Hearing Board

A hearing board hears and decides cases to determine whether or not a student or student group is responsible for a formal charge under the Student Code of Conduct. The Resolution Center assigns cases to hearing boards.

1. University Conduct Board (UCB)
1. The UCB hears and decides cases involving allegations of the most serious nature and/or a repeat nature including but not limited to allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct, discrimination, or interpersonal violence. The UCB may assign any conduct outcome(s), including expulsion, suspension, or conduct probation.
2. Student Group Accountability Board (SGAB)
1. The SGAB hears and decides cases involving allegations against a student group. The SGAB may assign any conduct outcome(s) to the student group, including revocation of student group recognition. The SGAB does not make determinations of individual student group member(s) findings or conduct outcomes.
2. A representative of the student group (president, captain, or designee) is responsible for representing the responding student group during the hearing.
3. The representative may identify up to two additional student group members to assist in representing the student group. Within (3) three days of receipt that a hearing will be scheduled, the student group shall provide the Resolution Center in writing the names and contact information of the student group members who will represent the responding student group.
4. Student group advisors and the University department overseeing a student group will be notified in writing of the SGAB's findings and assigned conduct outcomes, if any.
3. Hearing boards are comprised of three conduct officers. One officer serves as panel chairperson and is responsible for meeting oversight in order to afford a fair and orderly hearing for all participants and to prevent the harassment and/or intimidation of parties and witnesses. 
4. Formal rules of evidence do not apply. The responsibility for the resolution of all issues as to admissibility or relevance of evidence, the propriety of questions, and any other procedural matter shall rest solely with the panel chairperson in the exercise of their discretion. 
5. Pre-Hearing Procedures
1. Within (3) three days of receiving notice of a scheduled hearing board meeting, a student or student group wanting to challenge the participation of any conduct officer must notify the Resolution Center in writing providing the name of the conduct officer and the reason(s) for the challenge. The challenge will be forwarded to the Vice Provost for Student Affairs who reserves discretion to make changes in the panel composition. Not filing a challenge with the stated timeframe constitutes a waiver of any objection to the composition of the panel.
2. To provide time for hearing board members to prepare and review information, a student or student group must submit all additional information to the Resolution Center at least (3) three days prior to the hearing board meeting. Such information may include, but is not limited to names and contact information for potential witnesses, documents, reports, writings, photos, and videos. Witnesses not disclosed in advance will not be eligible to participate. Other information shared after this date may not be reviewed in advance of the conduct board meeting but instead will be considered by the conduct board during the conduct board meeting. In hearings involving a respondent and a complainant, any information that is submitted (3) three days in advance will be made available to the other party at least (1) one day in advance to review.
3. Witnesses, documents, statements, reports and writings submitted by a student or student group should be in addition to university investigative or incident reports prepared and submitted by qualified university officials.
4. A student or student group is responsible for arranging for the attendance of such witnesses. The University does not coordinate or compel the attendance of such witnesses.
6. Hearing Procedures
1. Hearing board meetings are not open to the public. All information is private and confidential, and participants will receive instruction as to the preservation of the privacy of all concerned.
2. All participants shall affirm the truthfulness of their testimony.
3. Hearing board meetings are recorded by the Resolution Center and no other electronic devices are allowed.  Recordings are maintained by the Resolution Center and are considered part of a respondent or student group’s conduct record. The Resolution Center will exercise reasonable care to minimize technical issues; however, technical issues that result in no recording or an inaudible recording are not considered procedural defects for the purposes of the appeals process. There shall be no recording of deliberations.   
4. The panel chair shall open a hearing by reading the statement of charges.
5. The conduct officers will present information related to the case which may include but not be limited to documents, investigative reports, incident reports, or witnesses.
6. A student or student group may present a response to the charges. The response, if any, may include the introduction of available and relevant documents, physical evidence or through the in-person testimony of witnesses. All witnesses shall be excluded from the hearing except during their own testimony.
7. Conduct officers may direct questions to a student, student group, or witnesses if present.
8. Following the presentation of each students’ or student group’s evidence the panel chair may allow each student or student group to present additional evidence in response.
9. After the presentation of evidence is complete the panel chair may allow the student or student group to present a closing summation of their case.
10. Upon the completion by all students’ or student group’s presentation of their case and information, the panel chair will declare the hearing “closed” and no further information will be received by the conduct officers.
11. The panel chair in the exercise of their discretion may provide a student or student group the opportunity to submit an impact and/or reflection statement which shall be considered when assigning conduct outcomes for findings of responsibility.
12. Conduct officers will deliberate privately for the purpose of determining whether or not a student or student group is responsible for the violation(s) charged. The determination is made by majority vote and supported by a written statement of the rationale for the decision. If no findings of responsibility are determined, then the proceedings are at an end. For findings of responsibility, the conduct officers will continue deliberations for the purpose of assigning conduct outcomes, if any.
7. Hearings related to alleged violations of the Harassment and Non-Discrimination Policy or the General Standards of Conduct related to any intentional conduct directed towards a person or group which threatens physical or psychological health or safety.
1. A complainant has an identical right to be present at and to participate in all pre-hearing and hearing processes as outlined in hearing board procedures.
2. The conduct officers may allow the contesting parties to be screened from the vision of one another during the hearing, arrange for attendance by video conference, or make accommodations, all within their sound discretion.
3. A complainant has the opportunity to present any relevant information in the case against the responding student. This information may be presented by the introduction of any available and relevant documents, physical evidence or through the in-person testimony of witnesses. The panel chair, the respondent and the conduct officers may direct reasonable questions to witnesses presented by the complainant.
4. A complainant and a respondent may not directly question one another unless granted permission to do so by the panel chair. If a request to allow direct questioning between the parties is made, the panel chair shall enter into the record a written finding in support of their decision. If a request to allow direct questioning is denied, the chair, at their discretion, may allow the parties to pose additional questions or inquire further into specific matters by submitting these questions/requests in writing to the chair. The chair may then, at their discretion, pose the submitted questions to the other party. If necessary, a brief break may be granted to allow both parties an opportunity to prepare and submit such questions/requests. The chair is empowered to disallow or reframe any questions that are irrelevant, redundant, or otherwise inadmissible.
5. In matters alleging a violation of the University’s Harassment and Discrimination Policy no information, facts or evidence bearing upon the prior sexual conduct of a party shall be introduced into a hearing process absent permission to do so granted by the panel chair. Where a respondent and complainant have a prior intimate or sexual relationship this information may be relevant to determine responsibility, however the mere fact of a current or previous consensual intimate or sexual relationship between the respondent and complainant does not itself imply consent or preclude a finding of responsibility for sexual misconduct. Any prior sexual conduct of the complainant unrelated to the respondent is not relevant and shall not be considered. The prior unrelated sexual misconduct of the respondent may be relevant to the issue of appropriateness of assigning conduct outcomes.

Last updated: 8/1/24