2005-2006 FACULTY SENATE
A special called meeting of the 2005/2006
Tuesday, March
28, 2006, at 2:10 in the
Mendenhall Student Center Great Room.
AGENDA
Unfinished Business
Faculty
Governance Committee, Puri Martinez
Proposed Revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix
D. Tenure and
Promotion Policies and Procedures (attachment 1).
The meeting on Tuesday, March 28, 2006, will
begin with discussion on the original proposed amendment (proposed by Professor
Winstead) as follows:
“Section IV.A.1.c.10 to read: “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. Search committees should consist
of a majority of voting faculty.”
(To aid in
the discussion on this document, please refer to line numbers when addressing
issues during the Faculty Senate meeting.)
Please call Catherine Rigsby, Chair of the Faculty, at 328-6537 if you have any questions if you have any questions concerning
this special called meeting.
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Faculty Senate Agenda
March 28, 2006
Attachment 1.
FACULTY GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
Proposed
Revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual,
Appendix
D. Tenure and Promotion
Policies and Procedures
The Faculty
Governance Committee proposes the following revisions to the Faculty Senate and
have noted them by additions in underlined print and deletions in strikethrough.
Proposed revisions pending final
approval from the UNC General Administration are noted by additions in bold
print and deletions in strikethrough.
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
H. Notification of Recommendations
V. Procedure
for Appeal of Notice of Non-Reappointment or Non-Conferral of Permanent Tenure
A. Deadlines
for Appeals
B. Request
for Hearing with the Faculty Hearing Committee
C. Validation
of the Request for Hearing
D. Procedures
for the Hearing
E. 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
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. (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-44, March
2004)
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 President and the Board of
Governors 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, teaching is the
first consideration. 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, 604C and ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix C.]. Fixed-term appointees do not hold
professorial ranks, but are appointed with titles such as lecturer
but are appointed with the following titles: visiting instructor, visiting
assistant professor, visiting associate professor, visiting professor, 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, artist
in residence, writer in residence, adjunct instructor, adjunct assistant
professor, adjunct associate professor, and adjunct professor. visiting assistant professor,
visiting associate professor, or clinical professor. Fixed-term appointments are without permanent
tenure and do not entitle the faculty member to consideration for reappointment
or conferral of permanent tenure. No
obligation exists on the part of East Carolina University to give any notice
before a current fixed‑term appointment expires as to whether re-employment
will be offered for a succeeding term the contract will be renewed (except as specified in Section
II.B.1).
(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 probationary-term faculty member at the beginning of
academic year in which a reappointment or tenure decision is made. A record of
the discussion 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, religion, veteran’s status, gender, age, sexual
orientation, political affiliation, or disability; or (3) personal malice.
(Faculty Senate Resolution #03-37, March 2004)
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. 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, 604C]
These special Fixed-term faculty appointments are without
permanent tenure and do not entitle the faculty member to consideration for reappointment
or conferral of permanent tenure. No
obligation exists on the part of an appointment will be offered the contract will be renewed
for a succeeding term, except as specified below.
1. Contract and
Notice
A contract for a fixed‑term appointment shall set
forth in writing the beginning and ending dates of the term. This 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. The provisions of 604 A 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 an appointment will be offered a contract will be renewed
for a succeeding term. A second or subsequent appointment of a fixed-term
faculty member does not constitute a reappointment of the faculty member. Only
probationary-term faculty members are entitled to consideration for
reappointment. However, If 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 an appointment for the following academic year
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. The unit
administrator may but is not required to respond to a written request for an
appointment for the following academic year that is received later than 90
calendar days before the current term expires.
2. Fixed‑Term
Employment Evaluation Policy [cf.
Special Faculty Appointments, The UNC Code, 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
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. However,
a fixed-term faculty member does not have to submit a Personnel Action fr to
the Personnel Committee and unit administrator prior to the Personnel Committee
and unit administrator recommending a second or subsequent fixed-term
appointment.
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
[Please refer to interpretations #I96-5
and #I96-4.]
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. 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.
During the second year of continuous service at
1. Probationary Terms
Although the chancellor may recommend that a faculty member
be granted permanent tenure at any time, 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 probabtionary 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
Health Sciences and Academic Library Services), will be measured from the
beginning of the subsequent Fall semester (or July 1 for faculty in the Health
Sciences and Academic Library Services).
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.
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 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.
