I. Purpose

The Mediation Program is a process in which parties in a dispute  allows employees involved in a dispute to rely on a neutral third party for resolution of the dispute. The purpose of the program is to promote alternatives to and resolution of conflicts and to foster respect for differences. The focus of the Mediation Program is to develop an understanding of the needs and concerns of the parties involved and to forge a consensus on reasonable actions to resolve disputes.

II. General Information

A. The Mediation Program may be used in the following circumstances: settling disputes and disagreements;

1. To resolve employee conflicts prior to the initiation of the formal grievance process  at the prehearing phase of the employee grievance process (see CPCC Policies and Procedures Manual (PPM), See Policy  4.32 V.);

2. to resolve student grievances prior to the second appeal in the Student Grievance Procedure (see PPM, Section 7.09 III. C.);

2. To resolve alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment (see Policy 4.60);

4. to resolve grade disputes between students and instructors (see PPM, Section 7.09); and

3. To resolve nonviolent disputes between students, between students and employees, and between employees. 4. To resolve issues pertaining to intellectual property rights ( See Policy 6.09) 5.  To resolve complaints referred to the College by the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the EEOC Referral Back Mediation Program.

B. Mediation will not be used to resolve disputes or grievances related to academic honor code violations, or violations of the general standards of student conduct.   Criminal offenses committed on the CPCC campus will not be resolved through mediation.  criminal offenses, matters of dismissal, layoffs, non-renewal of contracts, discipline, or other matters of employment are not subject to mediation except through the EEOC Referral Back Mediation Program.

C. Employees or students who choose to participate in the mediation process maintain their rights, as applicable, to Due Process, to the Grievance Process, to the Discrimination and Harassment Complaint Procedures, or the Grade Appeals Procedure contained in the PPM.   An employee or student may choose to withdraw from the mediation process at any time during mediation and reenter the formal College procedure designed to address his/her particular concern(s).

D. Participation in the Mediation Program will be on a voluntary basis. All parties participating in the mediation process must be willing to settle their dispute through mediation. Once the mediation process is complete and all involved parties have agreed in writing to honor the mediation solution, the involved parties are expected to uphold the agreement.

III. Procedures

A. Grievance Process  Informal Mediation for Employees for Disputes Not Involving Alleged Discrimination or Harassment

1. For disputes between employees not related to allegations of discrimination or harassment, employees must, at a minimum, discuss informal mediation options after the employee has requested Employee Relations Assistance and the conflict is still not resolved.  See Policy 4.32 IV. C  During the grievance process, employees may seek mediation after the department administrator or the employee's immediate administrator has rendered a decision that the employee feels does not resolve the dispute. The request for mediation must be initiated prior to submission of the grievance memorandum to the Peer Review Board or to the unit vice president as described in the PPM,

2.An employee may contact the Office of Equal Opportunity to discuss the Mediation Program, and shall be required to notify Human Resources of his or her decision regarding the mediation option no later than five working days following the completion of the Employee Relations Assistance process.  Both parties must agree to mediation before the process can begin.  If informal mediation does not resolve the conflict, the employee retains the option of filing a formal grievance as detailed in Policy 4.32 V. if the conflict meets the definition of a grievance. Requests for mediation should be made in writing within five working days following a decision rendered by the department administrator or the immediate administrator. A copy of the original grievance memorandum submitted to the department administrator should be attached to the request. (The five working day time period provided to request mediation may be extended by agreement of the individuals involved in a dispute or by extenuating circumstances as decided by the immediate administrator involved.)

3. Requests for mediation and any supporting documents should be submitted to the Director of Equal Employment Opportunity. The Director of Equal Employment Opportunity will arrange for the mediation and notify the disputants of the arrangements within five working days following the request.

4. If a dispute is not resolved through mediation, the employee may follow the Grievance Process if applicable.

B. Grievance Process for Students

1. Students may seek mediation during the Grievance Process for Students after they have discussed their grievance with the College employee most closely involved in the dispute and with the employee's immediate administrator.

2. If the matter is not resolved with the assistance of the immediate administrator, the student may request mediation. A request for mediation must be made prior to presenting the written grievance memorandum to the immediate administrator's supervising administrator as described in the PPM, Section 7.09.

3. Requests for mediation should be made in writing within five working days following a decision rendered by the immediate administrator. The original grievance memorandum and any written decisions rendered by the immediate administrator should be attached to the request.

4. Student requests for mediation and documentation should be submitted to the Associate Vice President for Student Services.  The  Associate Vice President for Student Services will arrange for the mediation and notify the disputants of the arrangements within five working days following the request.

5. If the matter is not resolved through mediation, the student may continue the grievance process as described in the PPM, Section 7.09.

B. Mediation for Claims of Discrimination or  Harassment

1. Employees and students may participate in the mediation process in situations regarding alleged discrimination or harassment after filing a Waiver of Complaint as described in Policy 4.60.

2. Employees or students may participate in mediation after Prior to mediation, an initial meeting will be held with the Director of Equal Opportunity. At the meeting the allegations will be discussed, College policy regarding discrimination and harassment will be reviewed, the meaning of a Waiver of Complaint will be defined, and the option to mediate the alleged harassment will be explored.

