Scope

All student academic appointments on the Bloomington Campus.

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Policy Statement

An SAA is entitled to appeal actions or conditions affecting his/her role, including such matters as dismissal, academic freedom, reappointment, and the nature and conditions of work. Issues regarding discrimination should be referred to the Office of Affirmative Action. In appeals of research misconduct, however, the SAA should consult with the Bloomington campus Research Integrity Officer, in the Office for the Vice Provost for Research. Further information and procedures related to research misconduct are available at: http://www.iub.edu/~ora/cs-researchint.html

Student academic appointees are encouraged to seek redress of grievances at the departmental and/or unit level. Beginning at that level, and progressing to higher administrative levels only when redress is not obtained, facilitates the appeal process and increases the likelihood of a satisfactory outcome. If a satisfactory resolution can not be reached at the department or unit level, the appeal may be taken to the Student Academic Appointee Grievance Committee of the Faculty Council, and, ultimately, to the Student Academic Appointee Board of Review.

Departments and Academic Units

Recommendations to Departments on SAA Grievances

All departments and academic units involved in supervising SAAs should establish and maintain internal procedures for reviewing graduate student grievances and complaints related to the terms and conditions of their academic appointments. These procedures should: (1) ensure a timely response to SAA complaints, (2) clearly establish an appeal structure for disputes that cannot be resolved through mutual agreement among the SAA and his or her immediate supervisor, (3) be provided, in written form, to all SAAs at the time of their appointment, (4) also be provided to all supervising faculty and administrators, as well as to any unit administrators with responsibilities for reviewing and adjudicating SAA grievances, at the time when they begin their supervisory duties or assume their office, (5) aim to protect confidentiality and the rights of all involved, with particular sensitivity to the complexities of graduate student instructors' dual status as teachers and students and the potential for the pursuit of teaching related grievances to have negative ramifications on other aspects of the SAA's education and professional life, (6) ensure that once an SAA initiates a complaint, he or she is notified in a timely manner whenever information regarding that complaint is placed in his or her personnel file, and (7) inform the SAA of avenues of appeal beyond the departmental or unit level, pursuant to Bloomington Faculty Council policy establishing the SAA grievance committee and the SAA Board of Review.

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History

Approved: BFC 12/2/75, 4/18/00
Amended and Adopted: 4/15/08
Rescinded by the Bloomington Faculty Council: 04/18/23

Absorbed: BL-ACA-D23 and BL-ACA-D28

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