a) To entertain an appeal by a faculty member of the following (in accordance with procedures set forth below):
i) a decision not to grant tenure, reappoint, or promote that faculty member if that faculty member alleges that considerations violative of academic freedom contributed significantly to the decision (in accordance with Article XI of the Statement on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Responsibilities);
ii) a grievance alleging discrimination in employment, including denial of promotion or tenure, based on race, sex, color, religion, national/ethnic origin, age, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, handicap, or veteran status (in accordance with Part III-Q of the Faculty Handbook);
iii) a termination of an appointment with tenure or of a special or probationary regular appointment before the end of the specified term based upon financial exigency, bona fide discontinuance of a program or department, or incapacity for medical reasons (in accordance with Article V of the Statement on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Responsibilities);
iv) proceedings with respect to a student grade or other academic complaint that the faculty member alleges affects that faculty member's academic freedom or responsibilities (in accordance with Section 6 of the Procedures on Grade and Other Academic Complaints);
v) proceedings with respect to a student allegation of sexual harassment that the faculty member alleges affects that faculty member's academic freedom or responsibilities (in accordance with Section 7 of the Procedures in Cases of alleged Sexual Harassment of Students by Teachers);
vi) a decision not to grant tenure, reappoint, or promote that faculty member if that faculty member alleges that such decision was based on inadequate consideration in light of the procedural standards that govern the decision-making body; and
vii) a grievance in any matter that is subject to the grievance provisions that must be established by each academic constituency (other than the Newcomb-Tulane College) where that faculty member is dissatisfied with the decision of the elected standing grievance committee.
b) to conduct, upon written request of a faculty member, a hearing and prepare findings, conclusions, and statement of reasons on that faculty member's dismissal for cause (in accordance with Article VI of the Statement on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Responsibilities) and
c) to be consulted by the President or the President's representative prior to suspension of a faculty member. In entertaining an appeal under this paragraph, the Committee shall apply the following procedures:
i) When an appeal is filed by a faculty member, the Committee shall notify the other party(ies) to the appeal of its existence and allow seven days ("days" refers to calendar) for other party(ies) to object to the Committee's exercise of jurisdiction in the matter. If such an objection is not raised or if an objection is taken to the President's Faculty Advisory Committee and resolved in favor of the Committee's jurisdiction, the Committee shall request complete records of all previous proceedings/findings in the case under appeal, which records shall be transmitted to it. As soon as practicable, after the matter of jurisdiction is resolved and in any event within twenty days, the Committee shall set dates and places for the hearing which are mutually acceptable to the faculty member and other party(ies) to the appeal, which dates shall not be sooner than twenty days nor later than forty days after the delivery of the notice. When the Committee notifies the faculty member and other party(ies) to the appeal of the hearing, it shall also provide all parties a statement of the issues presented by the appeal with as much detail as is practicable.
ii) The hearing shall be private, unless the Committee, the faculty member, and the other party(ies) to the appeal all agree that the hearing shall be public.
iii) No member of the Committee shall participate in an appeal who has been directly involved as a committee member or administrator or in any other capacity other than the one specified in the subsequent sentence with the complaint preceding the appeal, or who has been identified, initially or subsequently, as a party to the complaint. Any member of the Committee is free to provide information concerning appeals procedures of the FTFR Committee to any individual with faculty status requesting same, or to advise on options for possible redress of the grievance alternative to, or prior to, a formal appeal to the FTFR Committee. However, no member of the committee may indicate his/her judgment on the merits of the complaint in the course of such inquiry.
iv) The burden of proof in challenging the decision or proceedings from which the appeal is taken shall rest upon the faculty member making the appeal.
v) The Committee shall not be bound by strict rules of legal evidence and may admit any evidence that is of probative value in determining the issues involved, but shall afford all parties to the appeal opportunity to present witnesses, documentary or other evidence, and arguments on their behalf.
vi) As soon as practicable following the date of the hearing, and in any event not later than fifteen days thereafter, the Committee shall make explicit findings of fact and arrive at conclusions and reasons therefor with respect to the appeal and transmit them to the faculty member, the President or the President's representative and/or the other party(ies) to the appeal.
vii) In entertaining an appeal concerning inadequate consideration, the Committee shall determine whether the decision was a result of adequate consideration in light of the procedural standards that govern the decision-making body and the University as a whole and shall not substitute its judgment on the academic merits for that of the decision-making body. If the Committee determines that adequate consideration was not given, it shall report its findings to the Provost or Senior Vice-President for Health Sciences and the claimant and remand the matter to the decision-making body for reconsideration with reference to the specific respects in which the Committee finds consideration to have been inadequate; e.g., failure to seek out and consider all available evidence bearing on the performance of the candidate in all relevant respects, inadequate deliberation on the import of the evidence in the light of relevant standards, inclusion of irrelevant or improper standards, and any other indications that the decision was not conscientiously arrived at or that it was not a bona fide exercise of professional academic judgment. Following reconsideration by the decision-making body, the Committee may conclude that the procedural inadequacies found in its original investigation require some form of correction or redress by the University. Should the Committee consider recommending redress, it shall first meet with the appropriate decision-making body and then with the Provost or Senior Vice- President for Health Sciences before making its recommendation. The Committee shall not recommend the nature of the correction or redress, nor shall it recommend damages. The final recommendation of the Committee shall be communicated to the claimants, the Provost or Senior Vice-President for Health Sciences, and to the other faculty committees involved in the decision.
viii) As soon as practicable and in any event within fifteen days following receipt of the Committee's findings, conclusions, and statement of reasons, the President or the President's representative shall either agree or disagree with all or any portion of the Committee's report and notify the Committee, the faculty member involved and the other party/parties to the appeal of any disagreement with all or any portion of the Committee's report, stating reasons for such disagreement in writing. The President or the President's representative shall allow fifteen days for the response of the Committee before making a final decision in the case.
