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II-8.00(B) UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AT COLLEGE PARK PROCEDURES FOR THE TERMINATION OF FACULTY APPOINTMENTS DURING FISCAL CRISIS
Approved by the President, February 6, 1995
These procedures are designed to provide for the orderly
reduction in staffing during fiscal crisis and are not intended
to be utilized in connection with routine academic planning and
reorganization activities. It is expressly recognized that the
award and continued enjoyment of tenured faculty status is a
matter of vital importance to the academic well-being of the
University.
Section I. Existing System Policy
The University of Maryland System Policy on Appointment,
Rank, and Tenure of Faculty states that the institution may
terminate any appointment because of:
1. [T]he discontinuance of the department, program,
school or unit in which the appointment was made'; or
2. [T]he lack of appropriations or other funds with which
to support the appointment.'
The University of Maryland System Administration has
required that the following language appear in each institution's
policy concerning termination of faculty appointments. Nothing
in the following list of items is inconsistent with the other
sections of this document; however, the mandated language of this
section will prevail in the event of an apparent or real conflict
with provisions elsewhere in this document. If termination of
faculty appointments becomes necessary, the University of
Maryland at College Park will adhere both to the provisions in
this section as well as the procedures set forth elsewhere in
this document.
1. Definition of Retrenchment
The term "retrenchment" means the termination of a faculty
appointment as authorized in the November 29, 1990, University of
Maryland System (UMS) Board of Regents Policy on Faculty
Retrenchment (II-8.00).
2. Application
These retrenchment procedures are applicable only to all
persons appointed to a rank identified or permitted under the UMS
Policy on the Appointment, Rank and Tenure of Faculty (II-1.00)
of the UMS By-Laws, Policies and Procedures of the Board of
Regents.
The UMS Retrenchment Policy and these retrenchment
procedures are in addition to and not in limitation of other UMS
and the University of Maryland at College Park policies and
procedures concerning faculty appointments nor are they in
limitation of any UMS or University of Maryland at College Park
policies on academic program review.
3. Initiation of Retrenchment
The President has the sole authority within the University
of Maryland at College Park, subject to the authority of the
Board of Regents, to initiate retrenchment. The President shall
initiate retrenchment when the President determines that
retrenchment is necessary, consistent with the UMS and the
University of Maryland at College Park policies on Appointment,
Rank and Tenure. Before determining that a fiscal crisis
necessitates retrenchment, the President shall consult with the
Chancellor and the Board of Regents. The Board may request
relevant information from the President and may consider comments
from representatives of campus and faculty governance bodies and
other interested persons.
Program review is a part of routine institution planning.
While such reviews may be motivated in part by broad financial
considerations, they normally occur as part of the ongoing
management of the institution. Resulting program eliminations
provide a basis for faculty terminations without the necessity of
showing a lack of appropriations. Where the lack of
appropriations is the basis for faculty retrenchment, the
retrenchment plan may take into consideration such non-financial
factors as institutional mission, long-range educational
planning, and may call for program reductions and/or program
eliminations. A lack of appropriations exists when, in the
President's judgment, there is a fiscal crisis that threatens or
endangers the institution's ability to carry out its mission as
defined in the most recent mission statement approved by the
Board of Regents and the termination of tenured or tenure-track
faculty appointments will be substantially less detrimental to
the institution's ability to fulfill its mission than other forms
of budgetary curtailments available to the institution.
4. Confidentiality
Consistent with applicable law, deliberations about specific
personnel decisions of any committee shall be confidential.
5. Authority of the President
The President has final authority over any decision or
determination under retrenchment procedures. In addition to the
advice of the committees established under retrenchment
procedures, the President may seek the advice of any individual,
group, or office within the University of Maryland at College
Park or outside the institution. The President may adopt
recommendations from any committee identified in the retrenchment
procedures, adopt them with modifications, or reject them and
make substitutions for them.
The President shall have the right to adjust any schedule
referenced in the retrenchment procedures except for those
pertaining to the notice for termination an to the appeal
process. An effort will be made to give advance notice of any
such adjustment. Failure to comply with such schedules, however,
shall not be grounds for appeal under these retrenchment
procedures.
6. Notice Period for Termination
For the purpose of these retrenchment procedures, the
applicable termination notice period is determined by the status
of the faculty at the time the notice of termination is given.
