Detailed Description of All Resolution Processes

This section details the differences between our resolution processes: Administrative Hearings, Conduct Board Hearings, and Resolution Panels.

Administrative Hearings

An Administrative Hearing is a one-on-one meeting with a Hearing Officer. A Hearing Officer is a professional staff member appointed by the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee. The Administrative Hearing is scheduled by the Hearing Officer at a mutually convenient time between the Hearing Officer and the Respondent that does not conflict with the Respondent’s academic schedule. The Respondent shall typically receive at least 48 hours notice of the time and location of the hearing. The College reserves the right to proceed with the hearing whether or not the Respondent appears at the hearing.

During the Administrative Hearing, the Hearing Officer will review all reported Community Standards violations with the Respondent. The Respondent will be provided the opportunity to acknowledge responsibility or contest the reported violations as well as present relevant information in response to the reported information. The Respondent will have the opportunity to present the names and contact information of up to five witnesses that the Hearing Officer can interview outside of the Administrative Hearing. The Hearing Officer will then consider all relevant information, including other information presented by Emerson and/or non-Emerson community members concerning the reported violations, to determine if it is more likely than not the Respondent violated the Community Standard. If the Respondent is found responsible for violating a Community Standard the Hearing Officer will assign a sanction(s) to the Respondent. 

Should a Respondent believe that the Hearing Officer is unable to fairly review the matter because of a conflict of interest, the Respondent may request that a different Hearing Officer be assigned to the hearing. Such requests may result in the delay of the Respondent’s hearing. Requests must be made in writing to the Associate Dean for Campus Life detailing the reason(s) the Hearing Officer should not participate in the hearing. Notification must be sent 24 hours prior to the hearing. The Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee will provide the Respondent with a written response to the request prior to the hearing. If there is no change in the Hearing Officer, the Respondent is expected to attend the hearing at the time listed in the hearing notification letter unless directed otherwise by a member of the Office of Community Standards. Should there be a change in the Hearing Officer, the name of the new Hearing Officer and information about a new Administrative Hearing will be provided in writing to the Respondent. Should the Respondent identify a conflict of interest with the new Hearing Officer, this process will be repeated until a Hearing Officer is selected. 

Conduct Board Hearings

A Conduct Board Hearing is a hearing before a panel of three to five Emerson community members typically consisting of faculty, staff, and/or students. The hearing is supervised by a non-voting Hearing Administrator from the Office of Community Standards. During the hearing, the Hearing Administrator will present all reported information, including any information obtained through an investigation; ensure hearing procedures are orderly; and advise the Conduct Board during deliberations.

The composition of Conduct Boards is at the discretion of the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee. Conduct Boards will be composed of three to five individuals selected from the pool of appointed and trained students, faculty and staff. The Conduct Board Hearing is scheduled by the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee at a mutually convenient time between the Conduct Board, the Complainant (if applicable), and the Respondent, that does not conflict with the Complainant’s or Respondent’s academic schedule. The Complainant and Respondent shall receive in writing, at least five business days notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing. A Complainant or Respondent may request consideration for the five day notice to be waived. The College reserves the right to proceed with the hearing whether or not any of the parties appear at the hearing.

The Complainant (if applicable) and Respondent will be provided with the names of the community members serving on the Conduct Board prior to the hearing. Should the Complainant or Respondent believe that a Conduct Board member is unable to fairly review the matter because of a conflict of interest, the Complainant or Respondent may request that a different Conduct Board member be assigned to the Conduct Board. Such requests may result in the delay of the Conduct Board process. Requests must be made in writing to the Associate Dean for Campus Life, detailing the reason(s) the Board member should not participate in the scheduled Conduct Board Hearing. Notification must be sent 72 hours prior to the Conduct Board Hearing. Should such a request be made, the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee will provide a written response to the request prior to the Conduct Board Hearing.  If there is no change in the Conduct Board member, the Conduct Board Hearing will remain at the time listed in the Conduct Board notification letter unless rescheduled by a member of the Office of Community Standards. Should there be a change in the Conduct Board member, the name of the Conduct Board member and scheduling information about the Conduct Board will be provided in writing to the Complainant (if applicable) and Respondent. Should the Complainant or Respondent identify a conflict of interest with the new Conduct Board member, this process will be repeated until a Conduct Board is selected.

