University-wide Disciplinary System

The Associate Dean has the authority to resolve allegations of discrimination, unlawful harassment, or sexual misconduct administratively. Before the conclusion of the administrative process, at the request of either party, the Associate Dean will refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee. The Associate Dean may also at any time discontinue the administrative resolution process and refer the matter to the Committee for resolution.

The Associate Dean will lead an investigation by conducting an expeditious inquiry into the facts, which will include interviews with the complainant and respondent and may also include, but is not limited to, interviews with pertinent other people and reviewing relevant documents or other information. Both the complainant and respondent will have the ability to present information and suggest witnesses related to an allegation of misconduct. After considering all the information available, the Associate Dean of Students will use the preponderance of evidence standard to conclude if the respondent violated the University’s Policy.

If the Associate Dean concludes the respondent violated the University’s Policy, the Associate Dean will issue an appropriate decision and sanctions, including but not limited to, an official warning, disciplinary probation, and/or the suspension of specific student rights and privileges for a designated period of time (this may include administratively moving a residential student and/or removing a student from housing). The Associate Dean cannot issue a disciplinary sanction of suspension, expulsion, or revocation of a degree through the administrative process. A copy of the written outcome and notice that the respondent has violated University policy or regulations will be placed in the respondent’s educational record. In instances where the alleged behavior is included in the sexual misconduct portion of the University Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Misconduct, the complainant and respondent will receive written notification of the outcome.

If the Associate Dean of Students later finds that the student has engaged in additional misconduct, the University-wide Disciplinary Committee may be informed of the earlier outcome and sanction. If the Disciplinary Committee is informed of the earlier outcome and sanction, it must consider it in determining further sanctions.

Mediation

Mediation is an attempt to come to a mutually acceptable or agreed-upon resolution to a complaint. All involved parties must voluntarily agree to mediation for it to occur. Mediation is not appropriate, even on a voluntary basis, in matters involving allegations of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.

Other Measures

As mentioned above, a student is not required to pursue University discipline to seek and receive support related to an incident of sexual misconduct, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking. The Deputy Title IX Coordinator(s) for Students can work with a student to explore these options which include, but are not limited to, no-contact directives, housing accommodations, and academic accommodations.

If the Associate Provost agrees that a disciplinary committee should be convened, the Associate Dean of Students will proceed with an investigation.

Investigation

The Associate Dean will lead an investigation by conducting an expeditious inquiry into the facts, which will include interviews with the complainant and respondent and may also include, but is not limited to, interviews with pertinent other people and reviewing relevant documents or other information. Regardless of their level of involvement in the inquiry, both the complainant and the respondent will be able to offer evidence that tends to exonerate or prove the culpability of the respondent, and to suggest witnesses on their respective behalves, subject to the limitations set forth in the Policy (e.g., sexual history).  Typically, witnesses providing solely character information will not be sought, nor interviewed by the Associate Dean.

The Associate Dean will complete an investigation report, and provide it to the complainant and respondent. The parties will have 5 business days to submit an optional written response statement. These statements will be added to the final investigation report that is provided to the Disciplinary Committee.

Resolution

The Associate Dean will notify the complainant and respondent, via e-mail, of the date, time and location of the disciplinary hearing before the Disciplinary Committee no later than ten business days prior to the hearing. Both parties will be asked to appear at the hearing. At the request of the Faculty Chair for the Disciplinary Committee, the Associate Dean may also ask pertinent witnesses to appear at the hearing.

The Disciplinary Committee, complainant and respondent will receive the final investigation report and all materials germane to the hearing proceedings no later than 5 business days prior to the hearing date. The Associate Dean will hold separate pre-hearing meetings with the complainant and respondent to go over the hearing format and address any procedure-related questions or concerns. 

The Disciplinary Committee will apply a preponderance of evidence standard in making its determinations. Namely, the Disciplinary Committee will decide whether, in consideration of all of the information before it, it is more likely than not that the alleged misconduct occurred, or that the respondent violated the Policy. If the Disciplinary Committee determines that the respondent violated the Policy, it will issue sanctions. Committee decisions are made by majority vote.

