H. Student Conduct Hearing Procedures

This section describes the format of the hearing and the rights of the respondent in a hearing process. It also includes information about witnesses, student conduct assistants, the respondent’s adviser, the decision-making process and the communication process.

1. Hearing Format

a. An electronic or other verbatim record will be made of all hearings. This record will be retained for one month following the hearing or until the conclusion of any appeal process, whichever is longer. The record
will then be destroyed, except in cases of suspension and expulsion, when the electronic record shall be retained with the student’s record.

b. At the beginning of the hearing, the respondent will be introduced to others who are present. The respondent will be informed of standards alleged to have been violated and will be advised that he/she has rights specified in Section III.H.2.

c. The student conduct administrator will read the incident report and ask the charged student to respond.

d. The complainant/victim will be asked to describe what happened, and the respondent will have the opportunity to respond.

e. Witnesses will be asked to describe what happened, and the charged student will have a chance to respond.

f. All communication between the charged student, complainant, victim and witnesses will be directed to the student conduct administrator/board chairperson. The student conduct administrator/board chairperson will decide which questions to ask of each person.

g. The student conduct administrator/board chairperson may reasonably limit the scope and time devoted to each matter or item of discussion during hearings, as well as the number of persons testifying.

h. The student conduct administrator/board chairperson will decide the order of witnesses and when the victim and witnesses will be in the hearing room.

i. The student conduct administrator/board chairperson and/or members of the student conduct review board may ask questions of any charged student, victim or witness during the hearing.

j. At the conclusion of the hearing, the charged student, victim, advisers and witnesses will be asked to leave the room. These individuals will not be present during the deliberations of a student conduct administrator or student conduct review board.

2. Student Rights

In the hearing notification letter and again at the beginning of the hearing, the respondent will be advised that he/she has the rights listed below. Students with any questions about their rights are encouraged to contact a student conduct assistant.

• The student is entitled to be present throughout the hearing, but not during the deliberation of the student conduct administrator or student conduct review board.

• The student is entitled to remain silent (i.e., not to testify against him/herself), but must be informed that if silence is maintained, the case will be decided on the evidence presented.

• The student may object to a member of a student conduct review board for reasons of official or personal conflict of interest.

• The student is entitled to know all evidence and testimony presented against him/herself and to view pertinent materials supporting the case against him/herself.

• The student is entitled to present pertinent evidence and the testimony of witnesses to substantiate his/her case and to comment upon and respond to the charges against him/herself.

• The student is entitled to make a written appeal of the disciplinary decision within five (5) working days of the date of notification of that decision. University disciplinary actions are appealed to the dean of students.

3. Attendance

All disciplinary hearings will be closed to everyone except those persons specifically provided for in this procedure or persons whose presence at the hearing is authorized by the student conduct administrator.

A student who cannot attend the hearing scheduled for consideration of his/her case must submit a written statement to the student conduct administrator stating the reasons for the conflict and requesting a new hearing date. This statement must be presented to the student conduct administrator not fewer than two working days before the beginning of the hearing. At the discretion of the student conduct administrator, the hearing may be rescheduled. Only one change of hearing date and time
may be granted.

If a student fails to attend a scheduled hearing, the hearing may proceed in the absence of the respondent. Such an absence will not be considered grounds for an appeal.

Where two or more cases involving common occurrences or the same student(s) are pending simultaneously, the student conduct administrator may decide to consolidate the hearing of such cases or hear them separately.

4. Witnesses

The respondent is responsible for arranging for witnesses testifying on his/her behalf to appear at the hearing. Victims, complainants and the student conduct administrator may also invite witnesses to appear at the
hearing. In the exceptional event that a witness is unable to attend the hearing, the witness may write or record a statement and discuss the statement with the student conduct administrator before the scheduled hearing. The student conduct administrator is to be notified by the respondent, victims, complainants or witnesses not less than one (1) working day before the hearing of those persons intending to provide testimony, whether in person or in writing. The student conduct administrator/ board chairperson may reasonably limit the scope andtime devoted to witness statements. Witnesses are typically asked to comment only on the event(s) pertinent to the charges, not the character of the respondent(s).

5. Evidence

In all cases, the procedures will not be subject to limiting rules of evidence. Evidence will consist of oral and written testimony, incident reports and any other material directly related to the incident. Other evidence may also be
considered and will consist of such things as secondhand reports and circumstantial evidence. The student conduct administrator/board chairperson may reasonably limit the scope of evidence considered in the hearing.

6. Student Conduct Assistants

Student conduct assistants, who may be Marquette students, faculty or staff, will be available to all students involved in student conduct proceedings to provide information about the conduct process and assist the student in preparation for the conduct hearing.

7. Adviser

The respondent, a complainant in a sexual misconduct case or any complainant who has received permission from the student conduct administrator, may have one adviser present at the hearing. If the student wants to have an adviser present, the student must notify the
student conduct administrator of this fact in writing no later than two (2) working days before the beginning of the hearing. Advisers are normally members of the Marquette community (e.g., current full-time students,
faculty, staff). This adviser serves as a support person and is intended to be of direct assistance to the student before and during the hearing. The adviser may not speak for the student or address the student conduct
administrator or the conduct review board. If the adviser is an attorney, a law student or a Law School faculty member, the case will be heard as an administrative hearing and the conduct administrator may reschedule
the time and/or date of the hearing so that Marquette University legal counsel may be present.

