UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
FACULTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Annual Report to the Faculty
2005-2006
The Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) is established by the University Statutes, Article II, Section 4; its members are elected by the faculty at each campus. The FAC provides for the orderly voicing of suggestions for the good of the University, affords added recourse for the consideration of grievances, and furnishes a channel for direct and concerted communication between the academic staff and the administrative officers of the University. Any faculty member, current or retired, may voice a suggestion for the good of the University or submit a request for consideration of a grievance to any Faculty Advisory Committee member. The FAC reports to the Chancellor, the President, the Senate, and the faculty.
The following is the Annual Report to the Faculty of FAC actions for 2005-06.
Meetings and Membership
The members of the Faculty Advisory Committee are agents of the University, concerned first and foremost with the best interests of the institution. The Committee serves as an advocate for fairness with respect to the application of campus policy and procedures.
The FAC meets twice each month of the year to consider issues brought to its attention by faculty and administrators. Additionally, the FAC periodically meets with the Provost to discuss specific cases and other academic issues. At UIUC, the FAC is comprised of nine tenured faculty; three are elected each year for three-year terms.
Consultations and Cases
The Faculty Advisory Committee is authorized to make findings on matters involving the application of procedures and policies and does not make judgments related to the evaluation of scholarly achievements and activities.
The FAC distinguishes between consultations and cases. Grievances are first received by the FAC as consultations. If the FAC determines the matter to be within its scope, the committee may assign it case status and conduct an investigation. With respect to cases, the Faculty Advisory Committee reviews its findings and (a) assigns it to a subcommittee with appropriate instructions, (b) arranges a meeting(s) of the committee or subcommittee with the parties concerned, (c) takes up the matter with appropriate University authorities, (d) takes any action it deems desirable in the best interest of the faculty member involved and of the University, (e) communicates its conclusions to the faculty member and to appropriate administrators and others, or (f) dismisses the matter.
The nature of complaints that come before the FAC vary. Consultations and cases for 2005-06 were categorized as follows:
Description Consultations Cases
Nonreappointment 25%
Promotion 10% 20%
Administrative Action 25% 50%
Salary 10% 10%
Interpersonal Dispute 10%
Removal of Tenure 10%
Grievance Procedures 5%
Hiring Practices 10%
Discrimination/Academic Freedom 5%
Academic Integrity 5%
Teaching Assignment 5%
The sources of the consultations and cases for 2005-06 were categorized as follows:
College Consultations Cases
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences 10%
Education 10%
Communications 20% 80%
Engineering 10%
Fine and Applied Arts 15%
Liberal Arts and Sciences 25% 20%
Other 10%
Outcomes
With regard to the disposition of the cases receiving a formal investigation by the Faculty Advisory Committee in 2005-06, the FAC made a recommendation to the campus administration for further action in 60% of the cases, dismissed 20% of the cases (because there was no apparent violation of University procedure), and carried 20% of the cases into 2006-07.
With regard to the disposition of the consultations, they were either carried over into 2006-07 (40%), referred to other avenues of appeal (25%), resolved by the grievant after consultation and advice from the FAC (25%), or declined by the FAC for further review because the matter was not within the purview of FAC or did not represent a violation of University procedure (10%).
This statistical breakdown does not provide a complete representation of the types of problems faculty encounter on the UIUC campus, since many faculty choose not to pursue their grievances to this level. Moreover, in conducting its investigations, the FAC at times discovers underlying issues that go beyond an individual grievance, and these may not be fully reflected in the statistics.
Issues and Recommendations
Members of the Faculty Advisory Committee met with Provost Linda Katehi on two occasions in Spring 2006. Following is a list of issues of a recurring or systemic nature that the FAC shared with the Provost in the course of its investigations in 2005-06.
Composition of Promotion and Tenure Appeals Committees
The Faculty Advisory Committee continues to advocate that the committee used to reconsider a negative tenure and promotion case should be a specially constituted committee consisting of persons who did not participate in the original decision.
Grievance Procedures
The FAC continues to encounter units and colleges that lack campus mandated grievance procedures. We urged the Provost’s Office to follow-up on previous requests for compliance.
Minimum Procedural Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure Review
The Faculty Advisory Committee recommends that the campus adopt minimum procedural guidelines for promotion and tenure review as expediently as possible.
Access to Information Pertaining to Promotion and Tenure
We continue to advocate for expanded information pertaining to the denial of tenure for those faculty who have received notices of nonreappointment. Faculty members will only be able to make informed decisions regarding appeals if they have adequate information regarding the reasons for denial. We continue to advise grievants as to which documents in their personnel files are accessible under law. The Faculty Advisory Committee suggests reviewing the following:
Illinois Personnel Record Review Act
http://www.fs.uiuc.edu/CAM/CAM/ix/ix-a/ix-a-16.html
Communication 9: Promotion and Tenure
http://www.provost.uiuc.edu/provost/Communications/comm9/comm9.htm
This report and previous annual reports of the Faculty Advisory Committee can be found at www.fac.uiuc.edu.
The Faculty Advisory Committee Articles of Procedure are attached.
