University Ombuds Officer
The university has an Ombuds officer, who is elected by voting faculty for a three-year term. The Ombuds is a designated neutral, neither an employee nor a management advocate. The Ombuds officer is empowered to facilitate the timely and equitable mediation outside of the faculty grievance process. The role of the Ombuds officer is to foster a resolution to issues prior to the initiation of the filing of a formal grievance.
Faculty Complaint, Grievance, and Appeal Procedures
Each faculty member will have free access through proper channels to the offices of immediate and higher supervisors, Human Resources representatives, or other official alternate dispute resolution programs to discuss problems and complaints regarding the employment relationship. (TAMUS Policy 32.01.01; TAMIU SAP 32.01.01.L0.01). A faculty member of Texas A&M International University has the right under the statutes of Texas to present grievances concerning wages, hours of work, or terms and conditions of work, individually or through a representative, provided such representative does not claim the right to strike or bargain collectively. ( TAMUS APRM B.4.5).
Grievances or disputes involving faculty can be categorized by the participants to the disagreement. These categories are:
Faculty – Student
Faculty – Faculty
Faculty – Administrative service or Administration (hereafter Administrator).
It is assumed that attempts at reconciliation and/or mitigation will occur immediately and the grievance or dispute procedures will not be activated. Nevertheless, if the dispute or grievance cannot be resolved, the procedures outlined below will be followed.
The time periods given in the procedure are deliberately brief in order that grievances may be resolved swiftly and in order to preserve the grievant's right to other remedies within state and federal statutes of limitation. The time limits within the faculty-student procedures are briefest of those described, so that students will be able to return to their studies with as little disruption as possible; however, all three parties in any given step (i.e., the grievant, the person against whom the complaint has been filed, and the mediator / mediating committee) may agree in writing to extend or shorten the deadline. If the health or well-being of one of the parties is involved, the period of time allowed for each step will be accelerated (see below). Whenever a step in the procedure is not accomplished within the given time period (or the time agreed upon by all parties), the matter will proceed immediately to the next step.
Faculty – Student
Disputes over Academic Matters
Faculty members are responsible for determining the curriculum of a course, for developing appropriate methods of evaluating student learning, for evaluating fairly, for upholding academic standards, and for enforcing policies concerning academic honesty. Decisions made by faculty members regarding the quality or honesty of student work – especially decisions about course grades – are, as a matter of routine, accepted as authoritative and cannot be overturned by administrative officers. Students, however, have a right to expect faculty members to have defensible course policies and to implement them in a reasonable, equitable manner. Students who believe that they have grounds for challenging faculty members’ decisions regarding academic issues – excepting those pertaining to matters of academic freedom – may appeal using the procedure outlined below [based on one recommended by the American Association of University Professors in Policy Documents & Reports, 9th edition, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press and AAUP, 2001, pp. 113-14]. It should be noted that in cases of academic dishonesty students may be subject not only to grade sanctions in courses but to disciplinary action (see Student Violations of Academic Integrity under STUDENT AFFAIRS below). Faculty members are required to report such serious breaches of academic honesty to their chair, their Dean, the Provost, the Honor Council, and the Vice President for Student Success.
Grade sanctions may be imposed only by faculty members, but suspension or expulsion may be imposed only by the Provost, as specified in the Student Handbook. As with disputes about course grades, students may appeal grade sanctions for academic dishonesty only by following the procedure outlined below. However, if they wish to appeal the Provost's decision to suspend or to expel them because of academic dishonesty, they must initiate their appeal with the President of the University following the procedure the President has established for such cases.
Except under unusual circumstances, the process outlined below for student appeals of faculty academic decisions should be completed within three academic work weeks (15 working days) after the student's first meeting with the faculty member to question the faculty member's decision.
1. The student must first meet with the faculty member and discuss the faculty member's decision. This meeting should occur as soon as possible after the decision has been made, normally within one week of the student's being notified of the decision. The faculty member is expected to listen to the student, to provide an explanation for his or her decision, and to be willing to change the grade or decision should the student's argument be persuasive. To change final course grades, a faculty member must submit a "Grade Change Form" and attach an accompanying memorandum justifying the decision to change the grade. The faculty member's department chair and Dean must approve the change.
