Arts & Sciences Faculty Grievance Policy

Adopted May 2018 - Revised March 2021

I. Introduction

1. Any faculty member, as defined in SBHE Policy 605.1., who has a grievance that may become subject to this grievance policy must first attempt to resolve the grievance at the department level. The individual with a grievance shall hereinafter be referred to as the “grievant” and the issue of concern shall be referred to as the “grievance.”
2. SBHE Policy 612 defines a “faculty grievance” as "an allegation of a violation of a specific Board or institutional policy, procedure or practice pertaining to the employment relationship. This includes the terms of the grievant's employment contract and this policy. Discretionary actions, such as salary adjustments and performance evaluations, may not be grieved, except to determine: (a) whether the discretionary action was made in accordance with relevant Board or institutional policies, practices, procedures or criteria; and (b) whether the action constitutes a clear abuse of discretion. Complaints involving any matters covered under Sections 605.3 or 605.4 are not grievances under this policy. Grievances cannot be filed against written Board and institutional policies, per se." The University's procedures for resolving faculty grievances are governed by sections 612 and 605.5 of the SBHE Policies for Academic Staff (UND Faculty Handbook, section II.2.1)
3. This grievance policy shall be utilized by faculty to resolve faculty grievances within the College of Arts and Sciences. A faculty member wishing to bring a grievance under SBHE 612 must first utilize the process outlined in this policy to resolve the grievance at the Department and/or College level.
4. All timelines in this grievance policy may be suspended between May 16 and August 15 if any parties involved in the grievance are nine-month faculty and expressly request the suspension.

II. Department-Level Grievance Process for Faculty

Prior to initiating a formal grievance at the department level, the following informal steps for resolution should be taken:

Informal Steps

1. The grievant should try to resolve the issue with the person who is believed to have caused the faculty member harm.
2. The grievant shall bring the potential grievance to the department chair and the chair will work with the person(s) involved in an attempt to resolve the grievance informally. If the grievance involves a chair or an administrator (other than the Dean) or staff at the College level and/or College policies or procedures, other than those associated with the academic petition process, the grievant shall approach the Dean. The Dean shall assign a lead person to attempt to resolve the grievance informally.
3. If the grievance is not resolved informally, the grievant may seek conflict management guidance through the University of North Dakota's partnership with Sustainable Solutions. Information about the conflict management services can found online.

Formal Grievance Process

1. Within ten (10) business days of the last attempt to informally resolve the grievance as determined by the department chair (or designee), the grievant shall initiate the formal grievance process by filing a written grievance with the department chair, indicating the basis for the grievance and the specific remedy sought. If the grievance involves a department chair, the formal grievance process will proceed directly to the College-level process as specified in section III below.
2. The department chair will notify the individual(s) alleged to be the basis for the grievance (respondent) of the formal grievance. The respondent will submit to the department chair any written responsive information within twenty (20) business days of the date of the respondent’s notification and receipt of the formal grievance.
3. The department chair shall visit with the grievant and the respondent and shall request additional information as deemed necessary to render a decision in response to the grievance.
4. If departmental policy or bylaws dictate that grievances are decided upon by a departmental committee, then the chair will follow policy or the bylaws and provide the written grievance to the chair of the department committee and ensure the correct departmental process is followed. Once the departmental committee process is concluded, the outcome shall be forwarded to the department chair in accordance with section C.5 below.
5. Within forty (40) business days after the formal written grievance was provided to the department chair, the department chair shall provide the parties to the grievance with a written decision on the grievance to conclude the formal grievance process at the department level.
6. It is the responsibility of the department chair to retain a record of the department level grievance process, which shall include copies of any relevant documents used in the process. In the event the grievance results in disciplinary action or document to be placed in the personnel file, such action will be documented in accordance with NDCC, SBHE, and UND policy.
7. If either party is dissatisfied with the decision of the department chair or department committee, they may appeal the decision as provided in the College-Level Process – section III below.

