Community Responsibility Panel

The Community Responsibility Panel has jurisdiction in the following cases:

1. Any cases of alleged violations of university standards and policies that the Community Standards Review Committee deems sufficiently serious in nature or inappropriate for a Community Standards Meeting.
2. Any cases of alleged violations of university standards and policies in which one student(s) is filing allegation against another student(s) that cannot be appropriately resolved through a Community Standards Meeting.
3. Appeals referred by the dean of students or designee to review summary actions imposed by a university adjudicator or university staff member.
4. Cases in which a Community Standards Meeting has not been successful.

When circumstances warrant, at the discretion of the dean of students or designee, a case may be reviewed by a Hearing Officer in lieu of the Community Responsibility Panel. In such cases, the procedures outlined in Conduct of Hearing Officer Proceedings will be utilized.  

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Composition of the Community Responsibility Panel

Each case presented to the Community Responsibility Panel is heard by two student panel members, one staff panel member, one faculty panel member and one additional faculty or staff panel member. In addition, a trained moderator will preside over the proceedings.

The pool of faculty members will be appointed by the Office of Community Responsibility in consultation with the Faculty Senate. The pool of staff members will be appointed by the Office of the Community Responsibility in consultation with the Staff Council. The pool of student members will be appointed by the Office of Community Responsibility in consultation with the Undergraduate Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly following a selection process coordinated by the Office of Community Responsibility. All appointees must complete initial and ongoing training in order to be eligible to serve as panel members. Once trained, panel members may complete up to three years of service. Panel members may be reappointed to successive three year terms.

Members participating in a given hearing will be selected from a list of eligible individuals based upon availability and disinterestedness in the case or parties following review by the parties who are appearing before the Community Responsibility Panel. The following circumstance would preclude participation as a  panel member in a given hearing:

• Individuals with prior substantial knowledge of or interest in the student(s) involved or the event(s) leading to the allegations.
• Individuals with a conflict of interest with the student(s), witnesses or other parties to the case.
• Individuals who may appropriately be a witness in the case.

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Conduct of Community Responsibility Panels

The university attempts to ensure fair, timely and orderly procedures in all community standards reviews. To provide for this, the university has adopted the following procedural protections that govern the Community Responsibility Panel process: 

Panel Preparation and Scheduling

1. The logistics of hearing preparation and scheduling will be coordinated by a process advisor in the Office of Community Responsibility.
2. The student must be notified in writing of the specific policy, standard or regulation the student has allegedly violated. Such notification is normally made at least seven calendar days before the hearing.
3. Throughout the community standards process, the student respondent will receive full notification of complaint, notification of any hearing and notification of disposition of the charge and will have the opportunity to be present throughout the hearing process.
4. The complainant will receive full notification of the complaint, notification of any hearing, and will have the opportunity to be present throughout the hearing process.
5. Prior to the hearing, the individuals involved will be asked if they believe that the potential Community Responsibility Panel members are aware of any significant relationship or interaction that might impair their ability to render an objective recommendation for resolution of the matter under review. The process advisor will consider this in seating the panel for the hearing.
6. Written introductions are an opportunity for either party to offer their initial thoughts and general sentiments about the allegations under review by the Community Responsibility Panel.
7. During process advisement, the complainant and respondent will be provided a packet, which may include, among other relevant items: the initial complainant report; any investigation reports and/or witness statements; a written introduction from the complainant(s) to the panel; and a written introduction from the respondent(s) to the panel. This packet may be used for the purpose of preparing for or use during the hearing, consistent with the privacy rights of those involved. These materials are to be kept private and may be shared only with permission from the process advisor. These documents may not be duplicated nor utilized for any other purpose.
8. In advance of the hearing, the members of the Community Responsibility Panel will be provided a packet, which may include, among other relevant items: the initial complainant report; any investigation reports and/or witness statements; a written introduction from the complainant(s) to the panel; and a written introduction from the respondent(s) to the panel. Panel members are expected to keep the information reviewed during a Community Responsibility Panel confidential.
9. Complainant(s) and respondent(s) may submit up to three written letters of support at a date specified by the process advisor for consideration only during the outcomes phase of the proceeding in the event that the respondent is found responsible.
10. It is the responsibility of the Office of Community Responsibility to ensure that times set for hearings are reasonable and that necessary accommodations have been offered to both the complainant and respondent whenever appropriate. In turn, both the complainant and respondent will be expected to demonstrate good faith efforts in their participation with this process, particularly in relation to the scheduling of the hearing. In a case involving exigent circumstances that prevent the complainant or respondent from participating in a scheduled hearing, the hearing will be rescheduled.
11. Every effort will be made to avoid conflicts with a student’s class schedule when identifying a hearing date and time. When circumstances warrant, classroom attendance, except for scheduled examinations, will not be a reasonable excuse for delaying a hearing.
12. In the rare circumstance where a respondent fails to make a good faith effort to participate in the process, the university (having made reasonable attempts to accommodate the respondent) may elect to schedule and conduct a hearing without that student's participation.
13. Review of incidents involving both community standards allegations and academic integrity allegations may be conducted by a Community Responsibility Panel at the discretion of the dean of students or designee.
14. Allegations stemming from multiple incidents indicating an alleged pattern of behavior may be collectively reviewed by a single Community Responsibility Panel at the discretion of the Community Standards Review Committee.
15. The respondent may file in writing counter-allegations against the complainant in connection with the incident(s) currently under review by the Community Responsibility Panel. In order to be considered for inclusion in the packet in the same hearing process, counter-allegations must be raised within a reasonable time (normally two business days) of the first Community Responsibility Panel process advisement meeting. The counter-allegations must detail the university regulation or policy that the respondent believes has been violated in connection with the incident(s) currently under review by the Community Responsibility Panel and provide information that substantiates the facts and circumstances. Counter-allegations cannot be based solely on the fact that a complaint was brought forward, nor can they be retaliatory in nature. The Community Standards Review Committee will determine if the counter-allegations will be reviewed by the Community Responsibility Panel or resolved in a subsequent hearing, based on the connection of the counter- allegations to the incident(s) already under review.
16. Both the complainant and respondent have the right to have one support person of their choosing present at the hearing. Both parties are required to notify the process advisor of their support person of choice at a date specified by the process advisor that will be at least three days in advance. If legal counsel will serve in this capacity, a representative of the University’s Office of General Counsel will typically be present for the hearing to provide assistance to the Community Responsibility Panel, moderator, and/or process advisor as needed. Legal counsel or any other support person, if present, will not be permitted to participate in the proceedings but may advise the respondent or the complainant and/or be present at a hearing. In the event that one party to a case is accompanied by legal counsel without advance notice, a hearing may be postponed until all parties to the case have had an opportunity to have counsel present. Registered support persons are not permitted to participate as witnesses in the same hearing.
17. Both the complainant and respondent have the opportunity to register witnesses. Witnesses should be able to provide direct information related to the alleged violations being reviewed by the Community Responsibility Panel, such as direct observation of the incident in question and/or direct interaction with any of the parties before, during or after the incident in question. Both parties are required to notify the process advisor of their registered witnesses at a date specified by the process advisor that will be at least three days in advance of the Community Responsibility Panel.
18. The university reserves the right to supplement the registered witness list at any time to ensure that the panel has access to all potential witnesses with substantive information. Both the complainant and respondent will be promptly notified of any changes to the registered witness list.
19. In scheduling a hearing, consideration should be given to allow that witnesses significant to the case being heard are available to the panel. If a witness is not available to be called by the panel in person or via telecommunication, they may submit a written statement to the process advisor to be reviewed if the panel requests information from the witness.

