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Appeal Procedures Used by the Faculty Appeals Committee (FAC)

The Faculty Appeals Committee uses these procedures when dealing with appeals of tenure recommendations from the Faculty Status Council to the President. Appeals are initiated in writing by individual faculty members who are candidates for tenure. These procedures and the related policies have been developed and adopted by Berea College. The College is bound only by its own procedures and policies, not by the policy statements of any external organization. These procedures are intended to insure fair process; the appeal is not expected to follow formal rules of a court of law.

  1. The Chairperson of the Committee will schedule and make all arrangements for the meeting of the Committee.
  2. Before the FAC begins consideration of the candidate’s appeal, the candidate is responsible for insuring that the points at issue are clearly defined in writing.
  3. No documents or other evidence may be submitted that were not previously presented to the Faculty Status Council for its consideration in making its tenure recommendation to the President, except the candidate’s appeal letter and documents germane to the grounds of the appeal. The record on the appeal before the Committee shall consist of: (i) the complete Tenure Review File, (ii) the recommendation of the Faculty Status Council, and (iii) the written arguments of the candidate. Only arguments pertinent to one or more of the four (4) Grounds for Appeal may be used.
  4. The entire record on appeal shall be in hands of the Committee Chair at least seventy-two (72) hours before the appeal begins. The Chair will distribute all such materials to all Committee members at least forty-eight (48) hours before the start of the appeal by the Committee.
  5. The appeal process is confidential and private. No persons other than the Committee members shall be present and no recording or transcript of the Committee’s deliberations shall be made. Members of the Committee are free to comment only on material in the Tenure Review File, which includes the candidate’s appeal statement.
  6. When the Committee has deliberated on the candidate’s letter of appeal in conjunction with the candidate’s Tenure Review File, it shall render a decision whether or not procedural violation has occurred.

Within five (5) class days of the end of the appeal, the Committee shall report its findings and recommendations in writing to the Faculty Status Council. Copies of the report are sent to the appellant, the Dean of Faculty, the Division Chair, and the Chair of the Faculty Status Council. The Faculty Appeals Committee is not empowered to overrule the Faculty Status Council’s decision to recommend or not recommend tenure. The Committee may find only that one or more of the four (4) Grounds for Appeal is/are confirmed or not confirmed. If one (1) of these Grounds is confirmed, the Committee’s conclusion mandates another, final content review by the Faculty Status Council. The final review by Faculty Status Council is of the original Tenure Review File, the candidate’s appeal letter previously considered by the Faculty Appeals Committee, and the finding letter sent to the Faculty Status Council from the Faculty Appeals Committee. The Faculty Status Council has ten (10) class days to conclude its final review. By the end of the period, the Chair of the Council must forward the Council’s recommendation to the President. There is no further review or appeal before the Faculty Appeals Committee. The authority to accept or reject any tenure recommendation from the Faculty Status Council rests only with the President of the College and the Board of Trustees.

In arriving at a decision to recommend tenure or not, the President weighs the recommendation from the Faculty Status Council, and reviews the entire Tenure Review File. The President’s decision is conveyed in writing to the candidate, with copies to the Chairperson of the Faculty Appeals Committee, the Dean of Faculty, the Chair of the Faculty Status Council, and the Division Chair. The decision must be made within thirty (30) class days following receipt of the final recommendation from the Chair of the Faculty Status Council, and be sent to the candidate at least one year before the end of the candidate’s existing contract.