Academic Senate

Inquiry by the Committee on Charges of the Academic Senate The Committee on Charges shall promptly determine whether the allegations in the complaint, if true, would constitute a violation of the University Faculty Code of Conduct. If the Committee on Charges determines this issue affirmatively, it shall ask the Chancellor for any supporting evidence from earlier stages in the procedure and shall conduct an inquiry to determine whether there is probable cause to warrant a disciplinary hearing before the Committee on Privilege and Tenure of the Academic Senate. For this purpose, the probable cause standard means that the facts as alleged in the complaint, if true, justify the imposition of discipline for a violation of the Faculty Code of Conduct and that there is credible evidence to support the claim. The Committee on Charges shall treat all steps in its inquiry as confidential. In conducting its inquiry, the Committee on Charges may, at its discretion, conduct interviews in private with the complainant and other individuals relevant to the case. The Committee on Charges shall make every effort to complete its inquiry and make a determination of probable cause and reports its findings to the Chancellor within sixty days after receiving the formal complaint. If the Committee on Charges finds no probable cause to warrant a disciplinary proceeding, the Committee shall promptly (within fifteen days) transmit its decision, in writing, to the Chancellor, along with a report of the substantive review made by the Committee. The Committee also shall recommend that all existing references to the matter be expunged from personnel files, and from the records of the Department Chair and the Dean of the School or College. If the Committee on Charges finds probable cause to warrant a disciplinary hearing, the Committee shall promptly transmit its decision, in writing, to the Chancellor, along with a report of the inquiry made by the Committee and the complete file assembled by the Committee on Charges during its inquiry.(Am 20 Feb 07)