4. Progress Toward
Tenure Letters
Each Spring semester, the unit Tenure Committee and unit
administrator will review the annual report of each probationary term faculty
member. On the basis of this review, the unit administrator, in consultation with
the unit Personnel Tenure Committee, will write a progress toward
tenure letter to each probationary term faculty member having a
probationary appointment. In the
event the unit Personnel Tenure Committee and the unit
administrator cannot agree on the contents of the letter, the next higher
administrator shall confer jointly with the Personnel 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 Personnel 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 Personnel Tenure
Committee and to the next higher administrative level. (See Section IV.C.3.)
5. 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.
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 Personnel
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 Personnel 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 Office of the President 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.
(Faculty Senate Resolution #02-05, October 2002)
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 During
the Spring semester of the academic year, a faculty member who wishes to
be considered who requests in writing consideration 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 for promotion 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
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; [Please refer to interpretations #I00-14.]
A
voting faculty member of a unit is someone who:
·
holds
a full-time faculty position with
·
holds regular professorial rank (instructor, assistant professor, associate
professor, or professor), and
·
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). (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-30 April 2003)
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 [Please refer to
interpretations #I97-7,
#I01-16
and #I03-18.]
a. Function
The Personnel Committee shall be responsible for making
recommendations regarding initial probationary appointments and initial and
additional special fixed-term appointments (for other functions of the Personnel
Committee, see Section IV.B.).
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 according to the procedures in Section IV.A.1.b. above. 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 the unit
administrator in the preparation of the progress toward tenure letter (see
Section II.C.4).
5. 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).
6. Consulting
with faculty members who are considering requesting promotion (see Section
III.).
7. Producing
a list of possible external reviewers and selecting external peer reviewers
from lists produced by the Committee and by the candidate (see Section
IV.E).
8. Selecting,
with the unit administrator, the research and creative activity materials to be
sent to external peer reviewers (see Section IV.E).
9. 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.f.2.).
10. The
personnel committee may elect a search committee of voting faculty to fulfill
the responsibilities of soliciting and screening applicants and recommending to
the unit’s Personnel Committee candidates for initial appointments.
11. 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 for 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. chair the Promotion Committee but
shall not have a vote on that committee. The chair shall be responsible for
calling the meetings of such committees, obtaining and distributing materials
to be used during deliberation of such bodies, insuring that a valid vote has
been taken, communicating the results of such votes to the appropriate faculty
and to the unit administrator, and performing other duties as designated by the
unit.
2. Promotion
Committee [Please refer to
interpretation #I97-8.]
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
or probationary-term voting faculty members of sufficient rank and not holding
administrative status, the next higher administrator above the unit shall
appoint additional permanently tenured and probationary-term faculty to
increase the membership of the committee to three, with at least two-thirds of
the members being permanently tenured faculty.
These appointments to the committee shall be from a list of candidates
selected by a vote of the permanent tenured and probationary-term faculty
having rank at least equal to the candidate(s) 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
[Please
refer to interpretation #I97-7.]
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. 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.
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 shall be from a list of candidates selected by a vote of the
permanently tenured and probationary-term faculty of the unit. 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.E).
4.
Prepares a cumulative evaluation of the candidate’s teaching, research,
service, and any other relevant duties at least two weeks prior to their vote.
B. 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 the unit
administrator in the preparation of the progress toward tenure letter (see
Section II.C.4).
5.
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).
6. Consulting with faculty members who
are considering requesting promotion (see Section III.).
7. Producing a list of possible
external reviewers and selecting external peer reviewers from lists produced by
the Committee and by the candidate (see Section IV.E).
8. Selecting, with the unit
administrator, the research and creative activity materials to be sent to
external peer reviewers (see Section IV.E).
9. Reviewing 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.f.2.).
C. 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 for the faculty, and may
participate in the decisions of any committee of which the chair is a
member. 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
chair the Promotion Committee but shall not have a vote on that committee. The
chair shall be responsible for calling the meetings of such committees,
obtaining and distributing materials to be used during deliberation of such
bodies, insuring that a valid vote has been taken, communicating the results of
such votes to the appropriate faculty and to the unit administrator, and
performing other duties as designated by the unit.
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 is
jointly responsible with the unit Personnel Tenure Committee for preparation of
the progress toward tenure letters. The
unit administrator, in consultation with the unit Personnel 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 of the
candidate’s teaching, research, service, and any other relevant duties at least
two weeks prior to the unit Tenure Committee’s vote.
Unit administrators are excluded from all unit committee
discussions concerning candidates for appointment, re-appointment, promotion,
or permanent tenure, and must be excluded from any meeting when such matters
are considered. 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 can meet with the
Tenure Committee (or properly constituted subcommittee) in reference to
progress toward tenure letters as noted in II.C.4.
