Legislative Ruling 12.96

DIVISIONAL COMMITTEE ON RULES AND JURISDICTION

Scope of Privilege and Tenure Hearings for Academic Senate Members Working Under Multiple Administrative Structures

According to Appendix II, Legislative Rulings by the University Wide Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction, section 3.73, the Standing Orders of the Regents 103.2 guarantees to each member of the Academic Senate "the privilege of a hearing by the appropriate committee or committees of the Academic Senate on any matter related to personal, departmental or University welfare". Furthermore, as stated in Systemwide Bylaw 335.E.1, "for the purpose of advising a Senate member on the available relief in case of a grievance, each Division shall appoint an individual (preferably former members of the Privilege and Tenure Committee) whose responsibility shall be to discuss the claim of violation of rights and privileges with the aggrieved Senate member and provide counsel of the appropriate procedure to be followed."

Accordingly, the Divisional Committee on Privilege and Tenure shall entertain grievances from Academic Senate members without prejudging prior to a hearing whether the grievance is one legitimately lodged as an Academic Senate member. This is particularly so if the grievance is against another Senate member. Although Systemwide Legislative Ruling 4.94 notes that a "hearing" may mean just consideration of written material, that ruling also emphasizes the special nature of hearings before Privilege and Tenure committees. The Divisional Committee on Privilege and Tenure shall follow all its standard procedures, including those outlined in Systemwide Senate Bylaw 335. This includes determination of whether there exists a prima facie case for a grievance and, for this purpose, whether another administrative structure is implicated. Multiple administrative structures cannot, by themselves, be a reason for failing either to entertain the grievance or to find if a prima facie case exists. Every effort should be made to be inclusive rather than exclusive in this process.

« Bylaws Table of Contents | Back to top ^