Termination of Tenured Faculty Members “For Cause” and Termination Procedure (FAM VII.B)
Conditions Under Which A Tenured Faculty Member’s Contract Can Be Terminated
Until the retirement of the faculty member and subject to the procedure stated hereinafter, an appointment with tenure may be terminated by the College only for adequate cause. The following will be considered adequate cause for the termination of tenure:
- a. Demonstrably bona fide institutional contingencies such as curtailment or discontinuance of programs or departments;
- b. Financial exigencies that are demonstrably bona fide but only after giving the faculty member 12 months’ notice;
- c. Physical or mental inability to fulfill the terms and conditions of the appointment;
- d. Incompetence, neglect of duty, immorality, dishonesty, including but not limited to plagiarism, falsification of academic credentials or vitae, conduct unbecoming a faculty member, conviction of violating the criminal laws of any state or the United States, willful and repeated violations of College rules, regulations or policies. (Faculty Responsibilities to Students, Code of Professional Conduct, Faculty/Administration Manual Art. VIII.A, and Statement of Professional Ethics, Faculty/Administration Manual Art. IV.B.)
Termination Procedure
- a. Termination for cause of a tenure appointment shall be preceded by a written notice of proposed dismissal which states the reasons for the proposed dismissal and gives the faculty member an opportunity to be heard by the Faculty Hearing Committee. Formal written notice may be preceded by discussions between the faculty member and appropriate administrative officers looking toward a mutual settlement.
- b. If the faculty member elects to have a hearing before the Committee, the faculty member must file a Notice of Grievance with the Chair of the Committee, with a copy to the President, within twenty working days of receipt of the notice of proposed dismissal. The procedures followed by the Faculty Hearing Committee (see Art. X.I.) for all hearings will be followed, with the following exceptions: (Rev. Aug. 2018)
- The burden of proof rests with the College, and the College representative will, therefore, present witnesses and evidence before the faculty member does.
- The standard of proof for finding adequate cause for termination shall be by clear and convincing evidence in the record considered as a whole.
- When termination is proposed because of incompetence, the College representative must present the testimony of qualified faculty members from the College and other higher education institutions.
- The decision of the Committee is advisory to the President. The President’s decision may be appealed to the Board of Trustees by means of the usual procedures for appeals of cases heard by the Faculty Hearing Committee (see Art. X.I). According to Board policy, no appeal may be made to the Board unless the faculty member has elected to have the charges heard by the Hearing Committee. Direct appeal to the Board is not available.
- c. If the faculty member does not elect to have the charges heard by the Faculty Hearing Committee, the President shall send the faculty member a letter of dismissal, which shall contain the effective date of the dismissal.
- d. Until a final decision on termination of a tenure appointment is made, the faculty member concerned may be reassigned to new duties or suspended without pay. Suspension may be appealed to the Faculty Hearing Committee.
Related Policies, Documents or Forms
Termination of Tenured Faculty Members “For Cause” and Termination Procedure PDF
Revision Log
Web Publication Date: 9/9/2026