Faculty and Staff Grievance Procedure (revised September 22, 2017) If a faculty or staff member has a grievance against the actions of the Department Head, faculty member, or staff member, the following general procedures should be followed. If the grievance cannot be resolved between the parties involved, the faculty or staff member should submit alleged grievances in writing to the Department Head stating the grievance and request for redress in an attempt to resolve the matter directly with the Head. The Department Head should respond in writing in a timely manner. If no solution agreeable to both parties is obtained, the grievance and response shall be submitted to the Executive Committee. If the grievance does not involve a staff member, then the Executive Committee will function as a Grievance Committee. If the grievance involves one or more staff members, then the Executive Committee will appoint a Grievance Committee consisting of members of the Executive Committee and one or more staff members agreeable to the parties involved. This Grievance Committee, proceeding in a timely manner, may take one of the following actions. Find that insufficient grounds exist to support the grievance. Attempt to resolve the grievance by suggesting a solution agreeable to the parties involved. Recommend that the grievance be taken to the appropriate higher level because the circumstances surrounding the grievance mandate a formal hearing by a disinterested group or involve parties outside of the Chemistry Department. The Executive Committee shall report any action that it takes on grievances promptly to all involved parties. Any resolutions achieved by this process shall be considered as good-faith agreements among members of the University community. The goal of this process is to obtain expedient and mutually satisfactory resolution of grievances in lieu of invoking the formal grievance procedures of the Faculty Senate of the College of Arts and Sciences and the University Council, or The University of Georgia Dispute Resolution Policy. Nothing in this process prevents a faculty or staff member from directly invoking formal grievance procedures at a higher level if they feel such action is justified. Graduate Student Grievance Procedure (revised November 3, 1995) If a graduate student has a grievance against any member of the faculty, staff, or other students in areas of the graduate program such as admission, grades, oral or written preliminary examinations, final dissertation, thesis defense, etc., the following general procedures should be followed. In the case of admission, appeal can be made to the Graduate Admissions Committee followed by the Department Head. In the event that a satisfactory understanding cannot be reached at this level, there are established University procedures for appeal to the Graduate Council and the Dean of the Graduate School. In other areas of the graduate program, the most logical first contact for advice and help with problems is the Major Professor. Other sources include the other members of the Advisory Committee, the Graduate Coordinator or the Graduate Advisor. A final alternative for unresolved complaints is the Department Head. In the event of problems with oral examination, in which the grievance involves the Advisory Committee and/or the Major Professor, the Department Head may at his discretion assemble an ad hoc committee of faculty with relevant experience to investigate the circumstances in question. Established University procedures govern grievance cases which cannot be resolved within the Department. Appeal Procedure for Contested Grades (revised 20 December 2006) The Department of Chemistry follows the policy of the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences in the matter of grade appeals. This can be found in Article V of the Franklin College Bylaws.