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.
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
In
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 Personnel
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 Personnel Tenure Committee's list. [Please
refer to interpretation #I00-15.] These two lists must be independently
compiled and if the two lists contain a common set of prospective external
reviewers, the unit Personnel Tenure Committee list shall be revisited and
new possible external reviewers shall be identified as replacement for those
originally on both lists.
The unit Personnel Tenure Committee shall select a
sufficient number of names from the unit Personnel Tenure Committee's list and the
candidate's list to insure a minimum of three external reviewers, two from the
unit Personnel 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
Faculty Senate website at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/fg/facultygovernance.cfm.
Copies of all correspondence with the reviewers and the reviews shall be made a
part of the Personnel Action Dossier (hereinafter, "the dossier")
(see Section IV.F.2).
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 Personnel 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.
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
[Please
refer to interpretation #I99-11.]
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 committee 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 two thirds of the membership for a
committee that has twenty or fewer members; and a quorum is defined as a
majority (50% plus one) of the membership for a committee that has more than
twenty members.
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 unit administrator’s
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. See Section IV.A.4. above.
b. Faculty
recommendations for reappointment, promotion, and conferral of permanent tenure
shall come from the appropriate committee
(see Section IV.A). If the
appropriate committee consists of ten or more eligible voting members, The committee members may choose to vote by
mail according to the latest edition of Robert's
Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
Within ten 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 to 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 re-employment contract
renewal recommendations for faculty members holding fixed-term
appointments, each member of the unit Personnel Committee will indicate by
secret ballot his or her choice for or against recommending re-employment
contract renewal. This vote
may be taken at a committee meeting or by mail ballot as described in Section
IV.G E.2b. A vote for the recommendation by a majority of the
committee members present and shall constitute a recommendation for
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 re-employment contract renewal.
(Faculty Senate Resolution #03-30,
April 2003)
d. If a committee votes by mail, the ballots shall be sent
by certified mail 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 appointmet, 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 certified mail 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 certified 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. (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-30, April
2003)
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 (see
IV.A.1.b., IV.A.2.b. and IV.A.3.b.) , which includes those voting faculty
members on leave but in attendance at the meeting at the time of the
committee’s vote, shall constitute a recommendation for reappointment,
promotion, and/or conferral of permanent tenure. A member of a committee who is not present
when a vote is taken and who is not on leave at the time of the vote or 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. of the membership of the committee. Failure to obtain a majority vote of the
entire membership of the appropriate committee shall constitute a
recommendation against reappointment, promotion, and/or the conferral of
permanent tenure. (Faculty
Senate Resolution #03-30, April 2003)
4. The
recommendation of the appropriate committee shall be communicated by the chair
of the unit Personnel 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 unit administrator's recommendation and
continuing up to the level where the final decision is made.
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. consult with the Board of Trustees and,
unless dissuaded, forward the recommendation to the President and the Board of
Governors for final approval. The
chancellor shall submit all recommendations for faculty promotions to the Board
of Trustees for final approval unless that Board delegates to the chancellor the
authority to give final approval.
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.
H. Procedure for
Nonconcurring Recommendations
[Please
refer to interpretation #I99-12.]
If the recommendations of an from the unit administrator and the
appropriate committee disagree, that administrator shall the unit administrator's immediate
supervisor shall seek resolution of the disagreement 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.
The All other personnel actions shall then
be handled in accordance with the procedures provided in Section IV.G.
Procedures for Concurring Recommendations.
J. Procedures for Nonconcurrence of a Tenure or Promotion
Recommendation by Vote of the Appropriate Faculty Committee
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
nonconcurrence recommendation.
If the vice chancellor concurs with the committee vote but the
chancellor is considering a recommendation that is contrary to
the vote, the chancellor shall meet with the committee to discuss the chancellor's
potential nonconcurrence recommendation.
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.
V. Procedure for Appeal of Notice of
Non-Reappointment or Non-Conferral of Permanent Tenure
Failure to submit the appeals documents specified in
this section within the time periods allotted constitutes a waiver of the right
to 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 individual or committee who is next to consider
the appeal. Within 10 working days of receiving a request for extension,
decisions on requests for extension of time shall be made by the individual or
committee who is next to consider the appeal.
B. Request for Hearing with the Faculty Hearing Committee
Within 25 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. 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 Hearing
Committee shall elect a chair and a secretary.
The chair and the
secretary of the 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. (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-49,
pending final approval)
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 request for a 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, 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.)
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.[6]
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, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, or
honorable service in the armed services of the United States, or (c) personal
malice.”
