HEARING PROCEDURES

(3) working days following the imposition of the sanction, the sanction will remain in effect as imposed by the Administrator)

HEARING PROCEDURES Where a sanction has been appealed, or when the hearing body reviews a case prior to the imposition of the sanction in cases of suspension or expulsion, the hearing shall proceed as follows:

TIME OF HEARING The hearing shall be conducted within ten (10) working days following the receipt of the request for hearing.

APPEARANCE OF PARTIES It is not necessary for the accuser to be present at the hearing, if there is otherwise sufficient evidence to support the imposition of a sanction. However, the failure of the accuser to appear at the hearing may be a sufficient basis in and of itself to justify a retraction of the sanction. If the accused fails to appear for the hearing for any reason within the accused’s control as determined solely within the discretion of the Dean of students the hearing shall be dismissed and the sanction shall remain in effect or shall be imposed based on the evidence presented by the administrator who conducted the investigation.

SUBPOENA OF WITNESSES The hearing body conducting the hearing shall have the authority to subpoena any appropriate faculty member, staff member, or currently enrolled student for appearance at a duly constituted hearing. The accused, accuser, or administrator who investigated the incident may request the hearing body to subpoena any faculty member, staff member or student to appear and give sworn testimony in the hearing. The request for subpoena must be submitted to the presiding members of the body three working days prior to the scheduled hearing. In addition, the accused, the accuser, and the administrator who investigated the incident have the right to call witnesses who are not faculty members, staff members, or students and who are willing to volunteer to appear at the hearing.

ADVISOR The accused may have an advisor present to represent his/her interests in a duly constituted hearing, provided they are able to find someone willing to volunteer to represent them. This advisor must be an employee of the University. The following persons are prohibited from serving as an advisor in the hearing: a) Persons who are involved in the same incident or charged with the same violation. b) Persons who have any personal knowledge of the incident, who have been involved in the investigation of the incident or who have reason to believe they may be called as a witness in the hearing board c) The President, Vice President for Administration and Student Affairs, Dean of Students, University Counsel, Campus Police, Head Resident Assistant, Resident Advisors, and Members of the Student Judiciary Board. The name of the advisor representing the accused shall be submitted in writing to the administrator or justice presiding at the time set for the hearing.

RECORDING Except in the case of a suspension or expulsion of a student, hearings will not be tape-recorded. A brief set of minutes indicating the date, time, location of the hearing, persons present, key evidence, and a list of witnesses shall be maintained by the presiding administrator or justice. In the case of a possible suspension or expulsion of a student, the hearing may be tape recorded for the convenience and benefit of the University. If the hearing is tape recorded, the recording will be available to the accused, however the University makes no representation or guarantee that the recording will be of a quality that is acceptable to a student who wishes to use the tape recording for an appeal. Students who have been suspended or expelled and who may be appealing the hearing to the President are allowed to make their own tape recording of the proceeding.

HEARING The hearing shall be closed to observers, unless the accused makes a written request that the hearing be open to

named observers, which is received by the presiding administrator or justice twenty-four (24) hours prior to the scheduled hearing. The accused may have legal counsel present to observe on his/her behalf. However, legal counsel is prohibited from speaking to anyone during the course of the hearing, and prohibited from participating in the proceeding in any way. Anytime during the course of the hearing, the presiding administrator or justice may order the hearing closed to any or all observers, except to legal counsel observing on behalf of the accuser or the accused, unless the legal counsel has violated the prohibition against speaking during or participating in the hearing.

ORDER OF HEARING a) Call to order by Chairperson. b) Reading of the charges. c) Enter of plea by the accused: (Accused must admit or deny engaging in the conduct stated in the charges. A refusal by the accused to admit or deny will be entered as a denial of the charges.) 1) If denied the hearing proceeds. 2) If admitted, the accused may present a brief statement in mitigation. d) Opening statement by the accuser. e) Opening statement by the accused or the administrator who investigated the incident. f) Presentation of evidence: (Written, pictorial, or testimonial evidence may be presented by the accuser, the administrator who investigated the incident and the accused. The accused shall not be called upon to be a witness for the accuser or the administrator who investigated the incident.

However, in determining whether the incident alleged did occur, the hearing body may take into consideration the fact that the accused refused to appear or his/her version of the facts). 1) Evidence presented by the accuser and the administrator who investigated the incident (following the presentation of each witness called, the witness shall be available for questions from the accused and the hearing body) 2) Evidence presented by the accused; (following the presentation of each witness called, the witness shall be available for questions from the accuser and the hearing body) g) Recall of Witnesses. (The accuser, the administrator who investigated the incident, the accused, or hearing body may recall any witness for further questioning) h) Closing statement by the accuser and the administrator who investigated the incident.

I) Closing statement by the accused. j) Deliberation. (Review of the case by the hearing body). In matters requiring lengthy deliberation, the members of the hearing body may consult with each other in any appropriate manner outside the presence of others. The hearing body shall determine whether it appears by a preponderance of the evidence that the accused did engage in any conduct which constitutes a violation of the Community Code or Residence Life Code. k) Decision. (The hearing body shall make a written decision within five (5) working days following the last day of the hearing. The decision shall be as to whether or not the accused violated the Community Code or Residence Life Code. If the accused is found to have committed a violation, the written decision shall include a description of the conduct constituting the violation citing the specific code, rule, or regulation, which has been violated, and shall include a suitable sanction or are commendation of such).

WRITTEN DISPOSITION Upon receiving the decision of the hearing body, the administrator will take one of the following actions: a) Dismissal of the charges where the decision of the hearing body indicates that no Community or Residence Life Code violation has occurred. b) Impose the sanction or sanctions deemed appropriate where the hearing body determined that a code violation had occurred. (More than one sanction may be imposed for a single violation of the Community Code or Residence Life Code; e.g. a violator may be placed on restrictive probation and required to undergo assessment as a result of the violation).

APPEAL (Suspension, Expulsion Only)