3.022 Faculty Reduction for Financial Exigency

Nothing in this policy prevents the College from seeking voluntary faculty reduction, or other means of reducing faculty on a voluntary basis, prior to implementing this policy.  Nothing in this policy requires the College to seek voluntary reduction before implementing this policy.

In the event the College is in a situation where involuntary reductions in faculty are necessary due to financial exigency, this policy may be implemented.

1. Definition of Financial Exigency:
   1. substantial, material and documented loss of general fund revenue or an increase in general fund expense accompanied by the Board of Trustees’ declaration of financial exigency evidencing the serious and urgent nature of the need to activate this policy and the absence of appropriate and feasible alternatives to remedy the budget exigency quickly.
   2. Causes of financial exigency may include but are not limited to:
      1. A substantial decline in student enrollment
      2. A substantial decline in State of Michigan appropriations and/or
      3. A substantial decline in property tax revenue
2. Process for Faculty Reduction for Financial Exigency:
   1. The Board of Trustees identifies and declares a financial exigency.
   2. The College President and the Vice Presidents make general recommendations to the Board of Trustees for budget reductions.
   3. The Chief Academic Officer (CAO), the Dean of Teaching and Learning (DTL), and any other appropriate dean discuss specific academic reductions, including academic divisions/programs/disciplines and numbers of faculty.
   4. The CAO and/or the DTL seek recommendations from the affected academic Associate Dean for specific faculty to be released.
   5. The academic Associate Dean will make specific faculty member reduction recommendations to the CAO and to the DTL.  The academic Associate Dean’s recommendations must follow the prescribed order of reduction detailed in this policy.
3. Order of Reduction within an Academic Division/Program/Discipline:
   1. Reduction of part-time faculty
      The part-time (adjunct) and one-semester appointment faculty are classified as “at will” and shall be released first.
      1. Adjunct faculty may be retained and utilized if the total number of courses needed is less than the thirty equated hours per academic year in the affected division/program/discipline.
      2. There are special situations where programs may need to retain multiple adjuncts to cover areas of specialization where the total credits are in excess of 30 hours.
   2. Reduction of one-year renewable and emerging program faculty
      One-year renewable faculty and emerging program faculty are classified as “at will” and shall be released second.
      1. If there are two or more one-year renewable faculty and not all are being released, the one-year renewable faculty will be released in order of lowest to highest rank achieved. In the case of a tie in rank, the criteria for full-time tenured faculty reduction in Section IV below will be applied.
   3. Reduction of full-time tenure-track faculty without tenure will occur third.
      1. If the release of full-time tenure-track faculty without tenure within an academic program/discipline is necessary, the full-time tenure-track non-tenured faculty will be released first in order of lowest to highest rank achieved. In the case of a tie in rank, the criteria for full-time tenured faculty reduction in Section IV below will be applied.
   4. Reduction of full-time tenured faculty will occur last.
      1. If the release of tenured faculty is necessary, the tenured faculty will be released in order of lowest to highest rank achieved. In the case of a tie in rank, the criteria for full-time tenured faculty reduction in Section IV below will be applied, subject to the following exceptions:
         Exceptions to the above may be made in academic divisions/programs/disciplines where tenured or full-time non-tenured faculty is/are being evaluated under Senate Policy 3.061 and/or 3.021.  The academic Associate Dean, the DTL, and the CAO will consult each other concerning the relevance to the current faculty reduction.
         Exceptions to the above may be made when essential skills are needed to maintain course offerings and where a faculty member’s area of specialty within a division/program/discipline warrants retention.
4. Criteria for the Reduction of Full-time Faculty:
   In the event that two or more full-time faculty members in the same category (i.e., one year renewable, tenure-track, or tenured) are identified for potential layoff and are tied in rank, the criteria used for the reduction of full-time faculty shall be in the following descending order of priority (these criteria shall be applied in a successively exclusive manner so that the criterion shall be used only if the preceding criterion or criteria are equal):
   1. Months and years of service in rank;
   2. Date of appointment as a full-time faculty member at Delta College;
   3. Total years of other teaching experience and/or equated work experience (as approved by, and on file with, Delta College’s Human Resources);
   4. Date of continuous employment as a part-time (adjunct) faculty member at Delta College;
   5. In the event that there is still a tie, the CAO will use objective criteria including but not limited to: education level achieved, certifications specific to discipline, other qualifications and pending promotions to formulate a recommendation for full-time faculty reduction/s.
   6. The CAO, in consultation with the DTL, will develop reduction recommendations and submit them to the College President.  If the College President does not accept the recommendation, a reason will be provided with an alternative recommendation to be discussed with the CAO and the DTL. Following this discussion, the College President will make the final decision.
   7. The College President or his/her designee will notify affected faculty of their reduction in a face-to-face meeting, if possible.  Notice of the decision will be confirmed in writing electronically and via U.S. Mail, certified and return receipt requested, to the most recent address on file with the Human Resources’ office, within three business days or as soon as reasonably possible.  Rationale for the decision will be provided upon request of the affected faculty member(s).
5. Appeal:
   Any faculty who receives a notice of reduction may request, in writing, within five business days of the receipt of the decision, a review by the Chief Academic Officer or his or her designee at Dean level or above. The review will be based on an examination of the record of the process within five business days of the receipt of the request, or as otherwise mutually extended.  The affected faculty may request that an FEC member(s) advocate for him/her during this appeal process.
   If dissatisfied with the CAO’s decision based on the review, the affected faculty may, within three business days, appeal the decision to the College President. The College President will affirm or reverse the reduction within five business days of receiving the request for reconsideration, or as soon as reasonably possible.
   The decision of the College President will be final and binding on the parties.  If the College President reverses his/her prior decision and the faculty’s reduction is withdrawn, another faculty member may be selected for reduction.
6. Effective Date of Reduction:
   Reduction will take place as soon as reasonably possible based on the financial exigency and academic need.  To the extent possible, faculty reductions will occur with the least disruption to the College and the students.
   The appeal process shall not stay a reduction.
7. Recall:
   The College will return a faculty member(s) to work if/when need is demonstrated and/or resolution of the financial exigency occurs according to the following:
   1. A division/program/discipline where classes have been offered by adjunct faculty for less than two years increases in enrollment sufficient to support a full-time faculty member, and the College determines that the likelihood of such increase will be maintained.
   2. The financial exigency is of a temporary nature and funding sources are replenished within a two-year time period.
   3. Recall is within two years, or the affected faculty’s length of service to Delta College, whichever is less.
   4. Faculty will be recalled in the reverse order in which they were released, at their pre-existing rank, providing there is a need in their division/program/discipline and the recall occurs within two years or the affected faculty’s length of service, whichever is less.
   5. Human Resources, in conjunction with the academic office, will maintain records and information regarding appropriate order of recall of full-time faculty.
      This policy governs all adjunct, non-tenured and tenured faculty reductions and order of reduction due to financial exigency and supersedes any prior policy language, any conflicting policy language, past practice or procedure, specific to adjunct, non-tenured or tenured faculty reductions due to financial exigency.
      This policy does NOT impact or govern any policy, past practice or procedure, as it pertains to adjunct, non-tenured, or tenured faculty reductions or release, or order of reduction, for reasons other than financial exigency.
      If this policy is reviewed for possible revision(s), Senate Policies 3.023 and 3.024 must also be reviewed for possible revision(s).

This policy must be reviewed in September 2020.

Board Action 5262 – December 11, 2018
Board Action 5044 – February 18, 2014