1.1           Membership of the Faculty Review Committee (FRC) shall be determined as set forth in the Agreement (3.3.6) between the AAUP/NMU Chapter (hereafter referred to as the Association) and the Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees (hereafter referred to as the Board).

1.1.1       Representation on the FRC shall consist of the following:  two (2) members from the College of Arts and Sciences, one (1) from the College of Professional Studies, one (1) from either the College of Business or Academic Information Services, and three (3) at large members.  Should there be no individual wishing to represent a particular college, that seat may be filled by a member elected at large.  In addition, there shall be two (2) alternates who serve with voting privileges when regular members cannot be present at a meeting.  Alternates may come from any college.
1.1.2 Each member and alternate shall be from a different department.
1.2 Members and alternates shall be elected as provided for by the Association’s Executive Committee.

1.3           Officers

1.3.1       The FRC shall elect its Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary from among its members.

1.3.2       The Vice-Chair for a given year will become the Chair the following year.

1.4          Recall of the FRC as a whole can be accomplished by a two-thirds vote of the Association membership.  Such a vote would be brought if the Association’s Executive Committee, upon petition of one or more faculty members or on its own initiative, presents to the AAUP membership written evidence that the FRC has violated the Agreement between the Association and the Board or the FRC bylaws.  If a recall is successful, the Association’s Executive Committee shall immediately provide for the selection of a new FRC.

ARTICLE II.  FACULTY REVIEW COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

2.1 The FRC shall meet during the fall and winter semesters of the academic calendar year to review promotion, tenure and sabbatical leave recommendations. Delays in processing any faculty member’s recommendation documents and delays in decision making shall not impede the remaining work of the Committee.

2.1.1 In the instance where a recommendation for promotion or tenure must be held over until a future time, the criteria for determining the decision shall be based upon the criteria in effect during the academic year of that recommendation.

2.2 The FRC shall review the bylaws and procedures of the College Advisory Councils (CAC) and inform each CAC in writing of any revisions in those bylaws deemed appropriate by the FRC, as provided for in Article 3 of the Agreement. This review is intended to assure that these bylaws are in conformance with the Agreement between the Association and the Board.

2.3 Procedures

2.3.1 All procedural questions shall be determined by a simple majority of the voting members as defined in 1.1.1.

2.3.2 All promotion, tenure, or sabbatical leave recommendations shall be made by a simple majority of the regular committee members (or alternates as may be required).

2.3.3 Any member or alternate of the FRC shall resign or take a leave of absence from the Committee, if serving on the AAUP Executive Committee. Faculty planning to submit an application for promotion or tenure must resign during the year the application is being considered by FRC. Faculty planning to apply for sabbatical may either resign or take a leave of absence for the semester the sabbatical is considered by FRC.

2.3.4 A Committee member or alternate shall not be present, enter discussions about, vote on a promotion or tenure recommendation, or be privileged to committee decisions regarding applications if any of 2.3.4.1 through 2.3.4.4 apply:

2.3.4.1 Personal involvement or prejudice, of which the majority of the rest of the Committee shall be the judge. (Any individual because of personal involvement may withdraw herself/himself from a given decision);

2.3.4.2 If the decision to be made concerns a relative (such as someone related by blood or marriage up to and including parents, children, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, or first cousins) or dependent or domestic partner as defined in the master Agreement.

2.3.4.3 When having acted upon a given faculty member’s promotion or tenure decision at the CAC level; or

2.3.4.4 When deliberations concern a member of her/his own department.

2.3.5 A Committee member or alternate shall not be present, enter discussions about or rank a sabbatical application if any of 2.3.5.1 to 2.3.5.4 apply:

2.3.5.1 Personal involvement or prejudice, of which the majority of the rest of the Committee shall be the judge. (Any individual because of personal involvement may withdraw herself/himself from a given decision);

2.3.5.2 If the decision to be made concerns a relative (such as someone related by blood or marriage up to and including parents, children, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, or first cousins) or dependents or domestic partners as defined by the AAUP Master Agreement;

2.3.5.3 When having acted upon a given faculty member’s sabbatical decision at the CAC level; or

2.3.5.4 When deliberations concern a member of her/his own department.
2.4 Promotion and Tenure Review

2.4.1 The FRC shall conduct a thorough review of the recommendations for promotion and tenure submitted by the deans or by appeal of the faculty member as specified in Article 5 of the Agreement. The purpose of this review shall be to ensure that the provisions of the Agreement between the Association and the Board are adhered to in each case as appropriate.

2.4.2 Recommendations for promotion and tenure by the FRC shall be based on evidence of meeting the eligibility and judgmental (merit) criteria as set forth in Article 5 of the Agreement, departmental bylaws and CAC bylaws or procedures.

2.4.3 Exceptions to the Eligibility Criteria set forth in Article 5 of the Agreement and/or the appropriate departmental bylaws shall be made only in cases allowed by the Agreement.

2.4.4 Promotion recommendations shall be made independently of tenure recommendations.

2.4.5 The faculty member’s cumulative evaluation report and appropriate documentation shall form the basis for the FRC’s review. The burden for the completeness of this report is the responsibility of the faculty member and the departmental evaluation authority.

