Senate Document SD 07-9

TO:                              Fort Wayne Senate

FROM :                       Faculty Affairs Committee

Craig Hill, Chair

SUBJECT:                   Pre-Disciplinary Letter Policy

DATE:                         March 24, 2008

DISPOSITION: To the Presiding Officer for implementation

WHEREAS, procedural standards set the basis of trust and respect between the university faculty and administration;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the IPFW Senate here approve the following “Pre-Disciplinary Letter Policy”:

Approving Not Approving Non Voting

Charles Champion

Christine Erickson

Susan Hannah

Craig Hill

Kimberly McDonald

Michael Nusbaumer

Nashwan Younis

Senate Document SD 07-9

Pre-Disciplinary Letter Policy

Except in situations addressed in other University policies and in emergency situations that could affect student or faculty safety, academic administrators must provide a pre-disciplinary letter to a faculty member prior to issuing a disciplinary action. Disciplinary actions DO NOT include the following: administrative actions regarding reappointment, tenure, promotion, or workload assignments with the exception of summer and overload.

The purpose of a Pre-Disciplinary Letter is to ensure that a faculty member has the opportunity to present information and facts, and is not wrongfully disciplined. The Pre-Disciplinary Letter describes the nature and basis for the potential disciplinary action. 

The faculty member has the opportunity to respond in writing within ten (10) work days to the Pre-Disciplinary Letter and provide information on his or her behalf. At the option of the academic administrator or the faculty member, a meeting may be arranged to discuss the Pre-Disciplinary Letter; however, the inability of either party to meet prior to the end of the ten (10) work days does not provide an extension of time for the submission of a response. 

After receiving the faculty member’s response, and after the meeting if one took place, the academic administrator will consider all the information presented by the faculty member and determine if the potential disciplinary action should be implemented, should be modified, or is unjustified. The academic administrator may issue a letter stating the final disposition as early as the next work day following submission of the faculty member’s response. The latest such a letter may be issued is the end of ten (10) work days from receipt of the faculty member’s response.

In order that the process may proceed expeditiously, extensions of the faculty response and administrator final letter time lines will be granted only in rare circumstances by the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs.

This policy in no way impedes faculty from grieving a disciplinary action, filing under an appropriate IU or PU complaint procedure, or in any way exercising a right to which they are entitled.