Student Academic Appointee Board of Review
BL-ACA-D24
About This Policy
- Effective dates:
- 02-05-2002
- Last updated:
- 04-18-2023
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Policy Statement
The BFC annually elects three faculty members to the Student Academic Appointee (SAA) Board of Review. No more than two members of the Board may be elected from a single academic division of the University. At least one member should have previously served on the Faculty Board of Review. Each year, the Graduate and Professional Student Government(GPSG) supplies a list of graduate students for potential membership on the SAA Board of Review. The BFC members select three members from this list to serve on the Board.
An SAA seeking review shall notify the Chair of the SAA Board of Review in writing of their request. The written statement should clearly specify the nature of the complaint, the University person(s) grieved against (i.e. the respondent), the remedy sought, and the reasons why the remedy sought is appropriate. The written statement of complaint must be submitted within 30 business days to the Board from notification to the grievant that the grievance is not able to be resolved through mediation or at the unit/departmental level. The SAA is not required to have mediation prior to submission
to the Board. This time limit may be waived at the discretion of the Board. If the case falls within the Board’s area of jurisdiction, a formal, private, hearing shall be scheduled no sooner than ten days and no longer than 30 business days after the respondent grieved against has received notice of the complaint.
Procedures
These procedures are intended as a supplement to the provisions for the creation and operation of an SAA Board of Review contained in Document D-XVII and approved by the BFC 9/29/70.
- Prior to the hearing, the Chair of the SAA Board of Review shall send a copy of the SAA’s written grievance to all parties grieved against. These persons shall submit a response to the Board within ten business days of the receipt of the grievance. With the assistance of the BFC Office, the Chair will distribute copies of the SAA’s written grievance, the response, and any supporting documentation filed by either party to all Board members. This documentation will be treated as confidential and provided through secure access to the members of the SAA Board of Review, the aggrieved party, and the respondent.
- With the assistance of the BFC Office, both parties will submit to the Board a list of witnesses, who will be notified by the Board of the date, time, and modality of the hearing. Additional materials may be submitted to the Chair at the hearing, for
distribution to all involved. Before and during the hearing, the Board may request and secure additional information from the grievant and the respondent. The Board also may request testimony or written statements from witnesses not called by either party. If not presented during the hearing, these statements will be made available to both parties involved at least three business days prior to the hearing. - After the conclusion of the hearing, the Board retains the prerogative to request additional materials or information. All such requests must be made known to the grievant and the respondent. In this event, either party may request that the hearing be reconvened, if a formal recommendation has not already been submitted to the Provost, in order to add or respond to such newly solicited material and information.
- In the hearing before the Board, both parties shall have the right of counsel, or a representative of their choice. Both parties, or their representatives, may question witnesses presented by the other party. This questioning will be carried out under the guidance of the Board, which may intervene at its discretion to avoid redundancy or irrelevant lines of inquiry.
- The hearing will be private and attended only by the parties (i.e. grievant(s)
and respondent(s)), their representatives, witnesses, and others approved by the Board. The Board will treat all information received in the grievance process as confidential. Public statements by the grievant or respondent about cases before the Board should be avoided. - The BFC Office will maintain a record of all papers filed and will arrange for an audio recording of the hearing. Upon conclusion of the hearing, these records shall be kept on file for a period of five years.
- Hearings should be scheduled for a minimum of 3 hours. The proceedings should consist of an introductory statement by the Board, stating the reasons for the hearing and defining the parameters of the case. Following this introduction, both parties or their representatives may offer opening statements, not to exceed fifteen minutes each. Witnesses will then be heard and made available to questioning by the grievant and the respondent, or their representatives, in turn. The questioning of witnesses by each party is limited to one hour. Either party may then opt to present closing comments, not to exceed five minutes each. Time limitations on each phase of the hearing may be waived at the discretion of the Board. The Board may call a brief recess not to exceed 10 minutes, as the Board deems appropriate. The Board shall take the case under advisement and arrive at a recommendation in the absence of both parties following the conclusion of the hearing.
- The Board shall reach its recommendation by preponderance of the evidence presented and through a vote of the Board. The vote shall be recorded and part of the recommendation to the Provost. A separate statement of dissent may be included in the recommendation, if desired. The Board shall make its written recommendation to the Provost within ten business days. All parties will receive copies of the formal recommendation at that time.