Termination of Faculty Appointment by the University

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Effective Date: April 25, 2025
Issuing Authority: Provost and Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance
Policy Contact: Associate Vice President for Human Resources, HR@mercer.edu, 478-301-2786

Purpose

This policy outlines the termination of faculty appointments by the University.

Scope

The policy applies to tenured and non-tenured faculty members.

Exclusions

None

Policy Statement

  1. Termination of an appointment with tenure, or of a non-tenured appointment before the end of the appointment term, may be affected by the institution only for adequate cause. Without limiting the generality of the term “adequate cause,” the following are examples of circumstances that shall be considered as constituting adequate cause: (a) demonstrated incompetence or dishonesty in teaching or research; (b) substantial and manifest neglect of duties; (c) moral turpitude; (d) flagrant violation of professional ethics, or personal conduct which substantially impairs the individual’s fulfillment of responsibilities to the University; (e) functional medical disability; (f) discontinuance of program; and (g) financial exigency. The burden of proof that such circumstances exist rests upon the University.
  2. If the termination takes the form of dismissal for cause, including those indicated as examples (a) through (d) above, it shall be pursuant to the dismissal procedures specified in Dismissal Procedures in the University faculty handbook.
  3. Termination of a tenured appointment or of a non-tenured appointment before the end of the period of appointment for medical reasons shall be based upon clear and convincing medical evidence that shall, if the faculty members request, be reviewed in accordance with the procedures specified in Dismissal Procedures in the University faculty handbook.
  4. “Program,” as used herein, means (a) a college, school, department, division, or instructional unit headed by an academic administrator; (b) a coherent set of courses or program of study that leads to an academic degree; (c) a coherent set of courses or program of study that does not lead to an academic degree but serves to educate or train students (e.g., a professional certification program or a remedial program); or (d) a research or service unit which may or may not educate students. A new program, within its first academic year, may be discontinued without regard to the procedures outlined in the paragraphs below.
  5. Termination of a tenured appointment or a non-tenured appointment before the end of the period of appointment may occur as the result of bona fide formal discontinuance of the program. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, consideration of program discontinuation is typically initiated by (a) academic, strategic, or financial considerations resulting from general academic review; (b) program or accreditation review not impacting student certification or licensure; (c) accreditation review or State approval impacting student certification or licensure; or (d) financial exigency. The procedures specified in Section 2.8 shall not apply to cases of program discontinuance. For cases initiated by (a), (b), or (c), the standards and procedures prescribed below and under paragraphs 6, and 7 shall apply. Cases initiated by financial exigency shall follow the standards and procedures in paragraphs 8 and 9. Paragraphs 11 and 12 below indicate the special rights of faculty terminated under these circumstances.
  6. Consideration of program discontinuation for reasons not associated with financial exigency is initiated according to the following standards and procedures.
    1. A proposal of program discontinuation due to academic considerations resides with the faculty at multiple levels of governance. Such proposals should initiate within the instructional unit and follow the curricular approval process provided by the academic unit and University. A resulting recommendation of program discontinuation, which includes an appropriate teach-out plan, shall be submitted to the Provost.
    2. A program review or programmatic accreditation review that does not impact the certification or licensure of students may lead to considerations of program discontinuation. Such reviews are periodic but may be initiated at the discretion of the Provost. Based upon the conclusions of such review, the academic unit dean in consultation with the unit faculty shall make appropriate recommendation to the Provost which may include program discontinuation. A recommendation of program discontinuation shall include man appropriate teach-out plan.
    3. A programmatic accreditation review or State approval review that impacts the certification or licensure of students may lead to considerations of program discontinuation. The conclusive report from the accreditor or State body shall be submitted to the Provost.
  1. The Provost may make the recommendation of program discontinuation to the President which shall include a plan of academic program discontinuation and teach-out developed in consultation with the appropriate University Curriculum Council(s) and a plan of faculty displacements developed in consultation with the Executive Committee of the University House of Delegates. The President will review and consider all recommendations related to program discontinuation. The final decision on program discontinuation and related impacts on student enrollments and impacted personnel resides with the President. A decision to discontinue a program including dissenting recommendations and related impacts shall be reported to the Board of Trustees. Nothing in this Policy should be construed as impacting the authority of the Board of Trustees in any way, including the governing board’s authority to review and approve proposed major changes in the University’s academic programs or to delegate that authority to the President.
  2. Termination of a tenured appointment, or a non-tenured appointment before the end of the appointment term, may occur as a result of financial exigency which may include the discontinuation of programs. In these cases, the procedures specified in the Dismissal Procedures section shall not apply, but the standards and procedures prescribed under paragraphs 9 and 10. Paragraphs 11 and 12 below indicate the special rights of faculty terminated under these circumstances.
  3. The decision that a financial exigency exists shall be made by the Board of Trustees only after the following steps have been carried out:
