Considering Fairness in Decision Making

Fairness in Decision Making

Fair decision making is reliant on the principles of Fairness – substantive, relational, and procedural – and it’s important to clearly communicate your decision with these principles in mind. To help you navigate the decision-making process, below are some key steps you can take to ensure fairness is a key aspect of your decision-making.

1. Understand the Issues
  • Clarify the issue: What issue, concern or challenge has the student brought forward?
  • Policy: Under what policy does the issue reside?
  • Procedure: Consider the procedure; are you the appropriate decision maker at this stage? Have the previous required steps been taken by the student?

2. Gather Information
  • Research thoroughly: Collect relevant data, facts, and insights to understand the situation. Review relevant policies, procedures and practices at the University.
  • Review similar decisions and outcomes: Understand the decisions that have been made previously and what outcomes were assigned.
  • Be objective: Avoid letting personal biases influence your information gathering. If you have a conflict of interest, assign an alternative decision maker to avoid the risk of bias.

3. Relief and Outcomes
  • Consider the relief or outcome requested: Does the relief or outcome requested in the student’s submission appear reasonable given the circumstances?
  • Consider the status quo: Don't forget the option of doing nothing or continuing with the current approach. Consistency in decision making is a key aspect of relational and substantive fairness.
  • Brainstorm solutions: Explore a wide range of potential options, even those that seem unconventional.
  • Be creative: Think outside the box and explore different ways to address the problem.

4. Evaluate Options
  • Analyze pros and cons: Weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of each alternative.
  • Consider risks and uncertainties: Assess the potential consequences of each option, including both positive and negative outcomes. Are there external risks, such as legal action or a human rights complaint that may develop out of this issue?
  • Consider the stage of the issue: Is this the final stage of consideration or does this decision have the potential to move on to another level?
  • Setting Precedent: Remember – your decision will influence future decisions and sent a precedent in your faculty. Consider the lasting impact of your decision on the University.

5. Choose your Course of Action
  • Select the most fair and reasonable option: Choose the alternative that best aligns with your policy and procedure and is reasonable given the evidence you have collected.
  • Trust your instincts: After careful consideration, trust your gut feeling and make a decision.

Communicating your decision

In support of relational fairness, how a decision is communicated is extremely important. Decisions should be detailed, clear, and explain the process taken to arrive at the decision. While the decision letter need not be long, it should contain the following:

Introduction: This section provides a summary of the issue presented by the student and defines the applicable policy, as well as the relief or outcome requested by the student. This section can also confirm that previous steps required within the policy have been completed.

Evidence and Analysis: Explain your review process. This may involve consultations and interviews, the inclusion of additional policies or procedures, presentation of new evidence, and an explanation of similar decisions. Demonstrate the links between the issue, the evidence and facts, and your analysis.

Findings: This section is a summary of your determinations based on the evidence and your analysis of the issue(s).

Decision: Clearly state the outcome, what relief (if any) is provided, and reasoning for the decision in more complex cases.

Next Steps: Outline what next steps a student may have available to them, according to policy. This is also a place where you can point students to resources for assistance – such as the Conflict Management Office, the Office of the Ombudsperson, or Academic Advising.

Things to remember

  • Your written decision is a formal decision which may be referred to if a student challenges the decision through another process or mechanism. Ensure that your decision letter is complete and you are confident in the outcome before communicating a final decision to the student.
  • Keep in mind timing of communications. Delivering difficult news with a negative outcome to a student on a Friday may limit the resources a student has available to them for support. Try to communicate decisions within normal business hours and steer clear of the end of the week.
  • Decisions take time, however it’s important to respect the time of the student and involved parties. Communicate the expected timeframe for your decision making process and communicate any changes or alterations that extend the timeframe.
  • Clear is kind: be clear and direct in your communications. Consider your audience and remove unnecessary jargon, using simple words and sentences and ensure understanding.
  • Avoid simply pointing to policy and instead explain how the policy relates to or impact the decision.
  • A summary of facts is great; however, it’s meaningless without analysis. Demonstrate the links between the facts and the findings.
  • Be concise: try not to repeat details or information, or to overload the reader with too much detail.
  • Only write as much as is necessary, but keep in mind that concise does not necessarily mean short. While “no” is a decision, it doesn’t provide clarity to the reader and can be unfair.
  • The more complex the case, the more detail is required in your response.