Non-Disciplinary Policy

• New information that was not available or known to the student appealing at the time of the student conduct meeting has arisen which, when considered, may materially alter the outcome. Note: Information that the appealing student chose not to present at the time of the hearing is not considered new information. • The sanctions imposed are fundamentallyunfair – considering the nature of the violation, student attitude, previous history, impact of the students’ behavior on the community and other specific circumstances – that they demonstrate an abuse of discretion by the student conduct officer or review body. It is not enough to simply assert one of the grounds for appeal. The written statement accompanying the appeal form must provide information that supports grounds upon which the student bases the appeal. For example; if the student asserts that a procedural error occurred; he or she must name the procedure with specificity and explain how the error affected the decision made.

To initiate an appeal hearing, the Appellant is to submit an Appeal Request form in writing, to the Vice President for Student Affairs within three days of receiving the Conduct Hearing or SACC Resolution Decision Letter.

Review of Appeal

The appeal officer will grant or deny review of decisions rendered in student conduct meetings based on the student’s written appeal.

Review Denied

Appeal officers will not review an original decision based on an appeal that fails to meet the criteria outlined above. In such cases, the appeal officer will make no inquiry beyond the written material submitted and the original decision and any sanctions imposed will stand.

Review Granted

If the student’s appeal satisfies the appeal criteria, the appeal officer will consider material and/or testimony previously presented or a written summary of the previous proceedings. The appeal officer may also meet with the student, any witnesses and/or the original decision makers prior to making a decision.

If an appeal request is accepted by meeting the criteria outlined above, the Vice President for of Student Affairs may modify the original sanction assigned, or may form an Appeal Committee made up of one of the remaining hearing officers or members of the SACC not directly involved in the disciplinary process, along with two faculty/staff members selected by the Vice President for Student Affairs. If no remaining members of the hearing officers or SACC are available, the Vice President for Student Affairs may select a replacement from Vanguard faculty or staff.

The Appeal Committee will, within 15 working days of the receipt of the appeal request, review and evaluate the original hearing and decision, as well as the information that the student has presented. Based on the nature of the appeal, the Appeal Committee has the discretion whether or not to call the student and/or his/her witnesses to appear before the Appeal Committee. The Appeal Committee may audio-record the appeal hearing.

The Appeal Committee will issue its decision in writing to the student(s) involved within a reasonable time of the conclusion of the appeal process. The decision of the Appeal Committee will be final, and no further appeal is possible. The appeal committee may modify, uphold, or revise the original hearing officer or SACC decision.

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, spring break, Christmas break), the Vice President for Student Affairs reserves the right to alter the timing of the appeals process as necessary, due to faculty/staff/student availability.

Students struggling with difficult issues in their personal lives are encouraged to seek out a Student Affairs staff member for help at any time. Except in situations where the university is required by law to take appropriate disciplinary action (e.g. harassment, sexual assault, etc.), students who come to a Student Affairs professional staff member for help related to lifestyle behaviors (e.g. alcohol, drug use, tobacco dependency, sexual issues, etc.) prior to staff becoming aware of a violation of university policy may be offered support and help outside of the regular student conduct process.

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