This section establishes procedures by means of which Other Faculty employed by New York University1 can seek redress of their grievances.

Types of Faculty Grievances

Grievances are concerned with: (a) matters such as duties, salaries, perquisites, and working conditions during the term of the faculty member’s current appointment; (b) suspension or termination without pay during the term of the faculty member’s current appointment; or (c) reappointment. An Other Faculty member who is not eligible for reappointment cannot grieve a decision not to reappoint.

Basis for Grievance

A grievance must allege that: 1) the procedures used to reach the decision were improper, or that the case received inadequate consideration; or 2) the decisions violated the academic freedom of the faculty member in question, in which case the burden of proof falls to the grievant.

Who Can Grieve

All Other Faculty employed by New York University are eligible to grieve. A grievant must be a faculty member of New York University when initiating the grievance procedure below, except when grieving termination under (b) above or reappointment under (c) above, in which case the grievant may initiate the grievance procedure within fifteen (15) working days of receiving notification of termination or non-reappointment.

The Grievance Process

It is expected that most grievance cases will be settled within each school or faculty. In the case of all grievances, attempts shall be made to settle the dispute by informal discussions between the concerned parties, possibly with the assistance of mediators.

If a faculty member’s grievance is not settled informally at a level below the Dean, or by the Dean directly, the faculty member may appeal to the Dean to convoke the grievance committee of the school or faculty.

Each school or faculty shall designate a faculty committee to hear grievances in order to advise the Dean. Each school shall review grievances by Other Faculty using the same standing committee that would review Continuing Contract Faculty grievances. As noted in the Faculty Handbook, the standing committee will include senior Continuing Contract Faculty and Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty elected by the voting members of the faculty; or the school shall expand its existing standing grievance committee for Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty to include (elected) senior Continuing Contract Faculty who shall participate in hearing and evaluating grievances that are filed by Other Faculty. In the absence of a school policy or related provision in a school policy, the Dean shall appoint a committee to hear the grievance, and the committee shall consist of at least three members with at least one Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty and one Continuing Contract Faculty. The faculty grievance committee(s) shall not include departmental chairpersons or department heads or any faculty member whose primary assignment is administrative.

The Dean shall convoke the committee within fifteen working days of receiving the faculty member’s written statement. The faculty member’s written statement shall include the substance of the complaint, a summary of the factual information in support of the complaint, together with documentation, if any; and the resolution requested, if appropriate. In any instance in which the Dean has not so convoked the grievance committee, the faculty member has the right to bring the delay to the attention of the Office of the Provost.

The function of the committee is to advise the Dean by reviewing the case and making a recommendation to the Dean. The grievance committee does not judge the professional merits of the case, but considers only the grounds specified above (Basis for Grievance).

After obtaining and considering the recommendation of the grievance committee, the dean shall decide the case and in writing shall notify the grievant, any individual against whom the grievance was made, and the grievance committee of the recommendation of the grievance committee and of the Dean’s decision, together with reasons therefore, and information on the procedure for appeal. The committee will notify the Dean of its recommendations preferably within 30 working days of receiving its charge, but in any case within 60 working days.

Appeal from a Dean’s Decision on Reappointment

Appeals from a Dean’s decision can be made only on the following grounds: a) that the procedures used to reach the decision were improper, or that the case received inadequate consideration; or b) that the decisions violated the academic freedom of the person in question, in which case the burden of proof is on the faculty member.

A faculty member intending to make such an appeal shall indicate such intention in writing to the Provost, specifying all grounds for and materials in support of the appeal within 15 days after receiving written notification of the Dean’s decision. An exception to this may be made only with the consent of the grievant, the Dean, and the Provost.

Where such an appeal is made, the Dean shall transmit to the Provost a report of the proceedings in the case at its earlier stages. The Provost shall in each case obtain the advice of an ad hoc advisory committee – Other Faculty Grievance Committee – drawn from a standing committee that shall consist of the members of the C-FSC Grievance Committee and the T-FSC Grievance Committee; in each case committee members shall be selected by the relevant faculty senators council but need not necessarily be members of the particular council. The Other Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall consist of three members, none of whom are from the grievant’s school: one from the C-FSC standing Grievance Committee, one from the TFSC standing Grievance Committee, and one senior administrator selected by the Steering Committee of the C-FSC.

The Other Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall hold a hearing and shall complete its deliberations and notify the Provost of its recommendations preferably within 30 days of the close of the hearing, but in any case within 60 days. The Other Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall at all times follow the requisites of fair and equitable hearing, but it is not to be restricted by the technical rules of evidence or the formality of the adversary proceeding as in a court trial. In each case, the Committee shall determine its own procedure, adapting the requirements of the particular case to the equity of the situation. This shall include, for example, the question of a record of the hearing, the examination of witnesses, the schedule and public nature of meetings, etc. The grievant, however, may determine whether they shall have the aid of an advisor or counsel.

The Other Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall not judge professional merits, but only ascertain whether procedural safeguards (as referenced above in “Basis for Grievances”) have been observed. Evidence that a decision appealed is so arbitrary that it has no rational foundation may be considered on the issue of “inadequate consideration.”

After receiving the advice of the Other Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee, the Provost shall decide the case, and notify the grievant, the Dean, and the Chairperson of the Other Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee. If the advice of the latter is not followed, the reasons shall be reported with the decision. The decision of the Provost is final and subject to no further review.

Appeal from a Dean's Decision on Matters Such as Duties, Salaries, Perquisites, and Working Conditions; or Suspension or Termination without Pay

Where such an appeal is desired by the faculty member, and the Provost of the University is so informed in writing by the faculty member within 15 working days after the faculty member is notified of the Dean’s decision, the Provost shall review the appeal and take such additional steps as the Provost deems necessary. In such cases, the Provost will make a decision on the appeal and that decision is final. A grievant must be a faculty member of New York University when initiating the appeal procedure.

Appeals from a Dean’s decision can be made only on the following grounds: a) that the procedures used to reach the decision were improper, or that the case received inadequate consideration; or b) that the decisions violated the academic freedom of the person in question, in which case the burden of proof is on the faculty member.

1 These procedures do not apply to: (i) adjunct and other part-time faculty, or (ii) the Grossman School of Medicine or the Long Island School of Medicine, all of which have their own procedures.