According to a state audit looking at 40 instances over a period of seven years, a defective policy at California State University, the largest higher education system in the nation, caused the closure of over a dozen sexual harassment charges without a full justification.
The audit, which was made public on Tuesday, looked into complaints of harassment made against staff members between 2016 and 2022 at the chancellor’s office of the university system and three of its 23 campuses: California State University, Fresno, San José State University, and Sonoma State University.
It was discovered that the universities failed to punish those who had been found guilty of misbehavior. In one instance, five years had passed after a faculty member had been found guilty of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and stalking.
Grant Parks, the California State Auditor, said in a statement that the issues and irregularities he and his team uncovered during this audit call for systemic improvements at CSU.
The Chancellor’s Office in particular needs to be more involved in monitoring campus initiatives to stop and resolve sexual harassment.
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California State University to Implement Recommendations on Harassment Cases
Parks’ office advised that the university system make it mandatory for institutions to ascertain whether a person has been accused of harassment more than once, force them to explain in detail why officials didn’t look into a case, and provide instructions on how to contact accusers.
Officials at California State University would follow the recommendations, according to a statement from interim chancellor Jolene Koester.
A request for comments regarding the auditor’s findings was addressed via email to representatives of California State University, Fresno, San Jose State University, and Sonoma State University, but they did not answer right away.
The audit also found that between 2018 and 2022, approximately 160 employees across all 23 schools were accused of sexual harassment more than once.
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Source: www.msn.com