CLASS grievance procedure for graduate students

Every Effort shall be made by the graduate student and the faculty member(s) involved to settle their differences amiably and informally to redress the grievance. Even though this is an informal process, it shall begin by an official written (not verbal) “Notice of an intention to Grieve” made to the chair or director of the unit within 30 days of the point in time when the grievant has knowledge or should have had knowledge of the problem being grieved. If appropriate or necessary, the department chair shall participate in this informal effort to resolve this grievance. If appropriate, the aid of a disinterested mediator should be sought to aid resolution. A grievance involving the chair or director of a unit will begin with similar process to the designated associate dean.

Step 1: “Notice of an Intention to Grieve” within first 30 days.
In the event that an informal resolution is not possible, the graduate student may petition the department chair by filing a second document, the “Complaint”, within 60 days of filing the intent to grieve as in paragraph 1. The formal written “Complaint” must state (a) when he/she discovered the issue being grieved, (b) what issue is being grieved and the evidence to support the grievance, (c) the desired resolution, (d) the postal (not e-mail) address to which written communication may be sent. It is the grievant’s responsibility to notify the office handling the grievance of any change of address during the course of the grievance. After receipt of the “Complaint”, the chair or director must respond in writing to the grievant within 10 working days.

Step 2: “Complaint” within 60 days of filing “Notice of an Intention to Grieve”.
In the event that a resolution is not possible at the departmental level (paragraphs 1 and 2 above), the grievant may petition the designated associate dean of the College by submitting a written “Notice of Appeal” appended to his formal written complaint and the chair’s or director’s written response submitted to the associate dean’s office within 10 working days after the decision of the chair or director. The grievant may include in his notice of appeal copies of any documentation he or she considers useful at this point, but shall retain possession of the originals.

Step 3: “Notice of Appeal” within 10 days of departmental decision.

3a. The associate dean shall review the materials and may suggest to the parties solutions that might resolve the matter without resort to a hearing. If all parties agree to a solution, the associate dean shall notify both parties in writing that no further action is being taken. If no objection is lodged with the associate dean’s office within 15 working days from the date of the letter of notification, the grievance will be considered resolved.

3b. If the associate dean does not resolve the matter as in 3a, he or she shall make a preliminary determination. Unless the matter is being resolved under 3a, the preliminary determination must be completed within 10 working days of the receipt of the appeal and communicated in writing to both grievant and chair or director. If an attempted resolution under 3a proves unsuccessful, the preliminary decision must be made within five working days of the objection lodged with the associate dean’s office.
If the grievant, involved faculty member, or department does not concur with the decision of the associate dean, any or all of those parties within five working days of receiving that decision may request that the grievance be referred to a college grievance committee for consideration.

As soon as possible but within 10 working days of receiving the appeal in 4, the Dean shall refer the appeal to the Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee shall be composed as specified in the College Bylaws, Section X.
The Grievance Committee shall not include any faculty member or graduate student major from the involved department or the major department of the student who filed the grievance. Upon a showing of good cause ( such as a conflict of interest or some situation that would prevent fair and objective participation ) by any party, the Dean may excuse a proposed member of the grievance committee. Otherwise, the Grievance Committee may work by its own established procedure either as a committee of the whole or a subcommittee. In either case, the members who judge the appeal will be called the “Hearing Panel.” The Grievance Committee shall appoint a chair of the Hearing Panel.

Once the Hearing Panel is constituted, each of its members individually shall review the material submitted by all involved parties and, after meeting with other members of the Hearing Panel (three members constituting a quorum) at least once to discuss the appeal, make one of the following recommendations.

1) That the graduate student’s request be granted.

2) That the faculty member’s request be granted.

3) That the department’s decision be sustained.

4) That the associate dean’s decision ( if different from options #1, #2, or #3 above) be upheld.

5) That all members of the Hearing Panel hold a formal, administrative, non-adversarial hearing with, as far as possible, all involved parties present to elicit more information.

All committee members shall send their individual recommendations in writing directly to the Dean within 15 working days of their designation as members of the Hearing Panel, or within 20 working days, if part of that time period falls within the break between semesters or during the summer.
The Dean shall make his or her decision within five working days from the receipt of the recommendations from the individual members of the committee.
If, however, three or more members of the Hearing Panel recommend option #5, then such a hearing shall take place. The chair of the Hearing Panel shall within five working days set a time for the hearing. The time and place of the hearing shall be notified to the grievant in writing at least ten working days before the hearing; but the hearing shall be held no more than 25 working days after the Hearing Panel has determined to hold a hearing. A chair of the Hearing Panel shall conduct the hearing according to the following guidelines.

1. Attendance at the hearing shall be limited to the members of the Hearing Panel, the involved parties, and their respective representatives and witnesses. Witnesses shall be present only during their own testimony.

2. The hearing shall be mechanically recorded only if requested in advance by the grievant.

3. Each party, beginning with the party who filed the appeal, shall make an oral presentation of position and evidence. The initial presentation shall not be longer than ten minutes unless the committee decides in advance that the material is more complicated, in which case the committee may set a longer time period. Each party may call witnesses and present pertinent documentary evidence at this time.

4. Each member of the committee shall have the right to question all involved parties and their witnesses and to examine the documentary evidence presented.

5. Each party shall have the opportunity for rebuttal, at which time additional evidence may be introduced to refute points made by other parties.

6. Each party may make a summary statement not to exceed five minutes.

Immediately after the hearing, the Hearing Panel shall meet in a closed session to determine its recommendations, which it shall forward to the Dean. These recommendations shall be in writing and shall present, at minimum, a brief summary of the allegations made and the respondent’s rebuttal, the findings of the Hearing Panel (i.e., the panel’s judgment of the facts), the university, college, or department policy or procedure violated (if relevant), and the recommendations of the panel.

The Dean shall inform all parties of a decision in writing within five working days after the receipt of the Hearing Panel’s recommendations.

The Dean’s decision shall be the final action at the college level, although the Dean’s decision may be appealed further to the GPSC as specified in university procedures.
If all involved parties agree, any specific time limits established by these procedures may be modified. For the purpose of these procedures, a “working day” is any day Monday through Friday when university classes are officially in session.