit administrator shall be
forwarded to the next higher administrator along with the recommendation of the
appropriate faculty committee.
The unit administrator is responsible for maintaining
the personnel files, providing timely notification to the chair of the unit
Personnel Committee on all personnel actions required or expected, and
distributing all personnel documents and materials to the appropriate location. The unit administrator, in consultation with
the unit Tenure Committee (or properly constituted subcommittee), will write a
progress toward tenure letter to each probationary term faculty member as
described in Section II.C.4. The unit administrator prepares a cumulative
evaluation in narrative form of the candidate’s teaching, research, service,
and any other relevant duties.
In personnel matters, the unit administrator
functions as an administrator rather than a faculty member. Consequently, the unit
administrator does not have a faculty vote in personnel matters. Therefore,
unit administrators are excluded from all unit committee deliberations
concerning candidates for appointment, re-appointment, promotion, or permanent
tenure, (for procedure for nonconcurring recommendations, see Appendix D, Part
IV.H.). However at the invitation by a
majority vote of the membership of the Personnel Committee a unit administrator
may meet with the committee to discuss initial appointments. Further, the administrator may meet with the
Tenure Committee (or properly constituted subcommittee) in reference to
progress toward tenure letters as noted in II.C.4.
C. External
Peer Review for Promotion and the Conferral of Permanent Tenure
“External peer
review” means a review of a candidate’s research and creative activity by
persons who are not faculty or employees of
By the last week of March of the Spring term prior to
the academic year in which a promotion or tenure decision is scheduled, the
unit Tenure Committee shall produce a list of possible external reviewers. The
candidate for promotion and/or permanent tenure shall provide a similar list,
noting for each name the professional relationship, if any, between the
reviewer and the candidate. The
candidate shall also provide similar relationship information for each name on
the unit Tenure Committee's list. These two lists must be independently
compiled and if the two lists contain a common set of prospective external
reviewers, the unit Tenure Committee list shall be revisited and new possible
external reviewers shall be identified as replacement for those originally on
both lists.
The unit Tenure Committee shall select a sufficient
number of names from the unit Tenure Committee's list and the candidate's list
to ensure a minimum of three external reviewers, two from the unit Tenure
Committee's list and one from the candidate's list. Code units that require more than three external
reviewers shall make special provisions in their unit codes. These provisions must clearly indicate the
number of external reviewers required by the unit. In those cases where a unit requires more
than three reviewers, the choice of reviewers must reflect, as nearly as
possible, the two to one ratio of reviewers proposed by the unit Tenure
Committee to those proposed by the candidate.
The unit administrator will notify the reviewers that
they have been nominated to conduct the review and will ascertain their
willingness to serve as reviewers.
Selected material with a cover letter prescribed by the appropriate vice
chancellor shall be sent to the reviewers.
Correspondence with the reviewers shall be written in neutral terms,
serving to neither support nor oppose the candidate and shall not deviate
substantially from the prescribed cover letter. Copies of the prescribed
letters are available on the
Sample of an External Review Letter (used by both Academic Affairs and Health
Sciences)
Only the unit administrator will communicate with the
external reviewers and only on procedural matters for the duration of the
personnel action.
The unit administrator and the unit Tenure Committee
shall select the material from the dossier to be sent to external
reviewers. The candidate may include
additional published or accepted material if he or she disagrees with the
initial selection. Inclusion of such
additional items in the materials sent to reviewers shall be noted by
memorandum of the unit administrator in the dossier and the candidate's personnel
file.
Upon receipt of a review, the unit administrator will
place the original review in the candidate's personnel file and copies of the
review in the candidate's dossier. The
unit administrator shall then notify the members of the appropriate committee
and the candidate that the review is available. Within 7
calendar days after receipt, the unit administrator will provide candidates for
Tenure and/or Promotion with copies of their external review letters.
When fewer than three external reviewers respond,
this information, by memorandum from the unit administrator, shall be made a
part of the candidate's personnel file and dossier.
D. Documentation
for Personnel Actions
1. Employment Applications
Information on job applicants is to be kept in a file
available to the appropriate committee (see Section IV.A).
2. Personnel Action Dossier for Reappointment, Promotion, and
Permanent Tenure
The Personnel Action Dossier is a file containing
materials for evaluating a faculty member's professional activity. The dossier is compiled by candidates for
reappointment, promotion, and/or permanent tenure in consultation with the unit
administrator and the chair of the unit Personnel Committee. The dossier will be used by the appropriate
committee in making personnel recommendations. A fixed-term faculty member
seeking to be recommended for a second or subsequent fixed-term appointment
need not compile the dossier.
3. Disagreements
as to inclusion or removal of documents
The dossier shall include the required documents and
lists relevant to the faculty member's teaching, research/creative activity,
and service as described above. If the faculty member disagrees with the unit
administrator and/or the unit personnel committee as to the inclusion of
relevant documents, the documents will be included and each may include a
statement about the document in the dossier.
For details on organization, content and limitations
of the dossier, see Part XII. of the ECU
Faculty Manual.
E. Initiation
of Recommendations by Unit Personnel, Tenure and Promotion Committees
1.
Procedural Rules for conducting committee
business
The unit administrator shall give timely notice to the chair of
the unit Personnel Committee when personnel actions are to be initiated, and of
the date by which the committee's recommendation must be communicated to the
unit administrator. After being notified
by the unit administrator that a personnel action is required, the chair of the
unit Personnel Committee shall make at least three attempts at intervals of no
less than five working days each to hold a meeting of the appropriate committee
for the pending personnel action. In
order to conduct business a committee shall not meet without a quorum.
A quorum is defined as three quarters of the
membership for a committee that has twenty or fewer members; and a quorum is
defined as a majority, defined as 50% plus one, of the membership for a
committee that has more than twenty members. A list of all committee members
who were absent during a vote on a personnel action will be forwarded to the
unit administrator. The committee may
develop policies to designate certain absences as excused absences. Unexcused absences should be considered in
annual evaluations.
The purpose of this meeting is to hold a vote by
secret ballot on the pending personnel action. All materials pertaining to the
pending personnel action (see Section IV.D) must be available for inspection at
least five business days prior to the meeting. Members of the committee(s)
having authority over the pending personnel action shall review the materials
individually in preparation for discussion at the meeting. A faculty member on leave and not in
attendance at a meeting shall not be counted for the purposes of determining a
quorum for that meeting. A faculty
member on leave but in attendance at a meeting shall be counted for the
purposes of determining a quorum for that meeting. If the committee fails to
meet the deadline for receipt of the committee’s recommendation, this outcome
shall count as a recommendation by the committee against appointment,
reappointment, promotion, or tenure. In
such a case, the chair of the unit Personnel Committee shall report in writing
to the unit administrator that after at least three attempts the committee has
failed to meet due to a lack of a quorum, and that this outcome constitutes a
recommendation against appointment, reappointment, promotion, or tenure. The unit
administrator shall forward the committee’s recommendation and the unit
administrator’s recommendation to the candidate and to the next higher
administrator.
