Article V: Judicial Policies

A. Charges and Hearings
1. Any member of the Parkland College community may file a complaint against any student for misconduct. Complaints should be prepared in writing and directed to the Dean of Students who is responsible for the administration of the Parkland College student conduct system. Any complaints should be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place, preferably within 5 business days.

2. A member of the Parkland College community may receive a complaint from a person who is not a member of the Parkland College community as defined in this code. Those complaints should be immediately forwarded to the Dean of Students.  Complaints presented to the Dean of Students by persons “outside” of the Parkland community will be evaluated for possible disposition action under the provisions of the Student Conduct Code. 

3. The Dean of Students or their designee may conduct an investigation to determine if the complaint has merit and/or if they can be disposed of administratively or through mediation with the consent of the parties involved. Such disposition shall be final and there shall be no subsequent proceedings provided all parties adhere to the agreed upon sanctions. If the charges cannot be disposed of by mutual consent or if either party does not adhere to the agreed upon sanction(s) or the charges result from a violation of a major offense, the Dean of Students may officially charge the student and refer the case to the Student Conduct Advisor who shall proceed with a disciplinary hearing. 
B. Charges referred to student conduct hearing
1. All charges that will be referred to a student conduct hearing shall be presented to the accused student to their Parkland student email account. In certain circumstances charges may also be mailed to the student’s local address of record using certified mail.  An attempt to meet with the student in-person to present the charge letter will also be made by the Dean of students. 

2. The charge letter will also notify the student of a required meeting with the Student Conduct Advisor.  This meeting shall take place no more than 3 business days after the sending of the charge letter by Parkland email. The purpose of the meeting will be to review the student conduct process and discuss the scheduling of the rest of the process.

3. The scheduling of the hearing will be done by the Student Conduct Advisor, in consultation with the accused student.  This consultation will happen at the required meeting when a time shall be set for a hearing, not less than 5 nor more than 10 business days after the date that the student has met with the Student Conduct Advisor.  

4. In extreme cases, maximum time limits for scheduling of meetings and hearings may be extended, at the discretion of the Dean of Students. 

5. At the meeting with the Student Conduct Advisor, the accused student shall be presented with a summary of the documentation. In addition, the accused student shall be allowed to examine any pertinent information that will be presented in the hearing. At a student conduct hearing, the technical rules of evidence applicable to civil and criminal cases shall not apply. 

6. Hearing shall be conducted by the Student Conduct Committee under the following guidelines:

a. Composition of the Committee

i. Two students selected from a pool of students approved and trained by the Dean of Students. If absolutely necessary to expedite the hearing, one student may be used. 

ii. Two employees of the college selected from a pool of employees appointed by the Dean of Students and ratified by PCA Student Affairs Committee. This pool will perform as a subcommittee of the Student Affairs Committee.

iii. The chair will be the Student Conduct Advisor or their designee. This position will be nonvoting except in tie votes. 

iv. Other college policies and procedures may dictate a variance of this committee composition to include specially trained members – both faculty and students. Composition is dictated by that procedure. 

b. The hearing shall be private, (restricted to committee members, the complainant, the charged party(ies) the charges parties’ advisors, and witnesses). Admission of any person to the hearing shall be determined at the discretion of the Dean of Students and normally with the consent of the accused student. 

c. In hearings involving more than one accused student, the Student Conduct Advisor, at their discretion, may permit the hearings concerning each student to be conducted jointly.

d. The involved parties shall have the right to be assisted by any relative, Parkland College student, Parkland College employee, or any other designee who serves as an advisor. The advisor’s role is limited to advising the student. The complainant and the accused are responsible for presenting their own cases, and therefore, advisors are not permitted to speak to committee members during a hearing or participate directly in any hearing before a Student Conduct Committee.

e. To ensure the student understands his or her rights, the “Garrity Procedures” will be read to the accused student prior to questioning and/or allowing the student to make a statement. 

