Appalachian State University Faculty Handbook • rev June 29, 2021 76
Nomination and election shall follow procedures for other at-large faculty elections. The term of
office of a member of the FGHC shall be three years; members shall have staggered terms.
4.11.3.9 Faculty members shall be allowed to be represented at a grievance hearing by an advisor-
advocate of his or her choice as long as that person is not serving as the faculty member’s attorney.
If the faculty member chooses to be represented by an advisor-advocate, the respondent may
likewise be represented by an advisor-advocate. However, no advisor-advocate may be called as
a witness. The faculty member also shall be allowed to have an attorney present as an observer,
and if the faculty member so elects, the respondent may likewise have an attorney present as an
observer. Attorney-observers are not, however, permitted to speak, although a party may consult
with her or his attorney-observer during breaks in the hearing as well as at any other stage in the
process aside from the hearing. Presence at the hearing is limited to the members of the FGHC, the
grievant, the respondent(s), the parties' advisor-advocates and/or attorney-observers, if any, and a
designated recorder.
The hearing shall begin with a presentation by the faculty member or faculty member's advisor-
advocate of evidence designed to support the faculty member's contentions. The presentation shall
be limited to those matters specified in the request for a hearing on which the FGHC based its
agreement to conduct the hearing or to such other matters specified in section 4.11.3.5.2. FGHC
members may question all witnesses presented by any party, the grievant, and the respondent(s).
At the conclusion of the hearing, the FGHC shall meet in closed session to consider the matter. The
FGHC may consider only such evidence as was presented at the hearing and need consider only the
evidence offered that it considers fair and reliable. The burden is on the aggrieved faculty member
to satisfy the FGHC, by a preponderance of the evidence, that her or his contention is true. After the
conclusion of the hearing, the FGHC shall complete its deliberations and produce its decision within
twenty (20) working days.
4.11.3.10 In a 607 grievance, the FGHC shall transmit its report to the faculty member, the
respondent(s) and the provost and executive vice chancellor. In a 604 grievance involving
promotion, tenure, or non-reappointment, and in a grievance concerning non-promotion of a
tenured faculty member, the FGHC shall transmit its report to the faculty member, the respondents,
and the chancellor. When the FGHC makes a recommendation unfavorable to the faculty member in
a 607 grievance, the FGHC’s decision, as a determination of a body of the grievant’s peers, shall be
final, except that, in a grievance concerning termination for financial exigency or program
curtailment as provided in section 4.9.2.3, the grievant may appeal as provided in section 4.11.4.1.
When the FGHC makes a recommendation unfavorable to a 604 grievant challenging a promotion,
tenure, or non-reappointment decision, the appeal process for such a grievant is to the chancellor,
and if the chancellor concurs in an FGHC recommendation unfavorable to the faculty member, the
grievant may appeal to the Board of Governors, pursuant to section 4.11.4.2, below.
4.11.3.11 If the FGHC concludes that the grievant’s contention has been established, it shall
provide notice and its recommendations for corrective action to the faculty member, the
respondent(s), and the provost and executive vice chancellor.
4.11.3.12 The provost and executive vice chancellor or the chancellor shall issue a written decision
within thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of the FGHC report. The decision shall be transmitted
to the grievant, the respondents, and to the FGHC. If, prior to issuing the written decision, the
provost and executive vice chancellor or the chancellor intends to reject the recommendation of the
FGHC, the provost and executive vice chancellor or chancellor shall communicate that intention to