2. a. In the case of initial
appointment recommendations, each member of the unit Personnel Committee will
indicate by secret ballot his or her choice for the appointment. A candidate who receives a majority vote of
the committee members present shall be recommended for appointment. (For recommendations of rank of initial appointments
at the associate professor or professor level, see IV.A.2.a. For conferral of
tenure for initial appointments see IV.A.3.a.)
b. Faculty
recommendations for reappointment, promotion, and conferral of permanent tenure
shall come from the appropriate committee
(see Section IV.A). The committee members may choose to vote by mail
according to the latest edition of Robert's
Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
Within fifteen working days of notification by the unit administrator of
the need to initiate a personnel action, the chair of the unit Personnel
Committee shall convene a meeting of the appropriate committee (see Section
IV.E.1). At this meeting, the chair of the unit Personnel Committee shall
ascertain whether or not the committee will vote by mail. If a motion to vote by mail is approved by a
majority of the committee members present and voting, voting shall be by mail.
If a committee chooses to vote by mail, all members must vote by mail.
c. In the case of recommendations for new
appointments contract renewal recommendations for
faculty members currently
holding fixed-term appointments, each member of the unit Personnel Committee
will indicate by secret ballot his or her choice for or against the recommendation recommending a contract renewal. This vote may
be taken at a committee meeting or by mail ballot as described in Section IV.
E.2b. A vote for the recommendation by a majority of the committee
members present shall constitute a recommendation for a new appointment reemployment.
A member who is present when a vote is taken but who does not vote counts as
part of the membership of the committee for the purposes of determining what
constitutes a majority vote. Failure to obtain a majority vote
constitutes a recommendation against a new appointment. contract renewal. (
d. If a committee votes by mail, the ballots shall be
sent by a method that provides delivery
verification and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3 or distributed by
the committee chair. The refusal by a
committee member to receive the correspondence containing the ballot within
five business days of the first delivery attempt shall count as a vote against
appointment, reappointment, promotion, or tenure. If ballots are distributed, the committee
chair shall assure that recipients acknowledge receipt in writing. The acknowledgment must include the date of
receipt. A ballot either shall be
returned by a method that provides
delivery verification and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3 or shall
be personally returned by hand to the committee chair, at the discretion of the
individual committee member. Committee
members returning ballots by hand shall sign a confirmation form that is
retained by the committee chair. Ballots
not returned within twenty working days of verified receipt shall count as a
vote against recommending appointment, reappointment, promotion, or
tenure. If a committee votes by mail, a
faculty member on leave may choose either to vote or not to vote, at his or her
discretion. The unit administrator shall
ascertain and shall inform the chair of the unit Personnel Committee in writing
as to whether or not a faculty member on leave will participate in a mail
ballot. If a faculty member on leave
chooses to participate in a mail ballot, the faculty member shall count in
determining what is required for a majority vote in favor of the
recommendation. If the faculty member on
leave chooses not to participate in a mail ballot, the faculty member shall not
count in determining what is required for a majority vote in favor of the
recommendation. (
3. In the case of reappointment, promotion, and conferral of
permanent tenure, each member of the appropriate committee will indicate by
secret ballot his or her vote for or against recommending that the candidate be
reappointed, promoted, and/or granted permanent tenure. This vote may be taken at a committee meeting
or by mail ballot as described in Section IV.G E.2d. A vote for the
recommendation by a majority of the committee members present shall constitute
a recommendation for reappointment, promotion, and/or conferral of permanent
tenure. A member of a committee who is
present when a vote is taken but who does not vote counts as part of the
membership of the committee for the purposes of determining what constitutes a
majority vote. Failure to obtain
a majority vote shall constitute a recommendation against reappointment,
promotion, and/or the conferral of permanent tenure. (
4. The recommendation of the appropriate committee shall be
communicated by the chair of the unit Personnel Committee or the Promotion
Committee to the candidate and the unit
administrator (see IV.A.1.d.).
F. Notification of Recommendations
The faculty member shall be informed of all recommendations
at every level, beginning with the appropriate unit committee’s recommendation
and continuing up to the level where the final decision is made.
The
notification letter from the Tenure Committee and the notification letter from
the unit administrator shall contain (a) the cumulative evaluation of the
candidate’s teaching, research and service, and any other relevant duties, in
accordance with section B.3. Recommendations for Tenure of Part XII. Personnel
Action Dossier of the ECU Faculty Manual
and (b) the statement that the candidate has four working days from the date of
the notification letter to include a response to the cumulative evaluation, in
accordance with section D. Supporting Materials of Part XII. Personnel Action
Dossier.
G. Procedure
for Concurring Recommendations
In the case of disagreement at any level refer to the
procedures outlined in H. below.
If the recommendations of the appropriate committee
and unit administrator agree, the next higher administrator shall either concur
or not concur, then notify the unit administrator and the chair of the unit
Personnel Committee of the recommendation and forward all recommendations to
the immediate supervisor. This procedure
shall be repeated at each administrative level until the recommendation reaches
the appropriate vice chancellor.
Immediately after the completion of each level of
administrative review, the administrator's recommendation shall be communicated
to all appropriate lower administrators, the candidate, and the committee of
the unit which made the initial recommendation.
If the vice chancellor concurs in a recommendation
for promotion and/or conferral of permanent tenure,
he or she shall forward the recommendation to the chancellor. The chancellor shall
consider the recommendation from the vice chancellor to promote and to confer
permanent tenure.
If the vice chancellor concurs in a
decision not to recommend reappointment, promotion, and/or conferral of
permanent tenure, he or she shall give the faculty member being considered a
simple, written statement of the decision. This decision is final except as it may later be
reviewed in accordance with the provisions of Section V or the grievance
procedure of Appendix Y.
If the chancellor concurs in a recommendation to
confer permanent tenure, he or she shall submit the recommendation to the Board
of Trustees for final approval. If the
chancellor concurs in a recommendation for promotion, the chancellor’s approval
shall be final.
H. Procedure
for Nonconcurring Recommendations
If the recommendations of an administrator and the appropriate committee
disagree, that administrator shall discuss the potential nonconcurrence at the
unit committee level before forwarding the committee’s recommendation and his
or her concurrence or nonconcurrence to the next higher administrator. If the unit administrator and the appropriate
committee do not agree, their conflicting recommendations shall be forwarded
through each administrative level, together with the recommendation of the
administrator at each level, until they reach the appropriate vice
chancellor. In the case of fixed term
employment recommendations the decision of the appropriate vice chancellor is
final. All other personnel actions shall be handled in accordance with the
procedures provided in Section IV.G. Procedures for Concurring Recommendations.
In the event that the vice chancellor is considering
a recommendation that is contrary to the vote of the appropriate unit
committee, the vice chancellor shall meet with the committee to discuss the
potential non concurrence. If the vice chancellor decides not to recommend reappointment,
promotion, and/or conferral of permanent tenure, the vice chancellor shall give
the faculty member being considered a simple, written statement of the
decision. This decision is final except as it may be reviewed in accordance
with the provisions of Section V or the grievance procedure of Appendix Y as
appropriate[6]
.
If the chancellor decides not to recommend promotion
or the conferral of permanent tenure, the chancellor shall give the faculty
member being considered a simple, written statement of the decision. This decision is final except as it may be
reviewed in accordance with the provisions of Section V or the grievance
procedure of Appendix Y, as appropriate.
V. Procedure
for Review Appeal of Any Notice of Non-Reappointment or Notice of
Non-Conferral of Permanent Tenure at the Completion of the
Probationary Term.
A. Deadlines for Appeal Review
Failure to submit the review
appeals documents specified in this section within the time periods
allotted constitutes a waiver of the right to have the decision reviewed appeal
the decision. However, before the expiration of the deadline the faculty
member may request an extension, provided that the request is made in writing
and presented to the Hearing Committee. individual or committee who
is next to consider the appeal. Within 10 calendar working days of receiving a request for extension, decisions
on requests for extension of time shall be made by the Hearing Committee.
individual or committee who is next to consider the appeal. The
Committee will endeavor to complete the review within the time limits specified
except under unusual circumstances such as when the time period includes
official university breaks and holidays and when, despite reasonable efforts,
the Committee cannot be assembled.
