Charges of Student Misconduct

Any member of the college community may report charges of student conduct violation. The charge of misconduct by a member of the college community should be submitted in writing and should specify the misconduct and describe circumstances, evidence, witnesses, and any other information relevant to the acts of misconduct. The report should be submitted as soon after the event occurs or after the act of misconduct is discovered. Reports should be submitted to the dean of student development.

The dean of student development will investigate the allegation and will call the student(s) to an initial conference where the student(s) of the misconduct allegation will be informed of the findings of the initial investigation, college rules or policies that may have been violated, and the range of disciplinary action against the students(s) that might be imposed. The student(s) will be interviewed and given an opportunity to refute the allegations, make any statements, or provide any evidence or mitigating circumstances.

If the disciplinary matter can be resolved by mutual agreement of the student(s) and the dean of student development, the disciplinary proceedings will terminate, subject to any terms of the agreement. If the charges cannot be disposed of by mutual agreement, the dean of student development will schedule a meeting of the Discipline Committee to hear the case and impose disciplinary action if such is found warranted. The student may continue to attend classes and college activities until the discipline hearing is held by the Discipline Committee and pending appeal at the discretion of the dean of student development.

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE:
The Discipline Committee is a standing committee composed of 13 members: seven faculty members and administrators appointed by the president, four students appointed by SAB, the dean of student development (ex-officio), and the executive vice-president (chair).

If regular members cannot be present for a hearing, they may be replaced by alternates. The Chair of the Discipline Committee will preside at the Disciplinary Hearing and may establish organizational or operational procedures necessary to conduct the hearing. The chair may rule on all questions before the Discipline Committee and may limit repetitious testimony and exclude immaterial or irrelevant evidence. Strict rules of evidence shall not be applied.

COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES:
The accused has a right to a fair and impartial hearing before the Discipline Committee on any charge of violating rules of student conduct. The accused's failure to cooperate with hearing procedures shall not prevent the Discipline Committee from making its findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendations. Failure by the accused to cooperate may be taken into consideration by the Discipline Committee in recommending appropriate disciplinary action.

The accused shall be entitled to hear and examine evidence against him/her and be informed of the identity of its source and shall be entitled to present evidence or witnesses in his/her own behalf.

Only those matters presented at the hearing in the presence of the accused will be considered by the Discipline Committee in determining whether there is sufficient evidence to believe the accused violated the Student Conduct Code.