§ 49-8-303 — Procedures for action against tenured employee

(a) The board of regents and each state university board shall develop procedures for the termination of faculty with tenure for adequate cause by the institutions following a hearing that ensures due process, which procedures shall include the following minimum requirements: (1) The faculty member shall be notified of the specific charges in writing, and shall be notified of the time, place, and nature of the hearing at least twenty (20) days prior to the hearing; (2) The faculty member shall have the right to be represented by counsel of the faculty member's own choice; (3) A verbatim record of the hearing shall be made, and a typewritten copy made available to the faculty member for a reasonable fee at the faculty member's request; (4) The burden of proof that adequate cause for termination exists shall be upon the institution and shall be satisfied only by clear and convincing evidence in the record considered as a whole; (5) The faculty member shall have the right to confront and cross-examine all witnesses; and (6) The findings of fact and the decision shall be based solely on the hearing record. (b) The board of regents and each state university board shall adopt all additional procedures the respective board deems necessary for the hearings and may provide for review of the decision by the board or its designee based upon the record. (c) A faculty member serving a probationary period shall be given an oral statement of the reason for nonappointment to the institution's faculty.

Legislative History

Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 869,s 24, eff. 7/1/2016. Acts 1976, ch. 839, § 4; T.C.A., § 49-3257.