B. Request for Hearing
with the Faculty Hearing Committee
Within 25 calendar working days of receiving written notice from the
vice chancellor or
chancellor of
non-reappointment or non-conferral of permanent tenure, a faculty member
(hereinafter, the complainant) may request a hearing before the Faculty
Hearing Committee.
1. The Hearing Committee
The Hearing Committee
shall be composed of five members and five alternates each of whom is a
full-time, permanently tenured voting faculty member without administrative
appointment (as per Appendix D, Section IV). Members shall be elected in accordance with
the procedures for election of appellate committees specified in the Bylaws of
the East Carolina University
Upon organization, the
members of the Hearing Committee shall elect a chair and a secretary. Because
hearings in matters of non-reappointment or conferral of permanent tenure can
present complex and difficult questions of fact, policy and law, and because of
the central role of the committee in gathering and preserving the evidence upon
which most subsequent decisions related to the matter will be based, it is
important for the chancellor to ensure that faculty committee members, as well
as relevant administrators and aggrieved faculty members, The members of the committee are to be
appropriately trained in accordance with guidelines and procedures jointly
established by the faculty officers and chancellor. Should any committee officer be absent at the beginning of a hearing, the
committee shall elect an alternate officer for the purposes of the hearing. (
When the committee is
convened to consider any matter associated with a complainant's request for a
hearing, those committee members who hold an appointment in the complainant's
academic unit, those who might reasonably expect to be called as witnesses,
those who might reasonably expect to be asked to serve as advisors (see Section
V.D.2, Conduct of the Hearing) to any party of the hearing, or those who may
have any other conflict of interest should disqualify themselves from
participation in the activities of the committee related to this specific
request for a hearing. The complainant
and those individuals or groups who are alleged to be responsible for the
action or actions described by the complainant in the request for the hearing
(hereinafter, the respondents) are permitted to challenge committee members for
cause. The other members of the
committee will decide on any potential disqualifications if a committee member
is so challenged but wishes to remain.
When membership of the committee falls
below the specified five members and five alternates, the
When, between elections,
membership of the committee falls below the specified five members and five
alternates, the chair of the faculty, in consultation with the Committee on
Committees, shall appoint members to the committee. Vacancies on the committee
will be filled by first moving alternates to members and by making appointments
as alternates.
Upon receipt of a request
for a hearing, the chair of the committee shall determine the availability of
the regular elected members and alternates, and shall select from those
available one or more alternates, as necessary.
The ranking of the available alternates for selection shall be
determined by their years of service to the University. That available alternate who is most highly ranked
shall attend all sessions of the hearing and shall replace a regular member
should that member be unable to attend the entire hearing.
The committee may at any time consult with an
attorney in the office of the University Attorney who is not presently nor
previously substantively involved in the matter giving rise to the hearing, nor
will advise the University administrator(s) regarding following the committee action(s) during the review. (See Part
VIII, Responsibilities of Administrative Officers.)
2. Initiation of the Hearing Process
The basis for a request for
a hearing must be found in one or more of the following reasons: (a) the decision was based on any ground
stated to be impermissible in Section 604B of The Code of The University of
North Carolina; (b) the decision was attended by a material procedural irregularity.[i][i]
In addition, the University
Equal Employment Opportunity policy prohibits employment discrimination based
on sexual orientation.
Section 604B of The Code of
The University of North Carolina states: “In no event shall a decision not to reappoint a faculty member
be based upon (a) the exercise by the faculty member of rights guaranteed by
the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, or by Article I of the
North Carolina Constitution, or (b) the faculty member's race, color, sex, religion, creed,
national origin, age, disability, veteran’s
status honorable service in the armed services of the United States or
other forms of discrimination prohibited under policies adopted by campus
Boards of Trustees, or (c) personal malice. For purpose of this section, the term ‘personal malice’ means dislike,
animosity, ill-will, or hatred based on personal characteristics, traits, or
circumstances of an individual.” (See UNC Policy 101.3.1.II.B for details)
"Material procedural
irregularity" means a departure from prescribed procedures governing
reappointment and conferral of permanent tenure that is of such significance
as to cast reasonable doubt upon
the integrity of the original decision not to reappoint or not to confer permanent
tenure. Whether a material procedural irregularity occurred, and
whether it is material, shall be determined by reference to those
procedures which were in effect when the initial decision not to reappoint or
not to confer permanent tenure was made and communicated. The Hearing Committee
shall ask the chancellor to certify what procedures were then in effect if that
question is a matter of dispute. (
The complainant's request
for a hearing must specifically identify and enumerate all reasons for the
request. The request must include (a) a
description that is as complete as possible of the actions or the failures to
act which support each specified contention; (b) the identification of the
respondents; (c) an enumeration and description of the information or documents
which are to be used to support the contention (copies of the described
documents are to be made a part of the request for a hearing); (d) the
identification of persons who may be willing to provide information in support
of the contention; and (e) a brief description of the information those
persons identified in (d) may provide and (f) a copy of the vice chancellor’s
notice of non-reappointment or non-conferral of permanent tenure. The complainant's request for a hearing shall
be made to the chair of the Hearing Committee and delivered to the
C. Validation of the Request for
Hearing.
Validation
of the complainant's request for a hearing is the first step in the hearing
process. The Hearing Committee shall
convene within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complainant's
request for a hearing. The committee
shall notify the complainant of the meeting date by a method that provides
delivery verification and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3. The committee shall meet in executive session
and the meeting will be conducted according to the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised. The committee's evaluation of the
complainant's request for a hearing shall be limited solely to the documents
and information submitted as part of the complainant's request for a hearing.
The complainant may submit
additional documentation and information supporting the request for a hearing
up to 72 hours 4 calendar days prior to the committee meeting. All documentation and information submitted
after the original request for a hearing must (a) support contentions set forth
in the original request for a hearing and (b) be delivered to the Faculty
Senate office in the same manner as the original request for a hearing. Such information or documentation shall be
made a part of the original request for a hearing.
Documentation
and information that do not meet criteria set forth in the previous
paragraph will not be accepted and will be returned to the
complainant.
The
Hearing Committee's review of the complainant's request for a hearing
shall be limited solely to determining whether the facts alleged by the complainant,
if established, would support the contention that the decision not to reappoint
or not to confer permanent tenure was based upon any of the grounds stated as
impermissible in Section 604B of The
Code of The University of North Carolina or was attended by a material
procedural irregularity. Based on their
review and evaluation of the submitted material, the committee shall decide
whether the request for a hearing is to be validated.
If
the request for a hearing is not validated, the complainant shall be notified
by a method that provides delivery verification and is consistent with UNC
Policy 101.3.3, within 10 calendar days of the committee meeting. Such a determination confirms the decision
not to reappoint or not to confer permanent tenure. (Faculty Senate Resolution
#99-4)
The
complainant, within 10 calendar days of receipt of the Hearing Committee's
decision, may accept the decision of the Hearing Committee not to validate a
hearing or may appeal to the chancellor the decision not to conduct a
hearing. The chancellor, within 14 calendar days of the
complainant's appeal, shall decide to confirm the committee's decision or shall
support the complainant's request for a hearing. (Faculty Senate Resolution #99-4)
The
complainant, within 10 calendar days following receipt of the chancellor’s
decision, may accept the chancellor's confirmation of the Hearing Committee's
decision not to validate a hearing or may appeal to the Board of Governors the decision not to conduct a hearing. (Faculty
Senate Resolution #99-4, #03-49)
If
the committee validates the request for a hearing, or if the decision
not to validate the request for a hearing is not supported by the chancellor,
the committee shall so notify the complainant by a method that provides delivery
verification and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3 and begin the processes
necessary to set the time and date for the hearing.