Non-tenured track faculty, as defined in the University of
Maryland System Policy on Appointment, Rank and Tenure of
Faculty, shall be given written notice of up to one year but not
less than 30 days prior to the date of termination of
appointment.
Non-tenured, tenure-track faculty shall be given notice of
termination not less than one year prior to the date of
termination of appointment.
Full-time instructors or lecturers, with seven or more years
of continuous service to the institution, commencing July 1,
1984, shall be given written notice of termination of at least
one year prior to the date of termination of appointment.
Tenured faculty members shall be given notice as set forth
in University of Maryland System Policy on Appointment, Rank and
Tenure of Faculty, Section I.C.9. or corresponding sections of
earlier faculty appointment agreements still in effect, as
applicable.
Notice of termination shall be effective on the date the
notice is mailed by U.S. certified or registered mail, return
receipt requested, to the last address that the terminated
faculty member has on record with the University of Maryland at
College Park.
An institution shall offer within three years to a tenured
or tenure-track faculty member whose appointment was terminated
pursuant to these retrenchment procedures any new positions with
equivalent duties and responsibilities within the retrenchment
unit prior to hiring any other person.
7. Language of Exception for the Order of Retrenchment
Deviations from the order of termination may be made only
when the termination of the appointment of the faculty member
would significantly impede the ability of the institution or
retrenchment unit affected by retrenchment to fulfill its mission
and goals, or to fulfill commitments under grants and contracts.
The reason and basis for making a decision to deviate from
the order of termination shall be adequately documented.
8. Appeal Process
The President shall establish a retrenchment appeals
committee pursuant to UMS BOR Policy on Faculty Retrenchment
(November 29, 1990, II-8.00). A faculty member whose appointment
is terminated under these retrenchment procedures shall have a
right to appeal in accordance only with these procedures. No
other appeal procedures within the University of Maryland at
College Park are applicable.
The faculty member must include all grounds for appeal in
the written request for appeal.
The filing or consideration of a request for appeal will not
alter the effective date of termination of the appointment.
Appeal Schedule
a. A request for appeal must be filed with the President
within 10 working days after the effective mailing date
of the notice of termination.
b. The committee shall inform the faculty member of the
date, time, and place of the hearing no later than 10
working days after the President's receipt of the
request for appeal. The committee must schedule the
hearing to occur within 30-45 calendar days after the
President's receipt of the appeal.
c. The faculty member must provide to the committee a
statement of facts on which the appeal is based and a
list of witnesses and documents to be introduced at the
hearing no later than five working days prior to the
date of the hearing.
d. The committee shall send its recommendation to the
President no later than 10 working days after the date
of the conclusion of the hearing.
e. Within 10 working days after receipt of the committee's
recommendation, the President shall issue a final
decision and mail to the faculty member by U.S.
certified or registered mail, return receipt requested.
Grounds for Appeal
The grounds for appeal shall be limited to:
a. error in the application of the order of termination of
appointment;
b. procedural error;
c. insufficiency of notice of termination;
d. whether any deviation from the order of termination was
made without reasonable grounds; and
e. the termination was otherwise unlawful.
Conduct of the Hearing
The institution will be represented by the Office of the
Attorney General or its designee.
The faculty member may be represented by legal counsel
throughout the appeal proceedings at the faculty member's
expense.
The hearing shall be audiotaped and a copy of the tape shall
be made available if requested by the faculty member.
The faculty member and the institution each may call
witnesses and present documentary evidence at the hearing.
Each member of the committee may call and question witnesses
and request the presentation of documentary evidence.
The formal rules of evidence and of judicial procedure shall
not apply to the appeal hearing; however, the committee may
exclude irrelevant or repetitious testimony.
The faculty member's failure to appear at the hearing shall
be deemed a voluntary dismissal of the appeal.
The appeal committee must make the decision based on the
record.
Postponement of the hearing may be granted at the discretion
of the committee upon the written request of the faculty
member.
9. Notification of Termination
The President shall give a written notice of
termination to each faculty member whose appointment is to
be terminated pursuant to these retrenchment procedures.
The termination notice shall include:
a. notification that the appointment is being terminated
pursuant to these retrenchment procedures;
b. the applicable notice period;
c. the effective date of termination;
d. the statement that System Administration shall send,
for a period of one year, written notice of faculty
openings within the System to the last address that the
faculty member has on record with the institution;
e. notification of the right of the faculty member to
appeal the termination of appointment and a copy of
these retrenchment procedures;
f. if applicable, a statement that deviation was made from
the order of termination and the circumstances of the
deviation.
