Any person may file a report with the University. A report is considered to have been filed when it has been presented in writing to a conduct administrator.

Once a report has been filed, the University retains the right to proceed with the student conduct process, even if a reporting party or complainant later chooses to retract, rescind, or recant any or all of the report or chooses not to cooperate. Action will only be taken without the consent of a complainant if, in the conduct administrator's sole judgment, such action is necessary to protect the safety, security, or integrity of the University or any member(s) of its community.

Once a report has been filed, a conduct administrator will determine if charges from the Student Conduct Policies may be applicable and one of the following will occur:

1. No further action will be taken if, in the sole judgment of the conduct administrator, the report is not substantive. The University may resume action on any report should further relevant information become available.
2. The report will be referred to a hearing body if, in the sole judgment of the conduct administrator, the report is substantive, and sufficient evidence already exists to convene a hearing.

The hearing is an opportunity to gain the perspectives of all parties involved in the incident, evaluate the impact or the incident, and begin to explore possible alternatives to the behavior that occurred. Cases may be referred to the appropriate hearing body based on the following guidelines:

1. One-on-One Administrative Hearing with Housing and Residential Education (HRE) staff in cases which:
   • Occur within the Residence Halls/Apartments involving violations of the Residential Living Policies and basic violations of the Honor Code.
     
     
2. One-on-One Administrative Hearing with Student Conduct staff in cases which:
   • Occur within the Residence Halls/Apartments and involve physical violence, legitimate threats of violence, sexual misconduct, or weapons.
   • Occur within the Residence Halls/Apartments and one of the respondents involved is already on probation or has been previously suspended.
   • Non-Residential cases.
     
     
3. Conduct Review Board (CRB) hearing in cases which:
   • An active complainant is participating;
   • There is highly disputed information between parties;
   • The outcome is potentially dismissal.

In cases involving a minor violation of the Residential Living Policies and/or Honor Code, a simple warning letter may be sent to the respondent instead of scheduling a hearing. However, a hearing is available upon request from the student.

NOTE: Student Conduct reserves the right to make exceptions to the above guidelines to accommodate scheduling, confidentiality, or other extenuating circumstances.

Following a hearing, the hearing body can take one of the following actions regarding each respondent:

1. Find the respondent not responsible of violating University Student Conduct Policies.
2. Find the respondent responsible of violating University Student Conduct Policies and impose appropriate outcomes. A student will only be found responsible if, in the sole judgment of the hearing body, a preponderance of the evidence presented supports such a finding.
3. Refer the respondent to a new hearing before a separate hearing body.

Respondents and complainants have the right to appeal a decision made by a hearing body based on specific appeal criteria. An appeal will only be considered when the Appeal Form, available on the Student Conduct website, is completed and submitted to Student Conduct within five calendar days of the date on the Notice of Decision letter. An extension to this deadline may be requested and can be granted at the discretion of the Director of Student Conduct. The Director of Student Conduct will then refer the Appeal to the appropriate Appellate Officer for review and determination of next action.

If an Appeal is received from either the complainant or respondent within five days of the date on the Notice of Decision letter, the Appeal may be forwarded to the other party(ies) involved in the case and the other party(ies) will be given the opportunity to submit a written response. If an Appeal is received from both the complainant and the respondent within five days of the date on the Notice of Decision letter, the Appeal may be forwarded to each of the parties involved and each will be given the opportunity to submit a written response. In either situation, the response(s) will only be considered when provided to the Appellate Officer within the expressed deadline.

Decisions made by the Appellate Officer will be made, and proper written notification provided, no later than five days after Student Conduct receives the Appeal. If there are extenuating circumstances, all parties involved will be notified that an extension beyond five days is necessary for the Appellate Officer in making a decision on the Appeal.

Appellate Criteria. The Appeal must include information to support the Appeal Criteria under which an appeal is being submitted. Appeals will only be considered in the following circumstances:

a)   The existence of procedural errors so substantial that it greatly impacted the hearing decision;

b)   The hearing decision in the original hearing is clearly not supported by the information presented;

c)   Presentation of new and significant evidence which was not reasonably available at the time of the initial hearing and would likely alter the hearing decision; and/or

d)   The imposition of an arbitrary outcome.

NOTE: Not agreeing with the hearing decision is not grounds for appeal.

Appellate Officers. following persons will be designated as Appellate Officers:

a)      If the case was heard by Housing and Residential Education (HRE), any appeal will be reviewed by the Director of Student Conduct.

b)      If the case was heard by Student or the Conduct Review Board (CRB), any appeal will be reviewed by an Associate Provost.

Available Actions. The Appellate Officer will review the Appeal, Student Conduct Records, and any other applicable information to determine if the Appeal satisfies any of the Appeal Criteria. Then, the Appellate Officer is limited to taking one of the following actions:

a)      Deny the Appeal and uphold the original decision based on not satisfying the Appeal Criteria.

b)      Accept the Appeal based on satisfying the Appeal Criteria and either:

• send the case back to Student Conduct for a new hearing; or
• drop the case.

The complete text of the Honor Code can be found here.

The case resolution process is considered completed when either no appeal is received by the student within five calendar days or an appeal is denied, rendering the decision by the hearing body as final. At this time, campus entities may be notified of the decision as necessary in order to move forward with processes impacted by the student conduct outcome decision. For example, in cases resulting in suspension or dismissal, the offices impacted financially will be notified to update their records. Campus housing and food expense will be reimbursed at a pro-rated amount based on the date of the final student conduct outcome decision. Tuition will be reimbursed according to the posted Tuition Refund Calendar based on the incident date. Other fees (i.e., parking permit, Greek membership, health insurance, student activities, etc.) may be refunded at the discretion of the applicable office.