Section 15.3. Student Disciplinary Procedures.

Complaint Procedures:

1. Any charge, accusation, or allegation which is to be presented against a student, and, which if proved, may subject a student to disciplinary action, must be submitted in writing in complete detail to the office of the chief student affairs officer promptly by the individual, organization or department making the charge.
2. The chief student affairs officer of the college or his or her designee will conduct a preliminary investigation in order to determine whether disciplinary charges should be preferred. The chief student affairs officer or his or her designee will advise the student of the allegation against him or her, consult with other parties who may be involved or who have information regarding the incident, and review other relevant evidence. Following this preliminary investigation, which shall be concluded within thirty (30) calendar days of the filing of the complaint, the chief student affairs officer or designee shall take one of the following actions:
   1. Dismiss the matter if there is no basis for the allegation(s) or the allegation(s) does not warrant disciplinary actions. The individuals involved shall be notified that the complaint has been dismissed;
   2. Refer the matter to mediation; or
   3. Prefer formal disciplinary charges.
3. In the event that a student withdraws from the college after a charge, accusation or allegation against the student has been made, and the college prefers formal disciplinary charges, the withdrawn student is required to participate in the disciplinary hearing or otherwise to resolve the pending charges and will be barred from attending any other unit of the University until a decision on the charges is made or the charges are otherwise resolved. If the withdrawn student fails to so participate in the disciplinary process without good cause, the college may proceed with the disciplinary hearing in absentia and any decision and sanction will be binding.

Mediation Conference:

1. The mediation conference shall be conducted by a qualified staff or faculty member designated by the chief student affairs officer. The following procedures shall be in effect at this conference:
   1. An effort will be made to resolve the matter by mutual agreement.
   2. If an agreement is reached, the faculty or staff member conducting the conference shall report his/her recommendation to the chief student affairs officer for approval and, if approved, the complainant shall be notified, and a written memorandum shall be created memorializing the resolution and any consequences for non-compliance.
   3. If no agreement is reached, or if the student fails to appear, the faculty or staff member conducting the conference shall refer the matter back to the chief student affairs officer who may prefer disciplinary charges.
   4. The faculty or staff member conducting the mediation conference is precluded from testifying in a college hearing regarding information received during the mediation conference.

Notice of Hearing and Charges:

1. Notice of the charge(s) and of the time and place of the hearing shall be personally delivered or sent by the chief student affairs officer of the college to the student at the address appearing on the records of the college, by certified or overnight mail and by regular mail, and e-mail to students who have a college e-mail address. The chief student affairs officer is also encouraged to send the notice of charges to any other e-mail address that he or she may have for the student. The hearing shall be scheduled within a reasonable time following the filing of the charges or the mediation conference. Notice of at least five (5) business days shall be given to the student in advance of the hearing unless the student consents to an earlier hearing.
2. The notice shall contain the following:
   1. A complete and itemized statement of the charge(s) being brought against the student including the rule, bylaw or regulation he/she is charged with violating, and the possible penalties for such violation.
   2. A statement that the student has the following rights:
      1. to present his/her side of the story;
      2. to present witnesses and evidence on his/her behalf;
      3. to cross-examine witnesses presenting evidence against the student;
      4. to remain silent without assumption of guilt; and
      5. to be represented by legal counsel or an advisor at the student’s expense.
1. A warning that anything the student says may be used against him/her at a non-college hearing.

Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee Procedures:

1. The following procedures shall apply at the hearing before the faculty-student disciplinary committee:
   1. The chairperson shall preside at the hearing. The chairperson shall inform the student of the charges, the hearing procedures and his or her rights.
   2. After informing the student of the charges, the hearing procedures, and his or her rights, the chairperson shall ask the student charged to respond. If the student admits the conduct charged, the student shall be given an opportunity to explain his/her actions before the committee and the college shall be given an opportunity to respond. If the student denies the conduct charged, the college shall present its case. At the conclusion of the college’s case, the student may move to dismiss the charges. If the motion is denied by the committee the student shall be given an opportunity to present his or her defense.
   3. Prior to accepting testimony at the hearing, the chairperson shall rule on any motions questioning the impartiality of any committee member or the adequacy of the notice of the charge(s). Subsequent thereto, the chairperson may only rule on the sufficiency of the evidence and may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitive evidence. However, if either party wishes to question the impartiality of a committee member on the basis of evidence which was not previously available at the inception of the hearing, the chairperson may rule on such a motion. 

The chairperson shall exclude all persons who are to appear as witnesses, except the accused student.

1. The college shall make a record of each fact-finding hearing by some means such as a stenographic transcript, a tape recording or the equivalent. A student who has been disciplined is entitled upon request to a copy of such a record without cost.
2. The student is entitled to a closed hearing but has the right to request an open public hearing. However, the chairperson has the right to hold a closed hearing when an open public hearing would adversely affect and be disruptive of the committee’s normal operations.
3. The college bears the burden of proving the charge(s) by a preponderance of the evidence.
4. The role of the faculty-student disciplinary committee is to listen to the testimony, ask questions of the witnesses, review the testimony and evidence presented at the hearing and the papers filed by the parties and render a determination as to guilt or innocence. In the event the student is found to have committed the conduct charged, the committee shall then determine the penalty to be imposed.
5. At the end of the presentations by both sides, the student may introduce additional records, such as character references. The college may introduce a copy of the student’s previous disciplinary record, where applicable, provided the student was shown a copy of the record prior to the commencement of the hearing. The disciplinary record shall be submitted to the committee in a sealed envelope and shall not be opened until after the committee has made its findings of fact. In the event the student has been determined to have committed the conduct alleged in the charge(s) the records and documents introduced by the student and the college shall be opened and used by the committee for dispositional purposes, i.e., to determine an appropriate penalty if the charges are sustained.
6. The committee shall deliberate in closed session. The committee shall issue a written decision, which shall be based solely on the testimony and evidence presented at the hearing and the papers filed by the parties.
7. The student shall be sent a copy of the faculty-student disciplinary committee’s decision within five (5) days of the conclusion of the hearing, by regular mail and e-mail for students who have a college e-mail address. The chief student affairs officer is also encouraged to send the decision to any other e-mail address that he or she may have for the student. The decision shall be final subject to the student’s right of appeal.
8. Where a student is represented by legal counsel, the president of the college or his or her designee may request that a lawyer from the general counsel’s office appear at the hearing to present the college’s case.
9. When a disciplinary hearing results in a penalty of dismissal or suspension for one term or more, the decision is a University-wide penalty and the student will be barred from admission to any other unit of the University while the penalty is being served.
10. Disciplinary penalties shall be placed on a student’s transcript and shall remain there unless the committee’s decision, the decision on any appeal under section 15.4 below, or a mediation agreement expressly indicates otherwise.