Undergraduate Conduct Board Hearings

The Undergraduate Conduct Board is a group of students, faculty and staff appointed to hear infractions of university policy. The board is charged with determining whether a student/group’s actions constitute a violation of university policy and, if so, an appropriate response. In determining an appropriate response, consideration is given to the student/group’s interests as well as the university’s interest in maintaining high standards.

All UCB hearings are conducted in private. Any student whose presence is required by the conduct officer at a hearing will be excused from any other university responsibility.

Accused Students

Accused students are entitled to the following procedural rights when facing a hearing before the Undergraduate Conduct Board:

• to be informed that he or she is under investigation;
• to seek advice from anyone;
• to seek advice from a trained advisor made available by the university;
• to be given an opportunity to respond to allegations;
• to choose the extent to which he or she shares information;
• to be notified of a hearing at least 120 hours (five days) in advance (notification will include the time, date and location of the hearing as well as names of hearing panel members and witnesses);
• to challenge any panel member if there is a significant conflict of interest;
• to know of and review written evidence and charges presented to the hearing panel at least 120 hours (five days) in advance;
• to be accompanied by an advisor to the hearing (who must be a member of the university community, defined below);
• to have up to two character statements submitted on his/her behalf that may not specifically address the issue at hand;
  
• to a fair and impartial hearing;
• to rebut any witness testimony presented against him or her;
• to present additional witnesses or information at the hearing (the relevancy of which may be determined by the Board);
• to be found responsible only if the evidence meets a clear and convincing burden of proof; and
• to appeal based upon clearly stated grounds.

Advisors

Accused students are encouraged to seek advice and support from whomever they choose throughout the disciplinary process. An advisor may accompany an accused student to a UCB hearing. The advisor may be from the designated list of trained student and staff advisors available through the Office of Student Conduct (http://conduct.studentaffairs.duke.edu), or may be a member of the university community. A member of the university community is defined as a current student, or a faculty or staff member currently employed by the university. The advisor may not be a member of the UCB. The role of the advisor is to assist and support the student through the disciplinary process. The advisor may not address the hearing panel or any witness during the hearing.

The trained student and staff disciplinary advisors are valuable resources, thoroughly familiar with the disicplinary process. In the event that a recommended advisor is unavailable, an accused student may ask for the names of additional advisors from the Office of Student Conduct.

Hearing Panels

Hearing panels charged with determining a verdict and a sanction shall consist of three students and two members of the faculty or staff selected from the UCB. Hearing panels charged with determining only a sanction shall consist of two students and one faculty or staff member selected from the UCB. (In some circumstances, the conduct officer may choose to utilize a 5-person panel consisting of three students and two faculty or staff members to determine a sanction.)

(See “Sexual Misconduct” for hearing panel composition of these cases.)

An accused student may agree to a smaller panel or different student-to-faculty/staff ratio in the event that a full panel is not available. The accused student also may challenge any panel member if there is a significant conflict of interest. Such a challenge must be made at least 24 hours prior to the hearing and will be granted only for sufficient cause.

At times of the year when regular panels are not available (i.e., during the summer or semester breaks), the conduct officer may appoint a special hearing panel, which may include members of the university community who are not part of the Undergraduate Conduct Board or may have a different composition of students and faculty/staff than panels held during the normal academic year.

Notice

An accused student will be notified of a UCB hearing at least 120 hours (five days) in advance. The notice will include the date and time of the hearing, the specific charges at issue, the names of the panel members, and copies of all written information given to the hearing panel. The conduct officer also may include information clarifying or noting any additional information gathered through the investigation without expressing any personal opinion about the merits of the case.

The complainant will also be notified of the hearing if his/her presence is required. At his or her request, the complainant may also receive—within the parameters of FERPA—a copy of the written information given to the hearing panel.

Upon proper notice, if the student fails to attend the hearing, the hearing panel may proceed in his/her absence.

Witnesses

The conduct officer may require the presence of any witness with pertinent information about a case. Failure to attend could result in disciplinary action against a student witness. If a witness is unidentified or unavailable to attend the hearing, his/her statement may not constitute a sole or substantial basis for determining responsibility. If he/she is necessary and unidentified or unavailable, the conduct officer or the chair of the hearing panel may suspend or dismiss the proceedings.

The accused student/group may bring relevant material witnesses to speak on his/ her/its behalf. The accused student/group should inform the judicial officer prior to the hearing of the names of the witnesses and to what they will attest. The panel may determine the extent to which witnesses will be permitted in the hearing, including relevancy of questioning and information presented.

Two written character references may be submitted to a hearing panel before a hearing begins. Character references may only address the character of the accused and may not address the specific issue at hand. An accused student also may request the attendance of any person who has submitted a written statement against him/her.

Procedure

The general course of procedure for UCB hearing is as follows: introductions; plea(s) from the accused; opening comments from complainant(s) (if applicable); opening comments from accused; questions; testimony/questions of other material witnesses (if applicable); closing comments from complainant (if applicable); closing comments from accused.

The panel may impose time limits on any stage of the procedure. The panel may also determine the relevance of any witness or information to be presented and/or considered by the Board.

Information to be Considered by the Panel

The panel may consider any information it deems relevant, including documentation and expressions of opinion. If the panel needs additional information during a hearing, such as verification of a fact at issue, an expert opinion, etc., the panel may request such information and may suspend its decision until such information is obtained. The accused student/group will have the right to respond to any additional information that is to be used in considering an outcome.

Outcome

Based on clear and convincing information considered during the hearing, the panel may find a student/group responsible for an alleged violation by majority vote. The panel, also by majority vote, may dismiss any charge. (For an allegation of Sexual Misconduct, a finding of responsibility must be unanimous.)

Upon finding a student/group responsible for a violation of university policy, the panel may determine and impose an appropriate sanction(s). Consideration may be given to the nature of and circumstances surrounding the violation, the student’s/group’s acceptance of responsibility, prior disciplinary violations, the impact of a sanction on the student/group, precedent cases, university interests and any other information deemed relevant by the hearing panel. All sanctions must be decided by majority vote with the exception of suspension or expulsion of an individual or dissolution of a group. These sanctions must be supported unanimously by a three-person panel or by four members of a five-person panel.

Notification and Record of the Hearing Outcome

The panel chair and/or the judicial officer will notify the accused student/group of the outcome of the hearing. A written hearing report describing the outcome, with a brief explanation of the reasoning, will be given to the accused student/group. A copy of the written hearing report will be placed in the precedent files with any personally identifying information removed. (The precedent files are not updated immediately in order to help protect confidentiality.) Precedent files are available to be viewed by undergraduates through the Office of Student Conduct in the Dean of Students Office.

The complainant will be informed of the outcome of a hearing in accordance with federal guidelines.

An audio recording of each hearing will be made by the conduct officer and kept on file for three years. Reasonable care will be taken to create a quality recording and minimize technical problems; however, technical problems that result in no recording or an inaudible one will not be a valid argument for appeal.