ITEM #6 -- FA99-16: Submitted by the Faculty Affairs Committee.

REVISION OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
FOR THE UNIVERSITY APPEALS COMMITTEE

Committee Charge: In accordance with the University procedures for appealing academic decisions, the University Appeals Committee shall hear all student appeals that have not been resolved at lower levels. These appeals will be considered for variance from University academic policies with regard to withdrawals, later enrollments, credit hour limits, grades, probation, dismissal, reinstatements, and all other academic policies with the exception of admission. After due consideration of each appeal, the Committee shall communicate a recommendation to the Chief Academic Officer.

Representation: The Faculty Association shall be represented by six (6) members, one elected from each of the University's Colleges and one from those Faculty Association members not affiliated with one of the Colleges. An alternate shall be elected for each Faculty Association member. The Student Government Association shall be represented by four (4) members appointed by the SGA President. Alternates shall be selected for each of the four student positions. Student Affairs shall be represented by the Chief Officer for Student Affairs or designee as an ex-officio, non-voting member, and Academic Affairs shall be represented by the Vice President for Academic Affairs 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 Colleges of Computing Science and Engineering, and Health, as well as the non-college affiliated 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 Association President shall fill vacated student seats by appointment.

Committee Chair. The 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: (a) to insure that the Committee adheres to the University=s written procedures for appeals, (b) to provide procedural counsel to the committee, (c) to ensure that hearings are scheduled to accommodate both faculty and student representatives and also the parties involved in the appeal, and (d) to vote in case the Committee's vote results in a tie. Should a quorum not be met, the Chair is charged with the responsibility of rescheduling meetings to achieve a quorum. The Office of the Chief Officer for Student Affairs 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 which 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.

Committee Hearing: At least seven (7) calender days prior to a scheduled hearing, the Committee Chair shall give written notice to all committee members and alternates and to all affected parties of (a) the date, time and place of the hearing, and (b) the rights and responsibilities of the appealing party and other affected parties. At the beginning of the hearing, the Chair will invite the appealing party (or chosen representative) to present the appeal and the requested resolution. This presentation may involve statements, evidence and/or witnesses. If a faculty member is involved in the appeal or if the actions or policies of an academic unit are involved, the Chair will then provide the faculty member (or chosen representative) or a representative of the academic unit an opportunity to address the circumstances being appealed. During the hearing, members of the Committee, when recognized by the Chair, may question the appealing party and/or the faculty member or representative of the academic unit. Following the hearing, the Committee will deliberate in private and prepare a written recommendation based on the majority vote of the Committee. The written recommendation will be sent to the Academic Vice President within ten (10) school days of the hearing. A copy of the recommendation will be sent to the appealing party and also, if one is involved, to the faculty member or the representative of the academic unit.

Authority of Committee Decisions: The University Appeals Committee recommendation is advisory to the Academic Vice President who will issue a written decision within twenty school days of the hearing.

Committee Oversight: Both the Faculty Association and the Student Government Association independently reserve the right to investigate alleged improprieties of the University Appeals Committee and may appeal to the University President to facilitate such investigation.