Panel Process and Procedures

1. Information provided during a Community Responsibility Panel hearing should remain private.
2. In order to maintain a fair and equitable process, no new materials will be accepted on the day of the panel, with the exception of (i) oral testimony and (ii) such other information as may be necessary to rebut new oral testimony. Information offered as rebuttal will only be accepted at the discretion of the moderator.

3. All proceedings before a panel, except the deliberation of the panel, will be recorded. The audio or audiovisual (if available) recording will be kept in accordance with community standards records retention practices.

4. During the actual proceedings, a student has the right to be present when information relative to the case is being presented. In the community standards process, a student who is charged with a violation has the right to remain silent.
5. The moderator will remind all persons present at the opening of each community standards hearing that the purpose of a Community Responsibility Panel is to determine an appropriate response, through a deliberative process, when a violation of policy, standard or regulation is alleged.
6. The complainant(s) and respondent(s) will each be limited to ten minutes for their introduction.
7. The majority of the proceeding will consist of questioning from the panel members for all parties as well as the registered witnesses that are called by the panel. The complainant(s) and respondent(s) will also have the opportunity to present questions for the panel’s consideration.
8. It is within the discretion of the panel to determine whether they wish to hear from the registered witnesses. Witnesses will be questioned one at a time by the panel and subsequently dismissed. They should only be present in the room when providing information to the panel. Except in documented extenuating circumstances, students are expected to make a good faith effort to provide information to the Community Responsibility Panel when called as a witness.
9. The complainant(s) and respondent(s) will each be limited to five minutes for their summary.
10. All materials provided to the complainant(s) and respondent(s) (including those provided electronically) must be returned to the process advisor at the conclusion of the hearing. Copies of these materials may not be retained or used for any other purpose.
11. Following the complainant and respondent summary, the panel will enter closed deliberations. A more likely than not standard (preponderance of the evidence) will be used to determine if a university policy, standard, or regulation was violated. If responsibility is determined, the panel will make a recommendation for appropriate outcomes.
12. No information about a respondent's prior community standards record will be shared with the Community Responsibility Panel until a determination of responsibility has been made unless the case being reviewed stems from the prior incident for which a community standards record exists. If a respondent(s) has a prior community standards record and is found responsible by the Community Responsibility Panel, the following information will be shared with the panel: community standards violation(s) for which they were found responsible, date of incident(s), brief summary, outcome(s), and status of the case(s). The student may be recalled before the panel to discuss the prior violations and outcomes prior to the Community Responsibility Panel making a recommendation for appropriate outcomes for the present case.

Panel Outcome Determination and Notifications

1. A representative of the Office of Community Responsibility will be responsible for notifying the associate vice president of student affairs for community life or designee in writing of the recommendation of the panel regarding responsibility and any outcomes deemed appropriate.
2. The associate vice president of student affairs for community life or designee makes the decision in the case, informed by the recommendation of the Community Responsibility Panel. The associate vice president of student affairs for community life or designee may accept, reject, or modify the recommendation, or may remand the matter to a new Community Responsibility Panel for review.
3. After reviewing the recommendations, the associate vice president of student affairs for community life or designee will render a decision in writing. The decision letter will typically be delivered to the respondent(s) by the process advisor.
4. In cases that involve crimes of violence as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) the complainant/impacted party will receive notification of disposition of the allegation(s).  In cases of alleged prohibited conduct under the Discriminatory and Sexual Misconduct Policy (Interim), the complainant/impacted party will be notified of the outcome as specified in section VI.E of the policy.
5. Parents of a student normally will not be notified of any community standards action.
6. Community standards actions will be recorded in the student's educational record in the Office of Community Responsibility in accordance with community standards records retention practices. When community standards actions affect eligibility for enrollment, designation on other university records will be made. Community standards records will not be released as a part of the official transcript of the academic record of a student.

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