Request for Review by the Procedural Concerns in Faculty Review (PCFR) Cohort

The candidate or the president may request a review of a case for tenure, promotion, annual, post-tenure and mid-probationary review by the Procedural Concerns in Faculty Review (PCFR) cohort based on concerns of material policy and/or procedural violations that impacted the determination.  Faculty seeking review will submit a complaint using the Procedural Concerns in Faculty Review Request Form.

Composition of PCFR Cohort

The PCFR cohort will be comprised of at least six tenured faculty members chosen by the president and provost from the president’s Faculty Advisory Cohort (FAC). The president and provost will also select a PCFR chair who will manage the administrative organization of the PCFR cohort’s assignments including selecting two to three PCFR members to examine a given complaint. Ad hoc FAC members may be added as necessary as determined by the Provost. PCFR cohort members selected to review a specific complaint, will be selected to avoid conflicts of interests, and in general, should not be drawn from the complaining faculty member’s college or school. The faculty ombuds and a designee administrator under HOP 2-2310 may be consulted by the PCFR members assigned to examine a specific complaint.

Scope of Review

PCFR Cohort review is limited to a determination of whether there were material policy and/or procedural violations that occurred during the course of the promotion and tenure review process.  The PCFR cohort shall not review disputes about professional judgments on the merits of the faculty member’s record.  Violations of academic freedom concerns may be pursued through the Faculty Grievance process set out in HOP 2-2310, but not through the PCFR process. Faculty are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Faculty Ombuds to discuss their concerns before submitting a request for a PCFR cohort review.

Complaint Form

A request for review shall include: 1) a description of the specific policy that was violated or procedural requirement that was not met, 2) an explanation of the nature of the policy and/or procedural violation, and 3) a summary of how the policy and/or procedural violation was material to the overall promotion decision. The deadline to file a complaint is four weeks after the faculty member is notified of their annual, post-tenure, or mid-probationary review, or a denial of tenure or promotion.  Candidates should use the Procedural Concerns in Faculty Review Request Form to submit a request for review by the PCFR cohort.  The Faculty Affairs team in the Provost’s Office will distribute copies of the request to the dean and department chair.

Complaint Review & Advice Process

Before proceeding to assign a referred complaint to specific PCFR members for review and advice, the PCFR chair will first examine a referred complaint to confirm it alleges a violation of policy and/or procedure in the underlying employment review (annual, post-tenure, mid-probationary and promotion and tenure reviews). If the complaint does not raise an alleged policy or procedural complaint, it will be declined for further review and advice by PCFR with a notice of such declination provided to the complaining faculty member with a copy to the referring Provost Office staff. If it is within the scope of PCFR review, the PCFR cohort will review the complaint and any other relevant information, following up with other university personnel as needed to assess the allegations and determine if any material policy or procedural violation occurred.  Based on their review, the PCFR cohort will complete a recommendation form that will be referred to the president and provost, with a copy to the faculty member.  The president will consider the recommendation form and make a decision regarding whether any further action is necessary or appropriate.