Senate Document SD
91-20
(Amended & approved, 4/13/1992)
(Amended, 4/10/1995)
TO: Fort Wayne Senate
FROM: Faculty Affairs Committee
DATE: March 30, 1992
SUBJ: Extension of the Probationary Period for Justifiable Cause
DISPOSITION: To the Presiding Officer for implementation
PURPOSE: The academic performance of a probationary faculty member can
be adversely affected by extraordinary personal circumstances. Such
circumstances might include the responsibility as primary care giver after
the birth or adoption of a child, serious personal illness, the provision of
care for a seriously ill family member, or any similar situation requiring
compassion. Such conditions may warrant deviation from the tenure policy.
To ensure consistency and fairness in determining which conditions are
sufficiently justifiable to warrant deviation from the tenure policy, the
following guidelines and procedures are recommended:
GUIDELINES
1. Ordinarily, an individual may exclude no more than one year from the
probationary period for justifiable conditions.
2. Normally, requests for exclusions must be made within one year from the
time the conditions occurred which precipitated the request.
3. Exclusions will not be granted after the beginning of the penultimate year.
4. Decisions regarding whether or not requests for exclusions will be granted
shall be based on:
a. verification that the conditions leading to the request occurred or continue to exist.
b. verification that the faculty member's performance prior to the conditions leading
to the request warrants an exclusion.
c. confirmation that the conditions for which the request is being made fall within the
parameters of those deemed in these guidelines to be justifiable.
5. Faculty who have been awarded an exclusion shall have no requirements or expectations
beyond those of any probationary faculty member.
6. Work accomplished during the excluded period may be cited in the promotion/tenure case.
PROCEDURES
1. Requests for exclusion shall be made in writing by the faculty member to the Department
Chair. The Chair will determine, in consultation with the Departmental Promotion
and Tenure Committee, whether the request is justifiable and forward a recommendation
through the Dean to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs, in consultation with the faculty's Department Chair and Dean, will have
the authority to approve exclusions for justifiable conditions.
2. Requests for exclusions may be made at any time during each academic year
up until March 15 of the academic year prior to the penultimate year. Decisions
regarding requests will be made within 60 days of the receipt of the request.
3. Any faculty member who feels it necessary to appeal a decision made under the above
guidelines and procedures may utilize the grievance procedures established for academic
personnel.
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