E. Process for Social Code of Conduct Policies

(For the process related to incidents involving sexual misconduct, please see the Sexual Misconduct and Interpersonal Violence Policy.)

The student conduct process and all applicable timelines commence with notice to an administrator of a potential violation of the code of conduct.  If the incident occurs in university housing and involves potential violations for which suspension is not a likely outcome, the incident report is usually referred to a Residence Life or Fraternity and Sorority Life professional staff member for investigation and adjudication.

Violations that involve the following are normally referred to staff in the Office of Student Conduct:

• All violations for which suspension is a possible outcome, including incidents where multiple violations have occurred and the composite recommended sanction would be suspension;
• Incidents involving the use, possession or sale of drugs and/or drug paraphernalia;
• Setting fires or tampering with fire and/or life safety equipment;
• Cases dealing with firearms or weapons on campus;
• Incidents that do not occur in a residence area, including study abroad or study away courses/experiences;
• Hazing violations;
• Incidents involving student organizations;
• Cases which involve civil or criminal action against a student (unless pertaining to sexual misconduct and interpersonal violence);  
• Incidents involving students charged with violations that would be considered by the civil/criminal system to be a felony (unless pertaining to sexual misconduct and interpersonal violence); or
• Cases referred by the Residence Life staff or any other administrative hearing officer.

Reported violations of social policies occurring within ten or less days before Reading Day each semester may be postponed until after final exams.

STEP 1: Preliminary Inquiry

The process begins with a preliminary inquiry into the nature of the incident or report, the evidence available, and the parties involved. The hearing officer or investigator(s) take the following steps which typically take one to seven (1-7) business days to complete:

• Initiate any necessary interim remedial actions on behalf of any reporting party;
  • Conduct a preliminary investigation to identify the nature and severity of the complaint, identify an initial list of all policies that may have been violated, understand the context of the incident(s), and identify potential patterns. 

 The preliminary inquiry may lead to:

• A determination that there is insufficient evidence to pursue the investigation, because the behavior alleged, even if proven, would not violate the code of conduct;
• Referral for an alternative resolution (i.e. educational conversation or mediation); or
• Moving forward with the formal process by identifying possible code of conduct violations and sending notification to the student(s) to meet for a student conduct conference.

STEP 2: Student Conduct Conference

After the incident report is reviewed and potential code of conduct violations are identified, the student is sent a notice indicating the potential charges.  The notice also provides a date, time and location for the initial conduct conference that does not conflict with the student’s course schedule. If the student does not attend the scheduled conference or contact the hearing officer in a timely manner to reschedule the conference, then a hearing/investigation team’s decision will be rendered based on the information received and the student will be notified of the decision.   

In some situations, the notice gives the student an opportunity to accept responsibility for the potential charges and the recommended sanctions without a formal meeting.  In these situations, an educational requirement is one of the sanctions assigned, which still gives students the opportunity to reflect on and learn from their experience.

At the student conduct conference, the investigator or administrative hearing officer reviews the potential charges and sanctions, then answers student questions regarding the student conduct process. The student is given an opportunity to respond to the potential charges and provide information necessary to determine if and what policy violations may have occurred. 

At the conclusion of the conference the appropriate course of action will be determined.   The outcome of this conference may include:

• A decision that there is insufficient evidence to pursue the case (for example, charges may be dropped if the student was misidentified in the report);
• Setting charges and conducting a hearing at that time (if the student waives the 3-day option to prepare for a hearing);
• Postponing setting charges and conducting a hearing until additional information has been gathered;
• Setting charges and engaging in a more comprehensive investigation before scheduling a hearing;
• Setting charges and scheduling an administrative hearing (usually within five business days of the conference); or
• Referring the case to another hearing officer or board.

NOTE:  When more information must be gathered, the hearing officer or investigator will work to identify a witness list, talk with those witnesses, gather additional evidence from police or others, and speak further with the respondent and, when applicable, the reporting party. When warranted, the information gathered in an investigation will be shared with the respondent (and reporting party as allowed by federal regulations) and presented to or used by the hearing officer/panel when making decisions related to responsibility and sanctioning.  This type of investigation usually takes one to three weeks to complete, but may take longer with complex cases or when criminal investigations are running concurrently.

STEP 3: Formal Hearing

Most hearings are conducted administratively with a hearing officer and the responding student(s), reporting party (if applicable), advisor(s), and any witnesses.  (See the Sexual Misconduct and Interpersonal Violence Policy for information on this process when the incident involves potential sexual misconduct violations.) During the process, the hearing officer asks questions regarding the incident and the responding student’s behavior related to the charges and considers all credible information. If necessary, the hearing officer may postpone the conclusion of the hearing for a reasonable amount of time in order to conduct additional investigation or gather more information/ evidence. 

