Home > III. Human Resources > Ch.29 - Faculty Dispute Procedures

29.8 Specialized-Faculty Grievances

  1. Scope. The procedures described in this section constitute the exclusive remedy within the university for a specialized faculty member who wishes to challenge the legitimacy of a university administrative decision (general grievance) or an administrative decision that substantially affects the faculty member’s terms and conditions of appointment (qualifying employment decision as specified below). Specialized faculty members are instructional, clinical, and research-track faculty members as defined in III-10.
  2. Qualifying employment decisions. Specialized faculty may dispute and seek review of the following decisions ("decisions") by departmental, division, collegiate, and/or Provost-level administration:
    1. Termination during term of appointment;
    2. Not to promote to a higher rank after a promotion review has been completed;
    3. Not to renew an appointment.
  3. Burden of proof and standard of judgment. The Specialized faculty member has the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence in all cases. The faculty member’s documents requesting review of a decision will clearly articulate the basis for their challenge, which may include grounds described in III-29.7 for tenure-track cases.
  4. Applicable review procedures. A specialized faculty member may only initiate one of the procedural challenges listed here to contest an administrative decision.
    1. Administrative review [III-29.8(1)] – Available to all specialized faculty and the exclusive remedy for specialized faculty in their initial probationary appointment. Administrative review is also the only review option for faculty grievances that fall outside the scope of qualifying employment decisions defined above (III-29.8b). Faculty beyond their probationary appointment can use administrative review or peer review to dispute the outcome of a qualifying employment decision.
    2. Peer review [III-29.8(2)] – Available to specialized faculty who have completed the probationary period. The peer review can only be used by a specialized faculty member to dispute a qualifying employment decision.
  5. Timing. A specialized faculty member wishing to challenge an administrative decision is encouraged to resolve the matter through informal discussions with the decision maker. Unless both parties agree, the timing for formal actions described below will not be suspended while informal discussions take place.
  6. Review of specialized faculty grievance review procedures. These new specialized faculty review procedures will be reviewed by the Faculty Senate in consultation with the Provost and General Counsel five years after their initial implementation. This review will assess the impact on specialized faculty due-process protections and identify whether any components of the review processes described below need modification, revision, additional detail, or clarification.

29.8(1) Administrative Review Procedures

  1. If the matter is not resolved informally, the specialized faculty member may challenge an administrative decision by completing the Specialized Faculty Administrative Review (SFAR) form and detailing the basis for the challenge and the action/remedy requested. The specialized faculty member shall submit the SFAR form by email to the appropriate party (see below) no later than 15 business days after formal notification of the administrative decision giving rise to their challenge.
  2. Appeal of department-level decisions. A specialized faculty member may seek review of a department level decision by submitting an SFAR form to their collegiate dean. All references to the dean under these procedures shall include the dean’s designee.
  3. Dean’s review. The dean shall issue a written response to the challenge within 15 business days from receipt of the SFAR form. The dean’s review will include consultation and input from parties with relevant information to resolve the challenge. The dean shall decide on the merits of the faculty member’s challenge, complete the SFAR form with their decision and rationale, and send the completed SFAR form by email to the specialized faculty member with copies to other appropriate administrators.
  4. Appeal of dean’s review decision. The specialized faculty member may appeal the dean’s review decision by sending the completed SFAR form with a written request for review and explanation of the basis for their challenge to the Provost within 10 business days after they officially receive the dean’s decision. The Provost will review the information provided, consult as needed with other parties to obtain additional relevant information, and issue a written decision to the challenge within 15 business days of receiving the SFAR form. The Provost will send the completed SFAR form to the specialized faculty member with copies to other appropriate administrators.
  5. If a specialized faculty member wishes to challenge a collegiate-level initiated decision, they will send a completed SFAR form to the Provost following timing and guidance described in paragraph b above and the Provost will provide a decision as described in III-29.8g.
  6. Final university action. The Provost decision shall constitute final university action on the matter, and the specialized faculty member may appeal to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, pursuant to its policies and procedures.

