A9.9 Disciplinary Review of Faculty Members

Effective Date: May 22, 2020 (editor's note, effective date is being reviewed for accuracy)
Last Reviewed: June 7, 2023*

* name of title changed and was amended


PREAMBLE 

In order to maintain the integrity of its teaching and research and to preserve academic freedom, Stonehill College demands high standards of professional conduct from its faculty. In the case of a serious violation of these standards, a faculty member may face disciplinary charges under the following procedures. 

These disciplinary procedures are invoked when the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean formally charges a faculty member with personal or professional misconduct that may warrant a serious sanction, which includes censure (a public statement), a fine and/or reduction in pay, a reduction in rank, or dismissal from the College.  The College considers reduction in faculty rank and the rescission of tenure as unwarranted sanctions except in cases of proven fraud or unethical behavior.

In administering the due process rights afforded under this policy, the College shall use that portion of the 2005 guidelines of the American Association for University Professors (AAUP) which states, “the institution should provide the following protections to an individual alleged to have engaged in misconduct that is subject to the institution's discipline policy”:

  • Notice of the alleged misconduct
  • Opportunity to respond to the charges
  • Review by a faculty body of both the factual allegations and the proposed discipline
  • Progressive discipline, if appropriate to address the seriousness of the misconduct
  • Opportunity for higher-level review of the factfinding and the proposed sanction 


ARTICLE 1: Ad Hoc Disciplinary Initiation Committee

  1. Charges will be brought on behalf of the College by the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean, following whatever factual investigation the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean deems appropriate. If a conflict of interest prevents the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean from being involved, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will appoint a designee to serve in their stead.
  2. When charges are to be brought against a faculty member, the faculty member must be notified of the charges confidentially in writing, including the specific conduct violations and corresponding policies, within 5 business days and given an opportunity to reply. All attempts should be made, in the first instance, to resolve the issue by mutual agreement. If the matter cannot be settled by mutual agreement and to the satisfaction of those involved and with the President’s approval, the next steps are invoked.
  3. If the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean determines that the matter is a clear case of professional misconduct as defined in Article 3 below, the matter is remanded to the Disciplinary Committee as outlined in Article 4.
  4. If the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean decides that the case is a personal misconduct case as defined under Policy E03.40, or if there is uncertainty as to whether the case falls under personal or professional misconduct, or if there is difference of opinion between the complainant and the Vice President for Academic Affairs about whether the case should proceed, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will invoke review by an Ad Hoc Disciplinary Initiation Committee consisting of the Dean of whichever school does not include the charged faculty member, plus two faculty members appointed by the Vice President for Academic Affairs who do not have conflicts of interest as described in 4.4 and 4.5 below. This committee will review the facts and make a recommendation to the Vice President for Academic Affairs as to whether the misconduct constitutes personal misconduct as defined in E3.40, or professional misconduct, as outlined in Article 3. If the Committee determines that the misconduct constitutes both personal and professional misconduct, the Committee shall make a recommendation on how the matter should proceed to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for their consideration and determination.
  5. The recommendation shall be communicated in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and to the charged faculty member. At this point, the charged faculty member or claimant(s) may file a grievance with the Faculty Grievance Committee if not in agreement with the recommendation.
  6. In cases of serious or sudden gross personal misconduct, the faculty member may be suspended and removed from campus while the case is under review and sanctions are being determined.  

ARTICLE 2: Personal Misconduct 

  1. In matters of personal misconduct not related to professional misconduct as outlined below, faculty are generally governed by Policy E03.40 (Corrective Action) E03.41 (Employee Grievance Procedure), and E03.42 (Personal Conduct). Matters relating to Harassment or Discrimination shall be governed by Policy E3.35 and its corresponding investigation procedures.
  2. However, in the event that a serious sanction against a faculty member is under consideration, there must be a record either of a) the progressive steps of disciplinary action, or b) the appropriate review procedure when specific circumstances call for it (e.g., alleged sexual harassment). Only in an unusually serious or sudden case of gross personal misconduct (e.g. assault, sexual harassment, felony violations of state or federal law) or gross neglect of duty ought dismissal charges be brought without a prior record of corrective discipline.

