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Publication Date: March 29, 2002

Chapter 2

Faculty and Academics

2.34 Faculty Grievance Procedure

Informal Resolution

Under normal circumstances, a faculty member should first seek informal administrative solutions to complaints through direct conversations with the respective Department Chair and Dean and finally the Provost.

In initiating the informal approach, typically a faculty member shall present the complaint in writing to the Department Chair or administrative equivalent or other administrator who made the decision or took the action that is the subject of the complaint for discussion, consideration, and resolution within thirty (30) work days from the date the faculty member is notified of the decision or action. The person to whom the complaint is presented must respond in writing within ten (10) work days after receipt of the complaint. If the Department Chair or other supervisor is the subject of the complaint, the grievant may address the complaint to the next highest administrative level in the College or University.

The grievant may present any documentary evidence to the Department Chair or administrator equivalent that he/she considers relevant to the grievance and the resolution of the complaint.

The grievant may seek the advice of the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs on procedural matters regarding the informal and the formal grievance process.

The Department Chair or other administrative equivalent may request legal advice from the Office of General Counsel by submitting his/her questions or concerns to the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs who will coordinate the consultation directly with counsel.

A faculty member will not be penalized, disciplined or in any manner retaliated against for exercising his/her right to make a complaint, filing a formal grievance, or for assisting another faculty member in the presentation of that complaint.

If the grievant's complaint is a complaint against another faculty member, the complaint must address a grievable issue as described in II.A. of this policy. In a grievance against another faculty member, the grievant may seek informal resolution as described above or may proceed to the formal procedures as described below.

When such an informal resolution process is deemed unsatisfactory or is not selected by the faculty member(s), the grievant may choose to proceed with the formal grievance procedure outlined below.

  1. Formal Procedure

    1. Except as provided in II.B. and II.C. below, a faculty member has the right to seek redress of any grievance related to the terms and conditions of employment. A faculty member is any individual holding an academic title as defined in Chapter II, Section 2.1, The Faculty, in The University of Texas at San Antonio Handbook of Operating Procedures.

    2. Each faculty member may express a grievance through the following procedures with the assurance of timely and thorough consideration. Grievants are assured freedom from reprisals for the filing of their grievances.

    3. The Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure is charged with reviewing and making recommendations to the Senate on policies related to tenure and academic freedom. The Faculty Grievance Committee (hereinafter "Committee") is authorized to hear individual grievances. The Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs will assist the Committee and the Hearing Panels in the process of implementing this policy. All procedural questions from both faculty and administrators regarding this policy should be directed to the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.

    4. The grievance procedure as described in this policy is available to all faculty members and is the only authorized grievance process. Faculty members may also choose to use the services of the University's Problem Solving/Conflict Resolution Program to resolve disputes prior to filing a grievance under this policy.

    5. The Chair of the Committee, Committee and subcommittee members, and hearing panel members should maintain confidentiality concerning the nature of all grievances and shall not discuss any facts related to the grievance with third parties who are not directly involved in the processing or resolution of the grievance or who do not have a need to know.

  2. Issues Subject to Grievance Procedures

    1. These procedures are established to process grievances of faculty members. Grievable issues that relate to the terms and conditions of employment are the following:

      1. academic freedom of an individual faculty member as defined in Part One, Chapter III, Section 7 of the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents;

      2. disciplinary actions that result in a suspension without pay or suspension of faculty privileges, salary, hours, working conditions, performance evaluations, merit raises, job assignments, promotions, or allegations of discrimination on a basis that is prohibited by state or federal law, except in nonreappointment decisions. Faculty members may choose to pursue the grievance of discrimination through this grievance policy or by presenting their grievance to the Affirmative Action Officer for investigation and final resolution.

      3. The above includes administrative actions which the individual faculty member deems to be a violation of contractual rights or an infringement upon the exercise of rights guaranteed by the laws or constitution of this state or the United States and also includes grievances between faculty members.

    2. Issues or actions not governed by this Grievance Policy and addressed in other provisions of the Handbook or the Regents' Rules and Regulations include financial exigency, program abandonment, nonreappointment of tenure-track and nontenure-track faculty, termination for cause, or sexual harassment.

