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III. Disciplinary Committee Process

1.  If the matter is not resolved by the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management in accordance with item two above, or is a Level II or III Offense, then a Disciplinary Committee will be appointed using, as much as possible, members who have no prior knowledge of or involvement with the alleged violation.

A pool of individuals from all campuses will be identified and trained to serve on the Disciplinary Committee each academic year. The Committee shall consist of the following members:

  • Chair, Associate Dean of Retention and Student Life (only votes in case of a ties)
  • Investigator, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management (1), non-voting member
  • Provost, Academic Dean or Associate Dean (one), voting member
  • Instructional Personnel (Preference from division of the student's program of the subject complaint) (two), voting members
  • Non-Academic Personnel (one), voting member
  • Student (one), voting member

 

2.  In the event that the Associate Dean of Retention and Student Life:

  • was involved in the alleged violation incident or in the mediation of the alleged offense, or:
  • has been involved in the mediation of the alleged offense; then,
  • The Associate Dean of Retention and Student Life shall not serve on the Disciplinary Committee hearing the complaint of such alleged offense. In the place of the Associate Dean of Retention and Student Life, the Assistant Vice President Student Affairs and Dean of Student Affairs or a member of PALT will serve as Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee Chair.

3.  The Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee will schedule a date, time, and location for the Disciplinary Committee to convene to hear the complaint, taking into consideration the class schedule of the accused student and the availability of potential witnesses and Disciplinary Committee members. If at all possible, the hearing should take place within 10 business days following the referral of the matter to the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. The Associate Dean of Retention and Student Life shall send the accused student, via certified mail, and first class mail, to the student’s address in the College’s student record system, a summary of the complaint; a tentative list of potential witnesses; a notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing; and a copy of the rules that govern the hearing.

The accused student will be informed that the Office of Education Access and Engagement will be available to assist the student with understanding and following the College disciplinary procedures. While the Dean and Chief Equity Officer of Education Access and Engagement will not represent the student at the hearing, the Dean and Chief Equity Officer of Education Access and Engagement may, at the student’s request, attend the hearing to provide procedural assistance to the student. The student has the right to remain silent in the disciplinary process.

4.  The Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management who initially investigated the complaint will make arrangements for the presentation of witnesses and evidence to the Disciplinary Committee. 

The Disciplinary Committee members and the accused student will be permitted to question each witness and to inspect all documentation and other evidence. The accused student will be allowed to present any witness statements and any other evidence that the student believes to be relevant to the matter. Witnesses will be sequestered during the Disciplinary Committee hearing and following their questioning they will be dismissed. The hearing will be recorded, and the recording share remain property of the College. The accused student shall be given a copy of the tape recording upon written request.

5.  The burden of proof standard in a Disciplinary Committee hearing is preponderance of evidence - a showing that it is more likely than not that a violation occurred.

6.  At the conclusion of hearing and after reviewing all the evidence, including testimony, the accused student will be given the opportunity to make a closing statement. After the closing statement, the Disciplinary Committee will decide, by majority vote, outside the presence of the accused student and any other non-Disciplinary Committee members, whether the student violated the College's Code of Student Conduct, what they know for sure happened, and what, if any, sanction(s) should be imposed. The Dean and Chief Equity Officer of Education Access and Engagement shall not be excluded during the deliberation and voting process.

7.  The decisions of the Disciplinary Committee shall be placed in writing within three business days through certified mail. A recommendation for suspension or expulsion of the student must be referred to the President for approval and final imposition. The Disciplinary Committee may impose all other sanctions, The Chair of the Disciplinary Committee shall send a copy of the Committee's recommendation to the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs, Campus Provost, Director of Safety and Security, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer -- College Provost, and Senior Vice President and Chief Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Officer. If the Disciplinary Committee's recommendation is for student suspension or expulsion, the Chief of Student Affairs will discuss this recommendation with the College President for approval and final imposition before notifying the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee to send final decision to the student via certified mail and first-class mail.

8.  A student found to have violated a student code of conduct may appeal a decision by the Discipline Committee in writing to the Chief Student Affairs Officer within 10 days following notification of the hearing outcome. In order for an appeal to be granted, the appeal must demonstrate one or both of the following:

  • Procedural error(s) that may have prejudiced the Discipline Committee
  • Evidence unavailable at the original proceeding which would likely have affected the decision
  • The sanction(s) imposed were not commensurate with the violation(s) of the Student Code of Conduct
  • The decision was not consistent with the preponderance of the evidence burden of proof standard. The Chief Student Affairs Officer will respond to the appeal and either deny the appeal, request the discipline committee to reconvene to review new evidence, or determine that procedural errors occurred and request a new discipline committee to hear the case.

If the Chief Student Affairs Officer cannot respond to the appeal, another executive administrator will be appointed by the President to hear the appeal.

9.  At the conclusion of the process, all records of the proceedings shall be returned to the Associate Dean of Retention and Student Life for storage and retention in accordance with College policy and State law.

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