f. There shall be a single verbatim record, such as a tape recording, of all formal proceedings during a discipline hearing. The record shall be the property of Parkland College.

g. The complainant, the accused, and the Student Conduct Committee shall have the privilege of presenting witnesses. The College will try to arrange the attendance of possible witnesses who are members of the College community, if reasonably possible, and who are identified by the complainant and/or accused student at least two weekdays prior to the Student Conduct hearing. Witnesses will provide information to, and answer questions from, the Student Conduct Committee. Questions may be suggested by the accused student and/or complainant to be answered by each other or by other witnesses. Questioning will be conducted by the Student Conduct Committee with such questions directed to the chairperson, rather than to the witness directly. This method is used to preserve the educational tone of the hearing and to avoid creation of an adversarial environment.

h. A Student Conduct Committee, at the discretion of the chairperson, may present pertinent records, exhibits, and written statements for consideration.

i. All procedural questions during the hearing are subject to the final decision of the chairperson of the Student Conduct Committee.

j. After the hearing, the Student Conduct Committee shall determine using the preponderance of evidence standard (by the majority vote) whether the student has violated each section of the Student Conduct Code which the student is charged with violating. 

k.The accused student will be notified of their right to appeal. 

7. If an accused student, with notice, does not appear before a Student Conduct Committee hearing, the information in support of the charges shall be presented and considered, even if the accused student is not present.

8. The Student Conduct Committee may accommodate concerns for the personal safety, well-being, and/or fears of confrontation of the complainant, accused student, and/or other witnesses during the hearing through the use of written statements or other means, where and as determined in the sole judgment of the Student Conduct Advisor to be appropriate. 
C. Sanctions
1. The following sanctions may be imposed upon any student found to have violated the Student Conduct Code:
a. Warning – A notice in writing to the student that the student is violating or has violated the Student Conduct Code and if the conduct continues more stringent sanctions shall be imposed. 
b.Probation – Probation is for a designated period of time and includes probability of more severe disciplinary sanctions if the students is found to be violating any conduct code during the probationary period.
c. Loss of privileges – Denial of specified privileges for a designated period of time. 
d. Fines – Previously established and published fines may be imposed.
e. Restitution – Compensation for loss, damage, or injury. This may take the form of appropriate service and/or monetary or material replacement. 
f. Discretionary sanctions – Work assignments, service to Parkland College, or other related discretionary assignments (such assignments must have the prior approval of the Dean of Students or Vice President for Student Services).
g. Administrative Withdrawal – Removal of the student from one or more Parkland College courses.
h. Parkland College suspension – Separation of the student from Parkland College for a definite period of time, after which the student is eligible to return. Conditions for readmission may be specified. 
i. Parkland College expulsion – Permanent separation of the student from Parkland College. Student may petition for reentry after a minimum of five (5) academic years has elapsed since imposition of expulsion. 
j. Revocation of admission and/or degree – Admission to, or a degree awarded from, the college may be revoked for fraud, misrepresentation, or other violation of college standards in obtaining the degree, or for other serious violations committed by a student prior to graduation.
k. Withholding degree – The college may withhold awarding a degree otherwise earned until the completion of the process set forth in this Student Conduct Code, including the completion of all sanctions imposed, if any. 
2. More than one of the sanctions listed above may be imposed for any single violation.
3. Individual disciplinary files that contain cases that have suspension or expulsion as a final outcome shall be kept permanently on file. All other individual files shall be kept for a minimum of seven years after any sanctions expire or administrative disposition concludes unless they are expunged (as described below).

A student’s permanent academic record is their official Parkland College transcript. Expulsion is the only disciplinary record that will be added to the student’s Parkland College transcript. 

Students may request to have their disciplinary records expunged under the conditions listed below. Expungement shall be at the sole discretion of the Dean of Students or Vice President for Student Services and shall require the entire record to be expunged or none of it to be expunged (i.e. no partial expungements shall be allowed). 