    3. Dismissal of a tenured faculty member or a non-tenured faculty member during the stated period of appointment and appeals of nonrenewal decisions related to nontenured faculty shall be governed by the Board of Regents' Rules and Regulations.

  3. Faculty Grievance Committee and Hearing Panel

    1. The Committee consists of one voting member elected from the faculty of each Department, serving two-year overlapping terms, with half elected each year. During the first year, half of the members will serve for a two-year term and half for a one-year term. One-year terms will be established by random selection within each College. The Dean will ensure that a random selection takes place and will submit the names and terms of the elected members to the Office of the Provost. The President will appoint eight voting members from the faculty at large to the Committee (four new members each year after the first year). The Committee elects its own Chair and will delegate deliberative and consultative functions on cases to subcommittees of three members selected at random. The Chair shall forward copies of all records pertaining to the grievance to the deciding official in each step of the grievance process. The original grievance records will be maintained by the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and can be reviewed by the Chair of the Committee. At the conclusion of the grievance process (both informal and formal stages), the final deciding official will forward the grievance file to the University's Custodian of Records for appropriate disposition. The Chair shall, in addition, provide the Provost and the University Assembly an annual report summarizing the Committee's work.

    2. Formal hearings under these procedures shall be conducted by a Hearing Panel consisting of three faculty members drawn at random from a pool of faculty hearing officers. The Hearing Panel will elect its own Chair. The pool of faculty hearing officers shall be constituted in the following manner:

      1. Each member of the Faculty Senate, in consultation with Departmental Faculty, shall appoint a hearing officer to serve for the period of the Senator's term;

      2. The President may appoint eight additional hearing officers each year to serve two year terms.

    3. Grievants may not serve on the subcommittee or as members of the Hearing Panel for their own grievances.

  4. Grievance Procedure

    1. Time Limitations

      1. The grievant shall present the complaint in writing to the grievant's Department Chair (see IV.C.2. below) within ninety (90) work days from the date information about the subject of the complaint is available.

      2. Each step in the grievance procedure is exhausted either upon the grievant's receipt of the written decision or recommendation of the appropriate officer or subcommittee from the Committee or upon expiration of the stipulated time period, whichever occurs earlier. Upon exhaustion of a step, the grievant may proceed to the next step of the procedure. The time periods stipulated may be extended upon mutual written agreement of the parties.

    2. Request for Informal Assistance

      1. The faculty member may request in writing the informal assistance of the Committee in the resolution of grievances. Except as provided in IV.B.2. below, such a request is not a prerequisite to the use of the grievance procedure set forth below; and the faculty member may choose to file a formal complaint prior to the completion of the informal process. When the Chair of the Committee receives a grievant's request for informal assistance, the Chair will appoint at random a subcommittee of three faculty members from the Committee to assist the grievant. No member of this subcommittee shall have been involved in any way in the grievance. In conducting informal negotiations between the grievant and other relevant persons, the subcommittee may urge substantive reconsideration of the grievant's complaint by appropriate administrative officers or withdrawal or modification of the complaint by the grievant. With the assistance of the subcommittee, if the grievant is unable to resolve the grievance within ten (10) work days from the date of the grievant's request for informal assistance, the subcommittee will notify the Chair of the Committee. The Chair will then inform the grievant that he/she may initiate the formal grievance procedure described in "C" below.

      2. Any such request or grievance which involves alleged or suspected discrimination for reasons of race, sex, age, religion, national origin, veteran status, or disability may be directed to the Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Officer prior to the initiation of any grievance procedure at the election of the grievant. If the grievant decides to pursue his/her discrimination complaint through the Affirmative Action Officer, the grievance process under this policy terminates. If the Affirmative Action Officer's investigation or findings conclude that the grievant's complaint does not contain allegations or facts that give rise to a discrimination claim, the grievant may resume the grievance process on nondiscrimination issues.

    3. Initiation and Processing of Formal Complaints

      1. Step 1. The faculty member initiates the formal grievance procedure by the submission of a written complaint to the Chair of the Committee. Upon such submission, the grievant shall be advised of the appropriate steps (including IV.B.2. above) to be followed in the procedure. The grievant may choose to bypass steps 2 and/or 3 if the following conditions apply:

        1. If the grievant sought informal resolution of his/her grievance through the Department Chair and/or Dean and was unable to resolve the grievance, the grievant may choose to bypass the step involving the Department Chair or the Dean and proceed to the next step.