Normally, once the Disciplinary Committee is convened, the complaint will not be revised to include new or different allegations or supporting materials. However, once the Disciplinary Committee is convened, the Associate Dean may decline to investigate, or recommend that the Disciplinary Committee or another disciplinary committee should decide, new or different allegations based on facts that were known or should have been known to the complainant at the time of the initial complaint.

If the respondent makes a counter-complaint against the complainant, the Associate Dean may investigate the respondent’s complaint at or about the same time they investigate the original complaint. When the respondent makes a counter-complaint against the complainant, the Associate Dean, with the approval of the Associate Provost, may decline to recommend that the Disciplinary Committee hear either complaint or one of the complaints. The Associate Provost and Associate Dean also may recommend that both complaints be simultaneously heard by a single University-wide Disciplinary Committee or heard separately by the same or different Disciplinary Committee.

Composition and Training of the University-wide Disciplinary Committee

The Disciplinary Committee includes faculty and students drawn from academic divisions and schools at the University and staff representing the academic divisions and schools and Campus and Student Life. The Disciplinary Committee consists generally of three faculty members, one student, one staff member, and the Associate Dean (or designee). The Associate Dean attends the Disciplinary Committee meeting in a non-voting, advisory capacity. Generally, faculty, students and staff serving on the Disciplinary Committee do not come from the academic unit(s) of either the complainant or the respondent. A Faculty Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, one additional faculty member and either a student or staff person constitute a three-member quorum.

All members of the Disciplinary Committee must be able to maintain independent judgment and discharge their obligations in a fair-minded fashion, free from material bias and conflicts of interest, or they should recuse themselves. The Associate Dean will notify the complainant and the respondent of the members of the Disciplinary Committee as soon as practicable before the hearing. Either party may request a substitution if the participation of any individual on the Committee poses a conflict of interest. Such requests must be made to the Associate Dean within 2 business days of receiving notice of the members of the Disciplinary Committee. Requests must identify with specificity the alleged nature of the conflict of interest. Using reasoned judgment, the Associate Dean, in consultation with the Faculty Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, will decide whether the alleged conflict is genuine and material and, if so, whether it compels the Committee member’s replacement.

The University determines the identity of all individuals who will resolve complaints of alleged violations of the Policy, including members of the Disciplinary Committee. All individuals whose duties include resolution of complaints of student violations of the Policy shall receive a minimum of 8 hours of annual training on issues related to sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking and how to conduct the University’s complaint resolution procedures, in addition to annual trauma-informed response training as required by law.

The University shall have a sufficient number of individuals trained to resolve complaints so that (1) a substitution can occur in the case of a conflict of interest or recusal; and (2) any request for review brought by a complainant or respondent will be determined by an individual or individuals with no prior involvement in the initial determination of whether a violation occurred.

Format and Order of Proceedings

The general format and order of proceedings of the Disciplinary Committee follow those presented in the Appendix.

To accommodate concerns for the well-being of the complainant and/or the respondent, the Associate Dean may make appropriate arrangements enabling participation of the complainant and respondent without a face-to-face interaction. The complainant and the respondent may not directly interrogate one another, but may, at the direction of the Faculty Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, submit questions to be posed by the committee and respond to the other party (see Appendix). Such questions will be permitted if they help elucidate details of the incident and/or the actions of involved parties in a way that helps the Committee arrive at an informed decision. The Faculty Chair of the Committee, using reasoned judgement, will have final authority on which questions submitted by the complainant or respondent will be permitted.

During the hearing, if the Disciplinary Committee hears from other individuals, both the respondent and the complainant may be present.

In connection with the hearing, the complainant and the respondent will receive the same materials, subject to compliance with FERPA, which may require redaction of certain identifying information. As stated in the Policy, the complainant’s and/or respondent’s sexual history with others will generally not be sought or used in determining whether sexual assault has occurred. However, in certain circumstances the sexual history between the parties may have limited relevance to explain context (see Policy for further details).

