Article IV: Student Code of Conduct Procedures

1. Charges and Student Conduct Board Hearings

a. Any member of the College community may file charges against a student for violations of the Student Code of Conduct. A charge shall be prepared in writing and directed to the Dean of Student Success. Any charge should be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place, preferably within 30 days.

b. The Dean of Student Success may conduct an investigation to determine if the charges have merit and/or if they can be disposed of administratively by mutual consent of the parties involved on a basis acceptable to the Dean of Student Success. Such disposition shall be final and there shall be no subsequent proceedings. If the charges are not admitted and/or cannot be disposed of by mutual consent, the Dean of Student Services may later serve in the same matter as the Student Conduct Board or a member thereof. If the student admits violating institutional rules, but sanctions are not agreed to, subsequent process, including a hearing if necessary, shall be limited to determining the appropriate sanction(s).

c. All charges shall be presented to the Accused Student in written form. A time shall be set for a Student Conduct Board Hearing, not less than five nor more than fifteen calendar days after the student has been notified. Maximum time limits for scheduling of Student Conduct Board Hearings may be extended at the discretion of the Dean of Student Services

d. Student Conduct Board Hearings shall be conducted by a Student Conduct Board according to the following guidelines except as provided by Article IV(1)(a) below:

i. Student Conduct Board Hearings normally shall be conducted in private.

ii. The Complainant, Accused Student, and their advisors, if any, shall be allowed to attend the entire portion of the Student Conduct Board Hearing at which information is received (excluding deliberations). Admission of any other person to the Student Conduct Board Hearing shall be at the discretion of the Student Conduct Board and/or the Dean of Student Success.

iii. In Student Conduct Board Hearings involving more than one Accused Student, the Dean of Student Success, in his or her discretion, may permit the Student Conduct Board Hearings concerning each student to be conducted either separately or jointly.

iv. The Complainant and the Accused Student have the right to be assisted by an advisor they choose, at their own expense. The advisor must be a member of the College community and may not be an attorney. The Complainant and/or the Accused Student is responsible for presenting his or her own information, and therefore, advisors are not permitted to speak or to participate directly in
any Student Conduct Board Hearing before a Student Conduct Board. A student should select as an advisor a person whose schedule allows attendance at the scheduled date and time for the Student Conduct Board Hearing because delays will not normally be allowed due to the scheduling conflicts of an advisor.

v. The Complainant, the Accused Student, and the Student Conduct Board may arrange for witnesses to present pertinent information to the Student Conduct Board. The College will try to arrange the attendance of possible witnesses who are members of the College community, if reasonably possible, and who are identified by the Complainant and/or Accused Student at least two weekdays
prior to the Student Conduct Board Hearing. Witnesses will provide information to and answer questions from the Student Conduct Board. Questions may be suggested by the Accused Student and/or Complainant to be answered by each other or by other witnesses. This will be conducted by the Student Conduct Board with such questions directed to the chairperson, rather than to the
witness directly. This method is used to preserve the educational tone of the hearing and to avoid creation of an adversarial environment. Questions of whether potential information will be received shall be resolved in the discretion of the chairperson of the Student Conduct Board.

vi. Pertinent records, exhibits, and written statements (including Student Impact Statements) may be accepted as information for consideration by a Student Conduct Board at the discretion of the chairperson.

vii. All procedural questions are subject to the final decision of the chairperson of the Student Conduct Board.

viii. After the portion of the Student Conduct Board Hearing concludes in which all pertinent information has been received, the Student Conduct Board shall determine (by majority vote if the Student Conduct Board consists of more than one person) whether the Accused Student has violated each section of the Student Code of Conduct which the student is charged with violating.

ix. The Student Conduct Board’s determination shall be made on the basis of whether it is more likely than not that the Accused Student violated the Student Code of Conduct.

x. Formal rules of process, procedure, and/or technical rules of evidence, such as are applied in criminal or civil court, are not used in Student Code of Conduct proceedings.

