Judicial Policies

1. Any member of the University community may file charges against any student for misconduct. Charges shall be prepared in writing and directed to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. Any charge should be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place, preferably within 72 hours.
2. The judicial advisor may investigate to determine if the charges have merit and/or if they can be disposed of administratively by mutual consent of the parties involved on a basis acceptable to the judicial advisor. Such disposition shall be final and there shall be no subsequent proceedings. If the charges cannot be disposed of by mutual consent, the judicial advisor may later serve in the same matter as the judicial body or a member thereof.
3. All charges shall be presented to the accused student in written form. A time shall be set for a hearing, not less than five (5) nor more than fifteen (15) calendar days after the student has been notified. Maximum time limits for scheduling of hearings may be extended at the discretion of the Dean of Student Affairs.
4. Hearings shall be conducted by a judicial body according to the following guidelines:
1. Hearings normally shall be conducted in private.
2. Admission of any person to the hearing shall be at the discretion of the judicial body and/or its Judicial Advisor.
3. In hearings involving more than one accused student, the chairperson of the judicial body, in his or her discretion, may permit the hearings concerning each student to be conducted separately.
4. The complainant and the accused have the right to be assisted by any advisor they choose, at their own expense. The advisor may be an attorney. The complainant and/or the accused are responsible for presenting his or her own case (unless a disability or other factor is involved) and, therefore, advisors are not allowed to speak or to participate directly in any hearing before a judicial body.
5. In cases where a disability or other factor is involved (the Associate Dean of Student Affairs will make all such decisions and determinations based on University ADA guidelines), a designated person/assistant will be assigned and/or approved by the University.
6. The complainant, the accused, and the judicial body shall have the privilege of presenting witnesses, subject to the right of cross examination by the judicial body.
7. Pertinent records, exhibits, and written statements may be accepted as evidence for consideration by a judicial body at the discretion of the chairperson.
8. All procedural questions are subject to the final decision of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs (or designate).
9. After the hearing, the judicial body shall determine (by majority vote if the judicial body consists of more than one person) whether the student has violated each section of the Student Code that the student is charged with violating.
10. The judicial body's determination shall be made based on whether it is more likely than not that the accused student violated the Student Code.
5. There shall be a single verbatim record, such as a tape recording, of all hearings before a judicial body. The record shall be the property of the University and will be contained within the Office of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs.
6. Except in the case of a student charged with failing to obey the summons of a judicial body or University official, no student may be found to have violated the Student Code solely because the student failed to appear before a judicial body. In all cases, the evidence in support of the charges shall be presented and considered, even if the student is not present.

1. The following sanctions may be imposed upon any student found to have violated the Student Code:
1. Warning -- a notice in writing to the student that the student is violating or has violated institutional regulations.
2. Probation -- a written reprimand for violation of specified regulations. Probation is for a designated time and includes the probability of more severe disciplinary sanctions if the student is found to be violating any institutional regulation(s) during the probationary period.
3. Loss of privileges -- denial of specified privileges for a designated period.
4. Fines -- previously established and published fines may be imposed.
5. Restitution -- compensation for loss, damage or injury. This may take the form of appropriate service and/or monetary or material replacement.
6. Discretionary sanctions -- work assignments, service to the University or other related discretionary assignments (such assignments must have the prior approval of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs).
7. University suspension -- separation of the student from the University for a definite period, after which the student is eligible to return. Conditions for readmission may be specified.
8. University expulsion -- permanent separation of the student from the University.
9. More than one of the sanctions listed above may be imposed for any single violation.
2. Other than University expulsion and University suspension, disciplinary sanctions shall not be made part of the student's academic record (transcript), but shall become part of the student's confidential record housed in the Office of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. Upon graduation, the student's record shall be expunged of disciplinary sanctions. Two years after graduation, the student's confidential record housed in the Office of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, and any evidence, shall be expunged, according to the Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
3. The following sanctions may be imposed upon groups or organizations:
1. Those sanctions listed above in Section B.1, a through e.
2. Deactivation -- loss of all privileges, including University recognition, for a specified period.
4. In each case in which a judicial body determines that a student has violated the Student Code, the sanction(s) shall be determined and imposed by the Judicial Advisor. In cases in which persons other than or besides the Judicial Advisor have been authorized to serve as the judicial body, the recommendation of all members of the judicial body shall be considered by the Judicial Advisor in determining and imposing sanctions. The Judicial Advisor is not limited to sanctions recommended by members of the judicial body. Following the hearing, the judicial body and the Judicial Advisor shall advise the accused in writing of its determination and of the sanction(s) imposed, if any.

In certain circumstances, the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, or a designee, may impose a University suspension prior to the hearing before a judicial body.

1. Interim suspension may be imposed only:
1. To ensure the safety and well-being of members of the University community or preservation of University property;
2. To ensure the student's own physical or emotional safety and well-being;
3. If the student poses a definite threat of disruption of or interference with the normal operations of the University.
2. During the interim suspension, students shall be denied access to University facilities (including classes) and/or all other University activities or privileges for which the student might otherwise be eligible, as the Dean of Student Affairs may determine to be appropriate.

1. A decision reached by the judicial body or a sanction imposed by the Judicial Advisor may be appealed by accused students or complainants to an Appeals Board within five (5) school days of the student receiving notification of the decision. Such appeals shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Judicial Advisor or to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs.
2. Except as required to explain the basis of new evidence, an appeal shall be limited to review of the verbatim record of the initial hearing and supporting documents for one or more of the following purposes:
1. To determine whether the original hearing was conducted fairly in light of the charges and evidence presented, and in conformity with prescribed procedures giving the complaining party a reasonable opportunity to prepare and present evidence that the Student Code was violated, and giving the accused student a reasonable opportunity to prepare and to present a rebuttal of those allegations.
2. To determine whether the decision reached regarding the accused student was based on substantial evidence; that is, whether the facts in the case were sufficient to establish that a violation of the Student Code occurred.
3. To determine whether the sanction(s) imposed were appropriate for the violation of the Student Code that the student was found to have committed.
4. To consider new evidence, sufficient to alter a decision, or other relevant facts not brought out in the original hearing, because such evidence and/or facts were not known to the person appealing at the time of the original hearing.
3. If an appeal is made, an appeal board will respond within 10 school days from when the notification of appeal is received from the student. The Appeals Board will include all necessary information and time frames in its initial response to the appeal. If an appeal is upheld by the Appeals Board, the matter shall be remanded to the original judicial body and Judicial Advisor for reopening of the hearing to allow reconsideration of the original determination and/or sanction(s).
4. In cases involving appeals by students accused of violating the Student Code, review of the sanction by the Appeals Board may not result in more severe sanction(s) for the accused student. Instead, following an appeal, the Associate Dean of Student Affairs may, upon review of the case, reduce, but not increase, the sanctions imposed by the Judicial Advisor.
5. In cases involving appeals by persons other than students accused of violating the Student Code, the Associate Dean of Student Affairs may, upon review of the case, reduce or increase the sanctions imposed by the Judicial Advisor or remand the case to the original judicial body and Judicial Advisor.

1. Any question of interpretation of the Student Code shall be referred to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs or designee for final determination.
2. The Student Code shall be reviewed every five years under the direction of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs.