Appendix A - Faculty Grievance Procedures - Faculty Handbook
Appendix A
Faculty Grievance Procedures
Notes: "School" refers to any college, school or UAB Libraries in which the grievant has a primary appointment.
References to "Provost" may refer to the "Office of the Provost."
I. Filing a Grievance
When a faculty member has been unable to obtain a satisfactory solution to a grievance within their school, formal grievance procedures may be initiated by the faculty member by filing a written grievance with the Provost. The written grievance (1) should state, in detail, (a) the facts from which the grievance arose, (b) the process followed within the school to resolve the grievance, and (c) the results of the preliminary attempt to solve the problem and (2) should state a specific request for the relief sought. The written grievance must be submitted to the Provost within thirty calendar days after the faculty member has received a written decision from the dean.
Upon receipt of a written grievance, the Provost will review the grievance and shall determine the most appropriate course of action. If it is determined that the grievance involves the evaluation of the professional qualifications of a faculty member, which are most appropriately made by individuals with expertise in the particular academic discipline, the grievance may be sent back to the school, college, or UAB Libraries for final resolution by the dean in consultation with the appropriate faculty committee and chair. In all other cases, the Provost may attempt to resolve the grievance to the mutual satisfaction of the party(ies) involved. If such a resolution is not reached within thirty calendar days, the grievant may request that a Grievance Committee be convened, and the Provost shall proceed to do so. Irrespective of this request, the Provost, on their own initiative, may establish a Grievance Committee within the thirty-day period if the Provost thinks no resolution will occur via the mediation. The Grievance Committee shall be established by the Provost from the UAB Grievance and Termination Hearing Panel.
II. The Grievance Committee
The Grievance Committee shall be appointed by the Provost and shall consist of the next three members of the UAB Grievance and Termination Hearing Panel who do not hold primary appointments in the department, school, college, or UAB Libraries of primary appointment of the grievant. Any appointed member who believes that they cannot render an impartial decision concerning the grievance because of personal involvement with any of the party(ies) or with the school or the department and/or division involved shall so state to the Provost within ten calendar days of appointment to the Grievance Committee. The Provost may strike or excuse any individual who has a demonstrable conflict of interest or bias. The Provost will appoint the next panel member in line for service to fill any vacancies.
When three appointments have been obtained, the Provost shall notify the grievant. The grievant shall be allowed to challenge the service by any appointee who, in the opinion of the grievant, cannot consider the grievance impartially. Should the grievant elect to exercise this right, the grievant shall notify the Provost within ten calendar days of the Provost's notification; and, if the Provost concurs, the challenged member shall be excused. The Provost will then appoint the next panel member in line for service. This process will continue until a Grievance Committee of three has been established. Neither the Provost nor the grievant may unilaterally strike more than three members except in cases of documented extenuating circumstances.
The Provost shall appoint a staff member from the Office of the Provost to serve as secretary to the Grievance Committee.
III. Participant Responsibilities
IV. Right to Advisor
The grievant and each accused party may have an advisor present when appearing before the Grievance Committee. The advisors do not participate in the proceedings of the hearing. The grievant and the accused party(ies) shall speak on their own behalf. At all times, the Committee through its chair must maintain control of the meeting.
V. Grievance Committee Procedure
A. Preparation for Grievance Hearing
The first meeting of the Grievance Committee shall be called by the Provost. At the first meeting, the Grievance Committee shall elect its chair and shall be charged with its duties by the Provost.
The Committee shall meet to review available written documentation from the grievant and accused party(ies). The Committee shall request from the grievant and the accused party(ies) a list of proposed witnesses including the information that each witness will provide along with the relevance of each witness' testimony to the facts of the grievance. UAB will not be responsible for covering travel expenses of witnesses.
The Grievance Committee shall meet with the grievant and charged party(ies) to (1) identify and request documents it deems necessary and relevant to the grievance, (2) determine which witnesses will be called, (3) identify additional witnesses whose testimony should be taken, (4) identify the questions to be raised to the witnesses, and (5) set the date(s) and time(s) for the grievance meeting(s). It will be the responsibility of the grievant and the accused party(ies) to produce their own witnesses, if they are called by the Grievance Committee.
The chair of the Grievance Committee shall notify the grievant, all accused parties, and all called witnesses as to the time(s), date(s), and location(s) of the grievance meetings
B. The Grievance Hearing
The chair of the Grievance Committee shall preside at the grievance hearing and shall provide rulings relative to procedural issues that are in dispute during the hearing. Any ruling by the chair may be appealed by any party to the whole committee, which shall have, by majority vote, final authority in the matter.
The Grievance hearing shall be confidential, and only those directly involved shall be included in the grievance hearing.
The recommended meeting procedure is as follows:
VI. Action by Provost
Based on the conclusions and recommendations of the Grievance Committee, the Provost may pursue additional action to resolve the grievance. Within fifteen working days of receiving the Grievance Committee's report, the Provost shall provide a written memorandum to the grievant, with copies to the accused parties and the members of the Grievance Committee, describing the Provost's efforts to resolve this matter and their recommendations.
VII. Final Action
If the Provost is unable to resolve the grievance within fifteen working days after receiving the Grievance Committee's report, the grievant may appeal to the UAB President. The Provost shall then forward to the President the committee report along with their recommendations. The President shall act within fifteen working days after receiving these materials and, in so doing, shall give considerable weight to the report of the Grievance Committee. The President shall provide a written memorandum to the grievant, with copies to the accused party(ies), the Provost, and the members of the Grievance Committee. Should the President's action be inconsistent with the report of the Grievance Committee, the President shall state their reasons in the memorandum. The decision of the President is final.