    1. If the President believes that a financial crisis threatens the University that may justify a declaration of a state of financial exigency, the President shall call the Financial Emergency Committee into session and shall inform it of the nature and severity of the perceived financial crisis. The Financial Emergency Committee shall consist of the Executive Committee of the University Faculty House of Delegates together with one (1) other faculty member from each college or school of the University. The Chair of the House of Delegates shall chair the Financial Emergency Committee.
    2. The Financial Emergency Committee shall request that the House of Delegates meet. At that meeting, the President shall inform the House of Delegates of the nature of the financial crisis. The House of Delegates shall determine whether, in its judgment, the crisis is severe enough to warrant declaration of a state of financial exigency and shall record its determination in a resolution to be communicated to the President and to the Financial Emergency Committee.
    3. The Financial Emergency Committee shall determine whether a financial crisis justifying the declaration of a financial exigency exists and shall communicate its determination to the President.
    4. The President shall, in consultation with the Financial Emergency Committee and the House of Delegates, determine whether a financial crisis justifying declaration of financial exigency exists.
    5. If the President and the Financial Emergency Committee agree that such a financial crisis exists, a joint recommendation that financial exigency be declared shall be forwarded to the Board of Trustees, together with all supporting documents and the resolution of the House of Delegates. If the determinations of the President and the Financial Emergency Committee differ, both determinations, together with all supporting documents and the resolution of the House of Delegates, shall be presented by the President and the Chair of the Financial Emergency Committee to the Board of Trustees before the Board acts on the recommendation.
    6. A state of financial exigency shall exist upon declaration by the Board of Trustees.
  1. Upon declaration of a state of financial exigency, the following procedures shall be carried out:
    1. The Financial Emergency Committee shall advise the President on means by which the University can resolve the financial crisis. The Financial Emergency Committee shall concurrently apprise the House of Delegates of its deliberations and advice.
    2. The Financial Emergency Committee shall identify and evaluate cost- reduction measures designed to avoid the need for termination of faculty appointments and shall recommend to the President such alternatives as it deems feasible and appropriate. The Financial Emergency Committee shall consider such measures as temporary furlough of faculty as a means of meeting the financial crisis in the short term while allowing long-term measures to be undertaken in an orderly manner.
    3. The President and the Board of Trustees shall consider and implement all cost-reduction measures, short of termination of faculty appointments, which they deem feasible and appropriate. The hiring of new faculty during a financial emergency shall be limited to extraordinary circumstances wherein an academic program would otherwise be seriously affected. Such proposed new hiring shall be stringently reviewed by the appropriate elected faculty body in each school or college.
    4. If such cost-reduction measures are deemed by the President to be insufficient to resolve the financial crisis, the President shall ask the Financial Emergency Committee to develop procedures for the termination of faculty appointments. In the development of these procedures, the Financial Emergency Committee shall be guided by the following principles:
      1. Program needs. In order to meet the needs of the reduced program at the highest level of academic quality on a long-range basis, the following factors will be considered: (a) experience and knowledge in the courses offered in the reduced program; (b) academic credentials; (c) teaching load (number of sections and students taught); (d) teaching ability; (e) experience or knowledge in other academic areas (ability to double up); and (f) research and scholarly quality and productivity. Individual faculty salaries will not be considered.
      2. Tenure Status. A tenured faculty member will generally be retained in preference to a non-tenured faculty member.
  1. Tenured faculty members identified for termination as a result of financial exigency or program elimination shall have the following rights without limitation:
    1. Tenured faculty members whose appointments will be terminated must be given notice as soon as possible and should be given notice at least 12 months in advance of the effective date of termination. If the termination decision has not been made in time to permit 12 months’ notice, severance salary shall be awarded to the extent of the lateness of the notice.
    2. The University will make every effort to place affected tenured faculty members in other suitable positions within the institution. In no event shall such efforts require the placement of a faculty member in a position for which he or she is not qualified.
    3. The faculty member may request review of the termination decision. An appropriate faculty committee shall be appointed to consider such requests and to make recommendations to the President whose decision may be appealed to the Board of Trustees. The issues which may be considered in such a review are whether the institution has complied with the standards and procedures in this Section and whether the criteria were properly applied in the individual case.
    4. No tenured appointment terminated because of financial exigency or program elimination shall be filled by a replacement within a period of two years unless the terminated faculty member has been offered reappointment and given a reasonable time within which to accept or decline the offer.
  1. Non-tenured faculty members whose positions are eliminated as a result of financial exigency or program elimination shall have the following rights, without limitation:
    1. Non-tenured faculty members must be given notice as soon as possible and should be given notice of non-renewal in accordance with the schedule provided in University handbook section, Non-Tenured Appointments. If the decision has not been made until after the appropriate date by which notice should be given, the appointment shall be renewed for a partial term or severance salary shall be awarded to the extent of the lateness of the notice.
    2. The faculty member may request review of the decision, as provided in paragraph 11.c above.

Additional Resources

University Faculty Handbook: https://provost.mercer.edu/resources/handbooks/faculty-handbooks/