e. There shall be a single verbatim record, such as a tape recording, of all Student Conduct Board Hearings before a Student Conduct Board (not including deliberations). Deliberations shall not be recorded. The record shall be the property of the College.

f. If an Accused Student, with notice, does not appear before a Student Conduct Board Hearing, the information in support of the charges shall be presented and considered even if the Accused Student is not present.

g. The Student Conduct Board may accommodate concerns for the personal safety, wellbeing, and/or fears of confrontation of the Complainant, Accused Student, and/or other witness during the hearing by providing separate facilities, by using a visual screen, and/or by permitting participation by telephone, videophone, closed circuit television, video conferencing, videotape, audio tape, written statement, or other means, where and as determined in the sole judgment of the Vice-President of Finance and Administration to be appropriate.

2. Sanctions

a. A student shall be subject to discipline for violations of College District policies and procedures, including the rules outlining expectations for student conduct [see FLB]. If a student commits an infraction or engages in misconduct, the College District may impose one or more of the following penalties:

• Reprimand - A verbal or written warning to the student following a rule violation. Repetition of such misconduct may result in more severe disciplinary action.

• Restitution - Reimbursement for damage to or misappropriation of property.

Reimbursement may take the form of appropriate service to repair or otherwise compensate for damage.

• Behavior Contract - A written agreement that details clear expectations of the student in carrying out an intervention plan. Behavior Contracts may include referral to a counselor, participation in a monitored supervision plan, signing a “no contact” order prohibiting contact with an individual or individuals, submission to random drug testing for a specific period, restriction from a certain campus location, loss of parking privileges, or other stipulations appropriate to the Student Code of Conduct violation.

• Loss of Privileges - Denial of specified privileges for a designated period.

• Discretionary Sanctions - Discretionary Sanctions include, but are not limited to, work assignments, essays, service to the College, or other related discretionary assignments.

• Scholastic Penalties - The assignment of a failing grade on an assignment or examination or in a course by an instructor based on scholastic dishonesty; including cheating, collusion, and

• plagiarism; committed by a student. The instructor shall submit a written report of the incident and of the planned action to the instructor’s Dean.

• Conditional Probation - The placing of a student on notice that continued infraction of regulations may result in suspension or expulsion from the College District. Conditional probation may include restrictions on a student’s rights and privileges or specified community service. The probation may be for a specified length of time or for an indefinite period according to the relative severity of the infraction or misconduct. Failure to fulfill the terms of the probation may lead to suspension or expulsion.

• Community Service-Students may be asked to complete community service hours as approved by the Dean of Student Success . The number of hours required to complete will be relative to the severity of the infraction or misconduct.

• Workshops- Students may be asked to complete mandatory workshops as approved by the Dean of Student Success. The number of workshops required to complete will be relative to the severity of the infraction or misconduct.

• Suspension - Forced withdrawal from the College District for either a definite period of time or until stated conditions have been met. Normally, suspension shall extend through a minimum of one regular long semester (with summer sessions not counting in the one semester minimum time lapse). However, suspension may exceed the one semester minimum.

• Expulsion - Permanent forced withdrawal from the College District. A student receiving disciplinary expulsion shall have the action noted in the student’s permanent record and transcript.

b. More than one of the sanctions listed above may be imposed for any single violation.

c. Other than College expulsion or revocation or withholding of a degree, disciplinary sanctions shall not be made part of the student’s permanent academic record but shall become part of the student’s disciplinary record. Upon graduation, the student’s disciplinary record may be expunged of disciplinary actions other than College suspension, College expulsion, or revocation or withholding of a degree, upon application to the Dean of Student Success. Cases involving the imposition of sanctions other than College suspension, College expulsion or revocation or withholding of a degree shall be expunged from the student’s confidential record eight (8) years after final disposition of the case. (b) In situations involving both an Accused Student(s) (or group or organization) and a student(s) claiming to be the victim of another student’s conduct, the records of the process and of the sanctions imposed, if any, shall be considered to be the education records of both the Accused Student(s) and the student(s) claiming to be the victim because the educational career and chances of success in the academic community of each may be impacted.

d. The following sanctions may be imposed upon groups or organizations:

• Those sanctions listed above in Article IV (2) (a) (i.), (ii.), (iv.), (v.), and (vi.).

