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GP.03.03
April 28, 2003

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE

Committee on General University Policy
(Final;Action)

GP.03.03 Implementation of Severe Sanctions Other Than Dismissal for Cause

BACKGROUND

On October 29, 2001, the Urbana-Champaign Senate approved "Revisions to the University of Illinois Statutes - Terms of Faculty Employment (ST-30)," as UC.02.00. This statutory amendment was likewise approved by the other two Senates of the University, and was subsequently approved by the University Board of Trustees on July 18, 2002. The aforementioned document called for each campus to develop and adopt its own implementation procedures, following the stipulations in the new section of the Statutes (Article IX, Section 6). These statutory stipulations are as follows:

Campus procedures shall include, at a minimum,

(1) A determination by the provost, in consultation with a committee identified by the senate, that cause exists to initiate proceedings that may result in the imposition of serious sanctions,

(2) Notice to the faculty member of the charges and initiation of the sanction proceedings,

(3) Opportunity for a hearing before an elected committee specified by the senate,

(4) Provision that a recommendation by the elected committee against sanction will be final,

(5) The opportunity for the faculty member to file an appeal with the chancellor within 20 days following the provost's decision to impose sanctions,

(6) An appeal process encompassing both substantive and procedural objections, and

(7) A process wherein the chancellor's decision on the merits of an appeal is final.

At its first meeting of the 2002-03 academic year, the Senate Executive Committee referred this matter to GUP, AFT and USSP, with the understanding that GUP would take the lead in the drafting of an implementation procedure, which then would be circulated to the other two committees for their consideration, in the expectation of arriving at agreement. This was done, during the course of the fall semester and the first month of the spring semester, involving much discussion and many drafts. University Legal Counsel was also consulted. When agreement was reached, the resulting document was discussed and approved for presentation to the Senate by the Senate Executive Committee, with several further suggestions that were taken into account in the preparation of the final version that follows. This document was presented to the Senate as an Information item at its March meeting, with the expectation of being presented for Action at its April meeting, as it is being done today.

The document follows the above statutory stipulations, citing them and then providing implementation language and procedures for each of them, to make it clear what stipulation each part of the procedures is implementing. (For purposes of clarity, the statutory provisions appear in regular type, and the implementation language and procedures appear in italics.) Flow charts are attached (appendices A and B) to show the procedure for the selection of the Hearing Committee, and the course that a Severe Sanction Other Than Dismissal proceeding would follow. Precise timelines cannot be specified; but times and time limits for the selection of the Hearing Committee and conduct of a Sanction proceeding are indicated as specifically as is possible in the body of the document. (The list of Sanctions from the Statutes, Article IX, Section 6.d., appears in appendix C.)

The statutory stipulations call explicitly for the involvement of two committees, and implicitly for the involvement of a third (in the appeal process). The sponsors of this proposal are in agreement that the "elected committee specified by the senate" before which a faculty member is to have the "opportunity for a hearing" should be a committee elected expressly and specifically for the purpose of conducting such hearings. That is the only new committee the document calls for. The sponsors are in agreement that the Faculty Advisory Committee should have a role, and that its role should be at the stage of the "appeal process." And they are in further agreement that the most appropriate existing committee with which the provost should be directed to consult at the outset is the Senate Executive Committee. They also are in agreement that the Senate Executive Committee and its Chair are most appropriately placed to undertake any needed adjustments in the membership of the Hearing Committee for the hearing of a particular case.

April 9, 2003-ADDENDUM

During the floor discussion at the March 17 Senate meeting, at which this document was presented as an Information item, three suggestions were made:

1. that the second sentence of (1)(b) be changed from "Should a faculty member subject to such a proceeding break this confidentiality" to "Should a participant in such a proceeding break this confidentiality".

2. that (3)(a) be changed to allow for persons other than faculty members holding the rank of Professor on full-time regular appointment at the Urbana-Champaign campus, such as adjunct or emeritus faculty, be eligible to serve on the Hearing Committee.

3. that (3)(b) be changed to allow for nominations from the floor of the Senate to the slate from which the Hearing Committee is to be elected, when the slate is presented to the Senate for ratification, by deleting the word "not" in the last sentence of this section.

USSP recommended to GUP that the first and third suggestions be accepted, and that the second suggestion not be followed. GUP concurs with USSP's recommendations; and the text of the document has been modified accordingly, to incorporate the first and third suggested changes.

It is the recommendation of GUP, AFT, USSP and SEC that this document be approved as presented.

RECOMMENDATION

The relevant new section of the Statutes is shown in plain type. The proposed implementation procedure is shown in italics.

Section 6. Severe Sanctions Other Than Dismissal For Cause

a. Severe sanctions other than dismissal for cause may be imposed on a member of the faculty, as defined in Article II, Section 3a(1) of the Statutes, provided that procedures on a campus adopted by the campus chancellor in consultation with that campus senate are followed. In all cases, the chancellor or the chancellor's designee shall exercise the duties assigned to the president for academic staff who are members of campus units, and in all cases the process to be followed will be that of the campus on which the unit resides.

b. Campus procedures shall include, at a minimum,

(1) A determination by the provost, in consultation with a committee identified by the senate, that cause exists to initiate proceedings that may result in the imposition of serious sanctions,

(2) Notice to the faculty member of the charges and initiation of the sanction proceedings,

(3) Opportunity for a hearing before an elected committee specified by the senate,

(4) Provision that a recommendation by the elected committee against sanction will be final,

(5) The opportunity for the faculty member to file an appeal with the chancellor within 20 days following the provost's decision to impose sanctions,

(6) An appeal process encompassing both substantive and procedural objections,

(7) A process wherein the chancellor's decision on the merits of an appeal is final. These campus procedures are the exclusive process for determining whether severe sanctions other than dismissal for cause may be imposed.

c. The campus procedures will be initiated only after discussions are held between the faculty member and appropriate administrative officers looking toward a mutual settlement. The initiation or pendency of proceedings under this Section 6 shall not be deemed to prevent or delay the University or any other person from pursuing any other remedy available to such person against the faculty member for conduct allegedly violating subsection (d) below.