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Procedure for Appeal of Faculty Status Council Tenure Recommendation

If a faculty member wishes to appeal a recommendation from the Faculty Status Council regarding promotion or tenure, the appeal shall follow the procedure described below.

A request for a formal appeal must be made in writing within fifteen (15) class days of the date of the written notice that tenure has not been recommended to the President by the Faculty Status Council. If a request for reconsideration has been made to the Faculty Status Council, the fifteen (15) class day period does not begin until that request process has been concluded and the candidate has been notified of its outcome. The request is to be directed to the Chairperson of the Faculty Appeals Committee, with copies to the Chair of the Faculty Status Council, and the Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty. This request must specify clearly the basis of the appeal. An appeal may be based on any of the following grounds, and only on these procedural grounds:

Four Procedural Grounds for Appeal

  1. That the procedures specified in the Berea College Faculty Manual were not followed.
  2. That the recommendation or decision resulted from incomplete or inaccurate information.
  3. That the terms of appointment have not been observed, or the provisions of a tenured appointment have been modified without the individual’s consent.
  4. That academic freedom, as defined in the Faculty Manual, has been violated.

In such an appeal, the candidate bears the burden of proving the existence of one (1) of the four (4) stated grounds for appeal by clear and convincing evidence. The candidate must state his or her case in writing using one (1) or more of the above four (4) criteria and copying the Faculty Appeals Committee, the Faculty Status Council, and the President. This statement from the candidate becomes part of the Tenure Review File for consideration by the Faculty Appeals Committee and for possible future use by the Faculty Status Council and the President.

The consideration of the appeal must be held within fifteen (15) class days after the Committee receives the petition. Procedures to be followed during appeal are printed immediately below: