Appeal of Department Chair's Faculty Evaluation, Process for
A faculty member who wishes to appeal some part of the Department Chair's annual evaluation may do so. Faculty members are entitled to appeal any part of their evaluation. A written appeal of an evaluation should specifically state the factual basis for the appeal and provide documentation to support that appeal.
If a faculty member believes that the evaluation involves discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, national origin, handicap or age, he/she may file a complaint with the Office of Human Resources.
Upon review of the department chair's evaluation, faculty sign the evaluation form. Their signature on an evaluation does not necessarily imply that they agree with the contents but rather that they have seen the document.
The appeal process would begin with the department chairperson or the immediate supervisor of the faculty member. If the matter could not be resolved by a discussion between the faculty member and the chair, the faculty member could then appeal to the dean of the appropriate college. This appeal should be in writing with appropriate notice to the department chairperson or supervisor that the appeal is taking place. The faculty member will have five (5) working days after seeing the evaluation to file the written appeal.
Upon receipt of an appeal from a faculty member, the dean will schedule a conference to discuss the appeal with (1) the appealing faculty member and (2) with the supervisor of that faculty member. The dean may then convene a joint conference to attempt to resolve concerns or may serve as broker to resolve grievances and propose alternatives to both faculty member and department chairperson.
If these individual and/or joint conferences do not resolve the concerns, the dean shall then make a decision on the validity of the appeal and inform the faculty member and department chairperson whether the appeal has been upheld or denied.
Upon receipt of the decision of the dean, if the faculty member still is in disagreement with the decision, the faculty member may appeal to the Provost within five (5) working days of receipt of the dean's decision. The Provost checks to ensure that the process for the appeal was handled appropriately. Should the Provost determine that due process was not provided, she/he will refer the matter back to the college dean.
Reviewed December 12, 2023
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