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Hearing Procedures

The dean of students or designee and the CHRB will conduct hearings, according to the following guidelines and in as much as possible, administrative hearings will adhere to these guidelines as well: 

  1. Hearings will be closed to the public.  Admission to the hearing of persons other than the parties involved will be at the discretion of the chairperson of the CHRB or the dean of students.
  2. In hearings involving more than one student, the standard procedure will be to hear the complaints jointly. However, the dean of students or designee may permit separate hearings for each accused student.  In any joint hearing, separate determinations will be made as to the responsibility of each student accused.
  3. The complainant and the accused student will have the right to an advisor of his/her own choosing. The advisor may not be an attorney.  The advisor may not make a presentation or represent the complainant or the accused student during the hearing. The advisor may not address the CHRB.
  4. The complainant, the accused student, the CHRB (or the dean of students or designee) will have the privilege of presenting witnesses, and questioning all parties and witnesses.
  5. Pertinent records, exhibits and written statements may be accepted as information for consideration by the CHRB, the dean of students or designee. Formal rules of evidence are not observed. The Chair or dean of students may limit the number of character witnesses presented or accept written affidavits of character instead.
  6. All procedural questions are subject to the final decision by the CHRB Chair or dean of students.
  7. Order of Hearing
  • Complainant: The chairperson of the conduct body will read the complaint(s) to the accused student(s).
  • Response: The accused student(s) will accept or reject each accusation of the complaint.
  • Presentation by the Complainant: The complainant may present information, including witnesses, related to the offense. The CHRB may question witnesses during the presentation.
  • Presentation by the Accused Student: The accused student may comment upon the information and may present additional information, including witnesses. The CHRB may question witnesses during the presentation.
  • Questioning: Each party may question each other and all witnesses when allowed to do so by the chair of the CHRB.  The conduct body may question all witnesses and parties at any time.
  • Clarification of the Information: The complainant and/or members of the conduct body may re-examine information against the accused student in view of the information presented during the hearing.
  • Summary Statement: The complainant and the accused may each make a brief summary statement.
  • The chair of the CHRB will close the hearing.
  1. After a CHRB hearing, the CHRB will deliberate and determine by majority vote whether it is more likely than not that the student has violated the Student Code of Conduct. The conduct advisor will be available (although not necessarily present) as a resource during all deliberations. The CHRB will make a finding of responsible or not responsible for each student and for each alleged violation.  If it is determined that there was a policy violation, the CHRB will determine an appropriate sanction(s). The conduct advisor is responsible for informing the CHRB of applicable precedent and any previous conduct violations by the accused student. The Chair will prepare written decision letter addressed to the student informing him/her of the responsible/not responsible decision, the information cited by the body in support of its finding, and any information that the body excluded from its consideration, and why. If the student was found to be responsible for a policy violation, the decision letter may conclude with any required sanctions.  The CHRB chair will fill out the CHRB meeting form, obtaining all appropriate signatures and return the form along with the decision letter to the dean of students or designee within 48 hours after the end of deliberations. The dean of students may make appropriate modifications and then will implement the final determination and inform the parties within seven (7) business days after the hearing.
  2. There will be a single verbatim record, such as a tape recording, of all CHRB hearings. The record will be the property of the college. Deliberations will not be recorded. Verbal presentations of the findings will be recorded. All conduct records are maintained by the college for seven years from the time of their creation.