Student Appeal of Disciplinary Sanctions

All students have the right to appeal disciplinary decisions. Appeals must be made within five (5) academic days after verbal or written notification of the sanction. The written appeal must include the reason for the request. A student may appeal for three reasons which include:

  1. The introduction of new information. 
  2. Failure to uphold the student's rights. 
  3. Appropriateness of the sanction. 

To initiate an appeal hearing, the Appellant is to submit the following, in writing, to the Student Dean:

  1. A request for a hearing to consider the appeal, submitted within five (5) working days from the time the Appellant was informed of the disciplinary decisions. 
  2. A statement, which includes all of the relevant issues and evidence to be considered. Issues/evidence not included in this statement will not be considered in the appeal hearing. 
  3. A list of material witnesses, if any, and the essence of their proposed contribution to the appeal hearing. Please note these are not character witnesses but individuals with first-hand knowledge of the situation in appeal. Their testimony will be limited to the specified matters. 

The Student Dean will then form an Appeal Hearing Committee, made up of one member of the Student Senate and three faculty/staff members selected by the Student Dean.

The Appeal Committee will, within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the appeal request, review and evaluate the original adjudication, as well as the information that the Appellant has presented. Based on the nature of the appeal, the Appeal Hearing Committee has the discretion whether or not to call the Appellant and/or his/her witnesses to appear before the Appeal Hearing Committee. If the Appellant and/or the witnesses will be called, they will be notified at least two (2) days in advance of the appeal hearing date. The Appeal Hearing Committee may tape-record the appeal hearing.

It is also important to note that in respect to appeal proceedings, formal rules of evidence are not followed, and past conduct may be considered in the appeal process. No particular model of procedural process is required; however, the Appeal Committee will attempt to structure the procedure so as to facilitate a reliable determination of the truth and be fair and reasonable.

During periods other than regular semesters (summer, Christmas, etc.), the Student Dean reserves the right to alter the timing of the appeals process as necessary, due to faculty/staff/student availability.

The Student Dean will issue a decision in writing to the parties involved within a reasonable time (usually within ten (10) working days) of the conclusion of the appeal process.

The Appellant may make a final appeal of the decision to the President’s Cabinet. The decision of the Cabinet will be final and no further appeal is possible.