C. Procedures for the Hearing.
1. Time and Date of Hearing
After
receiving the request for a hearing,
If the
request for a hearing is validated, the committee shall provide a complete copy of the request for a hearing to the
individuals named in the request for a hearing. The committee shall set the
time, date, and place for the hearing.
The date for the hearing must be within 30 42 calendar
days after receiving
the request, working days of the notification
to the complainant that the request for a hearing was validated, except
under unusual circumstances such as when a hearing request is received during
official university breaks and holidays and despite reasonable efforts the
hearing committee cannot be assembled. The
committee shall then notify the complainant, the respondents, the chair of the
faculty, and the chancellor, of the time, date, and place of the hearing. At least 15 21 calendar working days before the hearing, the complainant
shall notify the committee, the respondents, the chair of the faculty, and the
chancellor of the identity of the complainant’s advisor, if any, and whether or
not the advisor is an attorney. (“Attorney” is defined as anyone with a Juris
Doctor, or other recognized law degree, regardless of whether or not that
person is licensed to practice law in the State of
2. Conduct of the Hearing
The chair of the Hearing
Committee or an regular elected member of the committee if the chair is
unavailable, is responsible for conducting the hearing and for maintaining
order during the hearing. Except as
provided for herein, the hearing shall be conducted according to the latest
edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly
Revised. Attendance at the hearing
is limited to the committee's members and alternates, the complainant, one
person who may advise the complainant, the respondent(s), and one person who
may advise the respondent(s). If there
is more than one respondent, the respondents will designate a spokesperson for
the hearing. There will be an equal number of persons advising the complainant
and respondent(s). The person advising the complainant but who may
not take an active part in the proceedings. The person advising the
respondent(s) at the hearing may be the respondents, either an
Any such record is a part of the personnel inquiry and must be treated
with appropriate confidentiality. Only the immediate parties to the
controversy, the responsible administrators and attorneys, and the members of
the University governing boards and their respective committees and staff are
permitted access to such materials. (
The hearing shall begin
with an opening statement by the committee member chairing the hearing. This statement shall be limited to explaining
the purpose of the hearing and the procedures to be followed during the
hearing. The hearing chair explicitly
will note that the committee shall consider only information bearing on the
allegations presented in the complainant's request for the hearing.
Following the opening
remarks by the hearing chair, the complainant shall present his or her
contentions and any supporting witnesses and documentary evidence. The
respondent(s), through their spokesperson representative, may
then reply to these contentions and present any supporting witnesses and
evidence. During these presentations, the complainant, and the respondent(s),
through their spokesperson representative, may cross-examine
opposing witnesses. Committee members may question witnesses for purposes of
clarification. At the conclusion of the
hearing, the complainant may make a summary statement of up to ten minutes
in duration. If the complainant elects to do so, then the respondent(s),
through their spokesperson, will be given the same opportunity the complainant and then the
respondent(s) will be given the opportunity to provide summary statements.
D. Procedures After the Hearing
After the hearing, the
committee shall meet in executive session and begin its deliberations or shall
adjourn for no more than two calendar working days, at which time
it shall reconvene in executive session to determine whether it sustains or
does not sustain the allegations stated in the request for the hearing. In reaching its decisions the committee shall
consider only the testimony and other materials entered or presented as
evidence during the hearing. The Complainant shall have the burden of proof.
The standard applied by the committee being that the evidence is clear and
convincing by the greater weight shall be that the preponderance of
the evidence to establishes that a basis for his or her
contentions is found in one of the reasons listed in Section V.B.2. Initiation
of Hearing.
Within 14 calendar 10 working days of finishing its deliberations
the committee shall provide the complainant, respondents, and the chancellor
with a copy of the committee's report and, a copy of the court reporter's
transcript of the hearing. (
If the Hearing Committee
determines that the complainant's contention has not been established, it
shall, by simple, unelaborated statement, so notify the complainant, the
respondents, the chair of the faculty, and the chancellor. Such a determination
confirms the decision not to reappoint or not to confer permanent tenure.
If the Hearing Committee
determines that the complainant's contention has been satisfactorily
established, it shall notify the complainant, the respondents, the chair of the
faculty, and the chancellor by written notice and shall recommend further
substantive review.
Within
42 calendar 30 working days after receiving the
recommendation of the Hearing Committee and
the transcript, the chancellor shall notify the complainant, the
respondents, the chair of the faculty, and the chair of the Hearing Committee
what further substantive review, if any, will be made of the original decision
not to reappoint or not to confer permanent tenure. If the chancellor is considering taking action inconsistent with the
committee’s recommendations, the chancellor shall request within 14 calendar
10 working days that a joint meeting with the committee
occur. At the joint meeting, the chancellor will communicate his or her
concerns and the committee will have an opportunity to respond. The joint
meeting must occur within the 42 calendar 30
working day period. in
the preceding paragraph.
The chancellor must base his or her decision on a
thorough review of (1) the record evidence from the hearing and (2) the report of
the committee. While the chancellor should give deference to the advice of the
faculty committee, the final campus-based decision is the chancellor’s.
The chancellor will inform
the complainant of his or her decision in writing by a method that produces
adequate evidence of delivery. In the event of an adverse decision, the
chancellor's notice must inform the complainant: (1) that, within 14 10
calendar days of the complainant's receipt of the decision, the complainant may
file a notice of appeal with the president requesting review by the Board of
Governors in accordance with the Board of Governors Policy 101.3.1, (2) that a
simple written notice of appeal with a brief statement of its basis is all that
is required within this fourteen ten-day period, and (3) that,
thereafter, a detailed schedule for the submission of relevant documents will
be established if such notice of appeal is received in a timely manner matter.
(
The purpose of the appeal to the Board
of Governors is to assure (1) that the campus-based process for reviewing the
decision was not materially flawed, so as to raise questions about whether the
faculty member’s contentions were fairly and reliably considered, (2) that the
result reached by the chancellor was not clearly erroneous, and (3) that the
decision was not contrary to controlling law or policy. [ii] No appeals for denial of early
tenure will be heard by the Board of Governors.
VI. Due Process Before Discharge or the
Imposition of Serious Sanctions
A. Sanctions
Penalties
A
faculty member who is the beneficiary of institutional guarantees of tenure
shall enjoy protection against unjust and arbitrary application of disciplinary
sanctions penalties. During the period of such guarantees, the
faculty member may be discharged from
employment, suspended, or demoted in rank or serious sanctions may be imposed or
suspended from employment or diminished in rank only for reasons of:
1. incompetence,
including significant, sustained
unsatisfactory performance after the faculty member has been given the
opportunity to remedy such performance and fails to do so within a
reasonable time;
2. neglect of duty, including
sustained failure to meet assigned classes or to perform other significant
faculty professional obligations; or
3. misconduct
of such a nature as to indicate that the individual is unfit to continue as a
member of the faculty, including
violations of professional ethics, mistreatment of students or other employees,
research misconduct, financial fraud, criminal or other illegal, inappropriate
or unethical conduct. To justify serious disciplinary actions, such misconduct
should be either: (i) sufficiently related to a faculty member’s academic
responsibilities as to disqualify the individual from effective performance of
university duties, or (ii) sufficiently serious to adversely reflect on the
individual’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness to be a faculty member.
