Respondent

A Respondent participating in the Student Conduct Process has the right to:

  1. Be informed of any interim administrative measures directly impacting them.
  2. Be informed of the date, time, and location of any hearing or Office of Community Standards meeting.
  3. Request information about counseling, mental health, or medical services available on and off campus.
  4. Receive notification of the specific reported Community Standard and/or College policy violation(s) and the facts giving rise to such reported violation(s) in advance of any hearing.
  5. Request a delay of a hearing or Community Standards meeting due to extenuating circumstances. In most cases, a postponement will only be granted for an academic or medical situation. The decision to postpone a hearing or meeting rests with the Hearing Officer or designee of the Office of Community Standards.
  6. Contest any hearing body or Hearing Officer for which a conflict of interest exists.
  7. Be provided access to any written information that may be presented in a hearing.  At the discretion of the Hearing Officer or designee of the Office of Community Standards, the information may be redacted or presented in such a way as to prevent identification of involved parties.
  8. Participate in a hearing, present relevant information and witnesses on one’s own behalf.
  9. Challenge reported information.
  10. Request the opportunity to answer questions posed by the Complainant outside of the physical presence of the Complainant. The Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee will determine if such a request will be granted. Other procedures may be provided on a case by case basis to protect the safety and well-being of the College community.
  11. Have an advisor present during a hearing or any Community Standards meeting.  
  12. Be informed of the hearing finding(s) and, when applicable, the sanction(s).
  13. Appeal a decision based on a denial of a fair process and/or if the Respondent obtains substantive new information not available at the time of the hearing that would alter a hearing outcome.
  14. Report retaliation or harassment as a result of participating in the Student Conduct Process.
  15. Request an accommodation for a disability through the Office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) in order to have access to and/or participate in the Student Conduct Process. All requests for accommodations are evaluated by the SAS in collaboration with other campus offices as appropriate to the situation. Students requesting accommodations are still expected to appear for their hearing whether or not the accommodations process has been completed unless a student’s request for the hearing to be rescheduled has been granted. The SAS' policies and procedures are available on the SAS department page.

Notification of Reported Violations

The Respondent will be notified in writing, via their Emerson College email account, of the reported Community Standards violation(s) and information about how the matter will be reviewed. The Respondent is expected to follow all instructions or directives detailed in this notice. Typically this notice will inform a Respondent if the reported violation(s) have been referred to an Administrative Hearing or a Conduct Board Hearing.

Complainant 

A Complainant participating in the Student Conduct Process has the right to:

  1. Be informed of any interim administrative measures directly impacting them.
  2. Be informed of the date, time and location of any Conduct Board hearing or Office of Community Standards meeting.
  3. Request information about victim advocacy, counseling, mental health or medical services available on and off campus.
  4. Report retaliation or harassment as a result of reporting acts of misconduct.

When participating in a Conduct Board Hearing, the Complainant has the right to:

  1. Request a delay of a hearing or Community Standards meeting due to extenuating circumstances. In most cases, a postponement will only be granted for an academic or medical situation. The decision to postpone a hearing or meeting rests with the designee of the Office of Community Standards.
  2. Contest any hearing body for which a conflict of interest exists.
  3. Be provided access to any written information that may be presented in a hearing.  At the discretion of the designee of the Office of Community Standards, the information may be redacted or presented in such a way as to prevent identification of involved parties.
  4. Participate in a Conduct Board Hearing, present relevant information and witnesses on one’s own behalf.
  5. Challenge reported information.
  6. Request the opportunity to answer questions posed by the Respondent outside of the physical presence of the Respondent. The Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee will determine if such a request will be granted. Other procedures may be provided on a case by case basis to protect the safety and well-being of the College community.
  7. Have an advisor present during a hearing or any Community Standards meeting.
  8. Request an accommodation for a disability through the Office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) in order to have access to and/or participate in the Student Conduct Process. All requests for accommodations are evaluated by the SAS in collaboration with other campus offices as appropriate to the situation. Students requesting accommodations are still expected to appear for their hearing whether or not the accommodations process has been completed unless a student’s request for the hearing to be rescheduled has been granted. The SAS' policies and procedures are available on the SAS department page

In cases of reported physical harm, harassment, or threats to safety the Complainant, although not guaranteed or exhaustive, may be provided the following:

  1. The opportunity to make a request for a reasonable change in living assignment, academic arrangement, or other steps necessary to prevent unnecessary or unwanted contact regardless of the outcome of the hearing.
  2. To the extent permitted by FERPA, the opportunity to be informed, in writing, of the outcome of any administrative or Conduct Board Hearing decision and any sanction(s) that may have been assigned permitted by applicable law, including appeal results.

The Associate Dean for Campus Life or designee reserves the right to alter these procedural rights for the Respondent and/or complaint on a case by case basis to ensure safety and fundamental fairness.