2. If the faculty member refuses to alter his or her decision or grade, the student may then discuss the matter with the faculty member's department chair or immediate academic supervisor (hereafter, "chair" will be used to mean either the department chair or the immediate academic supervisor). If the chair believes that the student's claims may have merit, the chair would discuss the matter with the faculty member.
3. If the student is not satisfied with the chair's assessment of the issue or if the faculty member refuses to alter his or her decision after discussing it with the chair, the student may then request that an ad hoc committee of faculty members review the matter. This committee would consist of three tenured faculty members within the same discipline or department. If in some unusual case the chair determines that a sufficient number of tenured faculty members cannot be selected from the same discipline or department, then the chair may add tenured faculty members from closely related disciplines. From the pool of eligible tenured faculty members designated by the chair, the faculty member, the student, and the chair would each nominate one faculty member to serve on the committee.
4. The ad hoc committee of faculty members would hear from the student, the faculty member, and the chair and examine relevant documents. If the committee concludes that the faculty member's original decision was justified, then the committee would provide the student with a written statement explaining the reasons for the committee's decision. The student may request in writing that the committee reconsider its decision and provide reasons for so doing. If the committee refuses to reconsider or if it reaffirms its original recommendation, then the matter is considered settled and the faculty member's original decision stands. If the committee concludes that the faculty member should alter his or her original decision, the committee would provide the faculty member with a written recommendation explaining the committee's reasons. If the faculty member disagrees with the committee's recommendation, he or she must provide the committee with a written explanation for the refusal.
5. If after considering the faculty member's explanation for refusing to alter his or her decision the ad hoc committee is still persuaded that in the interest of justice to the student the decision should be overturned, then the committee may recommend in writing to the chair that the faculty member's decision be overturned. The committee may also make this recommendation to the chair if the faculty member fails to alter his or her decision and also fails to respond to the committee's original recommendation. The faculty member would receive a copy of the recommendation to the chair and would have a final opportunity to alter his or her original decision. If the faculty member does not do so, then the chair, and only the chair, would be empowered by the written recommendation of the committee to override the faculty member's original decision, and, if pertinent to the case, to alter the student's course grade. In order to certify that the grade dispute process outlined above has been followed appropriately, the Dean of the college or the school and the Provost will review all decisions by chairs to change grades against the will of a faculty member.
Grievances
Conflicts between faculty members and students that do not relate to faculty decisions regarding such academic issues as course policies and grades will be considered the subject of grievances. The process for resolving grievances between faculty members and students is as follows.
1. Before a grievance is filed, the aggrieved faculty member or student must make a good faith effort to meet with the other party about his or her concerns. If the other party is unwilling to meet, if the aggrieved party has reasonable concerns about his or her physical safety, or if the meeting produces no resolution to the conflict, then the aggrieved party may initiate a grievance by following the steps outlined below.
2. If the grievant is a faculty member, he or she will file a written complaint with the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs. If the grievant is a student, he or she will file a written complaint with the faculty member's department or division chair. In either case, both parties will receive a written acknowledgment of the complaint within five working days.
3. The student and faculty member will meet with the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs (or a designated staff member from Student Affairs) and the faculty member's chair. Both the faculty member and the student must be present, unless one party waives that right. This meeting will take place within five working days of the acknowledgment of the grievance.
4. If the complaint remains unresolved after meeting with the department chair and the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, then within five working days of the meeting with the chair and the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, both the student and the faculty member will meet with either the Dean of the respective college (or academic administrator to whom the chair reports) if the grievant is a student, or with the Vice President for Student Success if the grievant is a faculty member. Both the faculty member and the student must be present, unless one party waives that right.
5. If the complaint remains unresolved after that meeting, it will then be heard within five working days by an ad hoc committee consisting of the faculty member's department or division chair, the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs (or a designated staff member from Student Affairs), a member of the Student Government Association selected by the President of the Student Government Association, a member of the Faculty Senate selected by the Faculty Senate President, and a person selected by the non-grieving party from his or her peers. The chair of the committee will be the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs (or the Vice President for Student Success's designate) if the grievant is a faculty member, or the department chair if the grievant is a student. The chair of the committee will ensure that the committee is formed appropriately and meets on schedule. After hearing from both sides in the dispute and examining whatever documentation has been provided by the parties involved, the ad hoc committee will make its recommendation in writing to either the Provost or the Vice President for Student Success, as appropriate. Both parties involved in the complaint should receive the written recommendation within three working days after the committee concludes its deliberations.
6. The Provost or the Vice President for Student Success will notify in writing both parties of his or her final decision to resolve the grievance within three working days of receiving the committee's recommendation.
7. If the complaint is unresolved to the satisfaction of either party, he or she may appeal in writing to the President within three working days after receipt of the written decision of the Provost or the Vice President for Student Success. Should the President choose to do so, he or she may seek the advice of a University Grievance Committee. In the special case of faculty-student grievances, the President may expand the University Grievance Committee to balance faculty representation with an appropriate number of representatives selected from the Student Government Association or from the professional staff in Student Affairs or some combination of both. The President's decision is final.
Faculty – Faculty
The grievant will file a written complaint with the next immediate academic superior to both parties as detailed below. A complaint form, indicating the parties involved and the basic nature of the complaint, is available on the Provost’s website.
1. If both faculty members are members of the same department or division, then the complaint would go to the chair. If the faculty members reside in different colleges, then the complaint would immediately go to the Provost.
2. If one of the faculty members is the department or division chair, then the complaint would go to the Dean of the college wherein the department or division resides.
3. If one of the faculty members is the Dean of the college, then the complaint would go to the Provost.
4. If the Provost is one of the parties to the complaint, then a Grievance Committee must be formed to hear the complaint, following the procedure detailed under item 6 below.
5. The original recipient of the complaint will have fifteen working days in which to meet with the parties. If a satisfactory resolution is not found, the grievance may be appealed to the next line of authority, until it has been heard by the Provost. No step may take more than fifteen working days. If the health of one of the parties is at stake, then the period allotted to each step of the process will be no more than five working days.
6. If a complaint cannot be resolved informally, then a Grievance Committee must be formed from the University Grievance Pool. Each party will select two committee members from the pool, and the Faculty Senate President will select the fifth member. Faculty from the same college as either of the parties are not eligible to serve on a Grievance Committee, and faculty members with personal involvement in the grievance or other conflicts of interest should recuse themselves.
If a complaint reaches a Grievance Committee, the committee will hear appropriate evidence and witnesses. Both parties may be represented; however, the committee may define the role of the representatives as appropriate. In addition to the original complaint form, the grievant must provide a written dossier explaining the nature of the grievance and presenting any pertinent evidence, and the party grieved against may also provide a dossier. The contents of these dossiers will be made available to the opposing parties in the grievance as well as their representatives, if any. If either party wishes to add new evidence after the committee has commenced its hearings (but before it has made its recommendations), the committee may allow the additional evidence to be heard if relevant (subject to the stipulations above).
The committee will write its recommendations and submit them to the President. It will advise the parties to the grievance of its recommendation, in writing, within five working days after the hearings are completed. The Faculty Senate will maintain records of the hearing for a period of not less than ten years.
Faculty – Administrator
In the event of a faculty-administrator grievance, a Grievance Committee must be formed immediately following the procedure described under item 6 above. The grievant must complete a complaint form as for a Faculty-Faculty grievance, and in general the procedure follows the procedure described above under Faculty-Faculty grievances once the Grievance Committee has been formed. Note that grievances involving administrators with faculty status, such as Deans and department chairs, are resolved as Faculty-Faculty grievances (above). If for example a faculty member has a complaint against his department or division chair, the complaint goes to the Dean and then the Provost before a Grievance Committee is formed.