8. Substitution of Members/Quorum

If a member of the student conduct review board believes that he/she is not qualified to serve on the board for personal or official reasons, that member may disqualify him/herself. A student whose case is before the board may not object to the membership of the board except for reasons of official or personal conflict of interest. The board chairperson will determine the validity of such objections and his/her determination shall be final. If
necessary, the board chairperson will replace the disqualified board member with a substitute.

For the purpose of hearing any case that comes before the board, the presence of five voting members shall constitute a quorum. A decision agreed to by a majority of the sitting board shall be the decision of the board.

9. Decisions and Communications

At the conclusion of the conduct hearing, the respondent will be informed as to when the decision will be made and communicated. Disciplinary decisions that result in positive action, university warning or restitution will be made by the student conduct administrator and communicated to the respondent in writing within five (5) working days of the conclusion of the hearing. All other disciplinary actions will be made after consultation with and approval by the administrators indicated below:

• Disciplinary actions of limitation on activities, residence life probation or termination of the housing contract will be approved by the dean of residence life for residence hall cases and by the associate dean of student
development for non-residence hall cases.

• Disciplinary actions of university probation will be approved by the associate dean of student development.

• Disciplinary actions of suspension or expulsion will be approved by the dean of student development.

The official receiving the recommendation may accept or lower the recommended disciplinary action. The final decision will be communicated in writing to the respondent by the student conduct administrator within
five (5) working days of the conclusion of the hearing. In the event that the written notification is delayed, the respondent will be notified of the delay and informed when the decision will be communicated.

All communications to students will be transmitted in the manner specified in the appropriate part of this procedure. Individual circumstances may permit or require communication by whatever means is necessary to reach
the student promptly and reliably. Following reasonable efforts to deliver any communication to a student personally, an indirect or substituted mode of delivery may be attempted. Thus, any delay or failure to reach the
student shall not impair the procedure.

I. Appeals

1. Overview

Students found responsible for a violation of the standards of conduct may appeal the decision. Appeals are not rehearings, and they are not granted on the basis of disagreement with the original decision. The dean of students* will determine if there are grounds to warrant an appeal.

*(Note — For cases in which the dean of students makes the disciplinary decision, the vice president for student affairs or designee will assume the appeal role described in this section.)

The bases of appeals include only the following:

• There was a denial of a fair hearing.

• There was insufficient evidence to establish responsibility.

• The disciplinary action taken can be shown to be arbitrary or capricious.

2. Time Line

A student has five (5) working days after receipt of the written notification of a disciplinary decision to file an appeal with the Office of Student Development. Failure to appeal within the five (5) working day period waives the right to appeal. Disciplinary actions will not be implemented while an appeal is under consideration unless emergency action has been taken.

3. Documentation

The appeal must be in writing and must contain the following:

• The completed Request for Appeal Form, which can be obtained in the Office of Student Development, AMU 329.

• A statement explaining in detail why the student is contesting the findings or the action(s).

• Copies of any documents that will substantiate or clarify the appeal request.

4. Review of an Appeal Request

Within five (5) working days of the receipt of the material pertinent to the appeal, the administrator hearing the appeal will notify the student in writing of his/ her decision to 1) deny the request for an appeal, 2) to
inform the student of the outcome of an administrative appeal decision or 3) to accept the appeal for review by the university appeals committee, which shall normally be completed within 30 days. If a delay occurs, or additional
time is needed, this administrator will notify the student of the delay.

5. Administrative Appeal Option

An administrative decision to grant or deny an appeal may be made at the discretion of the administrator hearing the appeal. This administrator may impose one of the following actions:

• Affirm the disciplinary decision and thus deny the appeal;

• Modify the disciplinary decision;

• Return for a new or partial rehearing; or

• Overturn the disciplinary decision.

6. University Appeals Committee

If an appeal is referred to the university appeals committee, the student will be informed of the date and time when the committee will review the student’s 61 written appeal material. The administrator hearing the
appeal will promptly provide all appeal materials to the university appeals committee for its consideration. The university appeals committee will confine its review to the issues raised in the written appeal and will consider the appeal based only on the material, questions and evidence
from the original hearing submitted in writing and the recording of the hearing. The student or others, including witnesses, will not appear before the committee.

Upon completing the review of the appeal the committee will submit its recommendation to the administrator hearing the appeal in writing within two (2) working days. The committee is limited to recommending one of the
following actions.

• Affirm the disciplinary decision and thus deny the appeal;

• Modify the disciplinary decision;

• Return for a new or partial rehearing; or

• Overturn the disciplinary decision.

The student will be informed in writing of the decision of the administrator hearing the appeal within five (5) working days after the committee has made its recommendation to the administrator. The disposition of
the case by the administrator is final.

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