The Dean of Students or designee will assign incidents to be resolved to the appropriate hearing body. The severity, complexity, and the timing of the incident are factors considered in making this decision. Additionally, the pathway may change based on new information, and changes to the pathway will be made at the discretion of the Dean of Students Office. A description of the resolution pathways are listed below. More than one pathway may be used to resolve an incident. Â
A letter of concern serves as a warning issued by the University for minor violations of expectations where a reminder of policy may be needed. No response is required from the student unless otherwise indicated in the letter.
A conduct meeting is conducted by one (or two) Case Coordinators. The Case Coordinator(s) will review the incident with the student, work with the student to determine responsibility, and develop ways to repair harm. While the Case Coordinator(s) will work with the student to make a determination, the Case Coordinator(s) will make final determinations regarding responsibility based on a preponderance of the evidence meaning that the violations were more likely than not to have occurred. Where two or more incidents involving common occurrences or the same student(s) are pending simultaneously, the Case Coordinator may decide to meet with the student about multiple incidents or hear them separately.
Student Conduct Board members will conduct individual meetings with students to review the incident with the student, work with the student to determine responsibility, and develop ways to repair harm. While the Student Conduct Board member will work with the student to make a determination, the Student Conduct Board member will make final determinations regarding responsibility based on a preponderance of the evidence meaning that the violations were more likely than not to have occurred.Â
Students will then be asked to participate in a Community Circle. Community circles are a peer-led restorative justice pathway that allows students to explore impact and ways to repair harm with others involved in their incident. Impacted parties will also be invited to circles so students will be able to hear directly from those they may have harmed by their actions. Students will then be asked to repair harm in conjunction with the other students involved in their incident.  Â
A University Conduct Board will consist of two (2) to five (5) University community members trained to hold University Conduct Board meetings. The University Conduct Board will primarily review cases where serious violations have occurred that may result in Deferred Suspension, Suspension, Dismissal or Revocations of Degrees. The University Conduct Board will hold meetings with the student to review the information and to determine a finding of responsibility and restorative/administrative actions to the Dean of Students Office as appropriate. The meeting Chairperson will arrange for the meeting, chair the session(s), and develop a written statement including the determination of responsibility and the assigned action(s) from the University Conduct Board. Where two or more incidents involving common occurrences or the same student(s) are pending simultaneously, the Chairperson may decide to meet with the student about multiple incidents or hear them separately.
At the beginning of the meeting, the students involved and support persons will be introduced to others who are present. The respondent(s) will be informed of the reported violations of the Student Code and will be advised of their rights. The Chairperson will read the assigned conduct charges and ask the respondent(s) to reply. The student will be asked for their account of the incident. A description of the initial report received and any follow-up investigation will be read and/or told for the student, and the student will have the opportunity to reply.Â
All communication or questions between the students or others involved will be directed to the Chairperson. The Chairperson will decide which questions to ask of each person. In addition to the Chairperson, the respondent(s) and the reporting party or affected individual(s) may make a request to the Chairperson as to relevant witnesses to participate in the hearing. The Chairperson may reasonably limit the scope and time devoted to each matter or item of discussion during the meeting, as well as relevant witnesses to participate and the number of persons presenting information. The Chairperson will decide the order of witnesses and when they will be in the meeting room. During the meeting, University Conduct Board members may ask questions of any person, except support persons.Â
At the conclusion of the meeting, the students involved and support persons will be asked to leave the room. These individuals will not be present during the deliberations of the University Conduct Board. All procedural questions and questions regarding the inclusion or exclusion of information on the basis of relevance are subject to the final decision of the Chairperson, both during the conduct meeting and during deliberations.Â
A decision agreed to by a majority of the sitting University Conduct Board shall be the decision of the board. The conduct board will make final determinations regarding responsibility based on a preponderance of the evidence meaning that the violations were more likely than not to have occurred.Â
At the conclusion of the conduct meeting, the respondent will be informed as to when the decision will be made and communicated. Conduct decisions will be communicated to the respondent in writing within five (5) business days of the conclusion of the meeting. In the event that the written notification is delayed, notification of the delay and when the decision should be expected will be communicated. The same process will be followed to communicate decisions to the reporting party.Â
All communication to students will normally be transmitted through the University’s email system and/or in person. Individual circumstances may permit or require communication by whatever means is necessary to reach the student promptly and reliably. Following reasonable efforts to deliver any communication to a student personally, an indirect or substituted mode of delivery may be attempted.
Limitation on activities, residence hall reassignment, residence hall suspension, termination of housing agreement, university probation, deferred suspension, suspension, dismissal, revocation of admission, revocation of degree awarded, denial or postponement of awarding of degree or honor will be reviewed and approved by the Dean of Students Office. Suspension or dismissal will be noted on a student’s transcript.  Â
A written record in the form of a meeting summary will be made of all University Conduct Board meetings that result in termination of the housing agreement, suspension, dismissal, revocation of admission, revocation of degree awarded, or denial of awarding of a degree or honor. This written record will be retained with the student’s conduct record. A follow-up meeting will be scheduled with the student to review the outcome, and the student will be given a verbal summary of the rationale behind the meeting outcome.
Additional rights afforded to students in University Conduct Board meetings are outlined in Section II.D.3.
An organizational conduct meeting is a formal meeting conducted by a conduct board. This type of meeting is conducted when there is an alleged violation of the Student Code on premises rented, operated, or controlled by the organization; during an organization event; in any situation sponsored or endorsed by the organization; or in any event an observer would associate with the organization. The assigned conduct board will review the incident with the student(s), work with the student(s) to determine responsibility, and develop ways to repair harm. While the conduct board will work with the student to make a determination, the conduct board will make final determinations regarding responsibility based on a preponderance of the evidence meaning that the violations were more likely than not to have occurred. An organizational conduct meeting differs from individual conduct meetings in the following ways:Â