Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty (FTCCF) Grievance Policy

This policy has been provisionally approved by the Office of the Provost as of fall 2018, pending the final approval of the Standards and Procedures for Appointment and Reappointment of Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty.

1.1.      The purpose of this document is to establish the NYU School of Professional Studies (SPS) policy and procedures by means of which a Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty member can seek redress for her or his grievance(s). 

This policy is responsive to the University’s commitment to academic excellence and its responsibility to provide students with access to an excellent education, and cognizant of its responsibility to faculty to afford them due process and a fair hearing of their complaints.

1.2.      This SPS policy aligns with and incorporates University policy set forth in the Faculty Handbook under Faculty Policies Applicable to Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Procedures and specifies the process for SPS.

1.3.      Grievances connected with reappointment and promotion are addressed in a manner that conforms to the general appointment procedures. The initial protection for the faculty member is documented in the New York University Faculty Handbook under Academic Freedom, which cites Title I ‘Statement in Regard to Academic Freedom and Tenure’ Section II. The Case for Academic Freedom, and Section IV. Academic Freedom; and the NYUSPS Faculty Handbook under ’Terms and Conditions of Appointment and Reappointment.’   

1.4.      It is expected that most grievance cases, particularly those concerned with matters such as duties, salaries, perquisites, working conditions, and other matters will be settled within SPS.

1.5.      SPS has established a Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee to hear grievance cases in order to advise the Dean.  This grievance committee is elected by the Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty and shall be a standing committee of SPS.  The committee shall not include academic directors, associate deans, or any faculty member whose primary assignment is administrative within an academic unit or within the SPS Office of the Dean.

2.1.      A grievant must be a faculty member of New York University when he or she initiates the appellate grievance procedure, described below “Appeals from a Dean’s Decision on Appointment, Reappointment, or Promotion” (Section 6).

2.2.      Faculty members covered by this policy are Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty as defined in the Faculty Handbook under Faculty Titles and who are covered by the NYUSPS Standards and Procedures for Appointment and Reappointment of Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty (“FTCCF”) policies.

2.3.      Faculty members whose primary assignment is administrative are covered by this policy insofar as the grievance concerns their faculty appointment. These faculty members serve in an administrative capacity at the Dean’s discretion; in accordance with the Faculty Handbook under Term of Administrative Appointments and they are not entitled to grieve the decision of the School to terminate their administrative or staff appointment.

2.4.      This policy does not cover conflicts between faculty members, unless the faculty member against whom the grievance is lodged was in that case acting administratively.  Resolution of questions concerning which capacity gave rise to the grievance shall be a jurisdictional matter for the SPS Dean.

2.5.      A copy of the SPS grievance procedure should be made widely available and easily accessible to all Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty members.

3.1.      Members of the Grievance Committee and participants in all proceedings of this policy are expected to maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings to the greatest extent possible, consistent with the Committee’s goal of conducting a thorough and complete review, and to the extent permitted by law. This expectation extends to any communications during the grievance process between the Committee and the SPS Dean.

Following the Faculty Handbook, grievances can be made regarding matters in two general areas:

1.      Reappointment and promotion

2.     Other matters, such as duties, salaries, perquisites, and working conditions

4.2.1.    Basis for Grievance

With respect to grievances related to reappointment and promotion, outcomes of the review process can be grieved only to the extent that they involve violation of University-protected rights of faculty members.  Thus, a grievant must allege that the procedures used to reach the decision were improper, or that the case was not given adequate consideration; or that the decision(s) violated the academic freedom of the faculty member in question, as documented in the Faculty Handbook, in which case the burden of proof falls to the grievant.

4.2.2.    Who Can Grieve:

Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty on multi-year contracts of three years or more who are subject to a review process to determine whether they are to be reappointed, have a right to grieve the process in the event it leads to a negative decision with respect to reappointment or promotion or the terms of reappointment or promotion.  He or she is entitled to grieve in that he or she is denied reappointment without review for reasons other than elimination of the position.

Faculty on continuous one-year or two-year appointments are similarly entitled to grieve the process in the event the third-year review process leads to a negative decision.  They are entitled to grieve the process in the event they are not reappointed after a third-year review when a review had been explicitly promised in connection with the possibility of reappointment subject to it, but was not undertaken for reasons other than elimination of the position.

Continuing Contract Faculty who are subject to a review process to determine whether they are to be promoted have a right to grieve the process in the event it leads to a negative decision.

4.2.3.    What Cannot Be Grieved:

Grievances cannot be made when SPS  does not undertake a reappointment process for a position because the position will be eliminated at the end of a contract, and no similar position is open. Such cases will not be the basis for a grievance.

Allegations that discrimination on the basis of race, gender and/or gender identity or expression, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, unemployment status, veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, citizenship status, or any other legally protected basis, affected decisions on reappointment and promotion should be brought to the attention of NYU’s Office of Equal Opportunity. 

All Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty, including faculty on one-year appointments, may grieve matters other than promotion and reappointment, such as duties, salaries, perquisites, and working conditions. 

5.1.      In the case of all grievances, attempts shall be made to settle the dispute by informal discussions between the concerned parties.  If a faculty member’s grievance is not settled informally at the level of the Associate Dean, Associate Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs, or the SPS Dean himself or herself, the faculty member may appeal to the SPS Dean to convoke the SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee. 

