Faculty Assembly
Bylaws of the Faculty Senate
Executive Summary
Privilege
and Tenure Committee Procedures:
o The Bylaws of the Faculty Senate of the University of
Colorado (Bylaws) are intended to provide procedures implementing the University of
Colorado Faculty Senate
Constitution (Constitution) and are organized to correspond to the provisions of the
Constitution.
o The focus of this
executive summary is on those sections of the Bylaws that describe the Privilege and
Tenure Committee, its role and responsibilities,
those faculty grievance procedures
that are under the purview of the P&I Committee, and post-hearing procedures to the
level of the Board of
Regents.
o The Bylaws also
describe dismissal for cause procedures under the purview of the P & T Committee and
post-dismissal for cause procedures to the
level of the Board of Regents.
o The existing P &
T Committee procedures have been revised to make the procedures clearer, more effective
and more efficient and to provide for
resolution of the dispute at the
earliest possible stage in the process.
o It is clear that a
protracted grievance or dismissal for cause process benefits neither the faculty member
nor the administration and does not provide the
resource for faculty or
administration that the Board of Regents intended when it authorized the P & T
Committee process.
o It is clear that the
P & T Committee process cannot function efficiently without adequate resources,
including administrative support for the Committee
and resources for training
investigators, mediators, and panel chairs.
o Proposed changes are
focused in these areas:
•
Mediation. Creating a mediation process in the P & T Committee’s
procedures that will provide an effective means of resolving disputes without the
necessity
of an investigation or hearing, including:
>
Appointment of committee mediators who are neutral and who are trained to mediate
according to professional standards
>
Requirement that the parties to a grievance be encouraged to engage in mediation at
specific times in the process and be permitted to
engage
in mediation at any time in the process
>
The provision of an array of mediation resources to the parties, including access
to outside mediation resources, and the provision of
funds
to pay the costs of mediation
•
Timeliness. Establishing the time frames within which steps in the process
ordinarily should be completed and compressing those time frames as
much
as possible, for example:
>
The time for filing grievances is redefined.
>
Specific deadlines are provided by which level-i investigations must be completed
(90 days after the filing of a grievance) and by which
the
level-2 hearing process must be completed (90 days after referral for a hearing).
>
Throughout the procedures deadlines are provided by which responses must be given
and decisions must be made.
> The committee chair is given the
authority to make a decision on whether the committee has jurisdiction of the case,
subject to review by a
review
panel.
> The committee chair is designated
as a liaison to the parties to assist the parties in the grievance process.
> Panel chairs are assigned as
hearing officers.
> Both the committee chair and
the panel chairs are charged with the responsibility for assuring that the grievance
process moves forward in
a
timely manner.
•
Additional resources. Adding resources to
assist with the effective functioning of the grievance process, including:
>
University-provided training for mediators
> Paid outside investigators,
assigned at the discretion of the committee chair, to assist in investigations
> An advisory lawyer, provided at
university expense, to assist the committee throughout the process
•
Dismissal for cause procedure. Specifically
with reference to dismissal for cause proceedings, the procedures:
> Clarify that the parties in
a dismissal for cause case are the faculty member and the administrator who issued the
intent to dismiss
> Increase the limit up to
$20,000 for payment of a faculty member’s legal fees incurred in a formal hearing
process
> Clarify that, in order to
successfully maintain a dismissal for cause case, the administration bears the burden of
proving, by clear and
convincing
evidence, that dismissal is warranted
> Clarify that, while the
P&T Committee ordinarily does not determine academic merit, the committee does
evaluate the faculty member’s
merit
in a dismissal case based on perceived professional incompetence
> Provide that, when a
dismissal case goes to the Board of Regents, the hearing officer has an opportunity to
attend the board meeting and
to
serve as the committee’s spokesperson
Non-Privilege and Tenure Committee
Procedures:
• Detailed
specification of the functions of the executive committee
>
Clearinghouse for faculty council documents
>
As a steering committee for various activities of Faculty
Council and Faculty Senate committees
•
Establishing a clearer timeline for faculty council and
committee elections
>
Thoroughly revising membership of Faculty Council
committees to reflect actual practice
•
Thoroughly updating specific functions of existing Faculty
Council committees
•
Refining the functions of the newly established Learning
Educational Technology, Teaching and Scholarship (LETTS) committee
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