Appeals may be made by a respondent who has been found responsible in any case where sanctions are issued – even those in which such sanctions are held “in abeyance,” such as probationary suspension or expulsion. The respondent (and in cases involving sexual misconduct or other forms of discrimination and or harassment, the victim), shall have the right to appeal the outcome on any of the following grounds:

  1. To consider new information, sufficient to alter the decision or other relevant facts not brought out in the original hearing, because such information was not known or knowable to the person appealing during the
    time of the hearing;
  2. To allege a procedural error within the hearing process that may have impacted the fairness of the hearing, including but not limited to whether any hearing questions were improperly excluded or whether the decision was tainted by bias; or
  3. To allege that the finding was inconsistent with the weight of the information.

Appeals will be to the Vice President of Enrollment & Student Affairs and must be solely on the above three guidelines. The appeal will be a review of the record only, and no new meeting with the respondent or any alleged victim is required. All appeals must be submitted in writing via the online appeal form within five (5) business days as determined by the date of the decision letter sent to the parties. The Vice President of Enrollment & Student Affairs may affirm the original finding and sanction; affirm the original finding but issue a new sanction of lesser severity; remand the case back to the decision-maker to correct a procedural or factual defect; or reverse or dismiss the case if there was a procedural or factual defect that cannot be remedied by remand. The Vice President of Enrollment & Student Affairs will issue a decision in writing to the respondent and victim (where applicable) within ten (10) business days and will copy the Director of Student Conduct & Title IX.

The Vice President’s decision shall be the final decision of the institution. Should the respondent or alleged victim (where applicable) wish to appeal the decision of the Vice President, they may request review by the Board of Regents in accordance with the Board of Regents Policy 8.6 on Discretionary Review.

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