Student Senate Hearing Board procedures include giving an accused student, herein referred to as
respondent, notice of the charges filed against the student, notice of the time of adjudication, a fair and
impartial hearing of those charges before an institutional representative or judicial body, the right to present
the student's own defense including witnesses, the right to question the accuser, herein referred to as
complainant, and the right to appeal the decision to a higher authority.
All hearings of judicial bodies are closed except to the accused student, the accuser, their advisers, members
of the judicial body, and the judicial body adviser. Witnesses may appear as requested by the judicial body.
The accused has the right to know the nature of the charge and enter one of three pleas: "in violation"
(wherein the respondent admits that the charges are valid); "not in violation" (wherein the validity of the
charges is denied); or "no contest" (wherein guilt is neither affirmed nor denied, but the evidence is
presented and judged).
The respondent has the right to be present at the hearing and to hear all the evidence presented to the Board.
This includes the right to know the identity of the complainants.
The respondent has the right to present evidence and to call such other persons as wish to speak in his/her
behalf at the hearing.
The respondent or complainant has the right to request an appeal of either the verdict or of any sanction that
the Board may assess. If an appeal is submitted by either the complainant or respondent, any action taken by
the judicial body is deferred until the case is considered by a higher body.
Note: All action by hearing boards is in the form of a recommendation to the Dean of Students or a
designee(s), who must approve the action.