Date: Promulgated December 10, 1975; Amended April 9, 1998

These Standing Rules of Procedure for grievances brought under the Statement on Academic Staff Grievance Procedures have been devised by the President. They shall apply to the filing and appeal of all grievances pursuant to the Statement.

These procedures are meant to be invoked only when persistent efforts at informal resolution of significant differences have failed; thereafter, further informal resolution efforts may be undertaken at any stage of the process. The time frames set forth in these rules are guidelines. They may be extended by the relevant administrative officer in his or her discretion for good cause.

I. FILING OF GRIEVANCE

1. The grievant shall file his or her grievance in writing, setting forth a statement of the decision that constitutes the subject matter of the grievance, all grounds on which it is being challenged, and all reasons why the grievant believes that the decision was improperly taken. The grievance shall specifically address the matters set forth in the Standards for Review in Section V of the Statement. The written grievance shall include allegations of any and all adverse effects on the grievant, known to the grievant at the time of filing, which arise from the decision being challenged.

2. The written grievance shall also include the grievant's statement that he or she has made informal efforts to resolve the dispute at each administrative level (including, as applicable, with his or her principal investigator and with the department chair) below the level at which the grievance is filed, and shall describe those efforts in detail. That description shall include the grievant's statement that he or she notified in writing the original decision maker of the grievant's intention to file a grievance, and gave that decision maker 10 days to reconsider the decision.

3. The grievance shall be filed at the earliest practicable date after the grievant receives notice of the decision that is the subject matter of the grievance and after reasonable efforts have been made at informal resolution. Such filing shall normally be made within 90 days after the grievant receives such notice. A delay in filing a grievance may, taking all circumstances into account, constitute grounds for rejection of the grievance by the administrative officer with whom it is filed.

II. RESPONSE TO GRIEVANCE

1. The administrative officer with whom the grievance is filed shall consider the grievance. The administrative officer may attempt further to resolve the matter informally or make whatever disposition of the grievance he or she deems appropriate. The administrative officer may refer the grievance, or any issue therein, to any person(s) who shall consider the matter and report to the administrative officer as the latter directs.

2. The administrative officer shall inform the grievant in writing of any referral of the matter and shall specify the matters referred, the directions to the person or persons to whom the referral is made (including the time frame within which the person or persons is/are to report back to the administrative officer), and the names of those persons.

3. Should attempts to resolve the matter informally not be successful, the administrative officer with whom the grievance is filed shall decide the grievance, and shall notify the grievant in writing of the disposition made of the grievance and all grounds for the disposition at the earliest practicable date after the officer's receipt of the grievance.

4. Normally no more than 60 days should elapse between the filing of a grievance and the disposition by the administrative officer. Unreasonable delay in processing a grievance can in itself be grounds for a grievance. If, because of absence of key persons from the campus or other circumstances or exigencies, the officer decides that prompt disposition is not possible, he or she shall inform the grievant of that fact in writing, giving the grounds therefor and an estimate of when a disposition can be expected.

III. FILING OF APPEAL

1. An appeal shall be made in writing and shall contain the following:

   1. A copy of the original grievance, any other documents submitted by the grievant in connection therewith, and copies of any previous appeals and supporting documents.

   2. The names and positions of all administrative officers with whom the grievance was filed or appealed and a copy of the determination made by each of those administrative officers.

   3. A statement of why the reasons for the determination or determinations of the administrative officer(s) who previously heard the matter are not satisfactory to the grievant. This statement should specifically address the matters set forth in the Standards for Review in Section V of the Statement.

2. The grievant shall file his or her appeal at the earliest practicable date after the grievant's receipt of the determination by the administrative officer with whom the grievance has been filed or appealed. Normally no more than 30 days should elapse between the transmittal of the administrative officer's decision on the grievance and the filing of the appeal. A delay in filing an appeal may, taking all circumstances into account, constitute grounds for rejection of the appeal by the administrative officer with whom it is filed.

IV. RESPONSE TO APPEAL

1. The administrative officer may attempt to resolve the matter informally, or refer the appeal, or any issue thereof, to any person(s) who shall consider the matter and report to the administrative officer as the latter directs.

2. The administrative officer shall inform the grievant in writing of any referral of the matter and shall specify the matters referred, the directions to the person or persons to whom the referral is made (including the time frame within which the person or persons is/are to report back to the administrative officer), and the names of those persons.

3. The administrative officer to whom the grievance is appealed shall decide the appeal, and shall notify the grievant in writing of the disposition made of the grievance and all grounds for the disposition at the earliest practicable date after the officer's receipt of the appeal.

4. Normally no more than 60 days should elapse between the filing of the appeal and the disposition by the administrative officer. Unreasonable delay in processing a grievance can in itself be grounds for a grievance. If, because of absence of key persons from the campus or other circumstances or exigencies, the officer judges that prompt disposition is not possible, he or she shall inform the grievant of that fact in writing, giving the grounds therefor and an estimate of when a disposition can be expected.

V. GRIEVANT'S RIGHT TO ADVISOR

The grievant shall have a right to be accompanied by a member of the professoriate or the academic staff at Stanford University as his or her advisor in any conference or discussion with the administrative officer hearing the grievance or the appeal, or at any appearance before any person(s) to whom the matter or any issue therein has been referred by the administrative officer. As a general proposition, the role of the advisor is to advise the grievant, not to address the administrative officer or the person(s) to whom the grievance or appeal has been referred.

VI. CONFIDENTIALITY

Any communication or material solicited and received with the understanding that it would be kept in confidence shall be kept confidential and shall not be revealed to any person, including the grievant, who was not a party to the confidential communication or material, except that such communication or material may be revealed to any person(s) consulted by the administrative officer for guidance on that grievance.