These
sanctions penalties may be imposed
only in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this section. For purposes of the Faculty Manual these
regulations, a faculty member serving a stated term shall be regarded as
having tenure until the end of the term.
These procedures shall not apply to non-reappointment (Section V) or
termination of employment (Section VII).
B. Notice
Written
notice of intent to discharge the faculty from employment or to impose
serious sanction, together with a written specification of the reasons suspend
from employment or to diminish in rank (these sanctions penalties hereinafter in Section VI are referred
to as “the sanction” "the
penalty") shall be sent by the vice chancellor with supervisory
authority or by the vice chancellor's designee to the faculty member by a method that provides delivery verification
and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3. The statement shall include notice of the
faculty member's right, upon request, to both written specification of the
reasons for the intended penalty and a hearing by the Due Process Committee
(Section VI.E.). (
C. Penalty Without Recourse
If,
within 14 calendar [1][i]
10 working
days after the faculty member receives the notice and written specification of the reasons referred to in Section
VI.B. above, the faculty member makes no written request for either a
specification of reasons or a hearing, the faculty member may be discharged or serious sanction imposed penalized
without recourse to any institutional grievance or appellate procedure.
D. Specification of Reasons and Hearing
Request
If,
within 10 working days after the faculty member
receives notice referred to in Section VI.B. above, the faculty member makes a
written request to the vice chancellor with supervisory authority, method that provides delivery verification
and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3, for a specification of
reasons, the vice chancellor with supervisory authority or the vice
chancellor's designee shall supply such specification in writing by a method that provides delivery verification
and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3, within 10 working days after
receiving the request.
A
faculty member's shall timely submit a request for a hearing is to be directed to the vice chancellor with supervisory
authority in writing by a method that
provides delivery verification and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3.
Upon receipt of such a request the vice chancellor with supervisory authority
shall, within 10
calendar ten working
days, notify the chair of the Due Process Committee of the need to convene a
hearing in accordance with Section VI.F.1. If the faculty member makes no
written request to the vice chancellor with supervisory authority for a hearing
within 10 working days after receiving the specification, the faculty member
may be penalized without recourse to any institutional grievance or appellate
procedures. (
If the faculty member shall submit a timely request for a hearing,
the Chancellor shall ensure a process is in place so that the hearing is timely
accorded before the Due Process Committee.
E. Due Process Committee
The
Due Process Committee (hereinafter
“Committee”) shall be composed of five members and five alternates each of whom
is a full-time, permanently tenured voting faculty member without
administrative appointment per Appendix D, Section IV. Members
shall be elected in accordance with the procedures for election of appellate
committees specified in the Bylaws of the Due Process
Committee shall elect a chair and a secretary.
Should any cCommittee officer be absent at the beginning of
a hearing, the cCommittee shall elect an alternate officer for the purposes of the
hearing.
When
the cCommittee
is convened to consider any matter associated with a faculty member's request
for a hearing, those cCommittee members who hold an appointment in the
faculty member's academic unit, those who might reasonably expect to be called
as witnesses, or those who may have any other conflict of interest should
disqualify themselves from participation in the activities of the cCommittee
related to this specific request for a hearing.
The faculty member and the vice chancellor with supervisory authority
are permitted to challenge cCommittee members for cause. The other members of the cCommittee
will decide on any potential disqualifications if a cCommittee member is so challenged but wishes to
remain. (
When
membership of the cCommittee falls below the specified five members
and five alternates, the
Upon
notification by the vice chancellor with supervisory authority or the vice chancellor's designee that a faculty
member has requested a hearing, the chair of the cCommittee shall determine the availability of
the elected members and alternates, and shall select from those available one
or more alternates, as necessary (see Part XI of the ECU
Faculty
Manual, UNC Code, Section 603).The ranking of the available alternates for
selection shall be determined by their years of service to the University. That available alternate who is most highly
ranked shall attend all sessions of the hearing and shall replace a regular
member should that member be unable to attend the entire hearing. (
The
cCommittee
may at any time consult with an attorney in the office of the University
Attorney who is not presently nor previously substantively involved in the
matter giving rise to the hearing, nor will advise the University
administrator(s) following the cCommittee action(s). (See Part VIII, Responsibilities of Administrative Officers.)
F. Procedures for the Hearing
1. Time and
Date of Hearing
The
Due Process Committee shall set the
time, date, and place for the hearing. The
Committee shall accord the faculty member 30 calendar days from the time it
receives the faculty member’s written request for a hearing to prepare a
defense. The Committee may, upon the faculty member's written request and for
good cause, postpone the date of the hearing by written notice to the faculty
member. The date for the hearing must be
within 30 working calendar days of the time the committee receives the vice
chancellor with supervisory authority's notification of the faculty member's
written request for a hearing. The cCommittee shall notify the affected faculty
member, the vice chancellor with supervisory authority, and the chair of the
faculty of the time, date, and place of the hearing. The committee
may, upon the faculty member's written request and for good cause, postpone the
date of the hearing by written notice to the faculty member. The Committee will ordinarily endeavor to
complete the hearing within 90 calendar days except under unusual circumstances
such as when a hearing request is received during official university breaks and
holidays and despite reasonable efforts the Committee cannot be assembled.[1][i]
2. Conduct of Hearing
The hearing shall be on the written specification of
reasons for the intended discharge or
imposition of a serious sanction penalty. The chair of the Due
Process Committee, or an
elected member of the cCommittee
if the chair is unavailable, is responsible for conducting the hearing
and for maintaining order during the hearing.
Except as provided for herein,
the hearing shall be conducted according to the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised. Attendance
at the hearing is limited to the cCommittee's members and alternates, the faculty
member requesting the hearing, counsel for the faculty member, the vice
chancellor with supervisory authority, or
his/her designee, and/or and counsel
for the vice chancellor. Other persons (witnesses) providing information to the
cCommittee
shall not be present throughout the hearing, but shall be available at a
convenient location to appear before the cCommittee as appropriate. For any hearing from
which an appeal may be taken, a professional court reporter must be used to
record and transcribe the hearing. (
The hearing shall begin with an opening statement by
the hearing chair limited to explaining the purpose of the hearing and the
procedures to be followed during the hearing.
Following the opening remarks by the hearing chair, the vice chancellor
with supervisory authority, his/her
designee, or his/her counsel shall present the university's contentions and
any supporting witnesses and documentary evidence. The faculty member or the faculty member's counsel
may then reply and present any supporting witnesses and documentary
evidence. During these presentations,
the vice chancellor with supervisory authority, his/her designee, or his/her his
or her counsel, and the faculty member or his/her his or her counsel,
shall have the right to confront and
cross-examine adverse witnesses, and to make argument may cross-examine
opposing witnesses. Committee
members may question witnesses for purposes of
clarification. At the conclusion
of the hearing, the faculty member and then the vice chancellor with
supervisory authority, or his/her designee, will be given the
opportunity to provide summary statements. (
G. Procedures After the Hearing
After
the hearing, the cCommittee shall meet in executive session and
begin its deliberations or shall adjourn for no more than two calendar working days, at
which time it shall reconvene in executive session. In reaching its decisions the cCommittee
shall consider only the testimony and other materials entered or presented as
evidence during the hearing and such
written or oral arguments as the committee, in its discretion, may allow. The
University has the burden of proof. In evaluating evidence, the Committee shall
use the standard of “clear and convincing” evidence in determining whether the
institution has met its burden of showing that permissible grounds for serious
sanction exist and are the basis for the recommended action.
