English has been designated the primary language of all faculty members at Francis Marion University since fall 1991. "Primary" language is defined as written and spoken English comparable to that of a native speaker. If the University considers employing on its full-time teaching faculty a candidate whose second language is English, that candidate will:

• give a lecture in his/her discipline in English to students and faculty who will assess the candidate's fluency in English on the basis of being able to comprehend fully the content of the lecture; and
• submit a letter of interest and, when applicable, additional samples of written work.

The English Fluency in Higher Education Act of the South Carolina General Assembly requires that each public institution provide assurance that there exists an adequate procedure for students to report grievances concerning the inability of instructors to be understood in their spoken or written English. At FMU, students should state such a grievance in a scheduled meeting with the chairperson of the department or dean of the school involved.

The department chairperson or school dean will then arrange for a meeting among the chairperson or dean, the grieving student(s), and the instructor. It is the responsibility of the chairperson or dean to find a satisfactory resolution to the grievance and to report the resolution to the Provost.