Respondent Rights & Options

Understanding Your Rights in the Conduct Process

As a respondent, you have a certain rights in the students conduct process, including:

• be accompanied to all proceedings and hearings by an advisor (who may or may not be an attorney);
• be provided notice and an opportunity to be heard prior to the imposition of any disciplinary sanction (if found responsible for violating the Student Conduct Code);
• petition for the disqualification of the Presiding Officer;
• provide a statement, present relevant evidence, and provide witnesses for further consideration by the Presiding Officer during fact finding;
• not be compelled to give self-incriminating evidence;
• be informed of all orders issued in the conduct proceeding;
• be informed if a full hearing is initiated by the Conduct Officer;
• request an agreed settlement to your conduct matter;
• request an administrative review of an Initial Order;
• attend all applicable conduct proceedings.

A Brief Overview of the Student Conduct Process

• The Conduct Officer receives a report alleging a violation of the Student Conduct Code.
• A conduct proceeding will be initiated by the Conduct Officer. The fact finding process will focus on gathering all of the pertinent information necessary to determine whether or not a violation of the Student Conduct Code occurred.
• An investigative interview will be scheduled for the respondent to review the alleged violation(s) of the Student Conduct Code and the report with the Conduct Officer.
• During the investigative interview, the respondent is provided with an overview of the Student Conduct Process and their rights.
• The respondent has the opportunity to provide their account of what occurred, present relevant evidence, and provide names of witnesses for further consideration by the Conduct Officer during the fact finding process.
• During the fact finding process, the Conduct Officer may initiate a full hearing and the respondent will be notified of this decision. The respondent will then receive further information from the Hearing Officer. (See What to Expect in a Full Hearing brochure for more information.)
• At the conclusion of the fact finding process, the Conduct Officer will make a decision regarding whether there was a violation of the Student Conduct Code based on a “preponderance pf evidence” standard, and if so, the Conduct Officer will also determine what sanctions are appropriate for the violation(s). This written decision is called an Initial Order.
• The respondent has the option to request an administrative review of the decision within 21 days of service of the Initial Order.
• If an administrative review is not requested the Initial Order is considered final.