Section II. Existing Campus Policy
The policy University of Maryland at College Park Procedures
for Reduction, Consolidation, Transfer or Discontinuance of
Programs (Policy II-8.00(A), adopted April 30, 1991) describes
the manner in which appointments may be terminated pursuant to
System Policy in Section I (1) above. That policy dictates the
procedure for routine academic planning and reorganization. The
following provisions establish the manner in which faculty
appointments may be terminated due to "the lack of appropriations
or other funds" (Section I (2)) and may be employed only during a
period of declared fiscal crisis.
Section III. Procedures and Guidelines for Reduction in Staffing
within Programs
In order to implement the procedures in this document, the
President must make an official determination and declaration of
fiscal crisis for the University of Maryland at College Park. As
defined in Section I.3., a fiscal crisis may be declared if a
lack of appropriations threatens or endangers the institution's
ability to carry out its mission as defined in the most recent
mission statement approved by the Board of Regents, and the
termination of tenured or tenure-track faculty appointments will
be substantially less detrimental to the institution's ability to
fulfill its mission than other forms of budgetary curtailments
available to the institution. A state of fiscal crisis is
effective through the end of each fiscal year, and the President
must issue a new declaration for subsequent fiscal years as
necessary.
The President, acting in consultation with the Executive
Committee of the College Park Senate, shall make such a
declaration only after determining that other operating and
administrative economies are insufficient to avoid a fiscal
crisis. Such economies should include the consolidation or
discontinuance of certain academic units (i.e., schools,
colleges, departments, or programs) and a campus-wide program of
retirement incentives.
For the purposes of this document, an academic "unit" shall
be defined as a "tenure-granting" academic entity or other
academic entity on campus that does not confer tenure but does
appoint teaching and research faculty, such as, Maryland Fire and
Rescue Institute. A non-departmentalized college shall be
considered a single unit. The procedures in its document apply
only to units and individuals funded with Maryland state monies.
After declaring a state of fiscal crisis, the President
shall direct the at the following measures be taken:
1. The Provost, in consultation with the President, the
Equity Administrator in the Office of the Provost, and
a sub-committee of the Academic Planning Advisory
Committee (APAC), as constituted by APAC, shall prepare
a list of schools, colleges, departments, programs, or
other academic units where a reduction of the number of
occupied faculty positions should occur. The
submission will specify the exact number of occupied
faculty positions to be terminated.
2. APAC will evaluate the proposal submitted by the
Provost and make its own recommendations to the
Provost, modifying as it deems appropriate the list of
units where occupied faculty positions are to be
eliminated. It shall recommend to the Provost a list
of units where reductions are to be made, and specify
the exact number of positions to be eliminated in each
unit.
3. APAC's evaluation and recommendation shall, where
relevant, be based on the following considerations,
which are not listed in any order of priority or
preference:
a. The centrality of each unit to the mission of the
institution or to the mission of the college,
school, or department in which it is located;
b. The academic strength or quality of the unit as
well as the quality of its faculty as indicated by
national rankings or other available measures as
appropriate in each program;
c. The complementarity of the unit and the work done
therein to some essential program or function
performed in this institution;
d. The duplication of work done in the unit by work
done elsewhere within the University of Maryland
System;
e. The student demand and projected enrollment in the
subject matter taught in the unit;
f. The student-to-faculty ratio in the unit;
g. The comparative cost analysis/effectiveness of the
unit;
h. Any potential impact on equity that the proposed
number of terminations would have on a unit,
department, or college;
I. Such other factors as APAC may deem proper and
relevant.
4. Before reaching its final conclusions and forwarding
its recommendations to the Provost, APAC will invite
the administration and faculty of each unit for which
elimination of occupied faculty positions is being
either proposed or considered to meet with it to
discuss any proposed reductions or other possible
reductions currently under consideration by APAC.
Information available to APAC during its deliberations
will be shared with the unit in advance of this
meeting. APAC will also schedule an open meeting at
which other interested parties may be heard.
5. APAC will undertake to make its report and
recommendations to the Provost within 60 calendar days
of receipt of the President's initial list of units
where the number of occupied positions is to be
reduced.
6. The Provost will provide a copy of the APAC report and
recommendations, together with the Provost's own
recommendations, to the President.
