Scope

All student academic appointees on the Bloomington campus.

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Policy Statement

If a grievance cannot be resolved at the departmental or unit level, the SAA may bring the grievance to the SAA Mediation Committee. SAA Mediation Committee information is available at http://www.indiana.edu/~bfc/docs/policies/SAAGrievanceProcedures.pdf

The SAA Mediation Committee is drawn from the membership of the BFC Student Academic Appointees Affairs Committee. The Mediation Committee shall be composed of no fewer than five members, including no fewer than two graduate student members. In cases involving dismissal or academic freedom, the SAA Mediation Committee will meet as a full body; in cases involving the nature or conditions of work and reappointment, the Committee may meet in subcommittees or panels of no fewer than two members (at least one of whom must be a graduate student). Although membership of the SAA Mediation Committee varies from year to year, it is expected that the same roster of Committee members shall complete the investigation and mediation of any case they have begun to consider. If a member of the SAA Mediation Committee is involved in a case before the Committee, or is a member of a department (or a school which is not departmentalized) from which a case arises, he or she shall be disqualified to hear or to investigate the case. A member of the SAA Mediation Committee shall also disqualify himself or herself from hearing or investigating a case whenever the member believes it difficult to render an impartial judgment. No member of the SAA Board of Review can serve concurrently on the SAA Mediation Committee.

The SAA shall initially notify the Chair of the BFC Student Academic Appointees Affairs Committee in writing of her or his intention to bring the grievance before the Committee.

Members of the SAA Mediation Committee shall address each grievance impartially, investigate it thoroughly, and base their findings on sound knowledge of University policies and procedures. The Committee should strive to resolve grievances through flexible procedures and encourage discussions between the parties to the grievance. The meetings of the Committee shall be informal with no stenographic record kept.

Where appropriate, SAAs may opt to seek mediation through other organizations, such as the Affirmative Action Office, the Office for Women's Affairs, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Anti-Harassment Team, the Racial Incidents Team, the Gender Incidents Team, the Religious Bias Incidents Team, or the Student Advocates Office. SAAs pursuing such alternatives may not concurrently bring a case before the Committee; however, pursuing these alternatives does not preclude the SAA from subsequently bringing the grievance to the SAA Mediation Committee.

If mediation of the grievance fails, the SAA Mediation Committee reports its findings in writing to the grievant and to all parties named in the grievance. On request from the grievant, the committee informally may give its opinion of the merit of the grievance and whether it should be taken to the SAA Board of Review. This opinion shall not constitute evidence before the Board. On request, the Committee shall assist the grievant in drafting a statement of the grievance and may assist the grievant in other ways in preparing a case for presentation to the Board. However, the Committee may not represent the grievant before the Board.

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History

Approved: BFC 12/2/75, 4/18/00
Amended and adopted: 4/15/08
Amended: BFC Agenda Committee 5/22/09

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