Within 14
calendar 10 working days
of finishing its deliberations or after
the full transcript is received, whichever is later, the cCommittee shall provide the faculty member[1][i] and
the chancellor with a copy of its report, including materials entered as evidence,
and a copy of the court reporter's transcript of the hearing. In its report the cCommittee shall state whether or not it
recommends that the intended sanction penalty be imposed (
In
reaching a decision, the chancellor shall consider only the written transcript
of the hearing and the report of the Due Process
Committee. Within 30 calendar working days of
receiving the report, the chancellor's decision shall be conveyed in writing to
the Due Process Committee and the
affected faculty member by a method
that provides delivery verification and is consistent with UNC Policy
101.3.3.
H. Appeal
If
the chancellor concurs in a recommendation of the cCommittee that is favorable to the faculty
member, the decision shall be final. If
the chancellor rejects a finding, conclusion, or recommendation of the Due Process Committee, the chancellor shall
state the reasons for doing so in a written decision. If the chancellor either
declines to accept a Committee recommendation that is favorable to the faculty
member or concurs in the cCommittee recommendation that is unfavorable to
the faculty member, the faculty member may appeal the chancellor's decision to
the Board of Trustees.
This
appeal shall be transmitted through the chancellor and shall be addressed to
the chair of the Board. Notice of appeal
shall be filed received by the chancellor within 14 calendar ten working days after the faculty member receives the
chancellor's decision. The appeal to the
Board of Trustees shall be decided by the full Board of Trustees; however, the
Board may delegate the duty of conducting a hearing to a standing or ad hoc
committee of at least three members.
The
Board of Trustees, or its committee shall consider the appeal on the written
transcript of the hearing held by the Due Process
Committee, but it may, in its discretion, hear such other evidence as it deems necessary, with the opportunity for rebuttal.
The Board of Trustees' decision shall be made as soon as reasonably possible within 45 working days after the chancellor has received the faculty
member's request for an appeal to the Trustees.
This decision shall be final except that the faculty member may,
within 14 calendar ten days after receiving
the trustees' decision, file a written notice of appeal, by certified
mail, return receipt requested, or by another means that provides proof of
delivery, file a written petition for review to the Board of Governors by
alleging if he or she alleges that one or more specified provisions
of the Code of The University of North Carolina have been violated.
Any such appeal petition to the Board of Governors
shall be transmitted through the President.
,and the Board shall, within 45 working days, grant or deny the petition or take
such other action as it deems advisable.
If it grants the petition for review, the Board's decision shall be made
within 45 working days after it notifies the faculty member by a method that provides delivery verification
and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3, that it will review the
petition.
The exercise of the Board of Governors’
jurisdiction is refined to insure that primary emphasis remains properly
focused on the campus grievance procedures.
Requests for appellate review will be screened to determine whether the
Board should consider the issues raised in a petitioner’s request for
review. The following basic standards
will guide that screening process:
1. The Board will grant requests to review
contentions that the grievance procedures followed by the campus in a
particular case did not comport with University requirements that affect the
credibility, reliability, and fairness of such inquiries, thereby arguably
depriving the grievant of a valid opportunity to establish his or her contentions.
2. The Board will grant requests to review
University policy issues implicated by a particular grievance, when the
question appears to require intervention by the governing board to clarify the
definition, interpretation, or application of such policies.
3. The Board will review questions about the
sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conclusion reached only if (a) the
case involves a substantial interest of the grievant, e.g., tenure or
reappointment and/or (b) the history of the case reveals disagreement, with
respect to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the grievant’s
contentions, among the responsible decision makers, i.e., the due process
committee, the chancellor, or the board of trustees [1][i];
if the responsible decision makers are in accord, normally no such appeal will
be entertained by the Board of Governors.
Under the foregoing prescriptions, it
is necessary for prospective petitioners to evaluate their circumstances
carefully, to understand the purposes of permissible appellate review, and to
formulate clearly and concisely their statement of the one or more grounds on
which they believe the Board should exercise its appellate jurisdiction. Thus, the first step in any appeal to the
Board of Governors will be an evaluation by the Board, through a designated
subcommittee, with staff assistance, of the grievant’s written statement of
grounds for appeal, to determine whether the issues sought to be raised warrant
Board attention, as judged by the three basic standards
I. Suspension
During a Period of Intent to Discharge
When
a faculty member has been notified of the institution's intention to discharge
the faculty member, the chancellor may reassign
the individual to other duties or suspend the faculty member at any time and
continue the suspension until a final decision concerning discharge has
been reached by the procedures prescribed herein. Suspension during a period
of intent to discharge shall be
exceptional and shall be with full pay and benefits.
VII. Termination of Faculty Employment
A. Reasons Justifying Termination and
Consultation Required
1. Reasons for Terminating Employment
The
employment of a faculty member with permanent tenure or of a faculty member holding
a fixed-term or probationary appointment may be terminated by East Carolina
University because of (1) demonstrable, bona fide institutional financial
exigency, or (2) major curtailment or elimination of a teaching, research or
public service program.
Financial
exigency is defined as a significant decline in the financial resources of the
institution that is brought about by decline in institutional enrollment or by
other action or events that compel a reduction in the institution's current
operations budget. The determination of
whether a condition of financial exigency exists or whether there shall be a
major curtailment or elimination of a teaching, research, or public service
program shall be made by the chancellor, after consulting with the academic
administrative officers and faculties as required by Section VII.A.2. below.
This
determination is subject to concurrence by the President and then approval of
the Board of Governors. If the financial exigency or curtailment or elimination
of a program is such that the institution's contractual obligation to a faculty
member cannot be met, the employment of the faculty member may be terminated in
accordance with Section 605 of The Code of The University of North Carolina and
the institutional procedures set out in subsection B below.
2. Consultation with Faculty and Administrative
Officers
When
it appears that the institution will experience an institutional financial
exigency or when it is considering a major curtailment in or elimination of a
teaching, research, or public service program, the chancellor or the
chancellor's delegate shall forthwith prepare a report which identifies
specifically the state of financial exigency or the program change. The report
must outline the options readily apparent to the chancellor at the time,
including any options which would or might involve terminations of faculty
employment.
The
chancellor's report shall be directed to the Educational Policies and Planning
Committee for their written advice and recommendations. In considering this report the Educational
Policies and Planning Committee shall have access to information on which the
chancellor's report was based. The Committee
may interview appropriate persons. The
Educational Policies and Planning Committee shall prepare a report in response
to the chancellor, to be submitted at a time determined by the chancellor.
Should
the chancellor decide, following receipt of the Educational Policies and
Planning Committee's report, to consider reducing a unit's faculty for reasons
of financial exigency or major curtailment or elimination of a program, the
chancellor shall promptly establish and convene an ad hoc Faculty Advisory
Committee to advise the chancellor regarding the contemplated reduction.
Whenever
such a Committee is created, it shall consist of two members and two alternates
elected by the unit; the unit's administrator as an ex officio member; and four
members and four alternates from disciplines complementary to the unit,
nominated by the University Committee on Committees and elected by the Faculty
Senate. Except for the ex-officio
member, membership on an ad hoc committee shall be limited to full-time
permanently tenured faculty without administrative appointment. Upon organization, the committee shall elect
a chair and a secretary. The ad hoc
Faculty Advisory Committee, following procedures according to the most recent
edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly
Revised, shall submit a report of its advice and recommendations, at a time
determined by the chancellor. In
preparing this report, the committee shall have access to information
considered in any prior reports, and the committee may interview appropriate
persons.