Respectfully submitted,
2005-06 Faculty Advisory Committee 2006-07 Faculty Advisory Committee
Billie Jean Theide, Chair Billie Jean Theide, Chair
Sandra L. Kopels Firouz Gahvari
Craig Koslofsky Sandra L. Kopels
Herman Krier Craig Koslofsky
Lynn Barnett Morris Herman Krier
Jan Novakofski Lynn Barnett Morris
Ann Reisner Ann Reisner
Beth Sandore Beth Sandore
Mary Stuart Mary Stuart
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
FACULTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Articles of Procedure
(Adopted December 15, 2006)
1. Any faculty member, current or retired, may voice a suggestion for the good of the University or submit a request for consideration of a grievance to any Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) member. FAC members may not refuse to hear a suggestion or grievance. The FAC member who is consulted shall promptly report the matter to the FAC. A faculty member may also request FAC consideration of any matter which is in the interest of the University and/or which is related to any grievance.
The FAC prefers to investigate a suggestion or grievance after all other University avenues of appeal have been exhausted. Further, the faculty member submitting a grievance is informed of the inadvisability of concurrent investigations of his/her case by other University or external channels and the FAC. The FAC shall suspend the investigation of a complaint upon request of the grievant.
2. The FAC distinguishes between consultations and cases:
Consultations. A faculty member requests a meeting with a member of the FAC. The initial consultation stage includes collecting information pertaining to a suggestion or grievance. Following the consultation, a report is made to the FAC. After FAC review, the committee may advise the faculty member (a) to pursue other options, (b) to exhaust other avenues of appeal, or (c) that the matter is outside of the Faculty Advisory Committee’s purview.
Cases. If the FAC determines the matter to be within its scope, the committee may assign case status and instruct the chair to (a) take up the matter with appropriate University authorities, or (b) appoint a subcommittee from the FAC membership. The subcommittee shall investigate and report its findings and recommendations to the FAC. The Faculty Advisory Committee shall review the subcommittee report and (a) return it to the subcommittee with appropriate instructions, (b) arrange a meeting(s) of the committee or subcommittee with the parties concerned, (c) take up the matter with appropriate University authorities, (d) take any action it deems desirable in the best interest of the faculty member involved and of the University, (e) communicate its conclusions to the faculty member and to appropriate administrators and others, or (f) dismiss the matter.
3. Whenever the committee recommends that administrative action be taken, appropriate parties to the grievance shall be notified promptly and given an opportunity to bring to the committee’s attention, within a reasonable time, any misunderstandings which might have affected the committee’s conclusions, or bring to the committee’s attention any additional information relevant to the matter.
4. A recommendation involving administrative action will be accompanied by the request that the matter be considered within thirty (30) days and the committee informed of the outcome.
5. A chair is elected by a majority vote of the entire committee. The chair may designate a chair pro tempore to conduct official business of the committee in his/her absence. As an elected member, the chair shall have one vote on all questions, except as noted in Article 6 below.
6. A member of the committee shall be disqualified, either by his/her own initiative or by a majority vote of the committee, from voting on any matter with elements of conflicting interest. On those occasions when the chair might be deemed to have a conflict of interest, a chair pro tempore shall be designated to conduct official business of the committee.
7. A committee member shall accept no gifts from any party to a grievance.
8. Five members shall constitute a quorum. Approval by a majority of those members present shall be required for adoption of any measure, except in the cases of public statements, member replacements, or amendments to these articles, as indicated below. A minority may file a statement to accompany any recommendation by the majority.
9. Any matter coming before the committee shall be held confidential unless the grievant and the committee agree otherwise. If this should occur or if a public statement is made concerning the committee’s role in the matter, confidentiality will continue to be maintained for those aspects of the matter not mentioned in the public statement. Any public statement made by the committee in such circumstances shall be made by the chair or his/her appointee and shall have prior approval by a majority (5) of the entire committee. If litigation should occur in a matter before the committee and it becomes impossible to avoid disclosure of documents or testimony because of court orders, the committee as a body or any member of the committee must comply. All parties interviewed in connection with FAC cases shall be informed of this confidentiality policy.
10. At the request of the chair, and with the approval of a majority (5) of the committee members, a former member may be recalled to participate in current committee deliberations and actions involving a case in which he/she previously performed a principal role. During such deliberations, the former member shall be accorded the same rights and obligations of committee membership outlined in these procedures, except that he/she shall not be counted in determining a quorum nor have voting privileges.
11. In accordance with the FAC File Policy, committee minutes and records shall be considered confidential and open to inspection only for reasons satisfactory to the committee and authorized by it in writing, or by court order. The committee’s records shall be kept on file in the FAC Office for 20 years. After that time, the files shall be transferred to the University Archives where they will remain closed for an additional 10 years. (Copies of the committee’s File Policy are available upon request from the FAC Office, 228 English Building.)
12. The committee shall report to the faculty annually and at such other times as it may deem appropriate. Copies of such reports shall be sent to the Provost, the Chancellor, the President, and the Clerk of the Senate.
13. When a member of the Faculty Advisory Committee resigns, he/she will be replaced by the person who received the highest number of votes among those who failed to be elected in the most recent election. The replacing member will complete the term of the member being replaced.
14. The chair of the committee may, with the approval of a majority (5) of the committee members, request the resignation and replacement of a committee member who fails to attend committee meetings regularly and who does not participate fully in the work of the committee.
15. These articles of procedure may be amended at any time by a majority vote of the entire committee and are adopted on an annual basis by the committee.
Faculty Advisory Committee
Chair: Billie Jean Theide, 143 Art and Design Building, 898-7557, theide@uiuc.edu
Office: Christa Petrillo, 228 English Building, 333-7373, christa@uiuc.edu