3. Requests to mediate allegations of  discrimination or harassment (other than mediation through the EEOC Referral Back Mediation Program), should be submitted to the Director of Equal Opportunity within five working days following the initial meeting to discuss the allegations. The Director of Equal Opportunity will arrange for the mediation and notify the disputants of the arrangements within five working days following receipt of the request.

4. Employees or students who choose to mediate allegations of discrimination or harassment may return to the Discrimination and Harassment Complaint Procedure contained in Policy 4.60 at any time during or after mediation if their concerns have not been addressed.

D. Grade Appeal Procedures

1. Students may seek mediation during the Course Grade Appeals Procedure after they have discussed the grade in question with the faculty member who assigned the grade, but prior to presenting a written grievance memorandum to the division director as described in the PPM, Section 7.09. If the matter is not resolved through discussion with the faculty member, the student may request mediation.

2. Requests for mediation during the course Grade Appeals Procedure should be in writing within five working days following the decision by the faculty member assigning the grade. Requests for mediation should include a summary of the issues involved and of any previous attempts to resolve the grade dispute.

3. Requests for mediation should be submitted to the appropriate academic dean. The academic dean will arrange for the mediation through the Director of Equal Opportunity and notify the disputants of the arrangements within five working days following the request.

4. If the matter in question is not resolved through mediation, the student may continue his grievance through the grievance process as described in the PPM, Section 7.09 .

C.  Disputes Between Students, Between Students and Employees and Between Employees

1. Disputes between students, between students and employees and between employees may be mediated upon request by the disputing parties.

2. Employees may request mediation after their department administrator or the employee's immediate administrator has been notified of the issues to be resolved. Employees are encouraged to seek mediation before other formal College policies or procedures have been initiated.

3. Employee requests for mediation should be in writing within five working days following notification of the department administrator or immediate administrator. A statement of the issues to be resolved should be attached to the request.  Employee requests for mediation and supporting documents should be submitted to the Director of Equal Opportunity.

4. Students may request mediation of disputes after they have discussed the matter to be resolved with the Associate Vice President for Student Services. A statement of the issues to be resolved should be attached to the request. Student requests for mediation and supporting documents should be submitted to the Associate Vice President for Student Services.

4. Requests to mediate disputes between students and employees may be submitted to either the Associate Vice President for Student Services or the Director of Equal Opportunity.

5. The Director of Equal Opportunity or the Associate Vice President for Student Services will arrange for the mediation and notify the disputant of the arrangements within five working days following the request.

7. If the matter in question is not resolved through mediation, the employee or student may continue to address their concerns through the appropriate College procedure.

D. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Referral Back Mediation Program

1. Charges of discrimination filed by College employees with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may be referred back to the College in an attempt to resolve the charge.

2. Both the employee filing the charge and the College may opt out of a particular mediation.  Mediation is completely voluntary on both the part of the College and the employee.

3. If either the employee or the College decides not to participate in the mediation, the decision will not affect further processing of the charge(s) by the EEOC.  If either party chooses not to participate in mediation, the charge will be processed by the EEOC under its normal charge processing procedures.

4. Mediation of EEOC charges of discrimination will be coordinated by the Director of Equal Opportunity.  The Director of Equal Opportunity will arrange for the mediation and notify the disputant of the arrangements within five working days following the referral back from the EEOC.

5. If the charge is not resolved through mediation, it will be referred back to the EEOC for processing. 6. If a charge is settled through mediation, the settlement agreement will be placed in writing, and will be enforceable in court.

IV. Administrative Procedures

A. Mediation Program Process

1. Once a request for mediation is made, the Office of Equal Opportunity will meet with the disputants within five working days to discuss the mediation process and to identify potential mediators. The disputants will be encouraged to mutually agree on the mediator selected.

2. The Office of Equal Opportunity will retain the mediator within two working days after the disputants have made their selection. The selected mediator will be given fifteen working days to conduct the mediation and report the results to the Office of Equal Opportunity. The fifteen-day period may be extended for extenuating circumstances.

3. If a settlement is reached, the mediator will provide copies of the “Agreement to Mediate” form, the “Confidentiality Agreement” and the “Settlement Agreement” to the Office of Equal Opportunity within two working days.

4. If a settlement is reached, the dispute will be considered resolved.

5. The Office of Equal Opportunity will notify the Human Resources Department of the outcome of the mediation.

6. If no settlement is reached, the Human Resources Department will notify the disputants of their options.
 

B.  Mediation Program Administration

1. Under the direction   The Mediation Program will be developed, implemented, and monitored by the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services, the Director of Equal Opportunity, the chair(s) of the Campus Diversity Committee (or designee), and the Associate Vice President for Student Services. will develop, implement, and monitor the Mediation Program.

2. The Director of Equal Opportunity, the chair(s) of the Campus Diversity Committee (or designee), and the Associate Vice President for Student Services will coordinate training and maintain a list of student and employee mediators for the Mediation Program.

3 In conjunction with the Associate Vice President for Student Services, and the chair(s) of the Campus Diversity Committee (or designee), the Director of Equal Opportunity will develop and implement a monitoring system to evaluate the Mediation Program.

4. The Director of Equal Opportunity will submit a semiannual review of the Mediation Program to the Executive Vice President.

Changes approved by Cabinet on November 1, 2004; changes approved 3-3-08

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Last modified: Tuesday March 04 2008Cabinet approved changes on August 11, 2003
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