At the conclusion of the Conduct Board Hearing, the Conduct Board will consider all information presented at the hearing to determine if it is more likely than not the Respondent violated a campus policy(s). If the Respondent is found responsible for violating a Community Standard, the Conduct Board will recommend sanctions to the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee. The Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee will, at their discretion, accept, reject, or modify the sanctions recommended by the Conduct Board.

Additional Information Related to Conduct Board Hearings

A Conduct Board Hearing will ordinarily follow the procedures as listed below. Deviation from the following procedure will not invalidate a decision of responsibility or sanction that is otherwise fair under the circumstances. The Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee has discretion to modify these procedures as necessary or appropriate to ensure fairness. Refer to Procedural Notes for Conduct Board Hearings marked with an asterisk (*). The Procedural Notes are located at the end of this section.

Hearings of the Conduct Board shall be conducted as follows:

1. Prior to presenting or hearing information, any person participating in the hearing, including but not limited to, the Complainant, Respondent, all witnesses, advisors, Conduct Board members shall sign a statement of confidentiality and nondisclosure.  Any person presenting information, including but not limited to, the Complainant, Respondent, all witnesses, and the Hearing Administrator shall sign a statement of honesty.
2. The Hearing Administrator will read aloud the reported College Community Standard violations and the Respondent will be asked to state whether they are either “Responsible” or “Not Responsible” for each of the reported violations. 
3. The Hearing Administrator will present all reported information documented in the hearing materials and any information obtained from witnesses not participating in the hearing. 
   1. Once the Hearing Administrator has concluded presenting the reported information, the Complainant (if applicable) will be provided the opportunity to ask the Hearing Administrator questions about the information presented.  This will be followed by questions from the Respondent and then the Board.*
   2. If applicable, the Hearing Administrator will call upon any witnesses who have relevant information pertaining to the case. Individually these witnesses will present their information.*
4. If applicable, the Complainant will be called upon to present any information relevant to the case.
   1. Following the completion of the Complainant’s presentation, the Respondent, Board, and the Hearing Administrator (in that order) will be permitted to ask questions of the Complainant.*
   2. The Complainant will then be given an opportunity to explain or clarify anything that came up in the questioning of them. This process will continue until the Complainant has acknowledged that their presentation is complete.
   3. The Complainant will be permitted to present five witnesses to speak on their behalf.*
   4. After each witness, the Complainant will be given an opportunity to explain or clarify anything that came up during the witness presentations.
5. After the Complainant has confirmed that the presentation is complete, the Respondent will be called upon to present any information relevant to the case. 
   1. Following the completion of the Respondent’s presentation, the Complainant (if applicable), Board, and the Hearing Administrator (in that order) will be permitted to ask questions of the Respondent.*
   2. The Respondent will then be given an opportunity to explain or clarify anything that came up in the questioning of them. This process will continue until the Respondent has acknowledged that their presentation is complete.
   3. The Respondent will be permitted to present up to five witnesses to speak on their behalf.*
   4. After each witness, the Respondent will be given an opportunity to explain or clarify anything that came up during the witness presentations.
6. When the Respondent has indicated that the presentation is complete, the Complainant (if applicable) and Respondent, in that order, will be granted the opportunity to make an oral closing statement. Closing statements are optional. A closing statement is the opportunity for each party to highlight for the Conduct Board any documents or information that were presented to the Board during the hearing which each party wishes to have the Board focus on. It is not an opportunity to refer to any information that was not introduced during the hearing in the documents or in the presentations.
7. Following the closing statements, the Respondent and Complainant (if applicable) will be excused from the hearing.  The members of the Conduct Board will then meet to determine the level of responsibility and if responsible, recommend sanctions. The Hearing Administrator will be present to advise members of the Conduct Board.  The Board will consider the factual presentations and use the preponderance of evidence standard for each of the charged violations of the College’s Community Standards. 
8. Only when the Board determines that the Respondent is responsible for a violation of the College’s policies, the Board will recommend sanctions to assign to the Respondent. At this time the Board will receive the Respondent’s disciplinary history, if any. 
9. The Board will ordinarily complete these deliberations and submit, via the Hearing Administrator, a written rationale for the Conduct Board’s findings and recommended sanctions, if any, to the Assistant Dean for Campus Life or designee within 2 business days.
10.  The Assistant Dean for Campus Life or designee will typically review the written rationale within two business days. The Assistant Dean for Campus Life or designee will, at their discretion, accept, reject, or modify the sanctions recommended by the Conduct Board. The Assistant Dean for Campus Life or designee may reject or modify the Panel’s sanction recommendation if the Assistant Dean for Campus Life or designee believes that the sanction recommendation:
    1. Does not appropriately address a violation;
    2. Is fundamentally unfair;
    3. Is inconsistent with sanctions imposed for other violations of comparable seriousness;
    4. Contradicts the mission of the Office of Community Standards or College;
    5. Current resources or policies prevent the sanction from occurring;
    6. Presents a significant risk to the Respondent or College community;
    7. Lacks clarity; and/or
    8. Does not appropriately consider the Respondent’s disciplinary history. 
11.  Should the recommended sanctions be rejected, a new written rationale of the Conduct Board’s recommended sanctions will be submitted to the Assistant Dean for Campus Life typically within two business days. 
12.  Upon accepting or modifying the sanctions assigned by the Conduct Board, the Assistant Dean for Campus Life or shall, within two business days advise the Respondent, in writing, of all findings, any sanctions assigned, and the Respondent’s right to appeal. If applicable, the Assistant Dean for Campus Life or designee shall simultaneously advise the Complainant of all findings and sanctions assigned on the Respondent in accordance with applicable law.

