3. Termination And Serious Sanctions Of Tenure-line Faculty
A tenure-line (tenured or probationary) faculty member may be terminated before the end of a specified term of appointment only under the following circumstances.
A. Financial Exigency
The Existence of Financial Exigency is determined by the Board of Trustees on the recommendation of the President in consultation with the Faculty.
1. When it is determined that staff cuts are necessary due to Financial Exigency, the President will consult with the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty. The VPAA/Dean of the Faculty will then consult with the Faculty Steering Committee regarding the extent to which tenure-line faculty positions are to be eliminated. The Faculty Steering
Committee will determine the criteria for identifying the individuals whose appointments are to be terminated. The Faculty Personnel Committee will identify and recommend to the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty the individuals whose appointments are to be terminated.
2. If a tenured faculty member is impacted, they will be considered for any open position at the College for which they are deemed qualified. If two or more tenured faculty are impacted and both possess qualifications for an open position, the College shall determine which is the best qualified to fill the open position.
3. Any tenure-line faculty member whose appointment is terminated due to Financial Exigency and who is not offered continued employment at the College will be provided written notice that their appointment is being terminated due to Financial Exigency. Such notice will be provided by the President at least two (2) full semesters in advance of the date of termination. In lieu of notice and at the discretion of the College, the faculty member may be provided a lump sum payment equivalent to the applicable notice period, minus appropriate withholdings and deductions.
4. A faculty member whose appointment is being terminated due to Financial Exigency may make a written request for a meeting to appeal the recommendation based on process violation with the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee within ten (10) business days following the date of notification of termination for Financial Exigency.
a. If a request for a process appeal meeting is appropriately made, the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee will schedule the meeting no fewer than three (3) weeks and no more than four (4) weeks following the date of the written notice.
b. The faculty member and the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty will be invited to attend the process appeal meeting to offer information bearing on whether or not the process set forth in FB.3.A.1 – FB.3.A.3 above has been substantially followed.
c. Following the review meeting, the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee will meet in executive session, in the absence of the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty and President, and reach an opinion as to whether the process has been substantially followed.
d. Within seven (7) business days following the review meeting the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee will provide the faculty member and the President with its nonbinding written opinion as to whether or not the process has been substantially followed.
e. After consideration of the opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee, the President, in consultation with the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, may work to correct any perceived procedural error(s), work with the faculty member in achieving a mutually acceptable resolution, or send a recommendation to terminate for Financial Exigency along with the nonbinding opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee to the Board of Trustees.
f. The Board of Trustees will meet in executive session to consider the matter and it will render a final written decision, which the President will provide the faculty
member and the Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee within twenty (20) business days following the Board’s receipt of the President’s recommendation.
B. Medical Reasons
A tenure-line faculty member may be terminated for Medical Reasons only when there is medical evidence that the faculty member, even with reasonable accommodation, is unable to perform the essential duties of the position.
1. If, after consulting with the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, the President determines this standard has been met, a recommendation for termination is communicated in writing to the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty and the faculty member setting forth the recommendation and providing the faculty member a period of ten (10) business days within which to make a written request for a meeting with the Faculty Personnel Committee to review the recommendation.
2. If requested, this meeting will be set by the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty within twenty (20) business days from the receipt of the written request from the faculty member and the procedures set forth in Section FB.3.A.4 shall be followed (except the meeting shall be with the Faculty Personnel Committee and the standard shall be whether a preponderance of the medical evidence indicates that the faculty member, even with reasonable accommodation, is unable to perform the essential functions of the position).
3. If the faculty member does not make a timely and appropriate request for a meeting with the Faculty Personnel Committee, the recommendation of the President to terminate for Medical Reasons shall be forwarded to the Board of Trustees without comment from the Faculty Personnel Committee.
4. In this case, the Board of Trustees will meet in executive session to consider the recommendation of the President and will render its final written decision on the matter within thirty (30) calendar days following its receipt of the President’s recommendation. The President will provide the faculty member and the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty with a copy of the final written decision of the Board.
