The Student Disciplinary Process is in place to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of all students are maintained and guided by due process. The Student Disciplinary Process is educational in nature and strives to modify behavior and enhance personal responsibility.

The Code of Conduct governs your behavior as a student; therefore, it is possible to be charged with a violation of the Code of Conduct in addition to being charged criminally or civilly for certain violations of the Code. The Student Disciplinary Process is completely independent of any outside process, therefore your student disciplinary case could be heard before, during or after any criminal or civil proceedings.

The Code of Conduct may be reviewed in its entirety in the Student Handbook.

1. An alleged violation of a policy or regulation in the Code of Conduct occurs.
2. An incident report is written by a Residential Living staff member and turned in to their Resident Director (RD) or Area Coordinator (AC). (If an incident or arrest report is written by a University Police Officer, the paperwork is forwarded to the student's RD or AC).
3. The RD/AC reviews the incident report and phones the student to set up a meeting. It is imperative that the student meets with the RD/AC as soon as possible following the incident. A letter may be sent to the student if calling is unsuccessful.
4. The RD/AC meet with the student to explain the Judicial Process and to discuss the alleged violation and the incident report. The RD/AC will then try to see if a Mutual Agreement can be reached. A Mutual Agreement means that the student has accepted responsibility for the violation of the Code of Conduct and has also accepted the assigned sanction. A Mutual Agreement cannot be appealed.
5. If a student does not accept responsibility for the alleged violation or does not accept the assigned sanction, he or she can choose to have an Administrative Hearing or a hearing with the Hearing Board.
6. The incident report and paperwork are forwarded to the University Judicial Coordinator, who will begin the hearing process that the student has selected. At this time the University Judicial Coordinator will set up a meeting with the student to discuss the process of the hearing he or she has selected and to answer questions. At the close of the meeting, the student will set up a time for the hearing.
7. If a student chooses an Administrative Hearing, the student will present the case to the University Judicial Coordinator or Dean of Student Affairs. If the student chooses the Student Hearing Board, the student will present his or her case to a trained student panel of peers. The administrator or student judicial board members involved may be referred to as the “judicial body.”
8. At a hearing the student is permitted to have an advisor of his or her choice. The advisor can be a member of the university community or from the private sector, however the advisor is not permitted to participate in the process and is therefore only permitted to speak to the student during the proceedings.
9. A hearing provides the student with an opportunity to present witnesses and evidence on his or her behalf. The complainant (person who filed the complaint or the Resident Assistant involved) and the judicial body may also present witnesses. All witnesses, however, are at the discretion of the judicial body and are subject to cross-examination by the judicial body.
10. Upon completion of the presentation of witnesses and questioning, the judicial body will go into deliberation, where they will discuss all information of the case and determine by majority vote (if the judicial body contains more than one person) whether the student has violated each section of the code with which the student has been charged. (The judicial body's determination is made on a preponderance of the evidence-whether it is more likely than not that the accused student violated the Code.)
11. If the judicial body has found the student "in violation," they will then impose appropriate sanctions. Prior to sanctioning, if a student has been found in violation, the judicial body can review the disciplinary history of the student and any victim impact statements.
12. The sanction is then decided and is provided to the student at that time and followed up in writing.
13. Should the student wish to appeal the decision of the board or the sanctions, he or she must write a letter of intent to appeal and deliver it to the Associate Vice Chancellor/ Dean of Students within 48 hours of the decision. A formal notice of appeal shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Dean of Student Affairs within five class days of the decision. The formal notice shall include a detailed explanation of the grounds for the appeal request.
14. Failure to complete an educational sanction can result in further disciplinary action. In addition, any further violations while on probation can result in suspension or expulsion from Residential Living and/or the University.
15. We will release the outcome of the case to victims of violations, which involve acts of violence.
16. Questions during any step of the Student Disciplinary Process should be directed to your Resident Director, Area Coordinator or the University Judicial Coordinator.