IUN Faculty Organization
Constitutional Revision Committee
April 1998: Proposed Addition to the Bylaws
September 1998: Tabled Pending Editorial Revisions
November 1998: Reintroduced and Tabled Pending Revisions
January 1999: Reintroduced and Passed
[deletions] additions
K. Appeals to the Faculty Board of Review (See also Article V of this Constitution)
Filing an Appeal
- A. An appeal by any faculty member, concerning administrative actions regarding the academic freedom, tenure, promotion, salary adjustment, or nature and conditions of work of that faculty member, shall be filed within sixty (60) calendar days of the final administrative actions giving rise to the appeal. If the 60th calendar day is on a weekend or holiday, the appeal must be submitted by the next business day. Appeals will not be accepted after this time.
- B. All appeals to the Faculty Board of Review shall be made in writing. The faculty member may file an appeal with the Faculty Board of review in one of two ways:
- A faculty member may file an appeal directly with the Faculty Board of Review by submitting the appeal to any member of the Faculty Board of Review; or
- A faculty member may file an appeal by submitting it to the Chair of the Faculty Organization, who will transmit it to the Faculty Board of Review. Should a faculty member choose to initiate an appeal in this manner, the appeal should be submitted in a sealed envelope, with a cover letter asking for the transmittal of the appeal.
- C. An appeal shall include, at a minimum, the following:
- Specification of the administrative action being appealed, including identification of the administrative officer(s) involved in the action.
- Reasons for requesting the review, including any documentary evidence thought by the faculty member filing the appeal to be relevant.
- If appropriate, a list of persons whom the faculty member suggests that Faculty Board of Review might interview.
- A proposed remedy.
- D. At the time the appeal is filed, a copy of the appeal shall be provided to the administrative officer(s) whose action is being appealed.
- Procedures of the Faculty Board of Review.
- A. General procedures.
- When a hearing is to be held, both the faculty member bringing the appeal and the administrative officer whose action is being appealed should provide to the chair of the Faculty Board of Review a list of all evidence which will be used at the hearing. Included shall be a list of any university records that they would like the board to consider as well as a list of witness that they would like to appear at a hearing on their behalf. The Faculty Board of Review shall notify those witnesses of the time and place of the hearing.
- Proceedings of the Faculty Board of Review shall remain confidential. The Faculty member filing an appeal, the administrative officer(s) involved in the appeal, witnesses, and members of the Faculty Board of Review shall avoid public statements about matters before the Faculty Board of Review.
- Any decision to make a public announcement of a recommendation made by the Faculty Board of Review must be agreed to by the faculty member filing the appeal and by the administrative officer(s) involved in the appeal. Such announcement shall include either the complete report of the Faculty Board of Review, or, in cases where it is necessary to protect the privacy of individuals or the confidentiality of records, an abridgement of that report prepared by the Faculty Board of Review.
- Conflicts of interest.
- a. The Faculty Board of Review and its members shall be sensitive to the existence of or the appearance of conflicts of interest in any case coming before the Faculty Board of Review.
- [b. If a member of the Faculty Board of Review believes that a conflict of interest exists (or may reasonably be thought ot exist), that member shall excuse himself or herself from the appeal.]
- b. Whenever a conflict of interest appears to exist, that member of the Faculty Board of Review shall excuse himself/herself from the appeal on his or her own initiative.
- c. If the Faculty Board of Review believes that a of interest exists or may arise, the Faculty Board of Review shall require that member to excuse himself or herself from the appeal.
- d. Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to the following circumstances:
- A member of the Faculty Board of Review is a party to an appeal made to the Faculty Board of Review.
- a) A member of the Faculty Board of Review files an appeal.
- b) A member of the Faculty Board of Review holds an administrative appointment and an appeal is filed involving administrative actions taken by the member of the Faculty Board of Review.
- c) A member of the Faculty Board of Review has been consulted by administrative officer(s) prior to his/her making a decision which is subsequently appealed.
- d) A faculty member contemplating filing an appeal consults with a colleague who is subsequently elected to the Faculty Board of Review.
- A member of the Faculty Board of Review is a member of the same department (or other academic unit not divided into departments) as the faculty member filing an appeal.
- A member of the Faculty Board of Review has an on-going professional relationship either with the faculty member filing an appeal or with an administrative officer whose decision is being appealed. Examples include:
- a) On-going joint research projects.
- b) On-going team-teaching, course-development, or related activities.
- A member of the Faculty Board of Review has or has had an association or relationship with either the faculty member filing an appeal or the administrative officer whose decision is being appealed, and the nature of that association or relationship is such that the member of the Faculty Board of Review may not be able to render an objective decision in the matter.
B. Procedures concerning cases involving academic freedom or tenure.
- The Faculty Board of Review shall set a hearing date that is mutually agreeable to the faculty member filing the appeal and to the administrative officer(s) whose actions are being appealed.
- After the hearing is concluded, the Faculty Board of Review shall, within 30 calendar days, write [a report containing its recommendation] its decision and distribute that decision to the faculty member filing the appeal and to the Chancellor.
- Within thirty (30) days of receiving the report of the Faculty Board of Review, the Chancellor shall provide a written statement to the Faculty Board of Review, stating the University's decision on the appeal and on the recommendation made by the Faculty Board of Review, including the reasons for that decision. The faculty member filing the appeal shall also receive a copy of the Chancellor's decision.
C. Procedures concerning cases involving promotion, salary adjustment, or the nature and conditions of work (including disciplinary actions taken with respect to a faculty member).
- The Faculty Board of Review shall hold a hearing in which the faculty member filing the appeal may explain and elaborate upon the written appeal made to the Faculty Board of Review.
- The faculty member filing the appeal has the right to request a closed hearing.
- The Faculty Board of Review may, at its discretion, meet separately with the faculty member filing the appeal and the administrative officer(s) involved in the appeal, or it may request that a joint meeting.
- Upon completing its investigations, and based on the information it has received, the Faculty Board of Review shall prepare a written report, including its recommendations, and submit that report to the appropriate administrative officer(s) and, thirty days thereafter, to the faculty member filing the appeal. Within thirty (30) days of receiving the report of the Faculty Board of Review, the administrative officer(s) to whom the report was submitted shall provide a written response to the Faculty Board of Review, including the decision made in the case and the reasons for that decision. A copy of this response shall also be provided to the faculty member filing the appeal.
Rationale: The University Faculty Council has established minimum standards pertaining to the Faculty Board of Review. These changes are in the June 1997 edition of the Academic Handbook page 27. Procedures of our Faculty Board of Review need to be aligned as well as clarified.
Kenneth J. Schoon, Chair
Constitutional Revision Committee
3400 Broadway - Gary, Indiana 46408
219-980-6500
888-YOUR IUN
(1-888-968-7486)
Comments:
http://www.iun.edu/~facorg/meeting98/BLAW2.htm