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Relationship of Faculty to College
Policy: 6.3 Resignations, Administrative Leave, Disciplinary Action, Disimssal, Grievance Procedures, Non-Reappointment, and Faculty Retrenchment
Adoption Date: December 16, 2024 Revised
RESIGNATION
Faculty members who choose to resign should notify their supervisor in writing. Funds in retirement accounts cannot be released to an employee until the last payroll has been processed. When the employment relationship concludes between the college and an employee, the employee must be physically at work the day following any official college holiday if the employee is to be compensated for the holiday period. Vacation days or personal days may not be used to meet this attendance requirement. Employees who are retiring are not required to work the day following any official college holiday but must be physically at work or use accrued vacation, personal leave, or Staff Development award their last scheduled day preceding any official college holiday to be compensated for the holiday period immediately following their last scheduled day.
Faculty who resign may be removed from the summer and mini term schedules.
ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE WITH PAY
In some instances, employees will be placed on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation or other pertinent matters by the President. This action is not considered a disciplinary action. The employee shall be notified in writing of the terms and conditions, if any.
DISCIPLINARY ACTION
The general types of disciplinary actions include, but are not limited to, the following: oral reprimand, documented reprimand held with supervisor, written reprimand for the personnel file, disciplinary leave with pay, probation, change of assignment, demotion, suspension without pay, and dismissal. Disciplinary action is the responsibility of a supervisor or administrator and action taken should be appropriate to the situation. The immediate supervisor of the supervisor taking action and Chief Human Resources Officer should be consulted before any disciplinary action is taken.
DISMISSAL
Any faculty member under the terms of an employment contract, may be dismissed for good cause before the completion of the term of employment. “Good cause” shall include any ground that is put forward by college authorities in good faith and that is not arbitrary, irrational, unreasonable, or not irrelevant to the duties with which such college authorities are charged and is not limited to some form of inefficiency or misconduct on the part of the person dismissed. The immediate supervisor of the supervisor taking action and Chief Human Resources Officer should be consulted prior to any faculty dismissal.
The term shall include but not be limited to the following:
- Failure or refusal to comply with official directives, either oral or written.
- Failure to comply with official policies.
- Inefficiency or incompetency in performance of duties.
- Conviction of any felony grade crime or conviction of any other crime involving moral turpitude. “Conviction” is defined to include deferred adjudication or probation.
- Necessary reduction in force (retrenchment).
- Possession of or being under the influence of alcohol while being on duty.
- Possession of or being under the influence of illegal drugs.
- Insubordination.
- Indecent or immoral conduct which violates common decency or morality or reflects negatively on the reputation of Howard College.
- Physical or mental incapacity not otherwise protected by law that prevents full performance of the employee’s duties.
- Failure to correct deficiencies pointed out in observation, supplemental memoranda, or other communications.
Before any employee employed under the terms of an employment contract is dismissed before the completion of the term fixed in the contract, the employee shall be given reasonable notice in writing of the proposed action and the grounds therefore.
If, upon written notification, the employee desires to be heard and to contest the proposed action of the Board, he/she shall give the Hearing Committee (see committee list) written notice within ten (10) college working days of his receipt of the notice of proposed dismissal. In the event that the employee does not give actual written notice of his request for hearing within the ten (10) college working days prescribed, the Board may take action on the proposal and the employee shall be deemed to have waived any right to a hearing.
In the event that the employee shall file a timely request for hearing, said hearing shall be set within 10 college working days of the date the request for the hearing is received by the Hearing Committee.
The Hearing Committee may conduct the hearing in closed session unless the employee requests a public hearing, in which case the hearing shall be open to the public. In matters where the conduct of individuals other than the faculty member or employee filing the grievance will be at issue and will require testimony from those individuals, or evidence of the conduct of those individuals, then the affected individuals shall have the right to petition the Board to close to the public either the entire hearing or those portions of the hearing at which the affected individual’s conduct will be discussed or at which they will testify.
At the hearing, the employee may employ counsel. The employee shall have the right to hear the evidence upon which the dismissal is based, to cross examine all adverse witnesses, and to present evidence in his behalf. The Committee shall determine the existence of good cause for dismissal, which determination shall be based solely upon the evidence presented in the hearing. The employee will be notified in writing of the outcome of the hearing.
The employee may be suspended with pay by the president pending the outcome of the dismissal hearing.
In the event that the decision of the Hearing Committee is unsatisfactory to the employee or the supervisor, either may within five college working days after receipt of the decision of the Hearing Committee file a written notice of appeal to the President. Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the President will schedule a hearing within five (5) college working days with the employee and the supervisor. The President will issue a decision within 10 college working days following the hearing. The employee will be notified in writing of the president’s decision.
If the employee or supervisor is not satisfied with the decision, each may request a hearing with the governing board within five college working days of the receipt of the decision of the President. The governing board will conduct the hearing within 30 college working days from the date of the request for a hearing. The governing board will make the final decision on the matter. The employee will be notified in writing of the Board of Trustees decision.
Faculty who are dismissed may be removed from the summer and mini term schedules.
NON‑REAPPOINTMENT
An appointment is effective only for the term stated in the contract of employment and no property right is created beyond the term stated in the contract. The responsible supervising administrator who decides to recommend such an employee for non-reappointment must notify that person in writing at least two weeks in advance of the employee’s contract completion date. The Board may decide not to renew the contract of any employee if, in its judgment, the best interests of the district will be served by such non‑reappointment. A faculty member who is non-reappointed may present a grievance in person to the President on the issue of the faculty member’s employment. The President’s decision on this grievance is final and may not be appealed to the governing board.
Faculty who are non-renewed may be removed from the summer and mini term schedules.
FACULTY RETRENCHMENT
Retrenchment is the need for reduction in faculty positions arising from declining enrollment, declining funding, and/or the elimination or redirection of academic or occupational/technical programs or grants. When circumstances require a reduction in staff, the reduction will be accomplished using the following procedures: The president shall submit to the Board a recommendation for dismissing particular faculty members after applying the following criteria, listed in order of importance, in each selected employment area to determine which employees shall be retained:
- Performance: Employee’s effectiveness as reflected by written evaluations or assessments.
- Professional Background: Professional education and work experience related to the position.
- Breadth of Education: Preparation for other instructional/administrative assignments.
- Seniority: Years of teaching or administrative experience with Howard College.
After considering the President’s recommendation, the Board shall determine which employees shall be dismissed. The employee shall be given a written statement of the reasons or conditions requiring such dismissal and shall, upon request, be given a hearing in accordance with the policy for dismissal during the contract term.
This policy applies only to retrenchment conducted during the term of employment of affected employees where such employees have a property interest in their position. No personnel action other than retrenchment shall be considered under this procedure. Retrenchment cannot be subject for grievance.
CHECK-OUT PROCEDURES
When an employee resigns, the department supervisor should notify the Chief Human Resources Officer within twenty-four hours. The supervisor should submit the employee’s statement of resignation to Human Resources. If a resignation letter is not submitted by the resigning employee, the supervisor should submit a Payroll Recommendation form to Human Resources. All persons leaving employment with the college district should meet with Human Resources personnel or applicable campus representative to complete the check-out process.
DEDUCTION STATEMENT
As noted on the letter or contract the college will deduct any outstanding charges (former student or employee) found during the check-out process from the employee’s last paycheck. This includes keys/fobs, and any equipment not returned. If charges exceed the last check, the employee must sign a repayment agreement for the remaining balance
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