respondents their official sanction through their Susquehanna e-mail address or, when deemed appropriate by the Community Standards Officer, in person.
4. APPEAL PROCESS
Appeal Grounds A decision made by a university conduct board may be appealed to the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or designee. Decisions for a Conduct Conference may be appealed to the Community Standards Officer or designee. The implementation of sanctions will be deferred during the pendency of the review, unless the sanction of suspension or expulsion is imposed. In cases of suspension or expulsion, the student is immediately removed from campus pending the completion of the appeal process. Appeals may be based only on the following grounds: • • •
material procedural error that likely would have significantly impacted the outcome of the hearing; new relevant evidence to present that was previously unavailable and likely would have significantly impacted the outcome of a hearing; or sanctions imposed were substantially disproportionate to the findings.
Procedures: • Within five (5) business days from the date the conduct decision is issued, the respondent shall submit a written statement to the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or Community Standards Officer requesting review of the decision or sanction and detailing the grounds for appeal. • The Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students may request additional information from the conduct board/officer or others, if deemed necessary in reviewing the appeal request and making a determination. • The Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or Community Standards Officer will typically decide the appeal within ten (10) business days. o If the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or Community Standards Officer determines there was procedural error that likely would have significantly impacted the outcome of the hearing, the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students will order a new hearing before a new Conduct Board/Officer. o If the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or Community Standards Officer determines that previously unavailable relevant information is presented that likely would have significantly impacted the outcome of the hearing, the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or Community Standards Officer will ask the original Conduct Board/Officer to consider the information and render a determination after considering the new information. o If the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or Community Standards Officer determines the sanction substantially disproportionate to the findings, the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or Community Standards Officer may revise the sanction or order a new hearing before a new Conduct Board/Officer solely for the purpose of sanctioning. • The Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students or Community Standards Officer will provide written notification (which may include by email) of the result of the appeal to the Respondent. The complainant, if any, will be notified to the extent consistent with law. All appeal decisions are final. Sanctions There are six primary conduct sanctions (Disciplinary Warning, Disciplinary Reprimand, Disciplinary Probation, Disciplinary Suspension, Disciplinary Deferred Suspension, and Expulsion) that are accumulative and kept in the student’s conduct file while a student and seven (7) years post departure with the exception of expulsion which is reflected on the student’s record permanently. Sanctions imposed in accordance with this Code of Student Conduct are applied to individual students, group of students, student teams, or student organizations for one to two semesters. Failure to complete sanctions by their assigned due date and/or according to instruction may result in additional conduct proceedings; fines and/or the Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students placing a Hold on the student’s University record which affects their ability to register for classes with the Registrar. The Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students will lift the Hold once sanctions are completed as originally instructed. Violations of the Code of Student Conduct may result in appropriate sanctions from the university, unless specific and significant mitigating factors are present. Attempts to commit acts prohibited by this code may be sanctioned to the same extent as completed violations.
13
