a. Making a Determination of Responsibility

Open-ended Questions

Phrase your questions as open-ended rather than yes/no questions which do not offer much additional information. Open-ended questions allow the student to answer more broadly, yielding more information. For example:

Closed-ended Question: "Were you angry when you broke the window?" Response: "No."

Open-ended Question: "What were your feelings when you broke the window?" Response: "I guess I was pretty angry..." On occasion it is helpful to ask a direct closed-ended question in order to establish an individual's affirmation for the record. For example: "You were in the library at the time of this incident. Is that correct?" "Did you know the appropriate check-out procedures for library materials?" "Were you in possession of this stolen computer?" It is also important to ask the “obvious” questions on occasion. For example: "Were you aware that stealing the credit card was a violation of university policy?" "You were intoxicated/under the influence of a substance at the time of this incident. Is this correct?"

Multiple Choice Questions

Offering multiple choice questions for the student to answer is typically counterproductive in conduct hearings. With this technique, the student is presented with all of the choices you deem appropriate. This type of questioning provides the student with the opportunity to give an answer that is believed to be what you as ahearing officer may wish to hear. The student may choose the option they think is least incriminating. So, ask the question and stop. Wait for their response without giving them options. For example:

Question: "What were your feelings when you broke the window – were you angry, excited, frustrated, or just letting off steam? This was right around mid-term exam time."