29.8(2) Peer Review Procedures

  1.  Initiating the process. As defined in III-29.8 above, non-probationary specialized faculty members wishing to challenge a qualifying employment decision may submit a written challenge (by email) to the Provost, attaching the challenged decision, and describing the basis for their challenge and the action/remedy requested, no later than 15 business days following the formal notification to the faculty member of the final decision giving rise to the challenge. The Provost shall forward the written challenge to the collegiate dean and presiding officer of the Judicial Commission within 5 business days.
  2. Faculty peer review committee. Within 10 business days of being notified of the specialized faculty member’s challenge, the presiding officer of the Judicial Commission shall form a faculty committee to review the challenge. The committee shall be comprised of three faculty members from the Faculty Judicial Commission selected by the presiding officer using the same guidance described in III-29.7 and avoiding any conflicts of interest:
    1. All committee members shall be at an Associate Professor or higher rank;
    2. At least one committee member shall be from a specialized track and least one committee member shall be a tenured faculty member;
    3.  If feasible, one committee member shall be a specialized faculty member in the same track and from the same college as the specialized faculty member filing the challenge;
    4. No more than two committee members may be from the same college and no committee member may be from the same department or division as the specialized faculty member filing the challenge;
    5. For promotion disputes, all committee members shall be at higher rank than the specialized faculty member filing the challenge;
    6. The specialized faculty member filing the challenge or the Provost may submit written requests to not assign specific Judicial Commission members to the committee for cause;
    7. The committee selection will be determined by lot or equivalent random manner from a list of available Judicial Commission members and using the listed guidance as detailed above; and
    8. Either party may challenge a member of the Peer Review Committee who has been appointed, for a cause that becomes known to the party after the committee member’s appointment. The party must raise such a challenge with the presiding officer, who will determine, in consultation with the administrative officer, the appropriate manner for addressing the challenge.
  3. The Faculty Peer Review Committee may meet with the specialized faculty member within 10 business days of the committee’s appointment. This meeting may be at the request of the review committee or specialized faculty member filing the challenge. In this meeting, the faculty member may provide additional context and support for their challenge and may submit relevant supplemental materials related directly to the decision. The Faculty Peer Review Committee also will obtain relevant information from the collegiate dean, Provost, and other appropriate sources to inform their review process. All documentation and faculty responses produced and used in arriving at the challenged university decision will be provided to the committee by the Provost. The committee may seek procedural guidance from the presiding officer, who may consult with the administrative officer.
  4. Committee consideration and recommendation. The Peer Review Committee shall carefully review the challenge and supporting materials and consult as needed with other parties on the appropriate recommendations to be provided. The committee shall complete a concise written report within 15 business days after meeting with the faculty member, if such a meeting occurred, or otherwise within 20 business days of receiving the challenge and supporting documentation. For the committee to recommend reversal of an administrative decision, the standard of proof is by clear and convincing evidence. The committee should use (as appropriate) report preparation guidance provided in III-29.7 for tenure-track policies when preparing their report. The committee will submit its report to the Provost who will provide a copy to the faculty member. The faculty member has the option to provide a written response to the committee report within 5 business days of receiving the report from the Provost.
  5. Provost review and decision. The Provost shall review the Peer Review Committee’s report and recommendation, giving it due consideration, and shall issue a final written decision within 15 business days after receiving the committee’s report, copying the faculty member, the dean, and other appropriate parties. The Provost may consult, as needed, with any other parties to obtain additional relevant information. The final decision’s scope is at the discretion of the Provost and may uphold all or part of prior administrative decisions and may include remedies such as re-review of prior decisions made at departmental, collegiate, or Provost levels.
  6. Final university action. A determination of the Provost shall constitute final university action on the matter, and the faculty member may seek appeal before the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, pursuant to its policies and procedures.