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Appeals process

Upon conclusion of an Honor Board hearing and delivery of the outcome to the parties involved, students may appeal a “finding of responsibility” or “sanctions” by writing via email to the Dean of Student Affairs within one business day following the delivery of the outcome of the hearing. The appeal letter must clearly state the grounds and rationale for the appeal. Once received, the Dean of Student Affairs will convene an Appeals Board. The members of the Appeals Board will be the faculty representative to the Honor Board, the staff representative to the Honor Board, and either a student member of the Honor Board or the Title IX deputy coordinator. None of the Appeals Board members will have been involved in the adjudication of the case being appealed. The Title IX deputy coordinator will sit in on cases of sexual misconduct and assault. A student member of the Honor Board will sit in on all other appeals. The Dean may appoint new members to the panel in the event of a conflict or add members as needed. In the latter case, this may result in more than three voting members on the Appeals Board.

The purpose of the Appeals Board is to review all information available pertaining to hearings and proceedings that led to the appeal to ensure that these were conducted according to the established judicial procedures. The Appeals Board will not substitute its own judgment for a “finding of responsibility” or “sanctions”. Requests for appeal may be made to the Dean of Student Affairs on the following grounds:

  1. Procedural error;
  2. New evidence that was not reasonably available at the time of the hearing that could change the outcome of the hearing;
  3. Belief that the severity of the sanction is inappropriate given the details of the case.

Disagreement with the finding or sanctions is not, by itself, grounds for appeal.

The Appeals Board may rule in one of three ways:

  1. They may recommend a new hearing before a new hearing panel.
  2. They may recommend the case go back to the original hearing panel for further review for reasons such as new evidence that was not available during the original hearing.
  3. They may recommend that the appeal be denied.

If the appeal is denied, the sanctions will be imposed and the college will consider the case closed. The Appeals Board must inform the Dean of Student Affairs about the outcome of the appeal deliberations within 10 business days of the written appeal being received. The Dean of Student Affairs will notify the student(s) in writing of the outcome of the appeal within 2 business days of receiving the outcome from the Appeals Board.

Barring any extraordinary circumstances, if a request for appeal is filed sanctions resulting from the case will typically be put on hiatus and not implemented until after the appeal is resolved. If an emergency suspension or dismissal has been administered, the student must leave campus and remain off campus during the appeal process.