"Material procedural irregularity" means a
departure from prescribed procedures governing reappointment and conferral of
permanent tenure that cast reasonable doubt
upon the integrity validity of the original decision not to
reappoint or not to confer permanent tenure. Whether a material procedural
irregularity occurred 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. (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-49, pending final approval)
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. The complainant's request for a hearing shall be made to the chair of
the Hearing Committee.
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 days after receipt of the
complainant's request for a hearing. The
committee shall notify the complainant of the meeting date by registered
mail, return receipt requested 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 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 chair 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 registered mail, return receipt requested
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, February 1999)
The complainant may accept the decision of the
Hearing Committee not to validate or appeal to the chancellor within 10
calendar days of receipt of the Hearing Committee's decision. The chancellor,
within 14 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, February 1999)
The complainant may accept the chancellor's
confirmation of the committee's decision not to validate the request for a
hearing, or the complainant may appeal to the Board of Governors Trustees within 10 calendar days following
receipt of the Chancellor’s decision. as provided in Section 501C (4) of the Code
of the (Faculty
Senate Resolution #99-4, February 1999) (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-49, pending final approval)
If the committee validates the request for a
hearing, or the decision not to validate the request for a hearing is not
supported by the chancellor, the committee shall so notify the complainant by registered
mail, return receipt requested 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.
D. Procedures
for the Hearing.
1. Time and
Date of 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 working days of the notification to the complainant that the
request for a hearing was validated. 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 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 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 but who may not take an active part in the proceedings, the
respondents, an East Carolina University faculty member (with or without
administrative appointment) selected by the chancellor to represent the respondents in the conduct of the
hearing, an East Carolina University attorney who shall advise the respondents
and their representative but who may not take an active part in the
proceedings, the chancellor, and an East Carolina University attorney
representing the chancellor, who may advise the chancellor but may not take
an active part in the proceedings. 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. 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, March 2004l) 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.
(Faculty Senate Resolution #03-49, pending final approval)
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 committee
hearing chair, the complainant shall present his or her contentions and
any supporting witnesses and documentary evidence. The respondent(s), through
their 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 representative, may cross-examine opposing
witnesses. Committee members may question witnesses for purposes of
clarification. At the conclusion of
the hearing, the complainant and then the respondent(s) will be given the
opportunity to provide summary statements.
E. 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 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 by the greater weight of the evidence to establish 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 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. (Faculty Senate
Resolution #03-37, March 2004)
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 30
working days after receiving the recommendation of the Hearing Committee, 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.
The
complainant may appeal an adverse decision to the Board of Trustees within 10
calendar days as provided in Section 501C (4) of the Code of The University of
North Carolina and the Board of Governors regulations implementing that
provision. (Faculty Senate Resolution #99-4, February 1999) (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-49, pending final
approval)
If the chancellor is considering
taking action inconsistent with the committee’s recommendations, the chancellor
shall request that a joint meeting with the committee occur within 10 working
days. 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 30 working day period in the preceeding
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 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 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 matter. (Faculty Senate Resolution
#03-49, pending final approval)
The exercise of the Board of Governors’ jurisdiction
under Section 501C (4) of the Code 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 hearing committee, the chancellor;, or the board of trustees; , or the board of trustees[7]; if the responsible decision makers are in accord, normally no such
appeal will be entertained by the Board of Governors. (Faculty Senate Resolution #03-49,
pending final approval)
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.
VI. Due Process Before Discharge or
Imposition of Serious Sanction
A. Penalties
A faculty member who is the beneficiary of institutional
guarantees of tenure shall enjoy protection against unjust and arbitrary
application of disciplinary penalties.
During the period 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, or misconduct of such a nature as to indicate
that the individual is unfit to continue as a member of the faculty. These
penalties may be imposed only in accordance with the procedures prescribed in
this section. For purposes of 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 or to suspend from
employment or to diminish in rank (these penalties hereinafter in Section VI
are referred to as "the penalty") shall be sent by the vice
chancellor with supervisory authority or by the vice chancellor's designee to
the faculty member by registered
mail, return receipt requested 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.). (Faculty Senate Resolution #99-10, March
1999)
C. Penalty Without
Recourse
If, within 10 working days after the faculty member receives
the notice 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 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, registered mail, return receipt requested a 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 registered mail, return receipt requested 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 request for a hearing is to be directed
to the vice chancellor with supervisory authority in writing by registered mail, return receipt requested 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
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. (Faculty Senate Resolution
#99-10, March 1999)
E. Due Process
Committee
The Due Process 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 Due Process 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 the 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, 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 vice chancellor with
supervisory authority 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. (Faculty Senate
Resolution #99-10, March 1999)
When membership of the committee falls below the specified
five members and five alternates, the Faculty Senate will elect additional
faculty members to the committee.
