Disciplinary Procedures by Judiciary Committee

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The chairperson assumes the following duties: 

  • Arranges for appropriate times and places for committee meetings and hearings. 
  • Informs the Dean, Student Services, in writing when possible, the location and time of the committee hearing and a list of individuals whom they request or require to attend the hearing. 
  • Arranges for the hearing to be electronically recorded. 
  • Conducts the hearing. 
  • Maintains committee records and all documents that will be presented to the Dean, Student Services after conclusion of the meeting. 
  • Informs the Dean, Student Services, by Memorandum of Record, the decisions of the committee, to include findings and, if appropriate, sanctions. 
  • Arranges for appropriate security when necessary, during hearings. 

The office of the Dean, Student Services assumes the following duties:

  • Informs the appropriate individuals, including but not limited to the complainant and accused, of the scheduled hearing date, time, and location. 
  • Notification to the student(s) that it is permissible to appear alone or with counsel before the Judiciary Committee and may be present during all phases of the hearing except during the committee’s deliberation. 
    • Requestor of counsel shall be required to sign a FERPA release before the meeting begins. 
    • Counsel shall be made aware of the following: 
      • Counsel shall not speak for or on behalf of the accused student(s) but may act only in an advisory capacity. 
      • Counsel may not question or cross-examine witnesses or committee members. (If counsel attempts to question or cross-examine a witness or committee member, they will be excused from proceedings.) 
  • Notification to the student(s) that they will be provided the opportunity to present evidence and to conduct reasonable cross-examination of witnesses. 

The student(s) that is scheduled for a hearing before the Judiciary Committee and who fail to appear at the designated date, hour, and place of the hearing after notification thereof shall be deemed to have waived the right to a hearing and the right to appear before the Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee may then proceed with the hearing. If the accused student(s) is unable to attend the hearing for good cause at the appointed time, prior written notice of the inability to attend shall be submitted to the Dean, Student Services, where upon a new date shall be set by the Dean in coordination with the chairperson of the Judiciary Committee. Only one such extension shall be granted, except where additional extensions would cause undue hardship to the student(s). 

The hearing before the Judiciary Committee shall not be conducted as a courtroom trial, but shall proceed as follows: 

  • One appointed faculty or staff member shall serve as chairperson of the Judiciary Committee. 
  • The chairperson shall screen the committee members prior to the hearing for any prejudicial knowledge. 
  • In the event of special prejudicial knowledge, those members may be replaced by the President or his or her designee with other qualified faculty or staff members and/or students. 
  • A simple majority of the members present will be allowed to make a judgment and render a decision in the matter with regard to a finding of guilty and imposition of appropriate disciplinary action. (A minimum of 3 committee members must be present to hear and rule on the case.) 
  • A record of all proceedings shall be kept in the form of a video or audio recording, and a copy may be reproduced at the expense of the accused student(s) or organization. 

