Administrative Policies — Section 5

GRIEVANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE FACULTY

Earlham College affirms the right of each administrative faculty member to be free from exploitation and mistreatment by her/his supervisor and fellow faculty members. The College finds such behavior to be inappropriate and unacceptable. The College expects all faculty members to conduct themselves as professionals with the highest regard for all others. Mistreatment or disrespect in any form shall not be tolerated.

If an administrative faculty member believes that s/he is being exploited or mistreated by her/his supervisor or another faculty member, s/he has the right to file a grievance under the following guidelines. The faculty member may do so with assurance that the College expects no consequent reprisal or retaliation for filing the grievance.

The faculty member should note that differences of opinion over a written policy of the College or annual or periodic reviews of job performance shall not be grounds for filing a grievance under this policy. An appeal of disciplinary action may be filed in accordance with the guidelines of this policy.

In instances where professional or personal conflicts/misconduct occur, the College is committed to dealing with the conflicts at the organizational level closest to the problem.

To file a grievance or an appeal of a disciplinary action, these guidelines shall be followed:

1. If an administrative faculty member has a problem, concern, or complaint, it shall be discussed first and forthrightly with the person involved, in expectation of finding a resolution. Failing that, the faculty member shall inform the immediate supervisor of the other person involved, and ask her/him to intervene as may be appropriate. If the grievance/appeal directly involves the immediate supervisor, the faculty member shall inform the supervisor's supervisor. At that point, the supervisor is expected to inform the Provost, who may act as a consultant. The supervisor shall convene a meeting of the parties involved to discuss the situation and work to resolve it.

2. If the problem remains unresolved, the supervisor shall bring it to the attention of the next level supervisor. At this point, the grievance/appeal shall be in writing. That supervisor, in turn, shall inform the Provost, who may continue to act as a consultant and/or may request additional formal documentation. The highest level supervisor shall convene a meeting of the parties involved to attempt resolution.

3. In the event that any of these efforts fail or at any time the Provost deems it appropriate, the matter may be referred to the President of the College for resolution. All pertinent information shall be forwarded to the President in writing to facilitate understanding and resolution of the problem. The President may convene a meeting of the parties involved or may discuss the problem with the faculty member filing the grievance and each of the involved parties to help in making the final determination.

Earlham College · 801 National Road West · Richmond, Indiana 47374-4095
Send corrections or comments to webeditor@earlham.edu.
Copyright Information

This page last updated: June 29, 2003