Vacancies on the committee will be filled first by moving alternates to
member status and by electing new alternates and/or members as needed to fill
the committee roster.
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 committee 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.
(Faculty Senate Resolution #99-10, March 1999)
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.)
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 date for the
hearing must be within 30 working 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 committee 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.
2. Conduct of
Hearing
The hearing shall be on the written specification of reasons
for the intended penalty. The chair of
the Due Process Committee, or an
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 faculty member requesting the hearing, counsel for the faculty
member, the vice chancellor with supervisory authority, and counsel for the
vice 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. 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,March 2004)
The hearing shall begin with an
opening statement by the hearing 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 hearing committee chair, the vice
chancellor with supervisory authority 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 or his or her
counsel, and the faculty member 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 vice chancellor with
supervisory authority will be given the opportunity to provide summary
statements. (Faculty Senate Resolution #99-10, March 1999)
G. 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. In
its report the committee shall state whether or not it recommends that the
intended penalty be imposed.
(Faculty Senate Resolution #03-37, March 2004)
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 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 registered mail, return receipt requested 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
committee 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 committee 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 received by the chancellor within 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 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 ten days after receiving the trustees' decision, file a written
petition for review with the Board of Governors 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 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 registered
mail, return receipt requested 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 under
Section 501C(4) of the Code 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[8];
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 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 registered
mail, return receipt requested 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 registered mail, return receipt requested 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 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 registered mail, return receipt requested 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, March 2004)
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, March 2004)
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. as provided
in Section 501C (4) of the Code of the . (Faculty Senate Resolution #99-4, February
1999)
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 registered mail, return receipt requested 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 registered
mail, return receipt requested 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. as
provided in Section 501C (4) of the Code of the (Faculty Senate Resolution #99-4, February
1999)
The exercise of the Board of Governors’ jurisdiction under
Section 501C(4) of the Code 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:
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 (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[9];
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.
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 regulations 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 and the
Board of Governors 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.
1. Sections
II C(1) entitled ”Probationary Terms” and II C(2) entitled “Reduction of the
Normal Probationary Term for Previous Academic Employment” shall apply only
with respect to those persons employed after the effective date of these
regulations. These sections shall not
modify the terms of employment for persons holding current untenured
appointments made under previous forms of these regulations.
2.
Approved: Faculty Senate Resolution #94-18
September 14, 1995
UNC Board of Governors
Amended: Faculty Senate Resolution #99-4 (Sections
V.C., V.E., VII.B.8) February 1999
Faculty Senate Resolution #99-10
(Section VI. B., D., E., F) March 1999
Faculty Senate Resolution
#01-19 (Section IV.F) August 2001
Faculty Senate
Resolution #02-05 (Section II.E) October
2002
Faculty Senate
Resolution #03-30 (Section IV) April
2003
Faculty Senate Resolution #03-37 (Sections II.A.3, D.2, V.E,
VI.F.2, VI.G, VII.B.7.b, VII.8) March
2004
Faculty Senate
Resolution #03-44 (Section I) March
2004
Faculty Senate
Resolution #03-49 (Section V) pending final approval
Editorial
Revisions:
(Sections II.A.3,
IV.G.2, VI.E., VIII.) August 1997
Interpretations:
Interpretation I96-4 and I96-5
(Section II.C) 3-96
Interpretation I97-7 and I97-8
(Section IV.A.1., IV.A.2., and IV.A.3) 10-97
Interpretation I99-11 (Section IV.G) Faculty Senate
Resolution #99-9,3-99
Interpretation I99-12 (Section IV.I) Faculty Senate Resolution #99-28, 12-99
Interpretation I00-14
(Section IV) Faculty Senate Resolution
#00-21, 4-00
Interpretation I00-15 (Section IV.E) Faculty Senate
Resolution #00-31, 11-00
Interpretation I01-16 (Section IV.A.3) Faculty Senate Resolution
#01-11, 2-01
Interpretation I03-18 (Section IV.A.3) Faculty Senate
Resolution #03-33, 4-03
(According
to UNC Code 602(1) final approval involves the Faculty Senate, Chancellor,
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/General Counsel, and 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 based on material procedural
irregularity shall refer only to personnel actions which are initiated after
the approval of material procedural irregularity as a basis for a request for a
hearing.
7The 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.