VCOM Faculty Handbook

The Chair will be responsible for maintaining an orderly, fair, and respectful hearing and will have broad authority to respond to disruptive or harassing behaviors, including adjourning the hearing or excluding the offending individual, including a party, witness, or advisor. e. VCOM reserves the right to record the hearing for the purpose of the minutes. All recordings of the hearing will be destroyed after final action is taken. 2. The written appeal and any other relevant documentation will be provided to the Chair of the Hearing Committee and distributed to the members of the Committee. 3. The Campus Dean will bring forth the reasons for the disciplinary action and give verbal and written testimony to support the reasons. 4. At the Hearing, the Chair will request the faculty member’s verbal statement. 5. The affected faculty member may present testimony in rebuttal. 6. The affected faculty member may request witnesses be allowed to address the Committee and, if the Chair feels the witnesses are pertinent to the case, they will be heard. The Chair may call other witnesses as deemed necessary. 7. The Chair will summarize the case and will excuse all persons except the members of the Committee prior to deliberations. 8. The Hearing Committee will deliberate to determine to determine and vote upon its recommendations for dismissal or continued employment. Only those members who have been present at all sessions in which evidence has been presented and arguments have been heard will have the right to vote. 9. As the Hearing Committee’s decision is a recommendation to the President, the President’s decision will serve as the tie-breaking vote in case of a tie of the Hearing Committee. 10. Within 14 working days following the adjournment of the hearing, the Chair will prepare a written report that contains the Hearing Committee's findings of fact and recommendations to the President. 11. The Provost, as Chair of the Hearing Committee, will send its report to the Presudet, the Campus Dean, and the affected faculty member. 12. The President will provide the final decision of VCOM in writing within 14 working days of receiving the report. The choices the President may make include, but are not limited to: a. To retain the faculty member with a probationary period, which will include a plan of improvement outlining expectations and ways in which progress will be measured. b. To dismiss the faculty member within 90 days, with or without the ability to be on-campus. c. To dismiss the faculty member immediately for cause, with pay for 30 days. d. Exoneration of the faculty member. The President’s decision is final. The written response will be kept in the faculty member’s permanent file. Complaints Regarding Non-Compliance with American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Accreditation Standards VCOM is committed to meeting and exceeding the standards for Accreditation of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine: COM Accreditation Standards and Procedures as described by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). A copy of the standards is available upon the request from the Office of the Campus Dean or at the AOA COCA’s website at: http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/accreditation/COM-accreditation/Pages/default.aspx Students, faculty, or staff who believe that VCOM may not be in compliance with a standard of accreditation have the right to file a complaint through one or all of the following procedures: 1. Complete a “VCOM Accreditation Standards and Procedures Complaint Form”, which may be obtained from the Director for Institutional Licensure, Reporting and Accreditation Support, asking VCOM to investigate and provide a corrective action, if warranted, for the area in which the complainant believes the college is not in compliance with COCA standards.

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