A grievant wishing to bring a matter before the SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract     Faculty Grievance Committee must submit a Notice of Grievance to the Dean’s Office.  The Notice of Grievance shall contain a concise statement of the substance of the complaint, and a summary of the faculty information in support of the complaint, together with documentation, if any.

The SPS Dean shall review the request to ensure it is considered a grievable matter as outlined in Section 4 and shall inform the faculty member accordingly.  If the matter is grievable, the SPS Dean shall convene the SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee within 15 working days of the receipt of the written request from the grievant.  In any instance in which the Dean has not convened the School’s grievance committee within the mandated 15 working days, the faculty member has the right to bring it to the attention of the Office of the Provost. An exception to this may be made only with the consent of the grievant, the SPS Dean, and the Provost. 

5.2.      The SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee does not judge the professional merits of the case, but considers the grounds as specified above (Section 4.2.1). 

5.3.      The SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall proceed to assemble the relevant facts and may seek additional information or evidence pertinent to the case from appropriate, informed, and relevant sources. The Grievance Advisory Committee shall assess the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of any information it collects. In soliciting information from any third party, rights of privacy and confidentiality shall be protected.

5.4.      After considering the evidence, the Committee should reach a conclusion as to what it deems are the relevant facts, set these forth in writing, and then make a recommendation to the Dean for specific action.

5.5.      After obtaining the recommendation of the grievance committee, the Dean shall decide the case and in writing shall notify the concerned parties and the grievance committee of his or her decision, together with reasons therefore, and information on the procedure for appeal.

5.6.      The parties may reach a mutually agreed upon resolution to the grievance at any time.  If they reach such agreement after the Grievance Advisory Committee has begun its work, the parties shall notify in writing the Chair of the SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee.  The specific terms of the mutually agreed upon resolution need not be shared. The Chair of the Grievance Advisory Committee shall inform the committee of the resolution. The Grievance Advisory Committee shall then cease work upon receipt of such notification and shall have no obligation to enforce the parties’ mutually agreed resolution.

6.1.1.      Appeals from such decisions can be made only on the following grounds:

• That the procedures used to reach the decision were improper, or that the case received inadequate consideration;
• That the decision violated the academic freedom of the person in question, in which case the burden of proof is on that person.

6.1.2.      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.

6.1.3.      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 advisory committee – the Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Committee – drawn from a standing committee that shall consist of the members of the Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Senators Council (C-FSC) Grievance Committee and the Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty Senators Council (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 Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall consist of three members, none of whom are from the grievant’s school: one from the C-FSC standing committee, one from the T-FSC standing committee, and one senior administrator selected by the Steering Committee of the C-FSC.

6.1.4.      The Continuing Contract 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 sixty days. The Continuing Contract 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 he or she shall have the aid of an advisor or counsel.

6.1.5.      The Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall not judge professional merits, but only ascertain whether procedural safeguards 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.”

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

6.1.1.      Appeals from such decisions can be made only on the following grounds:

• That the procedures used to reach the decision were improper, or that the case received inadequate consideration;
• That the decision violated the academic freedom of the person in question, in which case the burden of proof is on that person.

6.1.2.      Where such an appeal is desired by a Continuing Contract faculty member, the faculty member must inform the Provost in writing within 15 days after he or she is notified of the Dean’s decision. The Provost shall then make informal procedures available.

7.1        In order to adjudicate formal faculty grievances there shall be established a Full-Time Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee to the SPS Dean in the following manner:

7.1.1.      The Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee will consist of full-time faculty from across the SPS, with no more than one (1) member from each academic unit.

7.1.2.      Members of the Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall be elected by the faculty at-large for a two-year term.

7.1.3.      The Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall not include deans, department chairpersons or academic directors, or any faculty member whose primary assignment is administrative in an academic unit or in the SPS Office of the Dean and who are not covered by the NYUSPS Standards and Procedures for Appointment and Reappointment of Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty (“FTCCF”) policies.

7.1.4.      The Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall elect a Chairperson at the beginning of each academic year.

7.1.5.      A member of the SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee may not take part in a review when the grievant is from her or his academic unit.

7.1.6.      Any member of the SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee who has a conflict of interest regarding a particular faculty grievance shall recuse himself or herself from serving on that grievance review. Any member of the grievance committee who has a conflict of interest regarding a particular faculty grievance shall inform the Chairperson of the issue as immediately as awareness permits and a determination should be made accordingly. 

7.2    The SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee shall consist of three standing members and two alternates of and elected by the SPS Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty, as documented in the SPS Faculty Council Charter and who are covered by NYUSPS Standards and Procedures for Appointment and Reappointment of Full Time Continuing Contract Faculty (“FTCCF”) policies.

The Faculty Handbook provides that Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty are to serve on the committee for FTCCF grievances; however, as the SPS Faculty is primarily Continuing Contract Faculty, it is not always possible to include Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty.  When possible, a Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty member from SPS, if such person exists on the faculty and is elected by the voting members of the faculty to serve on the committee, shall also serve on the Full-Time Continuing Contract Faculty Grievance Advisory Committee.

All elected committee members will serve two-year terms (standing and alternate).  To ensure continuity and overlap, a one-time exception will be made to initiate the committee.  The first committee will have one standing and one alternate member who will serve a three-year term each.  Annual elections will be conducted thereafter to elect new members.  The sequence will be to elect two then three new members in alternate years (see Appendix 1).

Last Updated: December 12, 2018

Provisionally Approved