The University of Minnesota’s Office of Institutional Compliance updated the conflict resolution policy for University employees last month, in compliance with a comprehensive review recurring every four years.
The updated policy includes two types of conflict resolution: an informal process, which is handled by the Office of Conflict Resolution, and a formal process, which will now be handled by the Office of Equity and Diversity.
The new position of grievance process manager, now held by Britt Anderson, was created to oversee the process.
To file a formal petition, an employee must file an official complaint detailing a violation of University policy. From there, the issue can be heard in front of a panel, according to the appendix on the hearing process.
Other changes include the appeal process for employees who want to challenge decisions made by the hearing panel, according to Tina Marisam, the associate vice president of the Office of Equity and Diversity. Marisam, who coordinated the policy updates, said before the update, employees were responsible for paying an external arbitrator, which could cost them a couple of thousand dollars.
“Unsurprisingly, given the cost, it wasn’t a process that was often used or accessible to our community,” Marisam said. “So we removed that option and instead put in place an internal appeal option, and there’s no cost to the person who is appealing that decision.”
The conflict resolution policy excludes discrimination complaints, which are handled separately, according to the administration’s Policy for Discrimination. Marisam added that discrimination and sexual misconduct have their own processes and policies.
Before July, the last update to the policy was in 2020. Policy program director Seth Beccard said it is standard to have administrative policies reviewed every four years.
Beccard said he guides policymakers through creating or editing policy. He said the current policy had to go through many steps before approval.
“We are kind of the final look for new policies, or policies being retired, or policies that go through major changes, like this one,” Beccard said. “It does go through one more step, which is the President’s Cabinet has to approve it, and then, it goes through a 30-day public review.”
The Office of Conflict Resolution, which is a part of the Office of Equity and Diversity, now exclusively handles informal conflict resolution. Now, the Office of Conflict Resolution serves to mediate a conflict before an employee files for a formal petition.
‘Peju Solarin, the Director of the Office of Conflict Resolution, said the office offers confidential consultations with employees for any issue they may have.
“Sometimes we might come up on something where people find that there’s something they feel has been violated, but it’s not actually a University policy,” Solarin said. “That would be ideal with maybe an informal process, possibly exploring talking through things and trying to negotiate things.”
Solarin said the office still offers services to employees at any time, whenever there’s a potential conflict.
“Not everything is tied up in a nice little bowl most of the time, and sometimes things are not working out perfect,” Solarin said. “We do not have a magic wand, but we aim to just make sure that people feel listened to.”
Correction: A previous version misstated Tina Marisam’s role in the policy updates. She coordinated the policy updates.
Clarification: Marisam said it could cost a couple of thousand dollars or more for an external arbitrator.