III. College-Level Process

1. The College Executive Committee (CEC) is formed as outlined in College of Arts & Sciences Bylaws to consider a party’s appeal of a decision related to a grievance through the departmental process (Sections III B and C) or to consider a grievance that involves a department chair (Sections III D and E). In the event that a grievance involves the College of Arts & Sciences Dean, the Provost will appoint a Dean from another College to oversee the grievance.
2. CEC Process for Appeal of a Department-Level Decision
   1. An appeal of a department-level decision may be submitted by either party (referred to as the “appellant”). The other party or parties to the appeal are referred to as the respondent(s). An appeal must be filed with the Dean within five (5) business days after the department-level decision on a formal grievance has been made. The appeal must indicate the basis for the appeal and the specific remedy sought. A copy of the decision from the department-level process and the original formal grievance submitted at the department-level must accompany the appeal that is submitted to the Dean (together referred to as “Appeal”).
   2. A copy of the final recommendation of the CEC will be sent by the CEC chair to the appellant, respondent, the Dean, and the chair of the department in which the grievance was originally considered.
   3. The appeal process will be completed in forty (40) business days from the day the grievance is filed with the Dean. If the CEC cannot complete the process in forty (40) business days, they may request an extension from the Dean, which shall be granted upon a showing of good cause from the CEC.
3. CEC Procedures for Appeal of a Department-Level Decision
   1. The CEC must hold an initial meeting and elect a chair within five (5) business days after notification from the Dean that an appeal has been filed.
   2. The CEC chair will notify the respondent of the opportunity to submit information to the CEC and provide the respondent with the appeal within one (1) business day of being elected. The chair will include in the notification the respondent’s deadline for providing responsive information, which will be within twenty (20) 
      business days of the date of the respondent’s notification and receipt of the appeal.
   3. There will be no review of the appeal by any member of the CEC until the chair has received a response from the respondent. After obtaining respondent’s response, the chair will distribute both the appeal and the response to the CEC.
   4. Within ten (10) business days of the CEC receiving the appeal and respondent's response, the CEC shall interview the parties and review all documentation. The parties may suggest individuals to the CEC for purposes of gathering information pertaining to the appeal issues. The CEC will choose whom to interview. All College of Art & Sciences employees are expected to cooperate fully with the CEC investigation. If individuals involved or who are deemed by the CEC to have relevant and material knowledge of the issues are not available for interview during the ten (10) business days allotted, the CEC shall inform the Dean that they need additional time. An extension for this reason shall be granted.
   5. Within forty (40) business days from the appeal filing date the CEC shall issue a report providing findings and recommendations for disposition of the appeal issues to the Dean. The parties will also receive a copy of the report; however, no further input will be accepted after the findings and recommendations are provided to the Dean.
   6. Within five (5) five business days of receiving the CEC report, the Dean or designee shall concur, modify, or reject the CEC recommendation and notify the parties of the Dean’s decision.
   7. Any appeal not resolved at The College Level may be forwarded by either party through the appropriate university process (see UND Faculty Handbook, section II-2).
4. CEC Process for a Formal Grievance Involving a Department Chair
   1. A formal grievance involving a department chair must be filed with the Dean within ten (10) business days of the last attempt to informally resolve the grievance as determined by the Dean (or lead person). The written grievance must indicate the basis for the grievance and the specific remedy sought.
   2. A copy of the final recommendation of the CEC will be sent by the CEC chair to the grievant, respondent (department chair), and the Dean.
   3. The grievance process will be completed in forty (40) business days from the day the grievance is filed with the Dean. If the CEC cannot complete the process in forty (40) business days, they may request an extension from the Dean, which shall be granted upon a showing of good cause from the CEC.
5. CEC Procedures for a Formal Grievance Involving a Department Chair
   1. The CEC must hold an initial meeting and elect a chair within five (5) business days after notification from the Dean that a formal grievance involving a department chair (subsequent referred to as the respondent) has been filed.
   2. The CEC chair will notify the respondent of the opportunity to submit information to the CEC and provide the respondent with the grievance within one (1) business day of being elected. The CEC chair will include in the notification the respondent’s deadline for providing responsive information, which will be within twenty (20) business days of the date of the respondent’s notification and receipt of the formal grievance.
   3. There will be no review of the formal grievance by any member of the CEC until the CEC chair has received a response from the respondent. After obtaining the respondent’s response, the CEC chair will distribute both the grievance and the response to the CEC.
   4. Within ten (10) business days of the CEC receiving the grievance and respondent’s response, the CEC shall interview the parties and review all documentation. The parties may suggest individuals to the CEC for purposes of gathering information pertaining to the grievance. The CEC will choose whom to interview. All College of Arts & Sciences employees are expected to cooperate fully with the CEC investigation. If individuals involved or who are deemed by the CEC to have relevant and material knowledge of the issues are not available for interview during the ten (10) business days allotted, the CEC shall inform the Dean that they need additional time. An extension for this reason shall be granted.
   5. Within forty (40) business days from the formal grievance filing date the CEC shall issue a report providing findings and recommendations for disposition of the grievance issues to the Dean. The parties will also receive a copy of the report; however, no further input will be accepted after the findings and recommendations are provided to the Dean.
   6. Within five (5) business days of receiving the CEC report, the Dean shall concur, modify, or reject the CEC recommendation and notify the parties of the Dean’s decision.
   7. Any formal grievance involving a department chair not resolved at the College level may be forwarded by either party through the appropriate university process (see UND Faculty Handbook, section II-2).
6. General Information
   1. Administrative support for the CEC will be provided by the Dean's office staff, who will be responsible for keeping official minutes, and distributing and storing all documents provided by the parties involved.
   2. All documents related to the appeal or formal grievance involving a department chair will be retained for a period of three years after the final resolution at the College level. At that time, the Dean will be responsible for destroying the documentation, besides documentation that is placed in the personnel record of any party in accordance with the University’s Procedure for Establishment, Maintenance and Utilization of Comprehensive Faculty Personnel Records, NDCC § 54-06-21 and NDCC § 44-04-18.1(1). Should the recommendation of the CEC be appealed to a higher level, all documents shall be provided to the relevant administrator or committee and subsequent security and storage shall be maintained according to appropriate University policies and/or procedures.