The hearing will conclude with the rendering of a “Responsible” or “Not Responsible” decision for each potential violation based on the preponderance of the evidence and appropriate sanctions will be assigned if warranted.  In instances where the recommended sanction may be disciplinary suspension or permanent separation, the hearing officer will consult with the dean of students prior to rendering a final decision.

Most administrative hearings are completed within 30 days of the incident.

All hearings are restricted to those directly involved with the incident and those requested to be present by the institution. Respondents and reporting parties may bring an advisor from the Elon University community (currently enrolled student, faculty or staff member) to the hearing. Family members, attorneys or other legal counsel may not attend or serve as advisors in campus student conduct proceedings. Advisors may only counsel the student and may not actively participate in the hearings.  The advisor may not make a presentation or represent the student during the hearing. They may confer quietly with their advisee, exchange notes, and suggest questions to their advisee.

Notice of the time, date, location of the hearing, and name(s) of the hearing officer/board members will be in writing (unless waived by the student) and may be delivered by email, mailed to the student’s campus box or permanent address, or hand delivered.  If a student cannot attend the hearing, it is that student’s responsibility to notify the hearing officer or Office of Student Conduct no less than two (2) business days prior to the scheduled hearing to arrange for another date, time and location. Except in cases of grave or unforeseen circumstances, if the responding student fails to give the requisite minimum two (2) day notice, or if the responding student fails to appear, the hearing will proceed as scheduled.

If the responding student (or reporting party, when applicable) does not attend the scheduled hearing, the case is heard without the student present, and a decision is reached based on the information available.

The student is notified of the outcome, any sanctions, and, the information related to the appeal process.

Referral to and Procedures for Honor Board Hearing

When determined that a board should be used for a hearing, an Honor Board hearing is conducted with the appropriate panel members, the responding student, reporting party (if applicable), advisors, and any witnesses.  (See Section 3.D. for a more detailed description of the board and when it is used in lieu of an administrative hearing.) The director of student conduct (or designee) will ensure that the hearing information and any other available written documentation is shared with the parties at least two (2) business days before any scheduled hearing. Should any party object to any panelist, that party must raise all objections, in writing, to the assistant dean of students immediately. Panel members will only be replaced if the assistant dean of students or assistant provost for communications and operations (or designees) concludes that their bias precludes an impartial hearing of the complaint. Additionally, any panelist who feels they cannot make an objective determination must recuse themselves from the proceedings.

The convener will be present and available as a resource during all hearing procedures (including deliberations).  All procedural questions are subject to the decision of the convener.

A typical Honor Board hearing procedure follows this basic outline:

• The student respondent, reporting party, witnesses, advisor(s), and the board members meet.
• The convener provides a brief overview of the hearing process to all hearing participants.
• Witnesses leave the room and the charge(s) are read to the student(s). The student responds to the charges and states “responsible” or “not responsible” to each charge.
• When appropriate, the professor, reporting party, or University investigator presents a written and/or oral statement to provide a context for the charges, the student(s) are given an opportunity to address the board, and board members pose questions to either party.
• Witnesses are requested to make statements and respond to questions. (Unduly repetitive witnesses can be limited at the discretion of the chair or convener.)
• Both the respondent and reporting party respond to questions and offer any further information or statement(s).
• The respondent, reporting party, and advisor(s) leave the hearing room. The board members deliberate and determine, by majority vote, whether it is more likely than not that the responding student has violated the code of conduct policies. If the hearing panel consists of four members, a tie vote would result in a finding of not responsible. 

For cases involving academic integrity charges:

• The assistant provost for communications and operations or designee will communicate the outcome of the hearing to the respondent and the faculty member within two business days.  The assistant provost or designee will communicate any university sanction to the respondent, as well as information on the conduct appeal process. 

For cases involving social policy charges:

• Board members are given information concerning any prior code of conduct violations and sanctions for the respondent. The board members may consider prior offenses and sanctions for the purposes of determining the appropriate sanctions to be imposed.  
• The board will discuss all information available and determine appropriate sanctions.
• If the recommended sanction includes suspension or permanent separation, this decision will be made in consultation with the Dean of Students. 
• The assistant dean of students or designee will communicate the hearing outcome to the respondent within two business days.  This outcome will include the finding, rationale, any assigned sanctions, as well as information on the conduct appeal process.  This communication will typically occur in a meeting with the assistant dean of students.  The assistant dean of students will communicate the outcome to reporting parties as required/allowed by federal law (see Section 6.G).