B. Termination Procedures
1. Consideration in Determining Whose Employment
is to be Terminated
In
determining which faculty member's employment is to be terminated, the primary
consideration of the chancellor and the ad hoc advisory committee shall be the
maintenance of a sound and balanced educational program that is consistent with
the functions and responsibilities of the institution. Where no conflict with this primary
consideration exists, priority for retention shall be given the permanently
tenured faculty who are senior in years of service to the University.
2. Timely Notice of
Termination
a. When a
faculty member's employment is to be terminated
because of major curtailment or elimination of a teaching, research, or
public service program and such curtailment or elimination of program is not
founded upon financial exigency, the faculty member shall be given timely
notice as follows: One who has permanent
tenure shall be given not less than twelve months notice; and one who does not
have permanent tenure shall be given notice in accordance with the requirements
specified in Section II.C.
b. When a
faculty member's employment is to be terminated because of financial exigency, the institution will make
every reasonable effort, consistent with the need to maintain sound educational
programs and within the limits of available resources, to give the same notice
as set forth in the preceding paragraph.
3. Type of Notice to be Given
a. Should the
chancellor decide to terminate employment following receipt of the report of the
Ad hoc Faculty Advisory Committee, the chancellor or the chancellor's delegate
shall send the faculty member whose employment is to be terminated a written
statement of this fact by a method that
provides delivery verification and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3. This
notice shall include a statement of the conditions requiring termination of the
faculty member's employment; a general description of the procedures followed
in making the decision; a disclosure of pertinent financial or other data upon
which the decision was based; a statement of the faculty member's right, upon
request, to a reconsideration of the decision by a faculty committee if the
faculty member alleges that the decision to terminate employment was arbitrary
or capricious; and a copy of this procedure on termination of employment.
b. For a
period of two years after the effective date of termination of a faculty
member's contract for any of the reasons specified in Section VII.A.1., the
institution shall not replace the faculty member without first offering the
position to the person whose employment was terminated. The offer shall be sent by a method that provides delivery verification
and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3 to the address last furnished
to the chancellor's office, and the faculty member will be given thirty
calendar days after attempted delivery transmission
of the notice in which to accept or reject the offer. The offer to resume a terminated
position shall provide for tenure status, rank, and salary at least equal to
those held by the faculty member at the time of termination.
c. The
institution, when requested in writing by a faculty member whose employment has
been terminated, shall give reasonable assistance in finding other employment.
Such assistance shall include secretarial assistance, access to the telephone
(including long distance), University/unit stationary and postage, travel funds
to professional meetings, and other assistance as deemed reasonable and
appropriate in the profession.
4.
Termination if
Reconsideration is Not Requested
If,
within 10 working days after receipt of notice required by Section VII.B.3
above, the faculty member makes no written request for a reconsideration
hearing, employment will be terminated at the date specified in the notice
given pursuant to Section VII.B.3, and without recourse to any institutional
grievance or appellate procedure.
5. Request for Reconsideration Hearing
Within
10 working days after receiving the notice required by Section VII.B.3, the
faculty member may request by a method
that provides delivery verification and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3 a
reconsideration of the decision to terminate employment, if the faculty member
alleges that the decision was arbitrary or capricious. The request shall be submitted to the
chancellor and shall specify the grounds upon which it is contended that the
decision to terminate employment was arbitrary or capricious and shall include
a short, plain statement of facts that the faculty member believes support the
contention. Submission of such a request
constitutes on the part of the faculty member:
(1) a claim that the contention can be supported by representation of
factual evidence, and (2) an agreement that the institution may offer in
rebuttal of the faculty member's contention any relevant data within its
possession. Upon receipt of such a
request the chancellor shall, within 10 working days, notify the chair of the Reconsideration Committee of the
need to convene a hearing in accordance with Section VII.B.7.
6. The Reconsideration Committee
The
Reconsideration Committee shall be composed of five members and five
alternates, each of whom is a full time permanently tenured voting faculty
member without administrative appointment.
Members shall be elected in accordance with the procedures for election
of appellate committees specified in the Bylaws of the East Carolina University
Faculty Senate. Members and alternates shall be elected to three-year
terms. A quorum for the committee shall
be the five members or their alternates.
Upon
organization, the members of the Reconsideration Committee shall elect a chair
and a secretary. Should any committee
officer be absent at the beginning of a hearing, the committee shall elect an
alternate officer for purposes of the hearing.
When
the committee is convened to consider any matter associated with a faculty
member's request for a hearing, those committee members who hold an appointment
in the faculty member's academic unit, those who might reasonably expect to be
called as witnesses, who participated directly in the decision to terminate the
faculty member's employment, or those who may have any other conflict of
interest should disqualify themselves from participation in the activities of
the committee related to this specific request for a hearing. The faculty
member and the chancellor or the chancellor's representative are permitted to
challenge committee members for cause.
The other members of the committee will decide on any potential
disqualifications if a committee member is so challenged but wishes to remain.
When,
between elections, membership of the committee falls below the specified five
members and five alternates, the chair of the faculty, in consultation with the
Committee on Committees, shall appoint members to the committee. Vacancies on
the committee will be filled by first moving alternates to members and by
making appointments as alternates.
Upon
receipt of a request for a hearing, the chair of the committee shall determine
the availability of the elected members and alternates, and shall select from
those available one or more alternates, as necessary. The ranking of the
available alternates for selection shall be determined by their years of
service to the University. That available alternate who is most highly ranked
shall attend all sessions of the hearing and shall replace a regular member
should that member be unable to attend the entire hearing. The committee may at
any time consult with an attorney in the office of the University Attorney who
is not presently nor previously substantively involved in the matter giving
rise to the hearing, nor will advise the University administrator(s) following
the committee action(s). (See Part VIII, Responsibilities of
Administrative Officers.)
7. Procedures for the Hearing
a. Time and
Date of Hearing
The
Reconsideration Committee shall set the time, date, and place for the
hearing. The date for the hearing must
be within 30 working days of the time the committee receives the chancellor's
notification of the faculty member's written request for a hearing. The committee shall notify the affected
faculty member, the chancellor, and the chair of the faculty of the time, date,
and place of the hearing. The committee
may, upon the faculty member's written request and for good cause, postpone the
date of the hearing by written notice to the faculty member.
b. Conduct of Hearing
The
Reconsideration Committee's review of the faculty member's appeal shall be
limited solely to determining whether the decision to terminate employment was
arbitrary or capricious. The chair of
the Reconsideration Committee is responsible for conducting the hearing and for
maintaining order during the hearing. Except
as provided for herein, the hearing shall be conducted according to the latest
edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly
Revised. Attendance at the
hearing is limited to the committee's members and alternates, the faculty
member requesting the hearing, counsel for the faculty member, the chancellor
or the chancellor's delegates (hereinafter, the chancellor), and counsel for
the chancellor. Other persons (witnesses)
providing information to the committee shall not be present throughout the
hearing, but shall be available at a convenient location to appear before the
committee as appropriate. The faculty
member and the committee shall be given access, upon request, to documents that
were used in making the decision to terminate the faculty member's employment
after the decision was made that the position must be terminated. For
any hearing from which an appeal may be taken, a professional court reporter
must be used to record and transcribe the hearing. (Faculty
Senate Resolution #03-37)
The
hearing shall begin with an opening statement by the chair of the committee
limited to explaining the purpose of the hearing and the procedures to be
followed during the hearing. Following
the opening remarks by the committee chair, the faculty member or the faculty
member's counsel shall present his or her contentions and any supporting
witnesses and documentary evidence. The
chancellor or the chancellor's counsel may then reply and present any
supporting witnesses and evidence in rebuttal of the faculty members
contentions or in general support of the decision to terminate the faculty
member's employment. During these
presentations, the faculty member or his or her counsel, and the chancellor or
his or her counsel, may cross-examine opposing witnesses. Committee members may question witnesses for
purposes of clarification. At the
conclusion of the hearing, the faculty member and then the chancellor or the
chancellor’s counsel will be given the opportunity to provide summary
statements.
