UNF Faculty Association

Comments/Rationale from the Academic Standards Committee: The Committee is recommending changes to the University Academic Appeals Committee Bylaws which limit its scope to hear only grade appeals, both related and unrelated to misconduct. In addition to some language changes, the committee is recommending the following substantive changes:

Line 22-33: Removed petitionable policies which now fall under legislation passed at the March Faculty Association meeting.

Lines 87-118: Added the Academic Appeals Process.


1	University Academic Appeals Committee Bylaws
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27	Name The name of this organization is the University Academic Appeals Committee Authority The University Academic Appeals Committee is advisory in nature. The University Academic Appeal Committee will hear no appeals to its hearings and/or recommendations. Any party involved may appeal to the University President in accordance with the Policies for Appealing Academic Misconduct Decisions and Appealing Academic Grades Unrelated to Academic Misconduct. Committee Oversight Both the Faculty Association and Student Government independently reserve the right to investigate alleged improprieties of the University Academic Appeals Committee and may appeal to the University President to facilitate such investigation. Objective The objective of the University Academic Appeals Committee is to provide an impartial arena for resolution of academic grade or grade-related penalty conflicts which have not been resolved at the College level. Committee Charge The University Academic Appeals Committee shall hear all student grade or grade-related penalty appeals that have not been resolved at the College level in accordance with the Policies for Appealing Academic Misconduct Decisions and Appealing Academic Grades Unrelated to Academic Misconduct. The following types of academic grades or grade penalty decisions are included:
28 29 30 31 32 33 34	(1) (2)	Grades, and/or grade-related penalties assigned for academic misconduct due to violations of the Academic Integrity Code, and Grades for which the student believes have been assigned (a) arbitrarily or capriciously; (b) contrary to the criteria announced in the course; or (c) for constitutionally and/or legally impermissible reasons.
35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56	Representation The Faculty Association shall be represented by six (6) members, one elected from each of the University’s Colleges and one from Faculty Association members at large. An alternate shall be elected for each Faculty Association member. The Student Government shall be represented by four (4) members appointed by the SG President or designee. Alternates shall be selected for each of the four student positions. Student Affairs shall be represented by the Student Affairs Vice President or designee as an ex-officio, non-voting member, and Academic Affairs shall be represented by the Academic Vice President or designee, as an ex-officio, non-voting member. Term Limits Faculty representatives and alternates shall be elected for two year staggered terms. Members and alternates from the College of Computing, Engineering, and Construction, and the Brooks College of Health, as well as the at-large member and alternate shall be elected in even numbered years. Members and alternates from the other Colleges shall be elected in odd-numbered years. The Faculty Association President shall fill vacated faculty seats by appointment. Student representatives shall be appointed to one-year terms. The Student Government President shall fill vacated student seats by appointment. Committee Chair The University Academic Appeals Committee’s Chair shall be one of the Faculty Association representatives elected each year by the voting committee members. The Chair’s responsibility shall be:
57 58 59 60 61 62	(a) (b) (c) (d)	To ensure that the Committee adheres to the University’s written procedures for appeals, To provide procedural counsel to the committee, To ensure that hearings are scheduled to accommodate both faculty and student representatives and also the parties involved in the appeal, and To vote in case the Committee’s vote results in a tie.
63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91	Should a quorum not be met, the Chair is charged with the responsibility of rescheduling meetings to achieve a quorum. The Office of the Academic Vice President shall provide staff support to the Committee Chair to assist him/her in meeting these responsibilities. Conflict of Interest Any committee member whose impartiality may be compromised because of close association with any of the principals in the case or for any other reason is ethically bound to announce this potential bias to the Committee and excuse himself or herself from participation in committee actions. Committee members, by vote of a two-thirds majority, may replace any committee member with an alternate should a potentially compromised committee member fail to step aside voluntarily. Membership in a unit of the University community, such as a college or department, should never be construed automatically to create a conflict of interest. Quorum A quorum shall consist of six members who must include the Committee Chair and a minimum of three (3) faculty members and two (2) students. One alternate faculty member and one alternate student member must be available at the meeting in case a member needs to step aside due to a conflict of interest. Failure to meet quorum shall constitute grounds for mandatory postponement of a hearing. Under no circumstances shall proceedings continue without a quorum. Meeting Schedule The Academic Appeals Committee shall meet regularly during Fall and Spring semesters. Meetings during the Summer term occur only if a quorum can be arranged. Academic Appeals Process Academic Affairs will refer all student grade and grade-related penalty appeals to the Chairperson of the University Academic Appeals Committee within ten (10) calendar days of receiving a written request form a student.
92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119	(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)	The Chairperson of the University Academic Appeals Committee will send the date, time, location, and procedures of the hearing to the student, faculty member, Chairperson, and College Dean at least ten (10) calendar days in advance of the hearing. Once a hearing date is scheduled and communicated, it may not be rescheduled by any involved party unless there is a documented emergency. If either the student or the College representatives should fail to appear at the scheduled hearing, the hearing may proceed in his or her absence. A hearing must be rescheduled if the Committee fails to reach quorum. The University Academic Appeals Committee’s recommendation will be based on a majority vote by the Committee’s voting members. The Committee’s Chairperson will send the Committee’s recommendation to the Academic Vice President with copies to all parties involved within ten (10) calendar days following the hearing. The decision of the Academic Vice President or designee will be forwarded to all involved parties in writing within twenty (20) calendar days of the hearing. Within five (5) calendar days after the University Academic Appeals Committee’s decision is sent to the involved parties, any of the parties involved must deliver a written appeal to the University President. The President will provide a response within ten (10) calendar days to all involved parties. The decision of the President shall be final. No further appeals are allowed. The record of the University Academic Appeals Committee hearing during which the student has been found to have violated the Academic Integrity Code will be held in the discipline files in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs for four years after graduation. Records of students who are expelled are permanent and will be cross-referenced by a notation in the student's permanent record in Enrollment Services referring to the disciplinary record in Academic Affairs.
120 121 122	Amendment These Bylaws will be reviewed at least every three years and recommendations forwarded to the Faculty Association’s Academic Standards Committee.