Student Disciplinary Procedures

Decision

The Vice President of Student Services or designee shall receive all allegations of student misconduct and investigate the complaints, which includes meeting with the student to give him/her the opportunity to respond to the allegations of misconduct.

If the allegations of misconduct are discrimination and/or harassment based on federal or state civil rights laws the college will investigate those incidents through the Civil Rights Grievance and Investigation Process (3.18).

Once the investigation is complete, either through this process or the Civil Rights Grievance and Investigation process, the Chief Student Services Officer (CSSO) or designee shall render a sanction decision.

The CSSO or designee may decide that the charges can be disposed of administratively by mutual consent of the parties involved on a basis acceptable to them. If an administrative resolution is not achieved the CSSO or designee shall issue a decision which determines whether the alleged conduct occurred or whether the conduct violated the Code of Conduct or College procedures and then impose a sanction(s) if appropriate.

The student shall receive written notice of the decision and be advised of his/ her right to appeal the Decision, subject to the grounds below, by filing a written appeal with the CSSO or designee within seven days of service of the Decision.

Appeal

In the event of an appeal the CSSO or designee shall give written notice to the other party (e.g., if the accused student appeals, the appeal is shared with the complainant who may also wish to file a response) and then the CSSO or designee will draft a response memorandum (also shared with all parties). All appeals and responses are then forwarded to the appeals officer or committee for initial review to determine if the appeal meets the limited grounds and is timely. The original finding and sanction will stand if the appeal is not timely or substantively eligible and the decision is final. If the appeal has standing, the documentation is forwarded for consideration. Because the original finding and sanction are presumed to have been decided reasonably and appropriately, the party appealing the decision must specifically cite the error(s) in the original determination on which the appeal is based.

The ONLY grounds for appeal are as follows:

1. A material procedural or substantive error occurred that significantly impacted the outcome of the hearing (e.g. substantiated bias, material deviation from established procedures), which must be explained in the written appeal.
2. To consider new evidence unavailable during the investigation or hearing that could substantially impact the original finding or sanction. A summary of this new evidence and its potential impact must be included in the written appeal as well as the reasons the new evidence was not available during the original proceeding.

The appeals committee shall be appointed by the Northeastern President and shall consist of one (1) administrator, three (3) faculty members (none of whom shall be a current or past instructor or advisor of the student filing the appeal), and one (1) student representative (an officer from the Associated Student Government). If the appeals officer or committee determines that a material procedural or substantive error occurred, it may return the complaint to the CSSO or designee with instructions to reconvene to cure the error. In rare cases where the procedural or substantive error cannot be cured by the CSSO or designee, in cases of bias, the appeals officer or committee may order a new hearing be held by a different individual acting in the place of the designated CSSO or designee. The results of a reconvened hearing cannot be appealed. The results of a new hearing can be appealed, once, on the two applicable grounds for appeals.

If the appeals officer or committee determines that new evidence should be considered it will return the complaint to the CSSO or designee to reconsider in light of the new evidence only. If the subject matter pertains to discrimination and/or harassment pursuant to 3.18 of the Northeastern Student Handbook, the appeals officer or committee will return the complaint to the Title IX Coordinator to reconsider in light of the new evidence only. The reconsideration of the CSSO, designee, or Title IX Coordinator is not appealable.

The procedures governing the hearing of appeals include the following:

• All parties should be timely informed of the status of requests for appeal, the status of the appeal consideration, and the results of the appeal decision.
• If the appeals officer or committee determines there is new evidence or error in the original proceeding every opportunity to return the appeal to the CSSO or designee for reconsideration (remand) should be pursued
• Appeals are not intended to be full re-hearings of the complaint. In most cases, appeals are confined to a review of the written documentation or record of the original hearing and pertinent documentation regarding the grounds for appeal.
• An appeal is not an opportunity for an appeals officer or committee to substitute their judgment for that of the CSSO or designee merely because they disagree with its finding and/or sanctions.
• Appeals decisions are to be deferential to the original decision, making changes to the findings only where there is clear error and a compelling justification to do so.
• Sanctions imposed are implemented immediately unless the CSSO or designee stays their implementation in extraordinary circumstances, pending the outcome of the appeal.
• The appeals officer or committee will render a written decision on the appeal to all parties within four (4) days from receiving the appeal request. The committee’s decision to deny appeal requests is final.

