Article 16: Faculty Rights

16.1

Veteran part-time faculty status shall be attained for all part-time faculty who have taught six (6) terms or more since June 1, 1993 at CNM.  The provisions of 15.2 and 15.4 above shall apply to the attainment of veterans status.  Veteran status shall be lost in accordance with the provisions of the Seniority article of this Agreement.

16.1.1

No part-time faculty who has attained veteran status shall be terminated before the end of an academic term without just cause

16.1.1.1

“Termination” shall mean an adverse employment action by the College that results in an involuntary severance of an instructor’s employment during an academic term and after an employee has signed his/her letter of appointment.  This provision does not apply to courses “not making” or the instructor being terminated, or losing course assignments, to accommodate the schedule of a full time faculty member.

16.2

Failure to re-hire or renew a contract for any faculty (both veteran and non-veteran) for a subsequent term(s) does not constitute termination, does not require any reason be given to a non-veteran faculty member and cannot be grieved or challenged. A veteran faculty member may request a reason for their non-renewal but cannot grieve or challenge the non-renewal. Performance and conduct issues as determined by the dean and the dean’s designee are valid reasons for non-renewal. A faculty member not rehired for three successive terms shall be dropped from the hiring pool and shall be required to reapply with the College in order to qualify for course assignments. An exception may be allowed to being dropped from the hiring pool at the discretion of the Dean on a case by case basis.

16.2.1

Faculty who are ineligible, because of performance and conduct issues, for assignments during the term, are also ineligible for assignments as a substitute, unless an exception is granted by the Dean.

16.3

Prior to the termination of a veteran part-time faculty during an academic term the faculty member will be provided with written notification of the contemplated termination and the reason(s) for such action.

16.3.1

The veteran faculty member may be suspended without pay for the period required to complete the procedures in this article.

16.3.2

The veteran faculty member will be provided the opportunity to respond to the reasons for the contemplated termination during an academic term prior to the effective date of such action.  The response will be provided in a meeting with the veteran faculty member's dean, or in writing, or both at the option of the veteran faculty member.

16.3.3

The veteran faculty member may elect to be represented by the Union at any meetings held under the provisions of this article except 16.2.

16.3.4

If the veteran faculty member does not respond to the reasons given for any contemplated termination during an academic term within seven (7) calendar days of said notification, the termination shall stand and cannot be the subject of a grievance.

16.3.5

Veteran faculty members who do not agree with the reasons given for the termination during an academic term and who have complied with the provisions above regarding their response to the contemplated dismissal, may file a grievance in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.  This is the only circumstance under which a part-time faculty member can grieve or challenge the discontinuance of their employment with CNM.

16.4

The provisions of this article shall not apply if enrollment in an assigned class does not make, or if a veteran part-time faculty is removed from a class in order to accommodate a full-time instructor's schedule.  Prior to removing a veteran part-time faculty from a class for the purpose of accommodating a full-time instructor's schedule, consideration will be given to first removing a non-veteran part-time faculty.

16.5

Part-time faculty have the rights specifically delineated herein.  There shall be no implied rights beyond the specific terms of this article.

16.6

Nothing contained in this Article shall prohibit a faculty member from discussing scheduling alternatives with the Department.

16.7

An employee may be accompanied by a Union representative at a grievance procedure meeting as provided under this Agreement’s grievance procedure, a meeting at which discipline is considered or the employee will receive formal charges against the employee, a meeting which results in the issuance of a written reprimand against the employee, or a meeting initiated by the employee and the supervisor agrees with the employee’s request for representation. An employee, supervisor, Union representative, or Human Resource representative may tape record any grievance meeting but must first reveal that the meeting is being recorded.

16.8

The involvement of students in employment disputes is prohibited. This provision shall not prevent a student from serving as witness in a faculty member’s disciplinary process if the student is integral to the process.