Procedural Notes for Conduct Board Hearings

1. Hearing Participants: Attendance at Conduct Board Hearings will be restricted to the members of the Conduct Board, the hearing advisor, the Complainant, the Respondent, and advisors. Persons appearing as witnesses will only participate in the hearing when making their individual presentation.
2. Multiple Respondents: In the event more than one Respondent is documented during the same incident and the Respondents are reported for common violations, the Director of Community Standards or designee may, at their discretion, refer all Respondents to the same hearing for the purpose of ensuring fairness and efficiency.
3. Questioning: The Hearing Administrator will supervise all questioning to ensure that the questions asked by the Complainant, Respondent, and Board are relevant to the case. Questions that have no relevance to the case will be rejected by the Hearing Administrator.
4. Witnesses:
   1. The Hearing Administrator may call upon individuals to present information relevant to the case.  Witnesses typically called by the Hearing Administrator include, reporting parties, impacted parties, or expert witnesses. 
   2. Both the Complainant and the Respondent will be permitted to present up to five witnesses to speak on their behalf at a Conduct Board Hearing. The Complainant and the Respondent must inform the Hearing Administrator of the names and relevance of each witness 72 hours prior to the hearing.  It is the responsibility of the Complainant and Respondent to inform their witnesses of the date, time and location of the hearing. 
   3. Witnesses may present relevant information to the incident. Witness presentations may be in person or submitted as a written statement.  Written statements must be sent to the Hearing Administrator at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. When possible, written statements will be presented to the Complainant, Respondent, and Board prior to the hearing.
   4. The Complainant (if applicable), Respondent, Board, and Hearing Administrator (in that order) will be provided the opportunity to ask each witness questions about the information presented. To ensure fairness, the Hearing Administrator may alter the questioning order.
   5. After all questions have been asked, the witness will be given an opportunity to explain or clarify anything that came up in the questioning of them. This process will continue until the witness has acknowledged that their presentation is complete.

