Appeal
Any first-level response can be appealed, provided that one or more of the reasons for appeal listed in (Section III below) is relevant to the case. The appellate officer varies depending on the initial hearing body and is outline below. All appellate responses are final; however, rulings of suspensions or expulsions from any university administrator or the conduct board are automatically subject to review and approval by the Dean of Students or Provost.
I. Appellate Officers –
i. Responses of the Community Conduct Board may be appealed to the Dean of Students (or designee.)
ii. Responses of other administrative judicial officers appointed by the Dean of Students may be appealed to the Associate Dean of Students (or designee.)
iii. Responses of administrative judicial officers appointed by the Director of University Housing may be appealed to the Director of University Housing (or designee.)
iv. Responses made by the Associate Dean of Students and Director of Housing may be appealed to the Dean of Students.
II. Appeal Requests –
i. A written request, Appeal Review Request Form, should be completed and submitted to the appropriate administrator, i.e. Resident Director or the Coordinator of Judicial Services (depending on where the original decision was made) within 72 hours of the date the student receives the written response indicating responsibility and sanctions. The Appeal Review Request Form is available in the Office of the Dean of Students during regular working hours of 8am to 4:30pm.
ii. The request should state the reason(s) for appeal (see (III) below), the supporting facts, and the recommended way to correct the error. In order for an appeal to be considered valid, the student must explain how his or her reasons for appealing have the potential to change the original finding by the Community Conduct Board or administrative judicial officer.
iii. An Appellate Officer will review the written request, Appeal Review Request Form and any accompanying information, of the student and can decide whether or not to grant an appellate review.
iv. After evaluating the Appeal Review Request Form and any accompanying information, a student will be notified in writing whether or not their request was granted.
v. If the Appellate Officer refuses to grant an Appeal Review based on the criteria in Section III, then the original response and any sanctions will stand.
III. Appeal considerations are limited to:
i. Evidence that appropriate procedures were not followed which may have a bearing on the initial response.
ii. New information that was not available at the time of the original inquiry/conference which may have a bearing on the initial response.
iii. Evidence of bias that may have a bearing on the initial response.
iv. Sanction(s) that is extraordinarily disproportionate to the violation.
IV. Appellate Review
i. If the Appellate Officer decides to grant an Appellate Review, he or she will schedule an appellate review within two weeks of the appeal submission (not including official university breaks.)
ii. On appeal, the burden of proof rests with the student to clearly state on the Appeal Review Request Form and any supporting materials that an error has occurred during the first level of the inquiry/conference process.
iii. Due to the review process, the student is not required to be in attendance and will not be included in the review. The student may request to meet with the appellate officer and the request is granted at the discretion of the appellate officer.
V. Appellate Decisions
i. If the Appellate Officer grants an appellant review, the Appellate Officer has the option of affirming the original response and sanctions, affirming the original response and modifying the sanctions, or reversing the original response.
ii. Appellate responses are communicated in writing within 10 class days (i.e. any day that either classes or final exams are scheduled) of the appellate review.
iii. Except in the case of an emergency suspension and/or removal from campus housing, the student’s status will remain unchanged during the appellate process.
