Appeal Process
An appeal is a review of the record of the original hearing, not a new hearing. It is the responsibility of the person who initiated the appeal to show that one or more of the listed grounds for appeal has merit. A student will not appear before the university Conduct Appeal Panel (Appeal Panel) unless specifically requested to do so by the Appeal Panel.
Any outcome decided in a hearing may be appealed to the Appeal Panel by the respondent or the complainant.
The Appeal Panel has three members appointed by the Vice President of Student Affairs: a student representative of the Student Conduct Committee; one staff representative of the Student Conduct Committee; and one faculty representative of the Student Conduct Committee. The faculty representative serves as the Chair. The Appeal Panel will have one advisor, either a representative from Student Conduct Education and Administration or from Legal Counsel.
Appeals must be submitted in writing to Student Conduct Education and Administration by 5 p.m. within seven days of the original hearing. Failure to file an appeal within the prescribed time constitutes a waiver of any right to an appeal. The appeal must cite at least one of the following appeals criteria as the reason for appeal and provide supporting argument(s) as to why an appeal should be granted on these grounds. Appeals criteria include the following:
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The hearing was not conducted in conformity with prescribed procedures, and substantial prejudice to the complaint or the respondent resulted;
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New information that could substantially affect the outcome of the previous lower hearing has been discovered since that hearing. The information must not have been available at the time of the original hearing. Failure to present information that was available is not grounds for an appeal under this provision;
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The sanction is not appropriate for the violation. This provision is intended to be utilized when a determined sanction is inherently inconsistent with university procedures or precedent. Simple dissatisfaction with a sanction is not grounds for overturning a sanction under this provision.
Prior to the Appeal Panel review, if there is an opposing party or university investigator involved in the case, they will be given seven days to provide a written response to the appeal. The Appeal Panel will review the record of the original hearing, including documents, the appeal and written response/s to appeal, if applicable, and issue a finding as to the merits of the criteria cited as the reason for appeal.
1. If the Appeal Panel finds there is no merit to any of the grounds cited in the appeal, it will issue a finding as such and that decision will be final
2. If the Appeal Panel finds the previous hearing was not conducted as prescribed and substantial prejudice resulted, the matter may be remanded to a new hearing.
3. If the Appeal Panel is presented with new information that could not have been presented at the original hearing, the matter may be resubmitted to the original hearing body.
4. If the Appeal Panel finds that the sanction is inappropriate for the violation, the Appeal Panel may recommend the sanction be modified by the Vice President for Student Affairs and state the reasons for that recommendation.
The Appeal Panel’s final decision will be communicated in writing by Student Conduct Education and Administration to the complainant and the respondent. The decision will normally be communicated within two days of receiving the written decision.
If the appeal panel recommends modifying the outcome or the sanction, the Vice President for Student Affairs or their designee will review the Appeal Panel’s recommendation. The final decision will be communicated in writing by the Vice President for Student Affairs or their designee to the complainant and the respondent. The decision will normally be communicated within 10 days of receiving the written recommendation. The decision of the Vice President for Student Affairs or their designee will be final.