Resolution Panel

Should a Respondent select or be referred to a Conduct Board Hearing, the Respondent may acknowledge in writing that they assume responsibility for all reported violations of the College’s Community Standards and proceed to a Resolution Panel for sanctioning, foregoing the Conduct Board Hearing.  A Resolution Panel, at the discretion of the Associate Dean for Campus Life, or designee, will be composed of 3 individuals selected from the pool of appointed and trained students, faculty and staff. The Resolution Panel process is supervised by a non-voting Panel Administrator from the Office of Community Standards. The Panel Administrator also serves as an advisor to the Panelists. 

The Resolution Panel is scheduled by the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee at a mutually convenient time between the Resolution Panel and the Respondent that does not conflict with the Respondent’s academic schedule.  The Respondent shall receive at least five business days written notice of the time and location of the Resolution Panel proceeding. The Respondent may request consideration for the five-day notice to be waived. The College reserves the right to proceed with the Resolution Panel whether or not the Respondent appears to the Resolution Panel. 

During a Resolution Panel:

1. All participants will sign a statement of confidentiality and nondisclosure and the Respondent will sign a statement of honesty.
2. The Panel will not challenge or re-examine the facts documented in an incident/police report or the Respondent’s acknowledgment of responsibility. The Panel may ask questions to the Respondent about the incident to the extent of gaining incident context. The Panel will focus their review and deliberations solely on the issue of what, if any, sanctions they believe are most appropriate to be assigned to the Respondent.
3. The Respondent will be able to provide an oral or written impact statement to the Panel. Impact statements can include information, circumstances, or thoughts that the Respondent feels the Panelists should take into consideration. The Panel may ask the Respondent questions about the information presented in their impact statement.
4. At their discretion, the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee may provide the Panel impact statements from the Complainant and/or any relevant witnesses. The Complainant and witnesses are not required to submit impact statements.

When opting for a Resolution Panel, the Respondent waives the right to:            

1. Have their matter reviewed via an administrative or Conduct Board Hearing.
2. Present witnesses, question witnesses, and question the Complainant(s).
3. Review Complainant or witness impact statements.
4. Receive a copy of the incident and/or police reports associated with the matter. At the discretion of the Office of Community Standards, a Respondent may receive access to a redacted copy of the incident and/or police report associated with the matter.

The Respondent will be provided with the names of the community members serving on the Resolution Panel prior to the Resolution Panel proceeding. Should a Respondent believe that a Panel member is unable to fairly review the matter because of a conflict of interest, the Respondent may request that a different Panel member be assigned to the Resolution Panel. Such requests may result in the delay of the Resolution Panel process.  Requests must be made in writing to the Associate Dean for Campus Life, detailing the reason(s) the Panel member should not participate in the Respondent’s Resolution Panel.  Notification must be sent 72 hours prior to the Resolution Panel. Should such a request be made, the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee will provide the Respondent with a written response to the request prior to the Resolution Panel.  If there is no change in the Panel member, the Respondent is expected to attend the Resolution Panel at the time listed in the Resolution Panel notification letter unless directed otherwise by a member of the Office of Community Standards.  Should there be a change in the Panel member, the name of the Panel member and scheduling information about the Resolution Panel will be provided in writing to the Respondent. Should the Respondent identify a conflict of interest with the new Panel member, this process will be repeated until a Resolution Panel is selected.     

At the conclusion of the Resolution Panel, the Panel will consider all materials provided to them to recommend sanctions to the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee. The Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee will, at their discretion, accept, reject, or modify the sanctions recommended by the Resolution Panel. The Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee may reject or modify the Panel’s sanction recommendation if the Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee believes that the sanction recommendation:

• Does not appropriately address a violation;
• Is fundamentally unfair;
• Is inconsistent with sanctions imposed for other violations of comparable seriousness;
• Contradicts the mission of the Office of Community Standards or College;
• Current resources or policies prevent the sanction from occurring;
• Presents a significant risk to the Respondent or College community;
• Lacks clarity; and/or
• Does not appropriately consider the Respondent’s disciplinary history.