Appeals
A student or faculty member has the right to appeal a sanction of
an Honor System violation for the follow reasons:
· If there is evidence that
appropriate procedures were not followed which may have a bearing
on the decision;
· If new information becomes
available which may have a bearing on the decision;
· If there is evidence of
bias that may have a bearing on the decision;
· If there is reason to
believe the sanction is disproportionate to the violation.
It is not the purpose of the appeals process to rehear fully the
proceedings of the original incident. In determining the
outcome of the appeal (regarding the decision and/or the
sanctions), the committee will rely upon a “reasonable
person” standard, i.e., were the original decisions
and/or sanctions imposed by the Honor Court or the faculty member
conclusions that could be reached by a reasonable person, applying
appropriate diligence and community standards?
The student or faculty member wishing to appeal a decision must
complete an appeal form, available in the Office of the Dean of
Students, and turn it into the Associate Dean of Students within 72
hours of the date that the student receives the letter indicating
responsibility and sanctions. The Associate Dean of Students will
review the validity of the appeal request. In order for an appeal
to be considered valid, the student or faculty member must explain
how his or her reasons for appealing have the potential to change
the original finding by the Honor Court or by the faculty member
who adjudicated the incident. If the Associate Dean of Students
views the request as valid, the appeal shall be forwarded to the
Academic Honor System Appeals Board
If the Associate Dean of Students believes an appeal to be valid,
s/he will refer the appeal form, the tape of the original hearing
(if available) and the original incident report to the dean of the
student’s school. The dean will contact other members of
the Appeal Board and the accused student to arrange a time for the
Appeals Board to hear the appeal.
During the appeals inquiry, the original incident report shall be
read aloud, the tape of the original inquiry shall be played (if
available), and the appellant will be permitted to present his/her
reasons for appeal. The board members may ask any questions of the
appellant they believe to be relevant to the appeal. The chair
shall intervene if s/he believes a question to be irrelevant.
Upon completion of questions, the appellant is allowed an
additional opportunity to present any further information deemed
pertinent to the appeal. At that time, the appellant will be
excused from the meeting and the board shall determine if the
appeal shall be granted. The Appeals Board may not increase the
sanctions of the original decision, nor may it remand the incident
to the original decision venue.
After the board has reached a decision, the appellant will return;
the chair of the board will announce the decision of the board. The
chair may reveal the board’s reasoning for its decision
but is not required to do so. If either the student or the faculty
member involved believes that grounds for appeal of the
board’s decision is in order, s/he must put such grounds
in written form and deliver the written appeal to the Office of the
Provost within 72 hours of the announced decision. The Provost
reserves the right to review the Appeals Board decision; s/he may
perform this review individually or in conference with a group
selected at the Provost’s discretion. The decision of the
Provost is final.
