Academic Grievances

The University of Oregon has developed a comprehensive grievance process to handle faculty complaints on all employment-related issues. The process was developed to comply with the requirements of the state board's rules OAR 580-21-050 and 055. The process itself is described in OAR 571-03-000 through 017. 

To view OUS policy on grievances visit The Oregon University System Grievance Procedures.
To view UO policy on discrimination grievances visit the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity. 

Informal Resolution of Complaints
Ideally, all complaints and disagreements should be subject to informal resolution, but experience shows that this is not always the case. In a normal situation, a faculty member who believes there has been a mistake, unfairness, or a violation of policy as it applies to him or her will bring this matter to the attention of the immediate supervisor or the university officer whose action apparently is causing the problem. If it turns out there is a real difference of opinion and no resolution is offered, the faculty member may pursue informal processes to take the matter to a higher authority, or may enter the formal grievance process. It is the university's goal that the informal process is used to resolve most difficulties, but it is for the aggrieved faculty member to decide whether to pursue informal processes or to move directly into a formal grievance situation.

An individual with a potential grievance needs to be aware of the timetables set up in the formal grievance process. The timetables are designed to process a grievance within a reasonable amount of time and allow a complainant access to the Oregon courts if the issue is not resolved within the university or by the state board. Therefore the process requires that any formal grievance be properly submitted within 45 days of the time the faculty member knows or by reasonable diligence should have known of the event or act. This is true whether or not steps are taken toward informal resolutions of the problem. Exceptions to the time limit include the following: ninety days for appeal of failure to grant promotion or tenure; 180 days for allegations of prohibited discrimination as defined by OAR 571-03-025 (1)(c); 365 days for allegations of discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment.

When the issue is the denial of promotion and/or tenure, there is a special "informal" process. In this situation, a faculty member has a choice of using the informal process or the formal process, not both. If, in this situation, the faculty member chooses the informal process, the promotion and/or tenure file will be resubmitted at the committee levels. If no school or college committee exists, then the case is presented to a three-member sub-committee of the current Faculty Personnel Committee. The only issues that may be considered are:

1. Were there any serious errors in the facts considered?

2. Was any important evidence unavailable, disregarded, or overlooked?

3. Was the decision itself arbitrary or capricious?

The review committee recommends action to the provost, and the provost then decides. There is no appeal beyond the provost in this informal resolution process.

Formal Grievance Processes
Formal grievances are divided into three categories: denial of promotion and tenure, non-renewal of a fixed term contract, and general grievances. When a faculty member enters the formal grievance process, he or she may request that a second faculty member be appointed as a grievance counselor. The counselor can offer advice in putting the complaint together and can serve as a liaison between the faculty member and those involved in evaluating the complaint.

a. General Grievances - A formal grievance must be submitted in writing within 45 days of the grievance-prompting event to the person grieved against and to that person's immediate supervisor. This is step one. The process rules provide details about what kinds of information must be included in a written formal complaint. The first supervisor must reply within 20 days of receiving the complaint.  If the situation is such that the first supervisor is a vice president, then the matter will begin formally at step two.  If the matter is not settled at the first step, it may proceed to the second step, in which the complainant makes a choice between submitting the issue to the appropriate vice president (as determined by the chain of command), or to the grievance appeal committee. The grievance appeal committee is a group of five faculty members elected by the faculty at large. If the complainant chooses to appeal to the vice president, that officer will work with the parties to develop a record upon which to base a decision. The vice president may decide to have an in-person hearing with oral testimony, or may decide to collect written information and interviews and then decide. Both parties have full access to the record upon which the vice president bases his or her decision. The vice president must deliver a decision in writing to the complainant within 30 days.  If the complainant opts for the committee, an in-person hearing is usually held. The process rules lay out the nature of the hearing in some detail. The committee has 60 days to deliver a decision to both parties.  If the vice president is the decision-maker, a complainant who is not satisfied with the decision may appeal to the president of the university. If the committee is the decision-maker, either party or both may appeal the decision to the president. This is step three.  If the situation is such that the first supervisor is the president, then the matter will begin formally at step three.  If the complainant is not satisfied with the president's decision, he or she may appeal to the State Board of Higher Education for review. The board's rule applicable to such a review is OAR 580-21-055.

b. Appeal of Denial of Promotion and/or Tenure - Denials of promotion and/or tenure are of two sorts: situations in which the denial means a non-reappointment and employment termination, and situations in which the denial has no impact on continued employment. The formal process differs for these two kinds of decisions.  
- Terminal Notice 
When the decision means appointment termination, the tenure candidate must appeal to the provost within 90 days of notice of the decision. The formal process requires the provost to send the case to the Promotion-Tenure-Retention Appeal Committee for its advice. This committee is made up of three tenured members of the faculty elected at large, all who have prior experience serving on the Faculty Personnel Committee. The committee may hold an in-person hearing. Then, the committee has 60 days to make its recommendations to the provost.  The tenure candidate may appeal the provost's decision to the president, and if not satisfied with the president's decision, the tenure candidate may appeal to the State Board of Higher Education under its rule OAR 580-21-055.
- No Terminal Notice
When the decision is one to deny promotion and/or tenure, but the decision does not mean termination of employment, then the aggrieved candidate's formal process option is to resubmit the case in the following year through the regular channels.

c. Non-renewal of a Fixed Term Contract
Because the employee on a fixed-term contract has no right to a renewal, the university may terminate that contract so long as it acts reasonably. Non-renewal of a fixed-term or annual appointment is grievable only to the extent that a property right in such a reappointment has been violated, or prohibited discrimination is alleged to have been a factor in non-reappointment.  A formal grievance may be initiated only if the grievant alleges the non-renewed decision was based on discriminating grounds prohibited by law. Complaints that cite other bases for the grievance will not be considered.