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Contents

Appeals Board

JURISDICTION

Code of Student Conduct

The function of the Appeals Board is to ascertain that hearings conducted by the Honor Court and the Judicial Board have been conducted fairly, in accordance with the procedures outlined above, and without undue bias. The Appeals Board will not substitute its own judgment for that of the original hearing body, nor will it concern itself with the possibility that others might have arrived at a different judgment. Its terms of reference extend only to investigation of the procedures by which the original judgment was reached. Decisions of the Appeals Board are final.

COMPOSITION

The Appeals Board shall be composed of three faculty members, and two students. Faculty members shall be nominated by the Committee on Student Activities and elected by the faculty at large for a three-year term, one vacancy arising per year. The student members shall be nominated by the Committee on Student Activities and elected by the student body to a one year term according to Student Assembly election procedures. At least two candidates must be nominated for each vacancy. Student members must be in good academic and disciplinary standing. In case of vacancy on the Board during the academic year, the Committee on Student Activities shall appoint a replacement. A quorum shall consist of three members; two faculty and one student. The Dean of Students may attend meetings but shall not have a vote. The Chair shall be one of the faculty members, designated by the Dean of the Faculty.

PROCEDURES

AA student subject to disciplinary action following a hearing by the Judicial Board or Honor Court may appeal a disciplinary decision within one week of being informed in writing of that decision. The appeal must be made in writing to the Chair of the Appeals Board, with a copy to the Assistant Dean of Students (Judicial Board) or the Associate Dean of Students, Academics (Honor Court), and must state in detail the reasons for the appeal. The Chair shall inform the respondent (the Chair of the Honor Court or Judicial Board) that an appeal has been made and shall invite the appropriate Dean and the respondent to make written statements to the Appeals Board. Within one week of receipt of the appeal, the Chair shall convene the Appeals Board to determine whether the appeal shall be considered. In making that decision, the Appeals Board shall have access to the written records of the case. Acceptable grounds for an appeal are limited to:

Harshness of sanction inconsistent with stated community standards and precedents
Procedural irregularity that affected the outcome of the hearing
Prejudicial bias on the part of the hearing body

New evidence not available at the time of the original hearing must be brought to the attention of the original hearing body for consideration before the case can be presented on appeal.

If the Appeals Board decides to consider the appeal, the Chair shall schedule another meeting for consideration and disposition of the appeal. The Appeals Board shall have access to the records of the hearing. Normally, the appellant, respondent, and Dean shall not appear before the Appeals Board, though they may be summoned at the discretion of the Chair.

The Appeals Board may decide:

To uphold the original decision.
To remand the case to the appropriate body for rehearing. This shall normally be done when there is a procedural irregularity that could be corrected in a rehearing.
To remand the case to the appropriate body or to the Dean of Students with a recommendation that the penalty be modified, together with an explanation of why the original penalty is deemed inappropriate.
To remand the case to an ad hoc hearing board. This will be done only in extraordinary cases when, in the considered opinion of the Appeals Board, prejudicial bias or procedural problems would make it impossible for the appropriate body to reach a fair decision.

The appellant, respondent, and appropriate Dean shall be informed in writing of the decision and of the grounds for the decision.

RECORDS

The record of the appeal shall consist of the letter of appeal, the written statements from the respondent and the appropriate Dean; the written decision whether to hear the appeal and the outcome of the appeal. This record shall be appended to the written record of the original disciplinary action and shall be kept with it.

The Appeals Board shall make a brief account of its decision public. Names shall not appear.