        2. If the Department Chair or the Dean is the subject of the complaint, the grievant may bypass step 2 or 3 and proceed to the next step in the process.

        In all other cases, the grievant shall proceed as follows.

      2. Step 2. The grievant submits a complaint in writing to the Department Chair. The Chair of the Committee shall designate a member of the Committee to serve in an advisory capacity to the grievant if the faculty member so requests. Within ten (10) work days of receipt of the complaint, the Department Chair must provide the grievant with a decision or recommendation in writing, forwarding a copy to the Chair of the Committee.

      3. Step 3. The grievant may appeal the decision or recommendation of the Department Chair to the Dean of the appropriate College. The Chair of the Committee shall designate a member of the Committee to serve in an advisory capacity to the grievant if the faculty member so requests. The appeal must be in writing and submitted within ten (10) work days after the exhaustion of Step 2. Within ten (10) work days of receipt of the appeal, the Dean must provide the grievant with a decision or recommendation in writing, forwarding a copy to the Chair of the Committee.

      4. Step 4. The grievant may appeal the decision or recommendation of the Dean to the Committee. The appeal must be in writing and submitted to the Chair of the Committee within ten (10) work days after the exhaustion of Step 3. A subcommittee must determine whether the grievant's complaint, construing all allegations in the light most favorable to the grievant, states a claim upon which relief may be granted. The Chair of the Committee will randomly select three members of the Committee to serve on a subcommittee to reach this determination on the grievant's claim. The subcommittee will elect its own Chair. No member of this subcommittee shall have been involved in any way in the grievance. If a procedural recommendation is made by no fewer than two subcommittee members that the grievance be dismissed due to failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, the subcommittee will forward the recommendation to the Committee Chair. The Chair of the Committee upon receiving the subcommittee recommendation to dismiss a complaint will seek consultation with the Office of General Counsel through the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and document that consultation prior to the dismissal of a grievant's complaint. If the General Counsel concurs that the case should be dismissed by the Committee Chair, such a dismissal will be transmitted in writing and conclude the faculty grievance procedure. If the complaint is not dismissed at this stage, then the subcommittee may attempt to resolve the grievance through informal means. If it is unable to do so within ten (10) work days after receipt of the appeal, the Committee Chair shall so notify the grievant in writing that he/she may request a formal hearing.

      5. The grievant may request a formal hearing. The request must be in writing and submitted to the Chair of the Committee within ten (10) work days after the exhaustion of Step 4.

        1. The Committee shall assign a Hearing Panel selected as provided for in III.B. above. The Hearing Panel shall not include any accuser of the grievant, anyone involved in any way in the action or circumstances giving rise to the grievance, or anyone who may be a witness in the hearing. If any member of the Hearing Panel is of the view that he or she cannot serve with fairness and objectivity, that person shall not participate in the hearing from whatever time that member becomes aware of the impediment to continued service. Either party may move to disqualify a Hearing Panel member whose service is alleged to be in violation of these provisions. It shall be up to each such challenged member to determine whether he or she can serve with fairness and objectivity in the matter. If a Hearing Panel member should voluntarily disqualify him- or herself, the Committee shall assign a substitute in accordance with III.B above. Additionally, either party may challenge the overall composition of the Hearing Panel. If the challenge is upheld by the Committee, a new Hearing Panel will be selected.

        2. In all cases at this stage, the Hearing Panel shall hold a formal hearing. The Hearing Panel's decision to hear the grievant's complaint shall be transmitted to the grievant in writing. The grievant may then begin to request documents and other tangible evidence from the administration pursuant to V.B.5. of the Formal Hearing Procedure.

        3. A hearing shall be held by the Hearing Panel in accordance with the procedures contained in V below, at the earliest date convenient to all concerned parties. Every effort will be made to convene the hearing within fifteen (15) work days after the hearing is formally requested. The parties must be given notice of the hearing date at least ten (10) work days in advance.