2.4.5.1 The cumulative evaluation report submitted to the FRC shall include such things as a detailed account of past accomplishments, improvements in performance, etc., with appropriate documentation.

2.4.5.2 Convincing evidence shall be cited in the evaluation form to substantiate evaluative statements. This evidence shall be included as appropriate in the documentation accompanying the cumulative evaluation report. In the event that the FRC wishes to see any of this evidence which has not been included in the documentation accompanying the cumulative evaluation report, it shall request the faculty member to provide it (cf. section 2.4.7).

2.4.6 The FRC expects to receive copies of all documents produced in the course of the review of a faculty member’s cumulative evaluation report (e.g., the written statement detailing the reasons for which a dean approved or rejected a promotion recommendation).

2.4.7 In instances where the FRC determines that it needs clarification of a written document in support of a faculty member for promotion and/or tenure, the FRC shall notify all appropriate parties (the individual, departmental head, departmental evaluation authority, the CAC, and the dean) of the specific aspect to be clarified. The FRC will need that written clarification within ten (10) calendar days of the dated FRC request. Questions as to whether such a request involves clarification or new material will be resolved according to Article 5 of the Master Agreement.

2.4.8 All promotion and tenure recommendations forwarded to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shall be in the form of a definitive recommendation for promotion or tenure, not in the form of a ranking.

2.4.9 Committee members shall maintain confidentiality regarding the content of a faculty member’s cumulative evaluation report and the details of their deliberations on individual promotion and tenure cases. The nature of this confidence allows FRC to explain the reasons for the FRC’s recommendation to any of the parties directly involved in a promotion or tenure decision.

2.4.10 For faculty not recommended for promotion or tenure, the FRC shall provide a written statement of the specific reason(s) for its decision as required by Article 5 of the Agreement. Faculty recommended for tenure and/or promotion shall also be notified of the FRC’s decisions in their cases.

2.4.11 In instances where the FRC has determined that it will not recommend promotion or tenure for a faculty member, that faculty member may request in writing a meeting with the FRC. In the request the faculty member shall specify those parts of the FRC’s statement of reasons which he or she wishes to be clarified. The FRC shall arrange a meeting of reasonable length (as determined by the FRC) between the faculty member and the FRC. This meeting is not an appeal process. Subsequently, the faculty member may wish to appeal the FRC’s recommendation to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in accordance with Article 5 of the Agreement.

2.4.12 A decision by the FRC not to recommend the faculty member shall not prejudice the faculty member in subsequent recommendations or evaluations.

2.4.13 In instances where the FRC overrules the recommendation of a dean, the specific reasons for this decision shall be communicated in writing to the dean, and a copy of this letter shall be sent to the appropriate faculty member.

2.4.14 The FRC shall consult with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs prior to his/her determination of recommendations he/she will make to the President and the Board in accordance with Article 5 of the Agreement.

2.4.15 The FRC shall review the reasons given by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in those cases where his/her decision departs from the recommendation of the FRC.

2.5 Sabbatical Leaves

2.5.1 Sabbatical applications must be submitted on Association approved forms. Eligibility guidelines and requirements for sabbatical leaves shall be in accord with Article 8 of the Agreement.

2.5.2 The FRC shall first rank-order the sabbatical leave applications and recommend the allocation of available sabbatical funds, and forward these recommendations to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in accordance with Article 8 of the Agreement. The criteria used shall be in accordance with Article 8 of the Agreement.

2.5.3 The FRC shall be provided with a copy of all sabbatical leave reports for review as stipulated in Article 8 of the Agreement.

2.6 FRC Reports

2.6.1 Following the FRC’s determination of its recommendations for sabbatical leaves, the FRC shall communicate in writing to the Association the names of those faculty members recommended and the number of applications for sabbatical leave received by the FRC. This same report shall be submitted to the Association at the same time as its recommendations of rankings to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs as stipulated in the Agreement.

2.6.2 Following the FRC’s determination of its recommendations for promotion and tenure, the FRC shall communicate in writing to the Association and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the names of those recommended for tenure and the names of those recommended for promotion by rank. This report shall include the total number of applicants for promotion to each rank and the total number of applicants for tenure. This report shall also include an account of the positive and negative recommendations made by the lower review bodies for each rank and tenure.

2.6.3 Nothing in section 2.6 shall be taken to conflict with the confidentiality requirements established in section 2.4.9 of these bylaws.

ARTICLE III. AMENDMENTS

3.1           Any amendments of the bylaws shall require approval by no less than two-thirds of the total membership (regular and alternate members) of the Committee.  If the FRC decides to amend its bylaws, it shall submit the proposed changes to the Association and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for approval. Any changes in subsequent contracts between the Association and the Board shall be reflected in the bylaws used by the FRC.  The FRC shall not modify its bylaws once it has started reviewing recommendations and appeals for promotion and tenure for that particular academic year.

ARTICLE IV. RATIFICATION AND APPROVAL

4.1           These bylaws shall become operating procedures for the FRC following approval by no less than two-thirds of the members (including alternates) and subsequent approval from the Association and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. 

Last revised: 17 Feb 2011