C. Adequate Cause
1. Definition of Adequate Cause and Serious Sanctions
Except in the case of termination due to Financial Exigency or for Medical Reasons, termination of or serious sanctions against a tenure-line faculty member may be affected only for Adequate Cause. Adequate Cause will be related, directly and substantially, to the fitness of the faculty member in the professional role as a teacher with obligations to the discipline, students, colleagues, the institution, and the community. Neither termination nor serious sanctions will be used to restrain a faculty member in the exercise of academic freedom.
2. Adequate Cause includes:
a. demonstrated incompetence or dishonesty in teaching or research
b. substantial and manifest neglect of duty
c. personal or professional conduct which substantially impairs the individual’s fulfillment of institutional responsibilities or which brings disrepute to the institution
d. a violation of the College’s policies related to harassment, discrimination, retaliation, sexual misconduct and relationship misconduct.
3. Serious Sanctions include:
a. change in assignment or area of responsibility
b. a leave of absence with reduced or no pay
c. a reduction of salary
d. change of status from full-time to limited assignment
e. suspension with or without pay
D. Adequate Cause EXCEPT harassment, discrimination, retaliation, sexual misconduct, and relationship misconduct
The procedure for imposing a serious sanction or terminating a tenure-line (probationary or tenured) faculty member for Adequate Cause, except in cases involving a violation of the College’s policies related to harassment, discrimination, retaliation, sexual misconduct, and relationship misconduct, is set forth in this subsection.
1. After having received/obtained evidence indicating the existence of Adequate Cause, the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty will seek a private and mutually satisfactory resolution with the affected faculty member;
2. Failing a mutually satisfactory resolution, the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty will share the evidence of Adequate Cause with the Faculty Personnel Committee, and the Faculty Personnel Committee will invite a response from the faculty member. The Faculty Personnel Committee will review the information provided to it by the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty and the faculty member and hold informal discussions with the faculty member and the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, in a further attempt to explore the feasibility of a resolution that is mutually satisfactory to the faculty member and the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty;
3. Failing to facilitate such a mutually satisfactory resolution, the Personnel Committee will make a nonbinding written recommendation to the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty and the President as to whether serious sanctions or termination should occur;
4. After consideration of the written recommendation of the Personnel Committee and in consultation with the President, the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty may provide the affected faculty member with a written notice which will include:
a. a recommendation of termination or serious sanctions,
b. a statement of reasons for the recommendation, and
c. a date for a possible review meeting with the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee. The date of the review meeting shall be set by the Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee and shall be no sooner than three (3) weeks and no later than four (4) weeks after the date of the above referenced notice.
d. If the faculty member wants the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee to review the matter, the faculty member must present a written request to the Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee at least one week prior to the scheduled review meeting date. If a timely written request is not made, the review meeting will be cancelled, the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee will not review the case, and the President may proceed directly to section FB.3.D.4.f below.
e. If the faculty member makes a timely and appropriate request for a review meeting, the faculty member may address the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee in person or in writing as follows:
i. The faculty member may waive the opportunity to meet personally with the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee and submit a written statement addressing the issue of Adequate Cause. To be considered, this statement must be presented to the Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee by written letter at least 2 business days in advance of the scheduled date of the review meeting.
ii. Alternatively, the faculty member may appear in person before the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee. The faculty member may be accompanied by a co-faculty member who serves as a silent observer at the review meeting.
iii. At the review meeting, the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee will take testimony from the faculty member, if present, and the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, and receive any written information each of them provides to the Committee prior to or at the review meeting on the issue of Adequate Cause.
iv. At the conclusion of the review meeting, the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee will meet in executive session, in the absence of the President and the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, and arrive at its opinion as to whether or not there is evidence of Adequate Cause for termination or a serious sanction.
v. The tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee will advise the faculty member and the President of its nonbinding opinion in writing within ten (10) calendar days following the review meeting.
f. After consideration of the opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee, if any, the President, in consultation with the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, may:
i. work with the faculty member to achieve a mutually acceptable resolution;
ii. impose serious sanctions or take other action that does not rise to the level of serious sanctions or termination, and the President’s decision shall be final; or
iii. pursue termination
(a) if the faculty member is a probationary tenure-line faculty member, the President may terminate for Adequate Cause and the President’s decision shall be final; or
(b) if the faculty member is tenured, the President may send a recommendation to terminate for Adequate Cause along with the nonbinding opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee to the Board of Trustees.