• Loss of selected rights and privileges for a specified period of time.

• Deactivation. Loss of all privileges, including College recognition, for a specified period.

e. In each case in which a Student Conduct Board determines that a student and/or group or organization has violated the Student Code of Conduct, the sanction(s) shall be determined and imposed by the Dean of Student Success. In cases in which persons other than, or in addition to, the Dean of Student Success have been authorized to serve as the Student Conduct Board, the recommendation of the Student Conduct Board shall be considered by the Dean of Student Success in determining and imposing sanctions. The Dean of Student Success is not limited to sanctions recommended by members of the Student Conduct Board. Following the Student Conduct Board Hearing, the Student Conduct Board and the Dean of Student Success shall advise the Accused Student, group and/or organization (and a complaining student who believes s/he was the victim of another student’s conduct) in writing of its determination and of the sanction(s) imposed, if any.

3. Interim Suspension

In certain circumstances, the Vice-President of Finance and Administration, or a designee, may impose a College suspension prior to the Student Conduct Board Hearing before a Student Conduct Board.

a. Interim suspension may be imposed only: 1) to ensure the safety and well-being of members of the College community or preservation of college property; b) to ensure the student’s own physical or emotional safety and well-being; or c) if the student poses an ongoing threat of disruption of, or interference with, the normal operations of the College.

b. During the interim suspension, a student shall be denied access to the campus (including classes) and/or all other College activities or privileges for which the student might otherwise be eligible, as the Vice-President of Finance and Administration or the Dean of Student Success may determine to be appropriate.

c. The interim suspension does not replace the regular process, which shall proceed on the normal schedule, up to and through a Student Conduct Board Hearing, if required.

d. The student shall be notified in writing of this action and the reasons for the suspension. The notice will include the time, date, and place of a subsequent hearing at which the student may show cause why his or her continued presence on the campus does not constitute a threat, and at which they may contest whether a campus rule was violated.

4. Appeals

a. A decision reached by the Student Conduct Board or a sanction imposed by the Dean of Student Services may be appealed by the Accused Student(s) or Complainant(s) to an Appellate Board within five (5) school days of the decision. Such appeals shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Dean of Student Success or his or her designee.

b. Except as required to explain the basis of new information, an appeal shall be limited to a review of the verbatim record of the Student Conduct Board Hearing and supporting documents for one or more of the following purposes:

i. To determine whether the Student Conduct Board Hearing was conducted fairly in light of the charges and information presented, and in conformity with prescribed procedures giving the complaining party a reasonable opportunity to prepare and to present information that the Student Code of Conduct was violated, and giving the Accused Student a reasonable opportunity to prepare and to present a response to those allegations. Deviations from designated procedures will not be a basis for sustaining an appeal unless significant prejudice results.

ii. To determine whether the decision reached regarding the Accused Student was based on substantial information, that is, whether there were facts in the case that, if believed by the fact finder, were sufficient to establish that a violation of the Student Code of Conduct occurred.

iii. To determine whether the sanction(s) imposed were appropriate for the violation of the Student Code of Conduct which the student was found to have committed.

iv. To consider new information, sufficient to alter a decision or other relevant facts not brought out in the original hearing, because such information and/or facts were not known to the person appealing at the time of the original Student Conduct Board Hearing.

c. If an appeal is upheld by the Appellate Board, the matter shall be returned to the original Student Conduct Board and Dean of Student Success for reopening of Student Conduct Board Hearing to allow reconsideration of the original determination and/or sanction(s). If an appeal is not upheld, the matter shall be considered final and binding upon all involved.