Proceedings

  • Proceedings shall open with the chairperson of the Judiciary Committee reading the following statement: 
    • “A College is an academic institution, not a courtroom or administrative hearing. The Judiciary Committee is not bound by the rules of legal evidence that would apply in a court proceeding. The committee is allowed to admit and consider evidence that might not be admissible in a court of law. This includes hearsay; however, evidence must be relevant to the charge.” 
  • Formal rules of evidence shall not be observed in proceedings before the Judiciary Committee; however, the chairperson of the committee shall be authorized to exclude irrelevant, redundant, or unduly inflammatory evidence. The findings of the committee on the issue of violation(s) of the Code of Student Conduct will be based solely on evidence introduced at the hearing. 
  • Evidence of previous violations of rules and regulations or violations of local, state, or federal laws, ordinances, and regulations shall not be considered in any way by the committee in determining whether the violation charges were committed, but such evidence may be considered by the committee in consideration of the appropriate sanctions. They may also be introduced as evidence in rebuttal of any related character evidence introduced by the accused party. 
  • The chairperson of the Judiciary Committee will then read the charge against the student(s). 
  • The student(s) shall then make a plea of guilty or not guilty. 
    • If the accused student(s) admits guilt, the committee will go directly into closed session to deliberate sanctions, however, students(s) who plead guilty may be permitted to explain the rationale for their behavior as a plea for leniency before the Judiciary Committee. 
    • Failure to make a plea by the student(s) is considered an admission of guilt. 
  • If the accused denies guilt, the Judiciary Committee Chair shall present the evidence against the accused student(s). 
    • The accused student(s) will be afforded the opportunity for reasonable cross-examination. 
    • The accused student(s) may then present evidence of the event by oral testimony, witnesses, and/or written sworn affidavits. Reasonable cross-examination will be afforded. 
  • Rebuttal evidence may be presented by either party as necessary but not so as to be redundant. The accused student(s) may make a closing statement. 
  • The complainant, College, and the accused student(s) may each have an attorney or other personal representative present to act as an advisor. 
    • The respective attorneys or personal representatives shall not be advocates and shall not question witnesses or have any role in the proceedings. 
    • The advisor may only communicate with the individual they are advising. 
  • After presentation of all evidence, the Judiciary Committee shall enter closed session. 
    • The committee shall deliberate and make its determination of findings and determine appropriate sanctions if the student(s) is found guilty. 
    • Student(s) shall be notified of the determination within three (3) business days of the close of the hearing. 
    • Any sanctions previously imposed to the time of the hearing shall remain in effect until official notification of the Committee’s decision. 
    • If the Judiciary Committee determines that the student is not guilty, the student will be cleared of all charges. 
    • If the student is found guilty, the Committee will disclose the findings and sanctions determined by the committee. 
    • The Sanction Agreement shall be submitted, by email, to the Dean, Student Services for processing (see Appendix B – Sanction Agreement). 
  • The Dean’s office will send a hard copy of the Sanction Agreement by Certified mail OR by a Process Server. 
    • The office of the Dean will prepare an additional copy of the Sanction Agreement for student signature and email to the student’s college email account. 
  • Upon administrating the Sanction Agreement, the student will select one of the following options: 
    • Sign the Sanction Agreement, indicating acceptance of the sanctions imposed and waiving all rights to appeal; OR 
    • Sign the Sanction Agreement, declining the opportunity to accept the sanctions imposed and an appeal may be filed with the President or designee. 
      • Imposed sanctions by the Judiciary Committee will remain in effect throughout the appeals process. 
  • Any student who fails to select ‘Accept’ or ‘Do Not Accept,’ and fails to sign the Sanction Agreement shall be deemed to have waived all rights to further appeal and the sanctions imposed will be final. 
  • Students have five (5) working days from the date of the emailed Sanction Agreement, to sign the document. At this time the judgement is final. 
  • The complainant will be notified by email of the final resolution. 
  • Upon completion of the hearing and determination, the Committee shall submit a Memorandum of Record, by email, to the office of the Dean, Student Services (see Appendix F – Memorandum of Record). 
    • The office of the Dean shall email copies of the Memorandum of Record to the appropriate Dean(s) for notification of all involved parties. 
  • All original documents shall be submitted to the office of the Dean, Student Success Services, to be filed and recorded on the Student Complaint Drive. 

Appeals Process 

  1. Appeal to the Judiciary Committee 
  • Accused student(s) who choose to file an appeal of the sanctions imposed by the Dean, Student Services must request an appeal hearing within five (5) working days, in writing, to the Judiciary Committee. 
  • The Appeal Request form can be found on the College’s website, Complaint & Disciplinary Procedures. 
  • The appeal must expressly state the grounds of such appeal, which are limited to newly discovered evidence, violation of procedures, or that the imposed sanction was unduly harsh, improper, or lenient under the circumstances. 
  • The appeal hearing before the Judiciary Committee shall be scheduled as soon as it is practical, but no later than 30 calendar days from the date of the student’s appeal. 

For more information on the Judiciary Committee process, please see the section titled Judiciary Committee Disciplinary Procedures. 

  1. Appeal to the President or Designee 
  • The determination and sanction imposed by the Judiciary Committee are subject to review on appeal by the President of the College or his or her designee. 
  • The President or designee has discretionary authority to modify or affirm the sanction imposed by the Judiciary Committee, to exonerate the accused student(s), and/or to order a rehearing of the case in question. 
  • A student(s) has five (5) working days from the day of the hearing and determination by the Judiciary Committee to request a review of the proceedings and/or the sanction. 
  • The Appeal Request form can be found on the College’s website, Complaint & Disciplinary Procedures. Such an appeal request must be submitted in writing to the office of the President. 
    • Failure to request an appeal as stated herein shall be a waiver of a review by the President or designee and all rights in relation thereto. 
    • Furthermore, failure to request an appeal as stated herein shall be an admission of the charges and a consent to the sanctions imposed by the Judiciary Committee. 
  • A written appeal must expressly state the grounds of such appeal, which are limited to newly discovered evidence, violation of procedures, or that the imposed sanction was unduly harsh, improper, or lenient under the circumstances. 
  • The student(s) shall be provided a written statement of the decision of the President or designee within seven (7) working days from the date of filing the request for appeal. 
  • Appealing to the President is the final step in the College's judicial process; however, if a student wishes to appeal the decision further, he or she may utilize the State Student Complaint Process. 
  • Upon completion of the investigation and administration of the written statement by the President to the accused, the originals of all documents pertaining to the investigation shall then be submitted to the office of the Dean, Student Services.
  • All documents pertaining to the investigation shall then be filed in the office of the Dean, Student Services, and will be recorded on the Student Complaint Drive. 
  1. Appeal, State Student Complaint Process 
  • Students who wish to appeal the President or designee’s decision should refer to the Student Handbook section entitled State Student Complaint Process.