g. The President will provide the faculty member, the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, and the Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee (if applicable) with a copy of his/her written decision or recommendation, as the case may be.
h. When the President sends a recommendation to terminate a tenured faculty member for Adequate Cause to the Board of Trustees:
i. The Board of Trustees will meet in executive session to consider the recommendation of the President and the nonbinding opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee; and
ii. The Board of Trustees will render its final written decision on the matter within twenty (20) business days following its receipt of the President’s recommendation.
iii. The President will provide the faculty member, the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, and the Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee with a copy of the final written decision of the Board.
E. Adequate Cause related to harassment, discrimination, retaliation, sexual misconduct, and relationship misconduct
If the charge of Adequate Cause involves a violation of the College’s policies related to harassment, discrimination, retaliation, sexual misconduct, and relationship misconduct, the procedure for imposing a serious sanction or terminating a tenure-line (probationary or tenured) faculty member for Adequate Cause is set forth in this subsection.
1. After having received notice from the Title IX Coordinator that the Investigators or Appeal Committee have issued a final decision that the tenure-line faculty member violated the College’s policies related to harassment, discrimination, retaliation, sexual misconduct and relationship misconduct, and the final decision recommends that the tenure-line faculty member be terminated or issued a serious sanction, the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty will direct the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee to review the matter, in executive session, and provide a recommendation to the President as to whether, in the opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee, the identified sanction or termination is warranted. In providing that recommendation, the process outlined here shall be followed:
a. The Title IX Coordinator will provide the following materials from the preceding investigation and appeal to the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty who will share the materials with the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee:
i. the notice of complaint document;
ii. the investigatory materials (including all interview recordings and tangible evidence considered by the Investigators during the investigation);
iii. the Investigators’ Notice of Decision;
iv. any Notice of Appeal;
v. any response to the Notice of Appeal; and
vi. any Notice of Decision from the Appeal Committee.
These materials, referred to herein as the “Record Materials,” are strictly confidential. As such, the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee may not share any information contained therein with anyone outside of the Committee, may not make copies of the Record Materials, and must return the Record Materials to the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty at the conclusion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee’s review of the matter.
b. The tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee will invite a written statement from the faculty member and the complainant.
c. The tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee, in executive session, will review the Record Materials and the written statements from the parties, if any, and will make a nonbinding written recommendation to the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty and the President (with copies to the faculty member and the complainant) as to whether serious sanctions or termination is warranted based upon the factual determinations and the findings as to responsibility made in the Final Notice of Decision (which may have been issued by either the Investigators or Appeal Committee depending on whether an appeal was perfected in the prior process).
2. After consideration of the opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee, the President, in consultation with the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, may:
a. impose serious sanctions or take other action that does not rise to the level of serious sanctions or termination, and the President’s decision shall be final; or
b. pursue termination:
i. if the faculty member is a probationary tenure-line faculty member, the President may terminate for Adequate Cause and the President’s decision shall be final;
ii. if the faculty member is tenured, the President may send a recommendation to terminate for Adequate Cause along with the nonbinding opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee to the Board of Trustees.
c. The President will provide the faculty member, the complainant, the Title IX Coordinator, the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, and the Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee with a copy of his/her written decision or recommendation, as the case may be.
3. When the President sends a recommendation to terminate a tenured faculty member for Adequate Cause to the Board of Trustees:
a. The Board of Trustees will meet in executive session to consider the recommendation of the President and the nonbinding opinion of the tenured members of the Faculty Welfare Committee; and
b. The Board of Trustees will render its final written decision on the matter within twenty (20) business days following its receipt of the President’s recommendation.
c. The President will provide the faculty member, the complainant, the Title IX Coordinator, the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, and the Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee with a copy of the final written decision of the Board of Trustees.