        4. Upon completion of the hearing, the Hearing Panel shall notify the parties and the Provost of its advisory decision, including its findings, determinations, and recommendations, and any minority report. If the parties voluntarily accept the Hearing Panel's recommendations and the Committee possesses authority for its implementation, the procedure is ended. If approval of higher administrative officers is required for implementation, the recommendation shall be forwarded to the Provost for disposition.

        5. Unless the parties voluntarily accept and implement the Hearing Panel's recommendations, either party may appeal in writing to the Provost within ten (10) work days after the Hearing Panel makes its recommendations. The Provost shall render a decision in writing to the grievant within twenty (20) work days after receipt of the appeal or request, forwarding copies to other concerned parties. The Provost may endorse, modify, or reject the recommendations of the Hearing Panel. The Provost's decision will conclude the grievance process for all those grievances on matters for which s/he has final authority.

        6. On matters beyond the Provost's final authority either party may appeal the decision of the Provost in writing to the President within twenty (20) work days. The President will render a final decision within twenty (20) work days thereafter.

  5. Formal Hearing Procedures

    1. Conduct of Hearing

      1. The Hearing Panel will request through the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs that the Office of General Counsel provide legal counsel to the Hearing Panel prior to the formal hearing and will seek counsel's advice on procedural and substantive matters.

      2. The Hearing Panel shall conduct a hearing to determine the facts. The burden of proof shall rest with the grievant to prove, by a preponderance of the credible evidence:

        1. that a decision was not made in substantial compliance with University criteria or procedures;

        2. that there is no rational basis for the decision or action;

        3. that the decision or action was made for reasons that are unlawful under the state or federal constitution, laws or court decisions; or

        4. that a decision or action violates a written agreement signed by the faculty member and an authorized representative of the University and that has received all the necessary approvals by the University and U.T. System.

      3. General concepts of relevance and materiality shall prevail at the hearing. The rules of evidence that obtain in a court of law need not be strictly observed when, in the judgment of the Hearing Panel, evidence of probative value is being offered; but every reasonable effort shall be made to review the most reliable evidence available.

      4. At least three (3) work days before the hearing, each party shall notify the other and the Hearing Panel of the identity of witnesses, other than impeaching witnesses, to be called and of documents to be submitted in evidence. The parties shall have the right to confront and cross-examine all witnesses.

      5. The Hearing Panel shall insure that all parties are afforded a fair procedure and substantial justice.

      6. The Hearing Panel may adjourn to enable either party to investigate evidence for which a claim of surprise is made.

      7. Except for routine announcements, such as those relating to the time of the hearing and similar matters, public statements about the grievance by the parties, Hearing Panel members, or Committee members shall be avoided.

      8. In all grievances, a complete electronic recording of the hearing shall be taken and made available to the parties upon request. The grievant, upon request, shall be provided with a copy of the transcript upon payment of the normal costs for making copies of documents.

      9. The Hearing Panel by a majority of its total membership shall:

        1. make findings of fact;

        2. determine whether the facts so found constitute a violation of the grievant's academic freedom or constitutional, statutory, or contractual rights; and

        3. make such recommendations as it deems appropriate.

        4. Such findings and determination shall be based solely on the evidence included in the record.

    2. Rights of Parties

      1. All parties, at any level of the grievance procedure, may be represented by a reasonable number of personally chosen individuals or legal counsel.

      2. The party having the burden of proof will have the opportunity to open and close the presentation and argument, if any, to be made to the Hearing Panel.

      3. Each party shall have the right to testify. The grievant may not be required to testify.

      4. The hearing shall be closed unless the grievant requests a public hearing and the Hearing Panel concludes that there are no compelling reasons for denying that request.

      5. When a hearing is to be held, the grievant shall be afforded an opportunity to obtain necessary witnesses and documentary or other evidence to the extent such documentary evidence is available under the Texas Public Information Act . The Chair of the Hearing Panel shall assist in securing the cooperation of witnesses and make available any necessary documents and other evidence within its control. Both the grievant and the administration may obtain access to documents and other real evidence for purposes of inspection and copying. Such access may be obtained regarding any matter not privileged that is relevant to the issues before the Hearing Panel. Unless the party of whom the discovery is requested seeks an order of the Hearing Panel to limit the discovery, discovery will be facilitated through the cooperation and agreement of the parties.

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