Both the complainant and the respondent may bring a person of their choice to any meetings with the Associate Dean or have them attend and provide support during phone calls or other interactions related to the investigation and adjudication of the incident. The complainant and respondent can also be accompanied by their respective support persons to any proceedings and be present during the hearing. The support person may confer quietly with the complainant or respondent during the proceedings and offer advice and other support during breaks. The support person can also assist with the review and preparation of materials, although authorship of statements should be the complainant’s and/or respondent’s alone. Support persons may not speak for the complainant and/or respondent during the proceedings and are not allowed to direct questions to the respondent, complainant, witnesses or Committee members. If a support person violates the limitations regarding their role or engages in behavior or advocacy that harasses, abuses, or intimidates either party, a witness, or an individual resolving the complaint, the support person will be required to leave the hearing.

The complainant and/or respondent should inform the Associate Dean at least 5 business days before the Disciplinary Committee is to meet if a support person will be attending the hearing. If the person providing support is a lawyer, a representative of the University's Office of Legal Counsel also will attend the hearing.

During the hearing, the Disciplinary Committee will generally allow the complainant or respondent to be present when the other party is heard. If the complainant or respondent requests it, the University shall arrange for the other party to hear the other speak to the Disciplinary Committee by an accepted virtual means, e.g., telephone, video conferencing, etc. Similarly, if an order of protection or other injunction has been issued by a court, is in effect at the time of the hearing, and directs one or both of the parties to have no contact with the other party, the complainant or the respondent may be present in an accepted virtual means.

If the respondent has been accused of misconduct before, the Associate Dean may inform the Disciplinary Committee of the previous accusation, other pertinent information related to the previous allegation, and of any disciplinary action.

Notification of Outcome and Requests for Review

The complainant and respondent will receive simultaneous formal and written notification of the outcome, including information regarding requesting review, within 5 business days of the hearing. Decisions of disciplinary suspension will be recorded on the student's transcript and usually will read "Not permitted to register from [Date] to [Date]. [Name and Title of the Dean of Students in the University], [Date]" In cases of expulsion the notation will read “Permanently not permitted to register effective [Date]. [Name and Title of the Dean of Students in the University], [Date].”  Other offices (e.g., Housing and Residence Life, University Registrar) are to be notified only if the action taken by the University-wide Disciplinary Committee affects those offices, and then only the action itself is transmitted. Where appropriate, and as permitted by law, the Associate Dean may disclose allegations of misconduct and the outcomes of disciplinary proceedings to third-parties, including to external organizations.

A written record of the disciplinary incident will be kept by the Office of the Associate Dean of Students in the University for Disciplinary Affairs as part of the student's educational record. This record should include all materials furnished to the Disciplinary Committee, a copy of the outcome letter sent to the respondent, a statement of the main findings that were relevant to the final outcome of the disciplinary proceedings and to the sanctions imposed, as well as any considerations of the possible implications of the sanctions. This record will be maintained according to the retention policies for student records (see the section above on “Record Maintenance”).

The complainant and the respondent both may request a review of the outcome within fifteen calendar days of being informed, in writing, of the decision. For additional information about requesting a review of the outcome, please see the University-wide Disciplinary System Review Process.

Confidentiality

For information regarding the confidentiality of investigations conducted pursuant to this policy and the proceedings (including the outcome), please see Section VII of the Policy .

Sanctions delineated here are imposed on individual students for misconduct whether the misconduct involved only the student or the student as part of a group. The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may combine different sanctions in a given decision. A Review Board may make use of all forms of sanctions.

Warning

The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may give the respondent an official warning. A copy of the written notice warning the respondent that they have violated University policies or regulations will be placed in the student's educational record. If the respondent’s Dean of Students or the Associate Dean later finds that the student has engaged in additional misconduct, the appropriate Disciplinary Committee may be informed of the earlier warning and the circumstances related to the warning. If the Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee is informed of the earlier warning, it must consider it in determining further sanctions.

Disciplinary Probation

The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may place the respondent on disciplinary probation during which period the student continues to enjoy all the rights and privileges of a student except as the Disciplinary Committee may specifically stipulate. If, during the period of disciplinary probation, an Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee finds that the student has engaged in additional misconduct, the Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee will be informed of the student's probationary status and the circumstances related to the student's probationary status. The Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee must consider the probation in determining further sanction.