Special Discipline Process Provisions

• In the event that the student is under the age of eighteen or incapacitated, he or she may have an advisor present to assist him/her in presenting his/her case.
• Students do not have the right to be represented by an attorney or law student during these proceedings except in the case where civil or criminal actions concerning the student are pending and in that case the attorney’s role shall be advisory only.
• The student is responsible for presenting his/her own case and, therefore, advisors are not permitted to speak or participate directly in any hearing except when the student is under the age of eighteen or incapacitated.
• Student shall have the right to identify documents, witnesses, and other material he/she would like the CSSO or designee to review before making a final decision.
• Any hearing held shall be conducted in private unless all parties agree otherwise.
• A record of the hearing should be maintained by the CSSO or designee.
• If the student has a disability and would like to request an accommodation to assist them through the discipline process, they may do so by informing the CSSO or designee. The CSSO or designee will then work with disability support services to accommodate the request.
• Jurisdiction - College disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against a student charged with violation of a law if the violation occurred at the College or College- sanctioned activities or was of such a nature to have an impact on the College and the violation is also a violation of the College’s student code of conduct. Dealings under this procedure may be carried out prior to, simultaneously with, or following civil or criminal proceedings off-campus.
• Standard of Proof - The college will use the preponderance of evidence standard in the disciplinary proceedings; meaning the college will determine whether it is more likely than not a conduct code was violated.
• All sanctions imposed by the original decision maker will be in effect during the appeal. A request may be made to the CSSO or designee for special consideration in exigent circumstances, but the presumptive stance of the institution is that the sanctions will stand.
• Graduation, study abroad, internships, externships, or clinical placements, etc. do not, in and of themselves, constitute exigent circumstances and students may not be able to participate in those activities during their appeal. In cases where the appeal results in reinstatement to the institution or of privileges, all reasonable attempts will be made to restore the student to their prior status, recognizing that some opportunities lost may be irretrievable in the short term.
• The procedural rights afforded to students above may be waived by the student.

Retaliatory Acts

It is a violation of this procedure to engage in retaliatory acts against any employee or student who reports an incident(s) of code of conduct violations or any employee or student who testifies, assists, or participates in the discipline proceeding, investigation, or hearing relating to such allegation(s) of code of conduct violations.

Revising this Procedure

CCCS reserves the right to change any provision or requirement of this procedure at any time and the change shall become effective immediately.

DUE PROCESS EXCEPTIONS

In special circumstances, to preserve and protect the rights and privileges of the majority of students, the Vice President of Student Services can waive the due process. The following are due process exceptions and they are general categories that give the college the authority and the right to make a reasonable and fair decision regarding exceptions:

1. Dangerous Acts: If a student’s conduct is dangerous and life-threatening to themselves and to other people the due process is waived.
2. Mental Health: If the student has exhibited impaired and irrational judgment and, in the opinion of the Vice President of Student Services, is unable to make decisions due to emotional or psychological reasons, the due process is waived.
3. Physical Health: In the opinion of the Vice President of Student Services, if the student’s health is or will be affected by the due process procedures, the due process will be waived in the best interest of the student. An expeditious hearing and the seven day appeal requirement may be extended by request of the student or the Vice President of Student Services.
4. Students with Legal Summons: Students who are arrested for violation of a local, state, or federal law are still eligible for College student due process if such violation of law does not involve threatening the health, safety, rights, and privileges of other students. If the student is arrested and/or charged for physical acts of endangerment of others or for irrational behavior that could threaten other people, or the possibility of physical threat, the student’s status may be decided by the College administration to protect other student’s enrollment status and on campus residence.
5. Interim Action is outlined in College Sanctions.