Temporary Emergency Process for Electronic Submission of Documents for Faculty Grievances (2021-2022 academic year)

To complete Step Two of the Faculty Grievance process described in Part XII of the ECU Faculty Manual, Grievants are required to submit ten copies of their Petition for Redress (with a copy of their written statement from their Step One meeting with the Respondent appended) to the Faculty Senate Office. The in-person demands of appellate processes are difficult to satisfy during the COVID-19 pandemic and run counter to medical advice on mitigating the spread of COVID-19. In recognition of these difficulties, temporary emergency processes were developed last year to conduct a virtual grievance hearing. In response to continuing COVID-19 pandemic concerns, the Appellate Steering Committee has developed a temporary emergency process to allow for electronic submission of faculty grievance materials, which is outlined below.

Grievants ready to complete Step Two of the Faculty Grievance process should notify the Appellate Committee Chair Ralph Scott of their intention via email (scottr@ecu.edu ). Appellate Chair Scott will notify the other members of the Appellate Steering Committee and Rachel Baker, Faculty Senate Office Administrator, that a Grievant wishes to submit materials. Appellate Committee Chair Scott will send a copy of instructions for electronic submission of documents to the Grievant and a separate document with information about the process and related instructions to the Respondent(s).

Rachel Baker will create a Microsoft Team with a folder named “Petition for Redress” and will add the Grievant as a member to the Team. The Grievant will have been instructed to upload required materials only to the folder named “Petition for Redress.” The Grievant will notify via email the Appellate Committee Chair Scott and Rachel Baker when the required documents have been uploaded to the folder named “Petition for Redress.” Rachel Baker will lock the “Petition for Redress” folder so that the Grievant will not be able to alter, remove, or add documents to that folder, and will add the Appellate Steering Committee members and the Respondent(s) to the Microsoft Team with “view only” access.  At this time, the Appellate Steering Committee will proceed as required by Part XII of the ECU Faculty Manual. Their decision will be communicated to the Grievant and the Respondent(s) via a memo uploaded to the Microsoft Team in a folder marked “Appellate Steering Committee Communications.” If Grievant and/or Respondent responses are required, Rachel Baker will create folders for the Grievant and Respondent (s) within the Team that will restrict editing privileges for those folders to the appropriate party, so they will be able to upload their responses to the Team and avoid sending those responses through email. The only communications that will be conducted through email will be notifications to the parties of the availability of materials added to the Microsoft Team and communications confirming successful receipt of/access to materials.