7. Prior to taking action, the President will provide
copies of the APAC report and Provost's recommendations
to the Executive Committee of the College Park Senate.
The Executive Committee will undertake such review and
submit such comments to the President as it deems
appropriate. It will undertake to complete its review
and submit its comments to the President within 30 days
of receipt of the APAC report and recommendations.
8. Upon consideration of the report and recommendations of
APAC, the Provost, and such comments as the Executive
Committee of the Senate may submit, the President will
inform the unit through the Provost and relevant
college dean of the number of occupied faculty
positions to be eliminated.
Section IV. Procedures and Guidelines for the Identification of
Specific
Positions to be Eliminated
When the President determines, in accordance with Section
III, that faculty appointments must be terminated, specific
appointments shall be identified for termination as follows:
1. Initially, special incentives to encourage retirement
shall be offered to faculty in targeted units who
qualify by virtue of age and/or time in service.
2. If too few faculty retirements result from the
incentives in Paragraph IV.1, the Dean of a school or
college in which terminations have been proposed, in
consultation with the chair of any affected unit and
its established advisory faculty body, shall propose a
list of faculty appointments to be terminated. This
proposal shall be made in accordance with Paragraphs
IV.3. and 5. below. In addition, the Dean, in
consultation with the chair and unit faculty advisory
body, may establish additional criteria not
inconsistent with Paragraphs IV.3. and 5. In
non-departmentalized colleges, the Dean shall consult with
the appropriate faculty advisory body. The Dean shall
report to the Provost the names and the manner in which
they were determined.
3. Within a unit, faculty appointments shall be
recommended for termination in the following order:
a. temporary appointments, regardless of rank or
length of service;
b. annual appointments, except lecturers and
instructors with seven or more years of continuous
full-time service, regardless of other
considerations of rank or length of service;
c. lecturers and instructors with seven or more years
of continuous full-time service, regardless of
other considerations of rank or length of service;
d. untenured tenure-track faculty, regardless of rank
or length of service;
e. tenured faculty in reverse order of rank and
within rank in reverse order of seniority.
Seniority shall be based on the length of continuous
full-time service at the University of Maryland at
College Park in a tenured or tenure-track position
(including approved leaves of absence without pay and
sabbatical leaves). If two persons in the same rank
have the same length of continuous full-time service,
then seniority shall be determined by the length of
continuous full-time service in that rank. If two or
more persons in the same rank have the same length of
continuous full-time total service and continuous
full-time service in rank, then the dean, in consultation
with the unit's chair and faculty advisory body, may
apply additional criteria (as specified in IV.2) to
determine the order of termination. Faculty with joint
appointments in two or more units shall have their
seniority calculated in the unit which has
responsibility for tenure or the tenure recommendation.
4. The Provost shall review the report of the Dean and
shall obtain an equity impact assessment from the
Equity Administrator in the Office of the Provost.
These shall be submitted, together with the Provost's
own recommendations, to the President.
5. A faculty member may be exempted from termination of
appointment if to do otherwise would jeopardize the
affected unit's essential curricula or seriously
distort its program. Before making such a
recommendation to the Provost, the Dean of the unit
shall obtain the advice of the elected faculty members
of the Faculty Advisory Committee. The Dean and the
Faculty Advisory Committee shall forward separate
recommendations to th Provost, who shall consult with
the APAC before making a final recommendation to the
President.
6. Based on the recommendations of both the Deans and
Provost, the President shall designate the appointments
to be terminated and shall provide written notification
to the faculty members of the termination dates of
their appointments. The President shall report all
final termination actions to appropriate committees and
administrative units.
7. Lecturers and instructors with seven or more years of
continuous full-time service shall receive at least one
year's notice of termination of their appointments.
Tenure-track faculty shall receive at least one year's
notice, and faculty with tenure shall receive at least
one year's notice. Along with the notice of
termination, the faculty member shall receive copies of
the Dean's report, the Faculty Advisory Committee's
report (if applicable), the Provost's recommendation,
and the equity impact statement.