ARTICLE 3: Professional Misconduct 

  1. The Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean may charge a faculty member with professional misconduct only for actions taken in association with the faculty member’s college-related duties and responsibilities. Such misconduct includes but is not limited to the following: dishonest or unethical behavior in the faculty member’s own teaching or research; preventing or obstructing teaching or research; the neglect of College-related duties and responsibilities; and violation of stated academic or institutional policies. 

ARTICLE 4: Faculty Disciplinary Committee

  1. The Stonehill College Faculty Disciplinary Procedure is administered by the Faculty Disciplinary Committee. The Faculty Disciplinary Committee is established to hear the professional misconduct cases of faculty members. The membership of the Committee consists of five (5) faculty members. Normally the committee comprises three (3) tenured faculty, one each from SOB, STEM, and LASSE, and two (2) full professors, one each from the Meehan School of Business and the May School of Arts and Sciences, elected by the voting members of the Faculty. Additionally, five alternates will be elected to serve as needed, and will comprise three (3) tenured alternate faculty, one each from SOB, STEM, and LASSE, and two (2) full professors, one each from the Meehan School of Business and the May School of Arts and Sciences.
  2. Confidentiality is important to the success of any disciplinary procedure.
    1. Only the members of the Disciplinary Committee and Faculty Senate President shall have access to confidential documents made available to them. No member of the Disciplinary Committee shall discuss the case, confidential documents, or oral testimony outside the Disciplinary Committee meetings, except with other members of the Disciplinary Committee. In the event that it is necessary to consult with other individuals in order to obtain information pertinent to the case, the charged faculty member will be notified.  The Disciplinary Committee and Faculty Senate President shall have the right to request consultation with the Office of the General Counsel, who represents the College, or to request outside, independent counsel to advise on matters.
    2. No one who appears before the Disciplinary Committee or who participates in the grievance process in another capacity shall reveal information gained during the proceedings unless required by law.
    3. Confidentiality is in the best interest of ensuring a fair process for all parties. As such, all parties are encouraged to exercise restraint in discussing the case outside the Disciplinary Committee, and may be asked to disclose to the committee the names of those people with whom they have discussed the case and matters related to it.
  3. Faculty Disciplinary Committee members are expected to keep adequate, accurate notes throughout the process. All work products created, including but not limited to a record of committee procedures, committee notes, correspondence, and report drafts, must be retained by the Disciplinary Committee Chair for 60 days from the finalization of the disciplinary process or until June 30th of the academic year in which the disciplinary process is completed, whichever is later, at which point they may be submitted for destruction with a records disposition form (per Policy E1.3).
  4. All members of the Faculty Disciplinary Committee will attend two training sessions:
    1. At the start of their elected or re-elected term, anti-bias training, such as that provided to Diversity Advocates for faculty search committees and
    2. Annually, procedural training on hearing disciplinary cases (e.g., appropriate lines of questioning and evidentiary standards), provided by a source external to Stonehill College. Additional training for both the Disciplinary Committee and the Faculty Senate President will be provided on an as-needed basis when a disciplinary charge is brought.
  5. Automatic conflicts of interest for members of the Disciplinary Committee include membership in the same department as the faculty member being charged and/or being party to the charge. If for any reason a member cannot serve, normally, they will be replaced by their corresponding alternate. If both a regular member and the corresponding alternate are both recused, a replacement will be made first from available elected alternate members of the same rank or higher (e.g., Professor for Associate Professor).
  6. Committee members deeming themselves disqualified for bias or conflict of interest may remove themselves from the matter. The President of the Faculty Senate shall immediately appoint an alternate Faculty member to serve if needed to create quorum.
  7. Should additional recusals lower the total number of available committee members and alternates below five, the Governance Committee shall nominate, and the Faculty Senate ratify, at least two alternates from the faculty within five (5) days of the recusals being known.

ARTICLE 5: Disciplinary Process

A faculty member charged under these procedures may be subject to sanctions up to and including the serious sanctions outlined in Article 1 above.  At any time in the proceedings, the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean and the faculty member, with the approval of the President, may seek to resolve the matter by agreement. Throughout the proceedings, all those involved should keep in mind that the procedures here are those of a College and not a court of law, and therefore should seek to avoid an excessively legalistic approach. 

