3. Formal Hearings

  1. The campus grievance commission is required to conduct a formal hearing to consider the complaint.

    1. The presiding officer, in consultation with the other members of the grievance commission, must determine an appropriate time and place for the hearing.
    2. The presiding officer is required to make arrangements for a public hearing if requested to do so by the person who is charged in the complaint by no later than seven calendar days before the date of the hearing. The presiding officer is required to conduct the hearing in a place that will accommodate a reasonable number of observers, but the officer is authorized to make a final decision concerning the place where the hearing is to be held and the number of observers to be accommodated.
    3. The presiding officer has a duty, to the greatest extent practical under the circumstances, to summon witnesses, compel the production of documents, and structure the hearing to afford all participating parties procedural due process.
  2. When a hearing is to take place, the presiding officer is required to notify the person who is charged in the complaint concerning the following:

    1. The date, time, and place of the hearing, which shall not be earlier than seven calendar days after the date of the notice;
    2. The date, time, and place of the alleged act of misconduct and a summary of the information upon which the allegation is based;
    3. The names of the witnesses whom the complaining student may present at the hearing or whose statements may be offered as evidence;
    4. That the person charged in the complaint is required to provide to the presiding officer, no later than two calendar days prior to the hearing, all documents in his or her possession, pertinent to the complaint;
    5. That the person charged in the complaint may submit to the presiding officer, no later than two calendar days prior to the hearing, a request for any documents related to the complaint which the subject wishes the complaining student to produce;
    6. That the person charged in the complaint must submit to the presiding officer, no later than two calendar days prior to the hearing, a list of witnesses whom the subject may present at the hearing or whose statements may be offered as evidence;
    7. That the person charged in the complaint is required to be present at the hearing and is entitled to present witnesses and to cross-examine witnesses who appear, unless the grievance commission decides to proceed in the subject’s absence because of extraordinary circumstances;
    8. That the person charged in the complaint is entitled to be accompanied at the hearing by counsel or an advisor of his or her choice at his or her own expense, but the person charged is still required to be present;
    9. That the complaining student is entitled to be present at the hearing and may be accompanied by an advisor of his or her own choosing, including an attorney at his or her own expense;
    10. That the person charged in the complaint may testify but will not be required to testify at the hearing, and that a decision not to testify will not be considered as an admission of guilt;
    11. That the hearing will be closed to the public unless the person charged in the complaint notifies the presiding officer in writing by not later than seven calendar days before the hearing that he or she desires the hearing to be open to the public;
    12. The disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed for the alleged act of misconduct are enumerated in Disciplinary Sanctions;
    13. That a failure by the person charged to appear at the hearing would be sufficient to justify the imposition of any disciplinary sanction without a right of further appeal if the grievance commission determines that the failure to attend was without good cause.
  3. When a hearing is to take place, the presiding officer is also required to notify the student who filed the complaint concerning the following:

    1. The date, time, and place of the hearing, which shall not be earlier than seven calendar days after the date of the notice;
    2. That the complaining student must submit to the presiding officer, no later than two days prior to the hearing, a list of witnesses whom the complaining student may present at the hearing or whose statements may be offered as evidence;
    3. That the complaining student’s failure to attend the hearing would be sufficient to justify the dismissal of the complaint without any further action if the grievance commission should thereafter find that the failure to attend was without good cause.
  4. The formal hearing is to be conducted by the presiding officer of the grievance commission.

    1. The hearing may be held only if all members of the grievance commission are present, or a majority of the members, at least one of whom is a student, are present and both the student filing the grievance and subject of the grievance agree to proceed. A hearing may not be held without the presiding officer being present.
    2. The presiding officer, in consultation with the other members of the grievance commission, is responsible for conducting the hearing, maintaining the necessary order, and making all rulings that are necessary for the fair, orderly, and expeditious consideration of the complaint.
    3. The presiding officer shall call the complaining student as a witness to testify concerning the act of misconduct alleged in the student’s complaint.

