Adjudication Process - Honor Court
If the Honor Court adjudicates the incident, it will follow the
procedures listed below:
1. The Associate Dean of Students
shall schedule an Honor Court Inquiry and notify the accused
student and the filer of the report of the inquiry location, time
and date. Inquiries shall be scheduled by the Associate Dean of
Students within two weeks (excluding official university breaks) of
the filing of the initial report unless circumstances beyond the
university’s control prevent doing so. The accused
student may request assistance by a member of the university
community during any part of this process. However, no
representation by attorney (regardless of university community
membership) is permitted. Persons who may attend the inquiry are
the filer of the report, the accused student, the faculty member in
whose class the incident occurred, others with information
pertinent to the incident, Honor Court faculty advisers and
members, and other impartial observer(s) at the discretion of the
court. The inquiry may be audiotape only for the use in
the appeals process, if needed. The Associate Dean of Students
keeps these tapes.
2. The accused student and all
persons providing information shall be notified in writing of the
date, time and location of the inquiry at least 48 hours in advance
of the inquiry. If the accused student cannot attend the inquiry,
s/he shall contact the Associate Dean of Students no less then 24
hours prior to the inquiry and request a rescheduling of the
inquiry. If the Associate Dean of Students believes that the
student’s reason for being unable to attend is valid, the
inquiry may be rescheduled. In the event the student fails to
contact the Associate Dean of Students and fails to attend the
inquiry, the court will determine a decision based on the
information available and send a written report of the inquiry to
the student and to the Associate Dean of Students. Upon receiving
the written report of the inquiry, the student who has failed to
attend may contact the Associate Dean of Students to request
another inquiry. The Associate Dean shall determine the validity of
the student’s excuse for not attending the original
inquiry. If the excuse is determined to be valid, the Associate
Dean will refer the case to the Honor Court for a new inquiry. If
the student and Associate Dean agree that it will be difficult for
the student to get a fair inquiry from the court, the Associate
Dean will schedule an inquiry with the student and faculty member
in whose class the incident occurred.
3. The inquiry shall begin with the
court, the court faculty adviser, the accused student and the filer
of the report present. At least three members of the court must be
present, and at least one faculty adviser. In the event that fewer
than three members and one faculty adviser are present, the inquiry
shall be rescheduled.
4. The chair of the court shall
preside and open the inquiry with an explanation of procedures and
purpose. The chair of the court shall
read the Community Conduct Form aloud.
5. The student shall have an
opportunity to respond to the allegations and to present her or his
perspective of the incident. At any time, court members or faculty
advisers may ask questions of either the accused student or the
filer of the report.
6. After the initial information is
heard, the court may invite others to speak at its discretion. The
court members, faculty advisors, the accused student and the filer
of the report may ask questions of them.
7. When there are no further
questions, the chair shall dismiss all persons, except court
members and faculty advisers, and begin the deliberation.
Deliberations shall include a determination of whether a violation
of the Honor Pledge has occurred and, if so, the sanction(s) to be
imposed.
The faculty advisers have no vote.
8. If the student is found
responsible, the court will determine the appropriate sanction(s)
to be imposed. The court will determine the appropriate sanction(s)
from the approved sanctions list.
9. The chair of the court shall
verbally report the decision and sanctions and explain the appeals
process to the accused student.
10. The faculty adviser shall provide
a written report to the student and to the Associate Dean of
Students. All written communication shall be given to the student
in person within 10 days following the conclusion of the inquiry
unless circumstances beyond the university’s control
prevent doing so.
11. The student and court shall
arrange a date and time for the student to receive his or her
letter.
