Policy on Reassignment of Faculty

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History

  • Policy Number: SP.11.002
  • Version: Revision 1
  • Drafted By: Faculty Affairs Committee 2011-2012: Daniel Lee (Chair), Virgil Adams, Bob Bleicher, Minder Chen, Matthew Cook, Nancy Mozingo, and Luda Popenhagen
  • Approved By: Richard R. Rush
  • Approval Date: 1/30/12
  • Effective Date: 1/30/12
  • Supersedes: SP.10.001

Purpose

To create a faculty initiated process for requesting reassignment to a different unit than the unit to which the faculty member is currently assigned. The policy is intended to accommodate faculty whose academic focus has shifted, to eliminate conflicts within a unit, and to establish a process under layoff conditions.

Background

N/A

Policy

Accountability

N/A

Applicability

This policy applies to California State University Channel Islands (CI) tenured and probationary faculty.

Definition(s)

Unit - an academic program or school.

Affected Unit - the unit a faculty member is transferring from (current unit) or to (recipient unit).

Seniority - “Seniority becomes credited upon the granting of tenure. Therefore, only tenured faculty unit employees shall earn seniority and be assigned a seniority date. The seniority date of faculty unit employees shall be established by the date of initial appointment in a department at a campus to a probationary or tenured position within the appropriate classification family.” (Article 38.24)

Text

 I. NON-LAYOFF CIRCUMSTANCES

A. Tenured Faculty. Any tenured faculty member who has not received a notice of layoff may apply for or request permanent reassignment to another unit, whether or not a vacant faculty position has been announced by the unit to which application for reassignment has been made. In such cases, the following procedures shall be followed:

  1. The faculty member requesting reassignment shall initiate a written memorandum requesting the reassignment. The memorandum shall be sent to the Chair, Director, or equivalent of both affected units. 
  2. The memorandum shall clearly indicate the unit to which she or he is requesting reassignment. It shall contain a description of the individual's academic qualifications for such a reassignment and a statement detailing the role of the prospective appointee in the educational and professional program to which they are requesting reassignment. Faculty of the affected units shall also be informed of the candidate's seniority status as defined in the Layoff article of the CBA.
  3. The Chair of the faculty member’s current unit shall forward a copy of the memorandum to the AVP or equivalent administrator within 10 working days of receiving the memorandum.
  4. Within thirty working days of receipt of the above memorandum, the recipient unit shall vote to accept or deny the request for reassignment. The voting procedure shall take place as described below (II. A. 5) and the decision shall be forwarded to the AVP(s) or equivalent administrator(s). If the recipient unit recommends rejecting the request, reassignment will not occur and the review process ends. If the recipient unit recommends accepting the request, then the faculty member’s current unit will vote as described below (II. A. 5) and forward the decision to the AVP(s) or equivalent administrator(s).
  5. Any decision forwarded from the units must have the approval of a majority of the votes cast by tenured and probationary faculty in a secret ballot. In instances where an academic unit includes fewer than three faculty members, the Chair and faculty of the academic unit, in consultation with the AVP, will recruit faculty from related units to ensure that at least three faculty members are voting on the reassignment. However, faculty recruited for reassignment-voting purposes may not be drawn from either affected unit.
  6. After receiving their recommendations, and following consultation with the affected units, the AVP(s) or equivalent administrator(s) shall forward a recommendation—including the recommendations of the affected units-- within thirty working days to the Provost for a final decision.
  7. A faculty member who is transferred to another unit in this manner shall lose all rights and privileges in the unit of previous assignment. The faculty member shall maintain all seniority points and tenure rights. The provision concerning seniority points may be waived if the faculty member requests in writing to the President a permanent forfeiture of all or part of the accrued seniority points as defined by the Layoff article of the CBA.

B. Probationary Faculty

1. Any probationary faculty member who has not received a notice of layoff may apply for an announced vacant probationary position in another unit, but must first notify the Chair of the unit of current assignment of the intent to submit an application for a vacant probationary position in another unit.

2. Any faculty member applying for a vacant position in another unit will be subject to the same recruitment procedures that any and all applicants are expected to undergo. If the President (or designee) approves the appointment of a faculty member to a probationary position in another unit following the recruitment; and, if the faculty member accepts conditions of appointment, the faculty member shall notify the current unit of the effective date of transfer.

3. A faculty member transferred to another unit in this manner shall lose all rights and privileges in the unit of previous assignment. The faculty member shall maintain all seniority points and probationary service credit previously earned. The provision concerning seniority points may be waived if the faculty member requests in writing to the President a permanent forfeiture of all or part of the accrued seniority points. In accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, such a transfer does not alter the tenure timetable of the transferring faculty member.

II. LAYOFF CIRCUMSTANCES

A tenured faculty member who has received a notice of layoff may apply for permanent reassignment to another position on the campus for which he/she is qualified, in accordance with the provisions of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, whether or not a vacant position has been announced by the unit to which application for reassignment has been made. In this case, the following procedures shall be followed:

  1. The faculty member shall initiate a request, in writing, to the Chair of the proposed recipient unit.
  2. The memorandum shall contain a description of the individual's academic qualifications for such a reassignment and a statement detailing the role of the prospective appointee in the educational and professional program to which they would be assigned. Faculty of the affected units shall also be informed of the candidate's seniority status.
  3. Upon receipt of the faculty member's request, the recipient unit shall determine whether it has or will have a vacant faculty position to which the applicant could be reassigned without causing the layoff of another faculty member in that unit during the academic year in which reassignment occurs. 
  4. The Chair of the recipient unit shall confer with the Faculty Affairs Office within five days of the receipt of the faculty member’s request to determine whether an expedited process for reassignment is appropriate.
  5. In accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and within the timeline agreed upon by the Chair in consultation with the Faculty Affairs Office, the recipient unit shall elect a committee of tenured and probationary faculty members to review the applicant's qualifications and make a recommendation to the unit concerning whether the applicant is qualified for a position in the unit. The faculty of the unit shall vote whether or not to recommend the requested reassignment, with or without the forfeiture of some or all seniority points. If the recipient unit recommends rejecting the request, reassignment will not occur and the review process ends. In instances where an academic unit includes fewer than three faculty members, the Chair and faculty of the academic unit, in consultation with the AVP, will recruit faculty from related units to ensure that at least three faculty members are voting on the reassignment. However, faculty recruited for reassignment-voting purposes may not be drawn from either affected unit.
  6. The unit's recommendation for or against reassignment shall be forwarded to the President (or designee) via the AVP or equivalent administrator, who may also make a recommendation.
  7. The President (or designee), after considering the recommendations received, shall approve or disapprove the requested reassignment. If approved, the applicant shall receive a letter of permanent reassignment as a tenured member of the recipient unit, detailing the conditions of the new assignment with regard to seniority, and forfeiting all rights and privileges pertaining to the original unit.

Exhibit(s)

N/A

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