Conditions include:

    • Application for expungement shall occur only upon completion of all degree or certificate requirements and at a minimum of two years after the conclusion of sanctions or administrative disposition. 
    • Students who have been suspended or expelled are not eligible for expungement. Expungement may occur only for students who have sanctions other than suspension or expulsion and whose violations were determined by the Dean of Students or Vice President for Student Services to have not threatened or endangered the health or safety of any person. 
    • Expungement decisions shall be made based on obvious long-term improvement in behavior, or lack thereof, (e.g., no violations of the student code for two or more consecutive semesters prior to graduation), and/or evidence, or lack thereof, of cooperation in previous student judicial matters, and/or any other reasonable factor.

*This process language was adapted from Western Michigan University https://wmich.edu/conduct/expunge-conduct-record

4. The following sanctions may be imposed upon groups or organizations:
a. Those sanctions listed above in C1, a through f.
b. Deactivation – Loss of all privileges, including Parkland College recognition, for a specified period of time.

5. In each case in which a Student Conduct Committee determines that a student has violated the Student Conduct Code, the sanction(s) shall be determined and imposed by the Student Conduct Advisor. The recommendation of all members of the Student Conduct Committee shall be considered by the Student Conduct Advisor in determining sanctions. The Student Conduct Advisor is not limited to sanctions recommended by members of the Student Conduct Committee. 

D. Report of Hearing
1. The Student Conduct Advisor or Dean of Students shall write and deliver the final report from the hearing to be completed within 72 hours of the decision. The report shall consist of the following:

a. A copy of the charges.

b. The summary judgment of the Student Conduct Committee/Dean of Students on whether a student has violated the Student Conduct Code for each charge and the sanction(s) imposed.
c. Any specific actions that the student must complete as part of any sanction.
d. Guidelines for the appeal process. 

2. This final report should be delivered to the complainant, the respondent, the Chair of the Student Affairs Committee, the Dean of Students, and the Vice President of Student Services. 

E. Appeals

1. A decision reached by the Student Conduct Committee or a sanction imposed by the Student Conduct Advisor may be appealed by accused students or complainants to an Appellate Board within 10 school days of the decision. Such appeals shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Dean of Students or the Student Conduct Advisor. A student utilizing this student conduct hearing appeal process is restricted from using the Student Grievance hearing process for the same occurrence. The student may only use the Student Grievance process for issues unrelated to the current conduct process and circumstances/actions leading up to it.

2. The Appellate Board is selected by the Vice President for Student Services to the Chair of the Student Affairs Committee. Members of the pool appointed to the Student Conduct Committee are only eligible to serve on the Appellant Board if they did not serve on the Student Conduct Committee during the initial hearing. 

3. Except as required to explain the basis of new evidence, an appeal shall be limited to review of the verbatim record of the initial hearing and supporting documents for one or more of the following purposes. 

a. To determine whether the original hearing was conducted fairly in light of the charges and information presented, and in conformity with prescribed procedures giving the complaining party reasonable opportunity to prepare and present information that the Student Conduct Code was violated, and giving the accused student a reasonable opportunity to prepare and to present a response to those allegations. 
b. To determine whether the decision reached regarding the accused student was based on substantial information; that is, whether the facts in the case were sufficient to establish that a violation of the Student Conduct Code occurred. 
c. To determine whether the sanction(s) imposed were appropriate for the violation of the Student Conduct Code which the student was found to have committed. 
d. To consider new information, sufficient to alter a decision, or other relevant facts not brought out in the original hearing, because such information and/or facts were not known to the person appealing at the time of the original Student Conduct hearing.  

4. If an appeal is upheld by the Appellate Board, the matter shall be remanded to the original Student Conduct Committee and Student Conduct Advisor for reopening of the hearing to allow reconsideration of the original determination and/or sanction(s).

5. In cases involving appeals by students accused of violating the Student Conduct Code, review of the sanction by the Appellate Board may not result in more severe sanction(s) for the accused student.

6. The decision of the Appellate Board is final.