A student who disagrees with the findings of responsibility or the sanctions levied may choose to
request a formal hearing. The request for a formal hearing must be made in writing (may include
electronic correspondence) to the office of the Dean of Student Development within 3 business days
of the informal resolution discussion. Informal resolution is a required step before a student or the
College requests a formal hearing.
4.
Formal Hearing - The student may proceed to a formal hearing if requested (see above). At this
time, an NWTC Student Conduct Panel, consisting of three students and two faculty/staff, would be
assigned by the Vice President of Student Services and convened to hear the case. The Student
Conduct Panel has the following guidelines:
•
•
•
•
•
The Panel will be chaired by a designee of the Vice President of Student Services. The committee
will strive for a cross-section of program departments avoiding conflict of interest through
program department assignment or student familiarity.
If members have a conflict of interest in an individual hearing, they will be excused from that
proceeding.
These meetings will be closed meetings. Parties involved have the right to request the presence of
other college students or staff to speak on their behalf; subject to approval by the office of the
Vice President of Student Services (only students and staff familiar with the action taken may
speak).
The Student Conduct Panel shall hear the case in an impartial manner and shall issue a ruling
based on the preponderance of evidence. A “preponderance of evidence” standard of proof is
different than a legal standard of proof. Students are found responsible if the facts support that a
student is more likely than not to have violated the Student Code of Conduct. This testimony
should be limited to facts surrounding the case in question.
The proceedings will be taped to ensure accurate information should the Panel’s opinion be
appealed.
Pre-Hearing Review by Student Conduct Panel Members
Student Conduct Panel meetings times are scheduled to allow at least 30 minutes of preparation before the
first student arrives. During that time, Student Conduct Panel members should:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Review all written statements and reports.
Determine the time sequence of the events that allegedly occurred.
Establish the main areas which need resolution (usually areas in which accounts differ).
Assign roles to Student Conduct Panel members, (i.e. Chairperson, recorder, who will read the
incident report during the hearing)
Any potential conflicts of interest must be discussed with Student Conduct Panel Chairperson and
addressed.
Arrange seats to accommodate all participants.
Determine if there is a quorum (at least three members). If not, the referred student may waive the
need for a quorum. If the student wants a quorum, direct the student to the Dean of Student
Development’s Office to reschedule the hearing.
Discussion and Questioning Guide for the Hearing
This section of the hearing is intended to allow Student Conduct Panel members and the accused student(s)
to hear all testimony and to question involved parties. The outline presented below offers a sequence guide
for the hearing.
1.
2.
3.
Greet the student and ask them questions to get some background information about them (i.e.
year in school, program, clubs, interests, etc.) Then introduce the Student Conduct Panel and
explain the procedures of the hearing.
The accused student is asked to make a narrative statement regarding the incident. The student
should tell what happened in his/her own words.
The incident report is read by a designated Student Conduct Panel member, omitting all student
names other than the accused. The accused student is provided an opportunity to comment on the
report.
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