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The faculty members of the affected department or program and the Faculty Review
Committee shall be informed of the basis for the proposed discontinuance. Faculty
members in the affected department or program shall have the right to submit a report
and appear before the Faculty Review Committee before a final decision to discontinue is
reached. The affected program or department may propose, at its discretion, a plan of
action to address the issues leading to the proposal of discontinuance. The Provost or the
Provost’s designated representative has the right to appear before the Faculty Review
Committee. All evidence bearing on the issue shall be reviewed by the Faculty Review
Committee. The Faculty Review Committee may request additional relevant data and
information from any unit of the College. The Faculty Review Committee shall complete
its evidence-gathering and hearing process within sixty days after notification that the
Provost has proposed the discontinuance of the academic department or program. In as
timely a manner as feasible but not later than thirty days after receiving all evidence and
conducting a hearing, the Faculty Review Committee shall send to the Provost a report
with a recommendation 1) to continue the affected department or program; 2) discontinue
the affected department or program; or 3) accept the plan of action proposed by the
affected department or program. The report and recommendation shall be shared with the
Faculty, except that all personnel, confidential and personally-identifiable information
concerning individual employees shall be removed or redacted. The Committee’s
recommendation shall be given great weight by the President, who shall render a decision
in consultation with the Provost. When the President disagrees with the recommendation
of the Faculty Review Committee, the President and/or Provost shall meet with the
Faculty Review Committee to discuss the reasons for such disagreement before making a
final decision. The President shall communicate the final decision regarding the
discontinuance of a department or program and the reasons therefore in writing to the
members of the affected department and the Faculty Review Committee. The Faculty
Review Committee shall report the substantive issues of any disagreement between the
President and the Committee to the Faculty.
III.B.8.c. Termination of Faculty Members Due to Discontinuance of an Academic
Program or Department
Termination of appointments of faculty members with tenure, on tenure track, or with
continuing appointments may occur as the result of the formal discontinuance of an
academic program or department when the decision is made in compliance with the
procedures in Section III.B.8. and III.B.8.a.-b. above. The following standards and
procedures shall apply:
i.
Notice of Termination
The College shall adhere to the following deadlines for notifying affected faculty
members of their termination. The cause for termination shall be stated in the
notice. The faculty member must be notified in writing: 1) not later than March 1
of the faculty member’s first academic year of service, if the appointment expires
at the end of the year; or, if a one-year appointment terminates during an