Part XII, Section IV: General Grievances and Non-Disciplinary Separation

Updated: June 5, 2025

CONTENTS

  1. Introduction
  2. Procedures for the Selection of the Grievance Panel
  3. Procedures for the Hearing

I. Introduction

The procedures in this section are governed by Sections 2 and 5 of POL06.35.04 Faculty Appellate Provisions (Implementing Processes for Sections 603, 604, 605, and 607 of The Code), as well as 101.3.1.3[R] Regulation on Grievances Filed Pursuant to Section 607 of The Code.
These procedures provide the process and protocol intended to assist the Grievance Committee in the disposition of faculty grievances filed pursuant to Section 5 of the Policy, above. Pursuant to the Policy, a faculty member should file a petition for redress for review of matters under Section 607 of The Code. A Petition for Redress Form should be submitted by the grievant. Upon review of a Petition for Redress submitted by a grievant, the Appellate Steering Committee will review for proper jurisdiction under Section 5 of the Policy. Once a Faculty Member has initiated a grievance to Section 5 of the Policy, the following procedures support the Grievance Panel:

II. Procedures for the Selection of the Grievance Panel

The Grievance Panel (hereafter, “the panel”) shall be composed of five regular members and one alternate, each of whom is a full-time, permanently tenured voting faculty member without administrative appointment (per Part IX, Section I.IV.B). The alternate shall attend all sessions of the hearing and replace a regular member should that member be unable to attend the entire hearing. Members of the panel shall be chosen in accordance with the procedures for election of the Appellate Committee specified in the Bylaws of the East Carolina University Faculty Senate and provisions for constitution of appellate panels specified in Part XII, Section I of this Faculty Manual. Upon organization, the members of the Grievance Panel shall elect a chair and secretary. Should either officer be absent at the beginning of a hearing, the panel members shall elect an alternate chair or secretary for the purposes of the hearing. A quorum for the panel shall be the five members or four members and the alternate.

Upon receipt of the grievant’s request for a hearing, those Appellate Committee members who (i) hold an appointment in the grievant’s academic unit, (ii) might reasonably expect to be called as witnesses, (iii) might reasonably expect to be asked to serve as an advisor (see subsection III.3, Conduct of the Hearing) to any party of the hearing, or (iv) may have any other conflict of interest should be disqualified from participation on a panel related to the specific request for a hearing. The grievant and those individuals or groups who are alleged to be responsible for the action or actions described by the grievant in the request for the hearing [hereafter, the respondent(s)] are permitted to challenge panel members for just cause. If the panel member declines recusal, the established panel, including the alternate, shall determine obligatory recusal by majority vote (with the member in question not participating in the vote). Parties request recusal of panel members by submitting the Request for Recusal Form.

When membership of the panel falls below the specified five members and one alternate, the Hearing appellate chair will select additional members of the Appellate Committee to the panel as specified in Part XII, Section I of the East Carolina University Faculty Manual.

The panel may at any time consult with an attorney in the office of the University Counsel. The Office of University Counsel will endeavor to provide a consulting attorney for support of the hearing panel that does not have present or prior substantive involvement in the matter that gave rise to the hearing.

III. Procedures for Hearing

  1. Hearing Agenda
    After the determination by the Appellate Steering Committee that the Grievance should proceed to a hearing, and following the opportunity for mediation, the Chair of the Grievance Panel shall notify the Grievant, any named respondent(s), and the Chair of the Faculty of the time, date, and place for a hearing, including notification that identifies the membership of the Grievance Panel.

    For the Review of a non-disciplinary separation under Section 5, and unless an extension of time is approved in accordance with Section 2.8.2 the Policy, the Grievance Appellate Chair will convene a Grievance Panel within ten (10) calendar days of receiving the review request. For general grievances under Section 607 of The Code, the date of the hearing shall generally be within forty-two (42) calendar days of the Grievant’s written request for hearing, with exceptions as provided by The Policy.

    The Grievance Panel Chair will also create an agenda prior to the hearing date to facilitate the completion of the hearing within one business day. The agenda will state limits on the amount of time that each party will be allocated for presentation of their cases. This agenda, with names of the panel members, procedures for submission of new documents, and handling of the witnesses, will be distributed to the panel, the grievant and the respondent no less than five (5) calendar days prior to the hearing date.
  2. Procedures for Submission of Hearing Documents
    As provided by the Policy, at least fourteen (14) calendar days before the hearing, the parties will submit evidence and a list of witnesses to be used in the hearing, along with a brief statement of the relevance of each witness. One digital copy of all information and documents shall be submitted to the Faculty Senate Office. Instructions for submission of the exhibits will be included in communications to the parties. The submitted information and documents shall have a table of contents with numbers (Arabic) assigned to all pages that exhibit information. Numbers shall be preceded by a “G” for the grievant’s submission or an “R” for the respondent’s submission. Exhibit G and Exhibit R shall include all information necessary to support or defend the grievance. When possible, it is best to place all documents and photographs used as exhibits into one PDF, with the Table of Contents at the beginning. If that is not possible, exhibits will need to be named in a way that keeps them in an order that aligns with the Table of Contents (e.g., G-001, G-002). Failure to submit evidence in the specified format may result in my evidence being excluded from the hearing record by the panel.

    Once the copies as described above are received from both parties, the digital copies will be made available to each party.
  3. Procedures for Court Reporter/Hearing Transcript
    The Faculty Senate Office will arrange for the hiring and payment of a court reporter. The court reporter will be present and will make a verbatim record of the hearing. At the hearing, the Grievance Panel chair should instruct the court reporter to collect and mark all documents submitted by both parties and include them as exhibits with the transcript. The Office of University Counsel may also support the Faculty Senate Office in the retention of a professional court reporter for transcript services.
  4. Procedures Relating to the Order of the Hearing
    Please see POL06.35.04, section 5.5.5 for a full description of the conduct of hearing.

    The Grievance Panel Chair is responsible for ensuring order among hearing participants during the hearing so the complete transcript of the testimony is recorded and for working with the Faculty Senate Office Administrator to preserve all documents that are accepted by the Panel at the hearing as evidence. Except as provided for herein, the hearing shall be conducted according to the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised. When, despite due diligence, circumstances make it necessary to resolve an issue not addressed in these provisions, the due process panel chair shall have the authority to make a reasonable adjustment or exception that maintains the integrity of the process to the extent possible and consistent with applicable law and policy.
  5. Post-Hearing Information
    Following the conclusion of the hearing, the grievant will be informed about any updates to the status of the pending grievance.  The Chancellor’s decision shall be conveyed in writing to the grievance panel, Faculty Member, Faculty Senate Office, and relevant administrators by a method that provides delivery verification.