F. Grievance Procedure
1. Definitions:
a. A Grievance is a complaint concerning a decision, action, lack of action, or application of policies or procedures which directly and adversely affects the Grievant, including disputes arising in the course of the academic relationship between faculty and other College employees.
b. A Grievance is not:
i. An appeal of faculty evaluation decisions, found in Central College Faculty Bylaws section FB.1.C.
ii. An appeal of faculty review decisions, which can be found in the Faculty Bylaws section FB.1.D.
iii. A complaint about sexual misconduct, harassment, discrimination, or retaliation for filing or investigating a complaint about harassment, discrimination, or sexual misconduct. All of these are covered under the above linked Central College employee policies.
iv. A complaint about Adequate Cause as defined in Faculty Bylaws section FB.3.C.1 – FB.3.C.2; or
v. A complaint about any other subject which has separate published dispute or complaint resolution procedures.
c. A Grievant(s) is an eligible faculty member(s) who files a Petition with the Faculty Welfare Committee as a result of a Grievance.
d. A Respondent(s) is the person or group of persons acting in an official Central College capacity about whose actions, omissions, and/or decisions a Petition has been filed.
e. A Petition is a formal, written record of a Grievance that is filed with the Faculty Welfare Committee (described below in FB.3.F.4)
2. Eligible Grievants:
a. The Grievance procedure applies to all faculty whose primary appointment at the College is teaching, individually or in groups.
b. Eligible Grievants do not include those faculty members who are primarily administrators, or who are designated lecturers without a primary responsibility for teaching or have less that a 50% appointment at the college.
3. Purpose
a. The grievance process has the following goals:
i. To promote an atmosphere of confidence and trust among the members of the college community;
ii. To uphold principles of equity and academic freedom;
iii. To bring any Grievance to prompt resolution;
iv. To achieve mutual understanding through patient consideration of facts, careful weighing of all evidence, and scrupulous attention to the rights and duties of the concerned parties;
v. To enable review and improvements of policies and practices.
b. Informal Process
It is expected that a Grievance will be initiated only after an eligible faculty member has made a sincere effort to secure resolution through one or more existing channels (e.g., discussions with the Welfare Committee Chair, the Respondent(s), Department or other Committee Chair, VPAA/Dean of the Faculty, Human Resources, or other appropriate entities).
4. Formal Process
a. After informal attempts to resolve the Grievance have not resulted in satisfactory resolution, the Grievant(s) may proceed to the formal grievance process by bringing a Petition to any member of the Faculty Welfare Committee.
b. The Petition should be addressed to the Faculty Welfare Committee in writing and must meet the following criteria:
i. set forth in detail the nature of the Grievance;
ii. state the Respondent(s);
iii. contain factual data or other material which the Grievant(s) deems pertinent to the case, including any applicable policy or procedure;
iv. describe completed informal attempts to resolve disagreements and the outcomes of these attempts; and
v. propose a preferred remedy.
c. The Faculty Welfare Committee shall review the Petition. If at this point the Faculty Welfare Committee finds the Petition is outside the purview of the Committee or does not merit consideration, in the Committee’s sole discretion, the process terminates. The Faculty Welfare Committee will share its rationale for dismissing the Petition in writing with the Grievant(s).
d. If the Faculty Welfare Committee decides the Petition merits full consideration, Faculty Welfare Committee shall provide a copy of the Petition to the Respondent(s) who will have the opportunity to respond to the Faculty Welfare Committee in writing within 10 business days of receipt. The investigation will begin after receipt of Respondent’s (s’) response, or after 10 business days, whichever is sooner.
e. If the President of the College is named as a Respondent in a petition, the Faculty Welfare Committee shall forward the Petition to the Chair of the Board of Trustees via Faculty Steering Committee or Faculty Trustees for resolution outside these procedures.
f. Faculty Welfare Committee Investigation
i. The Faculty Welfare Committee will notify the Grievant(s) and Respondent(s) of the date its investigation commences.
ii. The Faculty Welfare Committee shall be expected to conduct its consideration with full impartiality.
iii. The Faculty Welfare Committee shall be empowered to gather such evidence or testimony as it deems necessary to fully investigate a Grievance. It will follow methods and procedures it determines to be appropriate to the nature of the Grievance being considered, which may include:
(a) Only considering the matter on the basis of the Petition and Respondent(s’) response;
(b) Seeking additional interviews and information from any Grievant and Respondent.
