Panel Hearing Procedures. Hearings to determine whether a respondent has violated the Code as alleged, or as reasonably related to the facts as alleged, will be presented to a conduct hearing panel according to this Code and any other procedures as issued by the Vice President for Student Engagement and the Director of OCCS. Minor variations in established hearing procedures may be approved on an ad hoc basis by the Vice President for Student Engagement or the Director of OCCS provided they do not materially impact on the fairness of the proceedings. Every effort will be made to assure fair and impartial hearings. The hearings will be conducted in closed session, and all hearings and records will be administered in compliance with FERPA. The respondent has the right to consult a process advisor before, during, and after any hearing or appeal. If there is an alleged victim of the conduct in question, the alleged victim may serve as the complainant, or may request to have the Director of OCCS or their designee serve as complainant. Where there is no victim, the Director of OCCS or their designee will serve as complainant. A student serving as complainant has the same rights to a process advisor as the respondent. Parents or other support persons for the complainant or respondent may also attend, but like process advisors are not permitted to speak, (e.g., make opening or closing remarks, examine or cross examine, ask questions, to submit and object to information, to address the hearing panel), or delay scheduling any hearing, conference, or appeal. While previous conduct violations by the respondent are not generally admissible as information about the present alleged violation, the conduct officer may supply previous complaint information to the panel when the respondent has previously been found responsible for a similar section of the Code, which may be used to establish a pattern of behavior.
