Guilford College's Student Judicial Process

 

Background and Purpose

Guilford College’s student judicial process is an educational endeavor in which students are encouraged to accept responsibility for their mistakes and to consider the impact their actions may have had on individuals within our community. Guilford’s student conduct code and policies for conflict resolution are modeled after the standards of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS).

Student conduct policies and procedures at Guilford are designed to foster a campus community that enables students, faculty, and staff to pursue their educational and vocational goals in a secure and enriching environment. The student conduct code clearly outlines the standards and expectations for student behavior on campus as well as the associated consequences for violation of those standards of conduct. Staff members, through their individual interaction and the administration of the college's policies, provide students with a fair and consistent process for resolution of student concerns in keeping with the community's expectations. Through various methods of conflict resolution such as mediation, restorative justice, structured meetings, administrative hearings, or Judicial Board hearings, students learn:

• how to be accountable for their own actions
• how their actions may affect others
• how they can repair damage done to our community
• how to resolve conflict peacefully
• how to be a positive member of our community
• how to respect community standards
• how to work through appropriate avenues to change any policies they believe are unreasonable

Timeline

The timeline in the student judicial process varies depending on the type of hearing chosen and the complexity of the incident in question. Typically, a student choosing to resolve the charges against them in an administrative hearing will plead responsible to the college official conducting the hearing within a week of the violation. In the case of a student appearing in front of the Judicial Board, the process can take three to four weeks depending on complexity of the issues and preparation with the student’s judicial advocate. It is also important to note that students can begin consulting with their advocate, in preparation for a Judicial Board hearing, and decide in that process that an administrative hearing is more appropriate; this could occur at anytime during the preparation process. Clearly, both the administrative and Judicial Board processes can be shorter or longer than the timeframes outlined.

Confidentiality

For the purposes of an administrative or Judicial Board hearing, specific facts presented or stipulated to, witness testimonies, findings of responsibility, and sanctioning will not be released by the College. All disciplinary and honor code violation records are considered confidential and are accessed and released in accordance with the provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). For internal college proceedings, authorized officials of the college will be provided access to records as necessary to their official duties in accordance with FERPA. Otherwise such records are released only upon the written permission of the student or under the authority of a court with jurisdiction. Statistics of general trends of Student Code of Conduct violations, without specific names or incidents, are kept by the College and periodically published on our web site pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act).

Student Judicial Proceedings

When a student is mentioned in an incident report submitted to Office for Campus Life, the judicial process begins. Based on the information received concerning a student’s involvement, the student is charged with the stated violation of the student code of conduct as defined in the Student Handbook. A judicial meeting is a scheduled meeting allowing one-on-one time to discuss the pending charges and to inform the student of the options available to them. In cases involving disputed facts, students may opt to have either an administrative hearing or a Judicial Board hearing. The meeting is designed to allow students the opportunity to ask questions, explain what happened, accept responsibility and receive sanctions, or continue to one of the following hearings.

Administrative hearing: A hearing with a Campus Life official for all Level I violations and Level II and III violations where the student admits responsibility and/or where there is no dispute of fact. Appeals can only be directed to the Dean for Campus Life. 1

Judicial Board hearing: A hearing amongst a board consisting of five students and two faculty members. The student is allowed to present witnesses and submit evidence in their defense, and the board renders a decision.

The judicial process follows procedures to ensure basic fairness regardless of the method of adjudication. Neither parents, guardians nor lawyers may participate in the college judicial process. Students who have been charged with a violation of the Student Conduct Code may receive additional guidance regarding the judicial process by contacting the faculty advisor of the student judicial advocates. The following procedures are followed in all judicial proceedings:

1. The student will be provided a written notice of formal charges filed not more than seven working days (excluding college holidays and breaks) after an initial incident report has been received and reviewed by the Office for Campus Life and/or the identity of the accused student becomes known to the Office for Campus Life. This notice will specify the nature and origin of the charges.
2. A member of the Office for Campus Life staff will meet with the accused at least three working days (excluding college holidays and breaks) in advance of any judicial hearing. In this meeting, the accused will receive full explanation of college judicial procedures. If appropriate, the accused may elect to resolve the charges in an administrative hearing, or the accused may be instructed that their case will be referred to a board for adjudication.
3. If the accused elects to resolve the charges in an administrative hearing, a member of the Office for Campus Life staff will impose an administrative sanction.
4. If the case is referred to the Judicial Board, all parties (both accused and complainant) will receive notice of the time and place of the board hearing at least three working days (excluding college holidays and breaks) in advance of the hearing.
5. Parties wishing to submit written materials to the board must do so at least three working days (excluding college holidays and breaks) before the hearing.
   1. At the Judicial Board hearing, the following procedures occur:
      1. The Judicial Board convenes.
      2. Each party may file a request for removal of one member of the board.
      3. Both the college and the student have the right to review all evidence and testimony that may affect the decision of the board.
      4. Both the college and the student have the right to refute evidence, to introduce evidence and to summon witnesses on their behalf unless they waive these rights.
      5. The board, by consensus, renders a decision based on the "preponderance of the evidence" rather than "beyond a reasonable doubt," as is the standard in the public criminal justice system. This determines whether each involved student is “responsible” or “not responsible” for the violations with which they were charged.
      6. Sanctioning Phase:
         1. After the “responsibility phase” of a Judicial Board hearing the Judicial Board considers the appropriate Level of sanction (see footnote 1).
         2. During the sanctioning phase, prior judicial records are brought before the board to assist the Judicial Board in assigning the appropriate sanction.
         3. Students found responsible can also submit written statements of character to the board during the sanctioning phase
   2. Attorneys and/or outside counsel of any sort may not be present at any disciplinary hearing.
   3. The student may file an appeal to a new seven member Judicial Board ONLY in the occurrence of one of the following:
      1. A procedural irregularity so substantial as to deny the accused a fair hearing.
      2. New evidence that could not have been known or presented at the time of the original hearing that is so substantial as to have likely altered the outcome of the original hearing.
      3. A sanction that is grossly out of line with recommended sanctions for the violation in question.
   4. Options available to the appellate body or new seven-member Judicial Board.
      1. Affirm the sanction.
      2. Alter or reduce the original sanction of the original board. This will be done only if the appellate board finds that the sanction was grossly disproportionate to the offense and its standard and recommended sanction.
      3. Remand the case back to the original Judicial Board. This is done only in the case of serious procedural error or new evidence that is so significant that the decision of the original board would have likely been different

1 For a detailed description of the sanctions associated with each Level please click here.