8. During a declared period of fiscal crisis, a unit that
has suffered a reduction in the number of its occupied
positions may replace any losses of occupied positions,
(e.g., through resignation, retirement or death) in
excess of those stipulated by the President in
Paragraph III.8 if, in the judgment of the Provost, to
do otherwise would jeopardize its curricula or
seriously distort its program. Before making a
recommendation to the Provost, the Dean of the unit
shall obtain the advice of the elected faculty members
of the Faculty Advisory Committee (as specified in the
proposed Plan of Organization for the Campus
Community). The Dean and the Faculty Advisory
Committee shall forward separate recommendations to the
Provost, who shall consult with the APAC before
authorizing a new appointment. If a new appointment is
authorized, the Provost will not permit an open search
for candidates without first offering reappointment to
all tenured faculty in the unit whose appointments had
been previously terminated under the terms of this
policy. Those faculty members shall be offered
reappointment in order of seniority as specified in
IV.3.
9. For a period of six years after a state of fiscal
crisis has been lifted, no losses of occupied positions
(e.g., through resignation, retirement or death) in
excess of those stipulated by the President in
paragraph III.8 may be replaced without first offering
reappointment to all former tenured faculty whose
appointments within the unit had been terminated under
the terms of this policy. Those faculty members shall
be offered reappointment in order of seniority as
specified in IV.3.
10. For a period of six years after a state of fiscal
crisis has been lifted, additional faculty positions
may not be created within a unit that has suffered a
reduction in the number of its positions without first
offering reappointment to all former tenured faculty
members whose appointments within the unit had been
terminated during that state of fiscal crisis under the
terms of this policy. Those faculty members shall be
offered reappointment in order of seniority as
specified in IV.3.
11. Faculty who have been terminated under the terms of
this policy and are rehired under the provisions of
sections IV.8-10 above shall regain the tenure status
and length of service they possessed at the time of
termination. Specifically, faculty with tenure at the
time of termination shall regain both tenure and years
of service; untenured tenure-track faculty shall regain
years of service. Lecturers and instructors with seven
or more years of continuous full-time service shall
regain contractual employment protection and years of
continuous service; lecturers and instructors with
fewer than seven years of continuous full-time service
shall regain years of continuous service.
Section V. Provisions for Appeal
1. A faculty member whose appointment has been terminated
under the provisions of Sections I-IV above may appeal
to the President. The appellant shall have the right
to request copies of the documents specified in IV.7.
The appeal shall be made in writing and received by the
President within 10 working days from the effective
mailing date of the President's letter notifying the
faculty member of the termination of his or her
appointment. Late filing of the appeal with reasonable
justification shall be permitted. The filing and
consideration of an appeal does not stay the effective
date of termination.
2. The President shall submit the appeal to the Fiscal
Crisis Appeals Committee for review and recommendation.
Members of the Fiscal Crisis Appeals Committee shall be
elected for the duration of the fiscal crisis by the
elected faculty members of the Executive Committee of
the College Park Senate; the President shall designate
half of those elected by the Executive Committee as
Presidential appointees. Members of the Fiscal Crisis
Appeals Committee shall be elected from among the
tenured full professors not involved in administrative
duties.
3. There shall be three grounds for appeal:
a. violation of procedural due process;
b. violation of substantive due process;
c. an error in the application of the criteria and
provisions set forth in this policy.
Violation of procedural due process means that the
decision was reached following a failure by those in
the review process to take a procedural step or to
fulfill a procedural requirement established in this
policy.
Violation of substantive due process means that: (1)
the decision was based upon an illegal or
constitutionally impermissible consideration: e.g.,
upon a person's gender, sexual orientation, race, age,
nationality, disability, or on a person's exercise of
protected first amendment freedoms (e.g., freedom of
speech); or (2) the decision was arbitrary or
capricious, i.e., it was based on erroneous information
or misinterpretation of information, or the decision
was clearly inconsistent with the supporting materials.
4. An appeal shall not be granted unless the alleged
grounds for appeal are demonstrated by a preponderance
of the evidence.
5. The President's declaration of fiscal crisis and the
determination of the units in which reductions are to
be made are not grounds for appeal.
6. The Fiscal Crisis Appeals Committee will have made
available to it such documents and information as it
believes may be relevant to the appeal. The Committee
may invite such persons, including the faculty member,
Dean, and department Chair, as it believes may be
helpful to meet with it. The appellant shall have the
right to meet with the Committee, and shall have the
right to legal counsel during that meeting. The appeal
is a deliberative review and should not take the form
of an adversarial process.
7. The Committee shall submit written findings and
recommendations to the President. The President shall
render a written decision no later than 60 calendar
days from the date of the appeal. The decision of the
President shall be final.
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