In Cases of Non-Reappointment

Note: These policies are currently under review.  

Policy on Review of Non-Reappointment Recommendations for Instructor-Rank Faculty Members 

Denial of reappointment of  instructor-rank faculty members are a regular feature of curricular and personnel management in the College of Arts and Sciences. Many of these are known in advance to the instructor and were planned at the onset to coincide with other faculty members returning from sabbatical or leave. In other cases, non-reappointment occurs because student demand for particular instruction fades, the curriculum of the unit is redesigned, or the funds to support the appointment are no longer available. These circumstances are infrequently contested by the instructor as they are part of the ebb and flow of academic life. However, occasionally a non-reappointment decision is contested by an instructor despite the reasons mentioned above or because of a unit level assessment of unsatisfactory performance of the instructor in the teaching and/or service domains. 

In order to provide a defined process for considering appeals associated with instructor rank non-reappointment, the Arts and Sciences Council has voted to adopt a procedure for review of adverse instructor-rank reappointment decisions. These procedures take effect immediately and are described below: 

  1.  We will inform all instructors of their ability to appeal a non-reappointment decision to the College as part of the appointment process and employment orientation documentation. The College will also post this procedure to the College website so as to make the information generally available to the college community. 
  2. Reappointment review at the department or program level requires preparation of a dossier and a review and written assessment by a PUEC. This committee must be made up of at least two members, at least half of whom must be tenured or tenure-track faculty. The PUEC makes a written recommendation to the Unit as a whole or to the Chair/Director, as defined by Unit bylaws. The Chair/Director in turn makes a written recommendation to the Associate Dean or Dean of Division. 
  3. In cases of a negative recommendation by the Unit or PUEC, or at the discretion of the Associate Dean or Dean of Division, the reappointment dossier will be submitted to a two-person subcommittee of the College Personnel Committee, who will consider the merits of the case and make a written recommendation to the Associate Dean or Dean of Division, who will decide to reappoint or not to reappoint. 
  4. Appeal of the Associate Dean or Dean of Division’s decision regarding a non-reappointment recommendation may be made in writing by the faculty member to the Dean of the College within 30 days of written notification. 
  5. Grounds for grieving a decision to non-reappointment shall include: 
    • the decision was seemingly unjust (i.e., arbitrary, capricious, retaliatory, based on personal malice, and/or inconsistent with treatment accorded to the grievant’ s peers in similar circumstances) 
    • Procedural errors of sufficient magnitude to affect the outcome 
  6. In the case of appeal, the Dean will submit the reappointment dossier and all written materials to the College Personnel Committee. The Personnel Committee, minus the two members involved in the subcommittee recommendation, will deliberate on the case and provide a written recommendation to the Dean. 
  7. The Dean will consider the recommendation of the College Personnel Committee, the arguments and body of evidence, and render a written decision regarding the appointment. 
  8. This procedure is not intended to restrict the rights of an instructor to pursue other campus- or university-level appeal processes to which they are entitled. 

 

Reviewed 1/23/2024