General Principles

  1. The University intends that proceedings under the Student Code not only resolve charges of misconduct, but also have educational benefit for the students involved. Accordingly, every effort will be made to ensure that students are encouraged to speak for themselves throughout the process of addressing alleged Code violations. Students may have advisors, including attorneys at their own expense, who accompany them at any or all stages of the process. Except for Campus Review Board proceedings, however, advisors are limited to an advisory role and may not speak for students. During Campus Review Board proceedings (final appeal process for academic or personal misconduct cases), advisors are allowed to participate directly in the proceedings with the clear understanding that the hearing will always remain under the control of the presiding officer. In addition, a student with a disability substantially affecting communication or a student who cannot effectively communicate in the English language may seek a reasonable accommodation from the Office of the Dean of Students to allow an advisor or interpreter to present or translate the proceedings. The role of an advisor in the disciplinary system is primarily to assist the student in understanding his/her rights and responsibilities in the system, to assist the student, as requested, in preparing for any hearings, and to support the student as the student proceeds through the campus judicial system. With the student’s permission, an advisor may also help prepare any witnesses the student wishes to call, view any documents in the student’s disciplinary file, and confer with the student on issues that arise during a hearing.

  2. Except as provided in Section B.4. Summary Action and General Principle 3, no sanctions shall become effective until after opportunities for appeal under the Code have been exhausted. Coursework performed while misconduct proceedings are underway, however, shall be considered conditional. Conditional work may be affected or eliminated based on a final finding of misconduct or sanction imposed. This may result in loss of course credit, a delay in the awarding of a degree, or revocation of a degree that was awarded prior to a final decision in the misconduct proceedings. If either academic or personal misconduct is discovered that may impact degree conferral or graduation, the Dean of Students may notify the student’s academic dean, who may withhold conferral of the degree pending completion of misconduct proceedings.

    If, after a degree has been conferred, the University determines that the student committed academic misconduct prior to the conferral, the University may revoke the degree. When an allegation of academic misconduct prior to degree conferral is made, the unit that awarded the degree shall conduct an investigation to determine whether misconduct occurred, and if so, whether to recommend revocation of the degree to the Board of Trustees. The unit, in consultation with the Dean of Students and Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs (graduate student cases) or Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (undergraduate student cases), shall determine the procedures to be followed in conducting its investigation. The unit shall make every reasonable effort to notify the person regarding the misconduct allegation and permit the person to respond to the allegation.

  3. Students have the right to appeal findings of misconduct and the imposition of sanctions. The purpose of giving students a right of appeal is to allow them to bring to the attention of another authority on campus significant factual and procedural errors that reasonably may bear on the finding of misconduct or the sanction imposed. Students should NOT appeal misconduct findings for the purpose of delaying the process or the imposition of academic sanctions, or avoiding further sanctions that may be imposed by the Dean of Students.

  4. All notices specified in the procedures for addressing academic and personal misconduct shall be made in writing, which may include electronic mail.

  5. All formal hearings for both academic and personal misconduct (unit hearing boards, hearing commissions, and campus review boards) shall incorporate the following procedural requirements:

    1. The presiding officer of the hearing body shall maintain order and make all rulings necessary for the fair, orderly, and expeditious conduct of the hearing.
    2. Members of a hearing body shall be free from conflicts of interest that reasonably would appear to impair their ability to evaluate a misconduct matter in a fair and impartial manner.
    3. Normally, all parties must be present in person. The hearing body may allow for presence in formal hearings by electronic means, when warranted by special circumstances.
    4. Both sides shall have the opportunity to make opening and closing remarks regarding the charge of misconduct.
    5. Both sides may present witnesses and submit other information regarding the charge of misconduct, subject to the presiding officer’s determination of relevance. At all times, the hearing body may question witnesses and ask for the submission of additional information.
    6. A student’s failure or refusal to speak on his or her own behalf at a hearing shall not be considered an admission of responsibility.
    7. In unit hearing board proceedings and personal misconduct proceedings, the university bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence standard (more likely than not), that the student engaged in misconduct. In a Campus Review Board proceeding, the burden of proof or error lies with the student.
    8. The hearing body’s decision shall be based solely on information obtained prior to and during the hearing, except that, if the hearing body asks for additional information to be provided after the hearing, the hearing body may include that information in its decision making, as long as both sides have had a chance to review and respond to the additional information either in a resumption of the hearing or in writing.
    9. Proceedings before unit hearing boards will be audio recorded. Deliberations will be private and not audio recorded.
    10. Decisions of a hearing body shall be made by majority vote.
  6. In instances when the student poses serious and substantial risk of harm to self, to others, to property, or to the continuing function of a program or the University, the faculty member in charge may summarily remove a student from an on-campus or off-campus activity or program. Off-campus activities and programs include but are not limited to: clinical, field, internship, in-service experience, or overseas study programs. In addition, a student may be removed summarily based on the terms of any agreement between the university and a third party regarding student placement or academic experience.

    A summary removal becomes part of the student’s disciplinary record only after a final determination under these procedures that the student engaged in academic or personal misconduct. If no academic or personal misconduct charge is filed, and the student wants the matter dismissed, the student should follow the Campus Grievance Commission procedures. (See “Student Complaint Procedures,” A.3.). When a student is dismissed from a clinical program or other third party placement based on the terms of an agreement with that third party, the student may not grieve the dismissal under the Student Code.

  7. As used in “Student Disciplinary Procedures,” the term “faculty” or “faculty member” means all those who teach and/or do research at the university including (but not limited to) tenure-track faculty, librarians, holders of research or clinical ranks, graduate students with teaching responsibilities, visiting and part-time faculty, and other instructional personnel including coaches, advisors, or counselors.

  8. The term “calendar days” is defined as all days except those when the university is not in official session. Non-session days are identified as those which occur between the last day of final examinations of one term and the first day of classes of the following term, plus official closing days for Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Spring Break, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and other officially recognized university holidays.

  9. Any deadline set out in these procedures may be extended by the relevant authority only for good reason shown.