(c) Scheduling a hearing in which the Grievant(s) and Respondent(s) may present argument, evidence, and question the witnesses of other.
iv. However, in all cases, those affected by the decision or rendering of it shall in all events be afforded a fair opportunity to present their points of view and to respond to the submissions of others.
v. Any proceeding is not bound by strict rules of legal evidence.
vi. The Grievant(s) and the Respondent(s) shall make available all relevant evidence within their control, as requested by the Committee.
vii. Faculty Welfare Committee shall keep a written record of its work, for no longer than forty-five (45) days from the date of its recommendation.
g. The Faculty Welfare Committee shall formally recommend a resolution within 30 calendar days of the start of its investigation; copies of the recommendation will be sent to the Grievant(s), Respondent(s), the appropriate decision-maker, and the President.
i. The appropriate decision-maker will typically be the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty if all parties to the grievance are employees in Academic Affairs.
ii. If the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty is a party to the Grievance, the decision-maker will be the President.
iii. If a respondent is an employee of Central College who is not in Academic Affairs, the decision-maker will be the President.
iv. The recommendation shall, at a minimum, include:
(a) The original Petition
(b) Summarized results of the investigation; and
(c) A recommended remedy, with a rationale for the recommendation.
h. If Faculty Welfare Committee finds that the Grievance was a result of a deficiency in a College process or procedure, it will refer the deficiency to the Faculty Steering Committee to rectify the process.
i. Within 10 business days after receipt of the Faculty Welfare Committee’s report and recommendations, the appropriate decision-maker who received Faculty Welfare Committee’s report shall communicate in writing the acceptance or rejection, in whole or in part, of the Faculty Welfare Committee’s recommendations to the parties involved and Faculty Welfare Committee.
5. Grievance Decision Appeals
a. The Grievant(s) or the Respondent(s) may appeal the outcome of the Grievance within ten (10) days of the decision-maker’s decision as follows:
i. An appeal may be made to the same decision-maker (meaning to the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty if the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty was the decision-maker; or the President if the President was the decision-maker) only if additional relevant information has materialized since the Faculty Welfare Committee’s report and recommendation; or
ii. An appeal may be made to the President only if the VPAA/Dean of the Faculty was the decision-maker.
iii. Timing exceptions
b. The time limitations specified in this procedure within which Faculty Welfare Committee is required to take any action may, at the option of the Faculty Welfare Committee, be suspended during any period when classes are not in session. In such an event, the time limitation resumes when classes are in session again.
6. Record retention
a. Faculty Grievance outcomes are an important source of information about community standards of professional conduct. However this information is useless if it never reaches the community. We cannot formulate agreed-upon standards of professional conduct, clarify and improve those standards, refer to them as precedent, or challenge them intelligently unless they are known to us.
b. For these reasons, a written record of the nature of the Grievance will be a matter of record. An annual report will be submitted by the Faculty Welfare Committee to the Faculty Steering Committee.
c. This record will include the number of Grievances that fall into predetermined general categories.
G. No public announcements and presidential responsibility to community
Until a final decision has been made under Section FB.3.F, absent mutual agreement between the faculty member and the College, there will be no public announcements by the faculty member or the College on the matter. The faculty member will be suspended or reassigned pending completion of the process if the President determines immediate harm to the College or others is threatened by continuing the status quo. A suspension may be with or without pay at the discretion of the President.
H. Service on committees and role of the president
A faculty member directly impacted by any of the procedures described in FB.3. may not serve on any faculty committee(s) while that committee is fulfilling any responsibility referred to above. Any other individual with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from the above procedure(s); failing such recusal, they may be disqualified at the discretion of the President. An actual conflict of interest exists when an individual is not able to participate independently and objectively in fulfilling their role with respect to any of the above procedures. Furthermore, while the President serves as a member of the Board of Trustees and its Executive Committee and will therefore be present for any Executive sessions held by the Board of Trustees or its Executive Committee, the President will not vote on any recommendation he or she makes to the Board of Trustees or to the Executive Committee under this Chapter.