8. Procedures After the Hearing
After
the hearing, the committee shall meet in executive session and begin its
deliberations or shall adjourn for no more than two working days, at which time
it shall reconvene in executive session.
In reaching its decisions the
committee
shall consider only the testimony and other materials entered or presented as
evidence during the hearing.
Within
10 working days of finishing its deliberations the committee shall provide the
faculty member and the chancellor with a copy of its report, including
materials entered as evidence, and a copy of the court reporter's transcript of
the hearing. (Faculty Senate Resolution
#03-37)
If
the Reconsideration Committee determines that the contention of the faculty
member has not been established, it shall, by a simple unelaborated statement,
so notify the faculty member, the chair of the faculty and the chancellor. The faculty member may appeal the decision to
terminate employment to the chancellor within 10 calendar days following
receipt of the committee’s decision. (Faculty Senate Resolution #99-4)
If
the Reconsideration Committee determines that the faculty member's contention
has been satisfactorily established, it shall so notify the faculty member, the
chair of the faculty, and the chancellor by a written notice that shall also
include a recommendation for corrective
action by the chancellor.
Within
30 working days after receiving the recommendation, the chancellor shall send
written notice to the faculty member by a
method that provides delivery verification and is consistent with UNC Policy
101.3.3, with copies to the chair of the faculty, and the chair of the
Reconsideration Committee giving his decision and stating what modification, if
any, the chancellor will make with respect to the original decision to
terminate the faculty member's employment.
If the chancellor fails to reverse the original decision, the chancellor
shall send written notice of such to the faculty member by a method that provides delivery verification
and is consistent with UNC Policy 101.3.3, with copies to the chair of
the faculty, and the chair of the Reconsideration Committee. The faculty member may appeal the termination
to the Board of Trustees within 10 calendar days following receipt of the
chancellor’s decision. (Faculty Senate Resolution #99-4)
The
exercise of the Board of Trustees’ jurisdiction is refined to ensure insure that primary emphasis remains properly
focused on the campus grievance procedures.
Requests for appellate review will be screened to determine whether the
Board should consider the issues raised in a petitioner’s request for
review. The following basic standards
will guide that screening process:
a. The Board
will grant requests to review contentions that the grievance procedures
followed by the campus in a particular case did not comport with University
requirements that affect the credibility, reliability, and fairness of such
inquiries, thereby arguably depriving the grievant of a valid opportunity to
establish his or her contentions.
b. The Board
will grant requests to review University policy issues implicated by a
particular grievance, when the question appears to require intervention by the
governing board to clarify the definition, interpretation, or application of
such policies.
c. The Board
will review questions about the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the
conclusion reached only if[iii] (a) the case involves a substantial
interest of the grievant, e.g., tenure or reappointment
and/or (b) the history of the case reveals disagreement, with respect to the
sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the grievant’s contentions, among the
responsible decision makers, i.e., the reconsideration committee, the chancellor,
or the board of Trustees[7][1];
if the responsible decision makers are in accord, normally no such appeal will
be entertained by the Board of Trustees Governors. Under the foregoing prescriptions, it is
necessary for prospective petitioners to evaluate their circumstances
carefully, to understand the purposes of permissible appellate review, and to
formulate clearly and concisely their statement of the one or more grounds on
which they believe the Board should exercise its appellate jurisdiction. Thus, the first step in any appeal to the
Board of Trustees Governors will be an evaluation by the
Board, through a designated subcommittee, with staff assistance, of the grievant’s
written statement of grounds for appeal, to determine whether the issues sought
to be raised warrant Board attention, as judged by the three basic standards.
If the chancellor concurs in the recommendation of the committee that is favorable to the faculty member, the decision is final and written notification thereof shall be sent to the faculty member, the chair of the faculty, and the chair of the Reconsideration
Committee.
VIII. Effective Date
A. These policies and regulatins supersede all other institutional
documents governing the matters covered herein.
B. Except as otherwise provided below, all provisions of these
policies and regulations shall become operative on the date they are approved
by the President of the
These regulations as amended shall apply only to
those appeals following nonreappointments and nonconferrals of tenure in which
the original decision not to reappoint or not to confer permanent tenure was
made after the effective date of these regulations. Regulations applicable to appeals following
nonreappointment or nonconferral of tenure in which the original decision not
to reappoint or not to grant permanent tenure was made prior to the effective
date of these regulations are those rules in effect at the time that the
original decision was made.
In
compliance with UNC Code 602(1) final approval of this document involves the
Faculty Senate, Chancellor, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/General
Counsel, and President of UNC System.)
Approved (entire document)
Faculty Senate Resolution #06-19
January 9, 2007
Erskine
Bowles, President of UNC System
1References to the chancellor's designee shall include and be limited to the vice chancellor for academic affairs and the vice chancellor for health sciences.
2The
chancellor, in consultation with the office of the
3A faculty member considering
such action is encouraged to seek consultation with the unit Personnel
Committee and the unit administrator. When a faculty member applies
for and then withdraws a request for early consideration for permanent tenure,
a copy of all documents submitted to support the request and a record of all
decisions by the appropriate committee
and any administrator(s) shall be directly forwarded to the appropriate vice
chancellor. Because a
faculty member will be considered for permanent tenure if he or she reaches the
end of the probationary term, denials of requests for permanent tenure made
before the end of the probationary term are not subject to appeal.
4 A faculty
member considering such action is encouraged to seek consultation with the unit
Personnel Committee and the unit administrator.
When a faculty member applies for and then withdraws a request for
promotion, a copy of all documents submitted to support the request and a
record of all decisions by the appropriate committee and any administrator(s)
shall be directly forwarded to the appropriate vice chancellor.
[5] Except
as provided herein, meetings of the committees shall be conducted according to
the most recent edition of Robert's Rules
of Order, Newly Revised.
[6]
Appeals of all nonreappointment and the nonconferral of permanent
tenure at the end of the contract period may be filed in accordance with the
provisions of Section V of this Appendix. Also, appeals of Nonreappointment
coupled with the nonconferral of early permanent tenure may be filed in
accordance with the provisions of Section V of this Appendix. Denial of promotion may be filed in
accordance with the provisions of Appendix Y. A grievance (Appendix Y) may be
filed in response to a denial of promotion and/or early permanent tenure.
[7][1] A faculty member receiving a notice of non-conferral of early permanent
tenure may file a grievance in accordance with Appendix Y. The Board of Trustees will remain
responsible for reviewing, on appeal, a grievant’s contention that the
chancellor’s decision (or affirmance of a faculty committee decision) was
clearly erroneous.