      1. The advisor for the student, if any, shall be given the opportunity to question the student.
      2. The presiding officer may question the student concerning the complaint. The other members of the commission may then be given the opportunity to question the student.
      3. The person charged in the complaint shall be given the opportunity to question the student concerning the complaint.
    4. The presiding officer shall also call any other persons to testify as witnesses as requested by the student or otherwise considered appropriate by the officer. The student shall be given the opportunity to question these witnesses. The person who is the person charged in the complaint shall also be given the opportunity to question these witnesses. The presiding officer and the other members of the commission may question any of these witnesses as they consider appropriate.
    5. The presiding officer shall permit the student to present any other information that is appropriate and relevant to the student’s complaint.
    6. After all of the testimony and information concerning the complaint has been submitted, the presiding officer must offer the person charged in the complaint the opportunity to testify concerning the matter.

      1. If the person charged in the complaint chooses to testify, he or she may be questioned by the complaining student and/or the presiding officer and the other members of the commission.
      2. If the person charged in the complaint chooses not to testify, the grievance commission may not consider the decision not to testify as an admission of guilt.
    7. The presiding officer must also offer the person charged in the complaint the opportunity to call other witnesses and to submit any information that is appropriate and relevant to the student’s complaint.

      1. If any witnesses are called to testify, they may be questioned by the person charged in the complaint
      2. The complaining student may also question the witnesses.
      3. The presiding officer and the other members of the commission may question the witnesses as they consider appropriate
    8. After hearing any concluding arguments, the grievance commission is required to reach a conclusion concerning the validity of the allegations in the complaint.
      1. The grievance commission is required to conduct its deliberations concerning the complaint in a private, executive session. Decisions shall be by majority vote. Dissenters may choose to issue a dissenting opinion. The presiding officer shall require all persons other than the members of the grievance commission to leave the hearing room during the deliberations.
      2. The grievance commission must reach its conclusion or conclusions solely upon the basis of the testimony and information introduced at the hearing.
      3. A conclusion that the person charged in the complaint committed the alleged act must be based upon a preponderance of evidence.
    10. If a majority of the members of the grievance commission conclude that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the allegations of the complaint, the grievance commission is required to recommend that the complaint be dismissed.
      1. The presiding officer shall reconvene the hearing and advise the complaining student and the person charged in the complaint concerning the conclusion and recommendation of the commission or issue a written opinion signed by a majority of the participating members within seven calendar days
      2. The presiding officer shall also advise the parties that the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs will be notified of commission's conclusion and recommendation and that the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs is required to dismiss the complaint.
    12. If a majority of the members of the grievance commission concludes that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the allegations of the complaint, the grievance commission is required to conduct a hearing concerning an appropriate sanction.
      1. The presiding officer shall reconvene the hearing and advise the complaining student and the person charged in the complaint concerning the conclusion of the commission.
      2. The presiding officer must then offer the person who is charged in the complaint the opportunity to submit information and present an argument concerning an appropriate disciplinary sanction.
      3. The presiding officer shall also offer the complaining student a similar opportunity with reference to the appropriate sanction.
    14. After hearing from the parties concerning an appropriate sanction, the grievance commission is required to make a recommendation concerning an appropriate sanction.
      1. The grievance commission is required to conduct its deliberations concerning the sanction in a private, executive session. The presiding officer must require persons other than the members of the grievance commission to leave the hearing room during the deliberations.
      2. A recommendation of the grievance commission must be based upon a vote by a majority of the members of the commission.
    16. After the grievance commission has concluded its deliberations concerning an appropriate sanction, the presiding officer shall reconvene the hearing and advise the complaining student and the person charged in the complaint concerning the recommended sanction or issue a written opinion signed by a majority of the participating members within seven calendar days following the close of the hearing.
      1. The parties must also be advised that the commission’s conclusions concerning the validity of the complaint and the commission’s recommendation concerning an appropriate sanction will be submitted to the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs for final action.
      2. In addition, the parties must be advised as follows: If the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs decides to reject the recommendations of the grievance commission, the complaint is dismissed.
    18. The presiding officer of the grievance commission is required to make record of the hearing before the commission which may be made by an electronic tape recorder or other appropriate means.
    19. Within seven calendar days after the hearing, the presiding officer must prepare a written report concerning the grievance commission’s conclusions and recommendations with a brief explanation of the findings of fact upon which the commission’s conclusions are based. The report must be submitted to the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, the person charged in the complaint, and the complaining student.