The Conduct Officer shall ordinarily refer for a College Standards Hearing:

1.     Cases involving possible violations of the Code of Student Conduct that could result in a sanction of suspension or expulsion;

2.     Cases in which the accused student does not accept responsibility for the violation with the understanding that the full range of sanctions including suspension or expulsion are available should the student be found responsible for the behavior in question;

 

Configuration of the Board The configuration of the Board for a College Standards Hearing is as described above for the College Student Conduct Board.

 

Notification as to the Charge At least seven (7) days prior to the hearing, or as far in advance as reasonably possible if an accelerated hearing is scheduled with the consent of the accused student, the Conduct Officer shall send a letter to the student stating the following:

 

1.     A description of the alleged violation(s).

2.     The time and location of the hearing and a reminder that attendance is mandatory, superseding all other campus activities. If the student does not appear at the scheduled hearing, the hearing will be held in absentia. For compelling reasons, the chair may reschedule the hearing.

3.     The accused student has the right to bring an advisor to the hearing. An advisor must be chosen from among only current students, faculty, staff or administrators at Colby. The advisor may not be a parent or attorney, and no parent or attorney may be present in the hearing room. The accused student may speak and respond to questions on his/her own behalf. The advisor may consult with the advisee but may not speak on behalf of the advisee, unless he/she is directed to answer questions raised by the Board members.

 

Hearings shall be scheduled as soon as it is possible.

 

As is the case with the student whose behavior is in question (see “Notification as to the Charge,” #3), the person, if any, initiating the action is also entitled to the assistance of an advisor at the hearing. An advisor must be chosen from among current students, faculty, staff or administrators at Colby. The advisor may not be a parent or attorney. The advisor may consult with the advisee but may not speak on behalf of the advisee, unless he/she is directed to answer questions raised by the Board members.

 

Anyone appearing at the hearing to provide information will speak and respond to questions on his/her own behalf.

 

The Hearing

1.     The Hearing is closed.  Only the person(s) directly involved in the incident in question are permitted to attend the entire hearing; there will be no observers. The chair may allow other individuals who have relevant information to appear at a portion of the hearing in order to respond to specific questions from the Board or the persons involved. The Board does not hear character witnesses but will accept up to two letters supporting the character of the accused student.

2.     Formal rules of process, procedure, and/or technical rules of evidence, such as are applied in criminal or civil court, are not used in the Student Conduct Board hearings.

3.     Only information pertinent to the possible violation will be considered by the Board. However, information about other student disciplinary actions or civil or criminal convictions may be introduced at these hearings if, in the discretion of the chair, this information bears directly on the possible violation. The chair shall have discretionary authority to determine whether the Board will receive and consider particular information, and to resolve any procedural questions or disputes arising in the course of a hearing.

4.     Participation in a hearing by telephone, closed circuit television, video conferencing, video or audio recording, written statement or other means may be permitted by the chair to the extent deemed appropriate in his/her sole discretion.

5.     Proceedings are strictly confidential. All persons present at any time during the hearing are expected to maintain confidentiality.

6.     Hearings are recorded. Board members, the accused student, the persons, if any, who initiated the action, and appropriate administrative officers of the College shall be allowed to listen to the recording in a location determined by the Conduct Officer. No person will be given or be allowed to make a copy of the recording, which remains the property of Colby College. Persons given access to the recording will be required to sign an agreement confirming that they will protect the confidentiality of the hearing.

 

Decisions The Board shall deliberate in private session to determine whether a student is responsible or not responsible for the violation(s) in question. The Board shall base its determination on whether it is more likely than not that the accused student committed each alleged violation. If a student is found responsible by a majority of the Board, the Board will assess appropriate sanctions. The Conduct Officer shall not vote to determine responsibility for a charge, but shall vote in the sanctioning phase of the hearing should the members of the Board be deadlocked in their decision. The deliberations of the Board shall be kept in strict confidence.

The chair shall forward a written decision to the accused student as soon as reasonably possible including, if applicable, sanctions.    The chair may provide a copy of the written decision to the initiating student, if any, if the alleged violations include acts of violence.

 

Sanctions Sanctions shall be determined by the administrative hearing officer in administrative hearings, or in cases reviewed by the Student Conduct Board, by a majority vote of the Board. Factors considered when determining a sanction may include:

·       The nature, severity of, and circumstances surrounding the violation;

·       A student’s disciplinary history;

·       The impact of a sanction on a student;

·       Previous cases involving similar conduct; and

·       Any other information deemed relevant by the Conduct Officer or Board.