Loss of Privileges

The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may suspend specific student rights and privileges for a designated period of time.

Discretionary Sanctions

The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may assign the student specific academic work, community service for a specific number of hours, remedial education, or other appropriate discretionary assignments to be completed by a specific date, or impose restitution or fines.

Disciplinary Suspension

Only the Disciplinary Committee may impose a disciplinary suspension. During the period of suspension the student is barred from all University property, absent written permission from the Dean of Students in the University, and is prohibited from exercising any rights and privileges of a student in the University. Unless the Disciplinary Committee specifically states otherwise in its decision, at the expiration of the period of suspension the student may resume active status as a student without any action on their part other than what would be required of any student who has, for a comparable period, interrupted their residence in the University for any other reason. However, a student under suspension who has been charged with another offense may not resume active status as a student until final action has been taken on such charge by the Disciplinary Committee. The minimum length of a suspension is one full academic quarter.

Disciplinary Expulsion

Only the Disciplinary Committee may expel a student. A student who has been expelled is permanently excluded from all current and future academic programs. A student who has been expelled is barred from all University property, absent written permission from the Dean of Students in the University, and automatically forfeits all rights and privileges as a student in the University and any degrees not actually conferred at the time of the expulsion.

Revocation of the Degree

The Disciplinary Committee may recommend revocation of the degree for misconduct that occurred before the degree was awarded.

Sanctions delineated here are imposed on a student group. The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may combine different sanctions in a given decision. A Review Board may make use of all forms of sanctions.

As previously noted, every student bears responsibility for their misconduct, regardless of whether the misconduct occurred in a group setting or as a member of a group. Misconduct by individual members of a group thus may also become a matter for disciplinary action and sanctions against the individuals.

Warning

The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may give the group an official warning. A copy of the written notice warning the group that it has violated University policies or regulations will be forwarded to Campus and Student Life and the Center for Leadership and Involvement. If the respondent’s Dean of Students or the Associate Dean later finds that the student group has engaged in additional misconduct, the appropriate Disciplinary Committee may be informed of the earlier warning and the circumstances related to the warning. If the Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee is informed of the earlier warning, it must consider it in determining further sanctions.

Disciplinary Probation

The Associate Dean of Students who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may place the group on disciplinary probation, during which period the group continues to enjoy all the rights and privileges of a group except as the Disciplinary Committee may specifically stipulate. If, during the period of disciplinary probation, an Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee finds that the group has engaged in additional misconduct, the Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee will be informed of the group’s probationary status and the circumstances related to the group’s probationary status. The Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee must consider the probation in determining further sanction.

Loss of Privileges

The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may suspend specific group rights and privileges for a designated period of time. Such loss of privileges may include but is not limited to loss of University funding, suspension or revocation of the privilege to apply for University funding, suspension or revocation of the privilege to use University space or facilities, suspension or revocation of the privilege to sponsor, co-sponsor and/or participate in any social event or other activity, and the suspension of revocation of the privilege to raise funds for the group.

Discretionary Sanctions

The Associate Dean who resolves an incident administratively, or the Disciplinary Committee may assign the group specific academic work, community service for a specific number of hours, remedial education, or other appropriate discretionary assignments to be completed by a specific date, reporting to local and national organizations of the misconduct, or impose restitution or fines.

Disciplinary Suspension

Only the Disciplinary Committee may impose a disciplinary suspension of Recognized Student Organization status. During the period of suspension the group is prohibited from exercising any rights and privileges of a Recognized Student Organization in the University. Unless the Disciplinary Committee specifically states otherwise in its decision, at the expiration of the period of suspension the group may resume active status as a Recognized Student Organization without any action on the part of the group. However, a group under suspension who has been charged with another misconduct violation may not resume active status as a Recognized Student Organization until final action has been taken on such charge by an Area or University-wide Disciplinary Committee. The minimum length of a suspension is one full academic quarter.

Disciplinary Withdrawal

Only the Disciplinary Committee may permanently withdraw Recognized Student Organization status. A group whose Recognized Student Organization status has been withdrawn automatically forfeits all rights and privileges as a Recognized Student Organization at the University.