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Conduct of Hearing Officer Proceedings

Adjudication of prohibited conduct defined under Section VII.A of the Discriminatory and Sexual Misconduct Policy (Interim) follows the hearing procedures for the adjudication of discriminatory and sexual misconduct as described in section VI.D of the Discriminatory and Sexual Misconduct Policy (Interim).

The university attempts to ensure fair, timely and orderly procedures in all community standards reviews. To provide for this, the university has adopted the following procedural protections that govern the Hearing Officer Proceedings:

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Hearing Officer Preparation and Scheduling

1. The logistics of hearing preparation and scheduling will be coordinated by a process advisor in the Office of Community Responsibility.
2. The student must be notified in writing of the specific policy, standard or regulation the student has allegedly violated. Such notification is normally made at least seven calendar days before the hearing.
3. Throughout the community standards process, the student respondent will receive full notification of complaint, notification of any hearing and notification of disposition of the charge and will have the opportunity to be present throughout the hearing process.
4. The complainant will receive full notification of the complaint, and notification of any hearing, and will have the opportunity to be present throughout the hearing process.
5. Written introductions are an opportunity for either party to offer their initial thoughts and general sentiments about the allegations under review by the hearing officer. 
6. During process advisement, the complainant and respondent will be provided a hearing packet, which may include, among other relevant items: the initial complainant report; any investigation reports and/or witness statements; a written introduction from the complainant(s) to the hearing officer; and a written introduction from the respondent(s) to the hearing officer. This packet may be used for the purpose of preparing for or use during the hearing, consistent with the privacy rights of those involved. These materials are to be kept private and may be shared only with permission from the process advisor. These documents may not be duplicated nor utilized for any other purpose.
7. In advance of the hearing, the hearing officer will be provided a hearing packet, which may include, among other relevant items: the initial complainant report; any investigation reports and/or witness statements; a written introduction from the complainant(s) to the hearing officer; and a written introduction from the respondent(s) to the hearing officer. Hearing officers are expected to keep the information reviewed confidential.
8. Complainant(s) and respondent(s) may submit up to three written letters of support at a date specified by the process advisor for consideration only during the outcomes phase of the proceeding in the event that the respondent is found responsible. 
9. It is the responsibility of the Office of Community Responsibility to ensure that times set for hearings are reasonable and that necessary accommodations have been offered to both the complainant and respondent whenever appropriate. In turn, both the complainant and respondent will be expected to demonstrate good faith efforts in their participation with this process, particularly in relation to the scheduling of the hearing. In a case involving exigent circumstances that prevent the complainant or respondent from participating in a scheduled hearing, the hearing will be rescheduled.
10. Every effort will be made to avoid conflicts with a student’s class schedule when identifying a hearing date and time. When circumstances warrant, classroom attendance, except for scheduled examinations, will not be a reasonable excuse for delaying a hearing.
11.  In the rare circumstance where a respondent fails to make a good faith effort to participate in the process, the university (having made reasonable attempts to accommodate the respondent) may elect to schedule and conduct a hearing without that student's participation.
12. Allegations stemming from multiple incidents indicating an alleged pattern of behavior may be collectively reviewed by a hearing officer at the discretion of the Community Standards Review Committee.
13. The respondent may file in writing counter-allegations against the complainant in connection with the incident(s) currently under review by the hearing officer. In order to be considered for inclusion in the packet in the same hearing process, counter-allegations must be raised within a reasonable time (normally two business days) of the first hearing officer process advisement meeting. The counter-allegations must detail the university regulation or policy that the respondent believes has been violated in connection with the incident(s) currently under review by the hearing officer and provide information that substantiates the facts and circumstances. Counter-allegations cannot be based solely on the fact that a complaint was brought forward, nor can they be retaliatory in nature. The Community Standards Review Committee will determine if the counter-allegations will be reviewed by the hearing officer or resolved in a subsequent hearing, based on the connection of the counter-allegations to the incident(s) already under review.
14. Both the complainant and respondent have the right to have one support person of their choosing present at the hearing. Both parties are required to notify the process advisor of their support person of choice at a date specified by the process advisor that will be at least three days in advance. If legal counsel will serve in this capacity, a representative of the University’s Office of General Counsel will typically be present for the hearing to provide assistance to the hearing officer, and/or process advisor as needed. Legal counsel or any other support person, if present, will not be permitted to participate in the proceedings but may advise the respondent or the complainant and/or be present at a hearing. In the event that one party to a case is accompanied by legal counsel without advance notice, a hearing may be postponed until all parties to the case have had an opportunity to have counsel present. Registered support persons are not permitted to participate as witnesses in the same hearing.
15. Both the complainant and respondent have the opportunity to register witnesses. Witnesses should be able to provide direct information related to the alleged violations being reviewed by the hearing officer, such as direct observation of the incident in question and/or direct interaction with any of the parties before, during or after the incident in question. Both parties are required to notify the process advisor of their registered witnesses at a date specified by the process advisor that will be at least three days in advance of the Hearing Officer Proceedings.
16. The university reserves the right to supplement the registered witness list at any time to ensure that the hearing officer has access to all potential witnesses with substantive information. Both the complainant and respondent will be promptly notified of any changes to the registered witness list.
17. In scheduling a hearing, consideration should be given to allow that witnesses significant to the case being heard are available to the hearing officer. If a witness is not available to be called in person or via telecommunication, they may submit a written statement to the process advisor to be reviewed if the hearing officer requests information from the witness.

