Article 1—Student Rights and Responsibilities

Part 4. Academic Integrity

§ 1-405 Appeal Hearing Guidelines

(a) Each college or equivalent unit shall appoint annually a standing academic disciplinary committee composed of at least four faculty members and at least two students. The faculty and student members of hearing committees to consider individual academic disciplinary cases under (b) below shall be selected from the members of the standing committee (unless conflicts of interest or other exigent circumstances require the special appointment of others).
In these appeal procedures, “dean” refers to the dean of the college in which the course was offered, except in hearings involving possible suspension or dismissal, in which case it refers to the dean of the student’s college.

(b) The chairperson of the standing academic disciplinary committee of the college or equivalent unit shall select a hearing committee to consider an appeal concerning a course offered by that unit or any cross-listed course for which the instructor is affiliated with that unit. The hearing committee shall consist of four members. The dean or designee shall serve as the presiding officer, but shall be a nonvoting member. The dean of the college shall charge the hearing committee to consider the merits of recommendations. The presiding officer will gather all documents and/or depositions and will conduct the hearing. One of the three voting members shall be a student, and a final recommendation shall require the majority of voting members.

(c) A student entitled to a hearing shall be informed of the hearing date at least five working days in advance.

(d) The hearing committee shall be convened by the dean of the college or unit in which the infraction occurred or, in cases of suspension and dismissal, in the college or unit in which the student is enrolled.

(e) Both the student and the instructor shall be entitled to be present throughout the hearing and to present any evidence, including testimony by others, relevant to the matter in dispute. Both the student and the instructor shall have an opportunity to question or refute any evidence presented. The confidentiality of all evidence shall be preserved. The student and the instructor may each be accompanied by a person to assist them in presenting evidence. Prospective witnesses, other than the instructor and the student, may be excluded from the hearing during the testimony of other witnesses. All parties shall be excluded during hearing committee deliberations. The session shall not be open to the public.

(f) Any person who disrupts a hearing or who fails to adhere to the rulings of the presiding officer may be excluded from the proceeding.

(g) Should additional oral testimony be useful, the presiding officer may invite appropriate witnesses. Formal rules of evidence shall not be applicable.

(h) The final recommendation of the hearing committee to the dean must include a summary of the testimony and shall be sufficiently detailed to permit review.

(i) For cases involving an appeal of penalties in categories 5 and 6 in § 1-403(c), the hearing committee may concur with the instructor’s finding and imposed penalty, or the committee may recommend a different interpretation of the facts and/or a different penalty, or it may recommend that the student is not guilty. The committee may find the student not guilty only if the student proves to the committee that the finding of the faculty member is erroneous.

(1) The intent of this section is to formalize the following view: A student is considered innocent until the instructor has determined that an infraction has occurred and has communicated the evidence for this determination and the reasons for the penalty to the student. If the student appeals, the burden of proof that the finding of the faculty member is erroneous is on the student.

(2) This section intentionally does not establish a formal standard of proof. Deference is paid to the instructor’s right to have discretion over his or her own classes.

(j) In cases involving an appeal of penalties in categories 5 and 6 of § 1-403(c), if the hearing committee agrees with the action taken by the instructor, the dean shall so inform the instructor and the student in writing, and the matter shall be closed. In cases involving suspension or dismissal, dean shall so inform the instructor and the student in writing, and the matter shall be forwarded to the Senate Committee on Student Discipline for review (see subsection (m) below).

(k) In cases involving an appeal of penalties in categories 5 and 6 of § 1-403(c), if the hearing committee recommends a different interpretation of the facts and/or a different penalty, or recommends that the student is not guilty, the dean shall so inform the instructor and attempt to reconcile the differences.

(1) If the instructor accepts a compromise, the student shall be notified and the new penalty, if any, shall be imposed.

(2) If the instructor refuses to compromise, the dean shall notify the student and permit the student to withdraw from the course. However, a record of the infraction in accordance with § 1-406(a) shall be made a part of the student’s permanent file.

(3) In no case shall the committee be empowered to levy a harsher penalty than the one originally imposed or recommended by the instructor.

(l) In cases involving an appeal of penalties in categories 5 and 6 of § 1-403(c), if the hearing committee concludes that the student is not guilty, the dean shall permit the student:

(1) to be reinstated in the course and be given whatever grade the student is entitled to without regard to the charge of an infraction of academic integrity;

(2) to drop the course at any time of the semester; or

(3) to change sections in the course, if possible.

(m) In cases considering the merit of a recommendation of suspension or dismissal, the sole question before the hearing committee is whether the facts of the case support that recommendation; this should include an investigation into the facts of the case as well as a judgment on whether suspension or dismissal is warranted. If the hearing committee concurs with the recommendation that the student be suspended or dismissed from the University, the dean shall forward the recommendation to the Senate Committee on Student Discipline. The decision of the college on the facts of the breach of integrity shall be final. The sole question before the Senate Committee on Student Discipline is whether the breach of integrity in question is of such a nature as to warrant suspension or dismissal from the University.

(n) If the hearing committee or the Senate Committee on Student Discipline do not concur with the recommendation of suspension or dismissal, the dean shall inform the instructor and DEO of the unit in which the infraction occurred of this decision.