Article VII: Appeals

A. Filing Procedure

1. A decision reached by a Judicial Board or the Student Affairs Committee or a penalty imposed by a Judicial Board or a Penalty Board or the Student Affairs Committee may be appealed to the Appeals Board by the respondent.
2. An Appeals Board panel (and quorum) shall consist of three members of the Judiciary Council and the non-voting Appeals Board chair. All three voting members shall agree in order for an appeal to be successful.
3. Written notice of intention to appeal and written reasons for the appeal shall be provided within ten school days of the hearing panel’s decision. Written notice of intent to appeal and written reasons for the appeal shall be provided to the Chair of the Appeals Board, the Judiciary Chair and the Vice President and Dean of Students. The written reasons for the appeal shall be based on the grounds codified in Article VII, Section B, Subsection 1.
4. If either the Appeals Chair or the Associate Dean of Students and Dean of Campus Life assert that the appeal is based on the codified grounds for appeal, then the Appeals Chair shall convene an appeals hearing as prescribed in Article VII, Section C. If both the Appeals Chair and the Associate Dean of Students and Dean of Campus Life assert that the appeal is not based on the codified grounds for appeal listed in Article VII, Section B, Subsection 1, then the appeal shall be dismissed and no appeals hearing shall be convened, except as specified in Article VII, Section A, Subsection 5.
5. Should a student sanctioned with suspension or expulsion file an appeal, the Appeals Chair must convene an appeals hearing as prescribed in Article VII, Section C without comment or opinion from the Appeals Chair or Associate Dean of Students and Dean of Campus Life.
6. Once an appeals hearing is granted, the chair of the original hearing panel shall write a response within ten school days to be presented to the Appeals Board Chair, the Vice President and Dean of Students and the respondent.
7. The Appeals Board Chair shall establish a time and place for a hearing and notify the hearing panel, the Vice President and Dean of Students, and the respondent.

B. Grounds

1. The decisions made by a Judicial Board or Penalty Board or Student Affairs Committee are generally final. Appeal of the decision may be made on only two grounds. Either or both shall be cited in the appeal.
   • Improper Judicial Procedure. The respondent may appeal if the procedures outlined in the Student Code are violated. The Appeals Board shall consider:
     1. Whether provisions of the Student Code were violated in such a clear manner as to deny the respondent consideration of their position during the hearing.
     2. Whether the hearing panel, through negligence or lack of impartiality, overlooked or flagrantly ignored information which would have led to a different finding concerning the alleged violation of the Student Code.
        
        If the Appeals Board accepts an appeal made on the grounds of improper judicial procedure, they shall order the creation of a new hearing panel. The Appeals Board may provide specific directives or explanations for the guidance of the hearing panel.
   • New Evidence. Normally, sufficient time is allowed to gather all available evidence. However, in extraordinary cases the respondent may appeal if new evidence becomes available. The Appeals Board must consider:
     1. Whether the evidence was genuinely unavailable and could not have been made available through the appellant’s diligent efforts at the time of the original hearing and
     2. Whether the evidence would have led to a different conclusion had it been available.
        
        If the Appeals Board reaches a positive answer to both of these questions, the Appeals Board will grant the appeal and send the case to a new hearing panel for re-hearing and may provide specific directions or explanations for the guidance of the hearing panel.
        
        In certain extraordinary circumstances and in consultation with the Dean of Students, the Judiciary Council Chair may request an Appeals Board hearing to review a case on the grounds of fairness and precedent. If such an appeal is granted, the case shall be heard by a new hearing panel.

C. Convening Appeals Board Hearings and Hearing Procedures

1. The chair of the Appeals Board shall select panel members from the Judiciary Council and shall preside at Appeals Board hearings. Three Judiciary Council members are required (and constitute a quorum) for each panel. The chair of the original hearing panel shall attend Appeals Board hearings to provide information about decisions reached in the hearing.
2. Arguments presented before the Appeals Board shall be restricted to an elaboration of points in the written reasons for appeal and response.
3. The respondent and the respondent’s advisor may attend the Appeals Board hearing. The respondent and the Judiciary Council Chair each have the right to speak in elaboration of points in the written reasons for appeal and response. A Dean from Student Affairs and staff member from the Office of Student Affairs may also attend and participate.
4. When the respondent in a hearing is an organization, the organization may be represented by no more than four organization members.
5. Appeals Board hearings are not recorded.
6. When discussion of the written reasons for appeal and response is concluded, the parties to the case and advisors shall withdraw and the Appeals Board shall begin deliberation. The Dean from Student Affairs shall remain to advise on process if requested to do so by the Appeals Board Chair or a majority of the hearing panel. A staff member from the Office of Student Affairs shall be present throughout the proceeding.
7. An Appeals Board panel must reach unanimous agreement in order to grant an appeal.
8. The Appeals Chair shall inform the appellant and Office of Student Affairs of the results of the hearing. The Chair shall file a written opinion which explains the reasons for the decision with the Vice President and Dean of Students. The Office of Student Affairs shall issue an official letter of notification to the appellant.
9. The members of the Appeals Board shall at no time discuss cases outside of the hearing. If any member discusses a case outside of the hearing, that member shall be immediately disqualified from the case and dismissed from further judicial responsibilities.

After reconsiderations as directed by the Appeals Board, a decision of the Judiciary Council shall be final unless the President of the College makes a finding that extraordinary circumstances exist or unless the penalty imposed is suspension or expulsion. In cases where the penalty is suspension or expulsion from the College, the sanctions imposed shall not be in effect until the appeal process is complete. If the safety of individuals, the protection of property or the continuity of the education process is or could be affected by the presence on campus of the suspended or expelled student, the President of the College may require the respondent to leave campus pending the hearing of the appeal.

D. In Cases of Suspension or Expulsion

In cases when the respondent has been suspended or expelled from the College by action of the Judiciary Council or the Student Affairs Committee, the respondent may request that the President of the College review the case following review by the Appeals Board.

The respondent, the Chair of the hearing panel that took the action, the Chair of the Appeals Board, and the Vice President and Dean of Students shall present written comments about the case to the President. The president may request more information, until they believe all issues have been fully presented.

After reviewing the material available, the President may take one of the following actions: uphold the decisions of the Judiciary and the Appeals board, request further hearing or deliberation by the original hearing panel or request that a new panel hear the case. In either of these last two instances, the President may direct the hearing panel to consider new evidence or consider evidence in a new light. The president may also overturn the decision of the Judiciary and impose a new penalty.