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Hearing Process and Procedures

1. Information provided during a hearing officer proceeding should remain private.
2. In order to maintain a fair and equitable process, no new materials will be accepted on the day of the hearing, with the exception of (i) oral testimony and (ii) other information as may be necessary to rebut new oral testimony. Information offered as rebuttal will only be accepted at the discretion of the hearing officer.
3. All proceedings before a hearing officer will be recorded. The audio or audiovisual (if available) recording will be kept in accordance with community standards records retention practices.
4. During the actual proceedings, a student has the right to be present when information relative to the case is being presented. In the community standards process, a student who is charged with a violation has the right to remain silent.
5. The hearing officer will remind all persons present at the opening of each community standards hearing that the purpose of the hearing is to determine an appropriate response, through a deliberative process, when a violation of policy, standard or regulation is alleged. 
6. The complainant(s) and respondent(s) will each be limited to ten minutes for their introduction.
7. The majority of the proceeding will consist of questioning from the hearing officer for all parties as well as the registered witnesses that are called by the hearing officer. The complainant(s) and respondent(s) will also have the opportunity to present questions for the hearing officer’s consideration.
8. It is within the discretion of the hearing officer to determine whether they wish to hear from the registered witnesses. Witnesses will be questioned one at a time and subsequently dismissed. They should only be present in the room when providing information to the hearing officer. Except in documented extenuating circumstances, students are expected to make a good faith effort to provide information to the hearing officer when called as a witness.
9. The complainant(s) and respondent(s) will each be limited to five minutes for their summary.
10. All materials provided to the complainant(s) and respondent(s) (including those provided electronically) must be returned to the process advisor at the conclusion of the hearing. Copies of these materials may not be retained or used for any other purpose.
11. A more likely than not standard (preponderance of the evidence) will be used to determine if a university policy, standard or regulation was violated. If responsibility is determined, the hearing officer will make a recommendation for appropriate outcomes.
12. No information about a respondent's prior community standards record will be shared with the hearing officer until a determination of responsibility has been made unless the case being reviewed stems from the prior incident for which a community standards record exists. If a respondent(s) has a prior community standards record and is found responsible by the hearing officer, the following information will be provided: community standards violation(s) for which they were found responsible, date of incident(s), brief summary, outcome(s), and status of the case(s).

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Hearing Officer Outcome Determination and Notifications

1. A representative of the Office of Community Responsibility will be responsible for notifying the associate vice president of student affairs for community life or designee in writing of the recommendation of the hearing officer regarding responsibility and any outcomes deemed appropriate.
2. The associate vice president of student affairs for community life or designee makes the decision in the case, informed by the recommendation of the hearing officer. The associate vice president of student affairs for community life or designee may accept, reject, or modify the recommendation, or may remand the matter to a new hearing officer for review.
3. After reviewing the recommendations, the associate vice president of student affairs for community life or designee will render a decision in writing. The decision letter will typically be delivered to the respondent(s) by the process advisor.
4. In cases that involve crimes of violence as defined by the the complainant/impacted party will receive notification of disposition of the allegation(s).  In cases of alleged prohibited conduct under the Discriminatory and Sexual Misconduct Policy (Interim), the complainant/impacted party will be notified of the outcome as specified in section VI.E of the policy.
5. Parents of a student normally will not be notified of any community standards action.
6. Community standards actions will be recorded in the student's education record in the Office of Community Responsibility in accordance with community standards records retention practices. When community standards actions affect eligibility for enrollment, designation on other university records will be made. Community standards records will not be released as a part of the official transcript of the academic record of a student.

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