Nothing in this policy supersedes or modifies the policies related to faculty with tenured status as delineated in Policy A9.3, whereby:

Tenure signifies that a person granted this status shall not be denied reappointment except for the following causes: 1.1. Extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances of financial exigency on the part of the College, in compliance with AAUP standards to which the College subscribes. 2.2. Grave causes such as proven professional incompetence, neglect of duty, physical or mental impairment that materially and substantially prevents such person from performing essential functions of his or her job, or scandalous conduct of a nature to bring public discredit on the College.

Step 1: Notifications of Committee.

Upon notification by the Vice President for Academic Affairs that a faculty member has been charged with misconduct, the Faculty Senate President shall constitute the Faculty Disciplinary Committee. The committee will elect a committee chair and inform the Faculty Senate President within 1 week, unless the committee requests and is granted an extension from the Faculty Senate President.

Step 2: Hearing.

  1. The Faculty Disciplinary Committee shall, usually within 14 days of receipt of the request, set a hearing date. The Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean shall prepare a detailed report of the issues presented and submit it to the faculty member and Committee at least 10 days before the hearing date. The report shall also contain a list of any people the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean plans to request to present at the hearing or a list of any people from whom the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean plan to provide a written statement at the hearing. The faculty member shall submit a written response to the Vice President for Academic Affairs' or Dean’s report at least 5 days before the hearing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean and the Committee. The response shall also contain a list of any people the faculty member plans to produce at the hearing or a list of any people from whom the faculty member plans to provide a written statement at the hearing.
  2. The Committee shall review the report and response, conduct the hearing, and receive statements from the Vice President for Academic Affairs or Dean, the faculty member, and the individuals listed in the report and response. This shall be an informal hearing and the Rules of Evidence shall not apply. The hearing will remain private and confidential unless agreed upon, in writing, by the Faculty Disciplinary Committee and the faculty member involved. The faculty may be present at the hearing and may have any witnesses, advisors, or counsel present at the hearing. Both the faculty member and the College are permitted to have legal counsel attend the hearing, provided advanced written notice of the intent to have legal counsel attend is provided to the other party. Active participation in the hearing by legal counsel is at the discretion of the Disciplinary Committee. The Disciplinary Committee retains the right to remove an advisor or counsel from the hearing if, in the opinion of a supermajority (4/5) of the Committee, and after the chair provides a warning, they are disrupting the process, for instance by failing to abide by Disciplinary Committee requests regarding their active participation.

Step 3: Decision.

  1. The Disciplinary Committee shall submit a written report of its findings and conclusions, including a recommendation of a sanction where relevant, to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the charged faculty member within 5 business days of the conclusion of the hearing. The charged faculty member may respond to the report in writing.
  2. At this stage, the faculty member may appeal the decision, on procedural grounds only, to the Faculty Grievance Committee.
  3. Informed by the report of the Disciplinary Committee and written response of the charged faculty member, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will make a recommendation to the President, including a complete explanation of the rationale behind the decision, appending the report of the Faculty Disciplinary Committee to the recommendation, along with the charged faculty member’s written response, if applicable. The Vice President for Academic Affairs will also inform the Disciplinary Committee of their decision. The Vice President for Academic Affairs' recommendation will be made within 5 business days.
  4. Upon review by the President of the recommendation of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the President may request further clarification from the Disciplinary Committee if necessary.
  5. The President will accept or not accept the recommendation from the Vice President for Academic Affairs within 5 business days.
    1. If the President accepts the recommendation, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will present the decision to the faculty member and the Faculty Disciplinary Committee as the final decision.
    2. If the President does not accept the recommendation, the President conveys the alternative decision and rationale to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the faculty member and the Faculty Disciplinary Committee as the final decision.
  6. If the decision involves the dismissal of the faculty member, reduction in rank, or rescission of tenure, the faculty member may inform the Vice President for Academic Affairs within 30 days that they wish to appeal the decision to the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees, who may establish procedures to review the decision. 
  7. At any time prior to a final decision, the faculty member may be suspended or assigned to other duties in lieu of suspension if, in the opinion of the President or the Vice President for Academic Affairs, immediate harm to the College, the faculty (including the charged faculty member), students, or others is threatened by the faculty member’s continued performance of their duties.