 

The following are the usual sanctions that may be imposed upon students singly or in combination:

 

1. Warning: A formal statement that the student’s behavior was unacceptable and a warning that further infractions of any College policy, procedure or directive will result in more severe disciplinary action.

2. Probation: A written reprimand for violation of the Code of Student Conduct, providing for more severe disciplinary sanctions in the event that the student is found in violation of any College policy, procedure or directive within a specified period of time. Terms of the probation shall be specified and may include denial of specified social privileges, exclusion from co-curricular activities, and/or other measures deemed appropriate.

3. Suspension: Termination of student status for a definite period of time not to exceed two years, or until specific criteria are met. Students who return from suspension are automatically placed on probation through the remainder of their tenure at Colby.

4. Expulsion: Permanent termination of student status.

5. Withholding Diploma. The College may withhold a student’s diploma for a specified period of time and/or deny a student participation in commencement activities if the student has disciplinary charges pending, or as a sanction if the student is found responsible for an alleged violation.

6. Revocation of Degree. The College reserves the right to revoke a degree awarded from the College for fraud, misrepresentation, or other violation of college policies, procedures or directives in obtaining the degree, or for other serious violations committed by a student prior to graduation.

7. Other Actions: In addition to or in place of the above sanctions, the College Student

Conduct Board or Conduct Officer may assign any other sanctions as deemed appropriate, including but not limited to the following:

a. Mandated counseling so the student has the opportunity to gain more insight into his/her behavior.

b. “No contact” directive: a prohibition against having any avoidable contact with one or more identified persons, in person or through telephonic, electronic, written or other means. A “no contact” directive may include additional restrictions and terms.

c. Apology: Requiring the student to write a letter of apology to those involved.

d. Campus or Community Service: Requiring unpaid service to the College or area community stated in terms of type and hours of service.

e. Restitution: Reimbursement for damage to or misappropriation of property, or for personal injury, and other related costs.

f. Housing related sanctions:

1) Loss, revocation or restriction of privilege (e.g., exclusion from specified locations or alteration of status in the housing lottery or other selection system) to live in College housing.

2) Loss, revocation or restriction of off-campus living privileges.

g. Monetary Fines.

 

Note: Any matriculated and enrolled Colby student arrested during an academic term for driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or higher will be sent before the Student Conduct Board.

A finding of responsible by the Board will result in, at minimum, a sanction of immediate suspension for the remainder of the term.

 

Records

For the benefit of the Student Conduct Board, a set of records of all prior hearings will be kept by the Conduct Officer. The record will include more detailed accounts of the hearings to assist the Board in imposing sanctions.

With the exception of expulsion, disciplinary sanctions shall not be recorded on a student’s academic transcript. In the case of expulsion, the student’s academic transcript shall be annotated with the statement: “Expelled for disciplinary reasons (effective date).”

Students should review the College’s Policy on Recommendations for more information about disclosure of disciplinary records.

 

Hearing When College is Not in Session If a hearing needs to be held at or after the end of the semester and the regular Student Conduct Board cannot be convened, the Conduct Officer may convene a special Student Conduct Board. The membership will consist of members available at the time of the hearing with a quorum of five, including at least one student, one faculty member, the Conduct Officer, and the Dean of Students representative, with the Conduct Officer acting as chair.

 

Appeal In the event that the Student Conduct Board finds a student responsible for a violation, the student may appeal in writing to the Dean of Students (or his or her designee) within seven (7) days after the student is notified of the decision of the Board or, if the appeal is based on the discovery of new information, within seven days of the discovery of new information (see number 2 below) but in no event later than thirty (30) days from the date that the student is notified of the decision.

 

An appeal may be based only on one of the following:

1.     A procedural error occurred during the process that could have had a direct impact on the outcome.

2.     New information has come to light that could have affected the outcome.

 

After receiving the appeal, the Vice President and Dean of Students (or his or her designee) may:

1.     Deny the appeal.

2.     Accept the appeal and refer the case to the Appeals Board for a new hearing.

 

While the appeal is pending, the sanctions imposed will remain in effect unless the Dean of Students (or his or her designee) decides otherwise.