Canisius College

The conduct conference procedures apply to all non- academic violations of the Community Standards, except those that are directed to the Community Standards Board.

A.  Procedures:

1. A complaint is filed with the Dean of Students, Public Safety, or Office of Residence Life.
2. The Dean of Students or designee serves as the Hearing Officer and contacts the student (respondent) to discuss the incident.
3. A conference shall occur between the Hearing Officer and the respondent.
During this conference the following shall occur:

a. The Hearing Officer shall inform respondent of the alleged violation(s) of Community Standards.
b. The respondent may make a statement regarding the allegations.
c. The respondent may bring forth witnesses  to the alleged incident if deemed pertinent by the Hearing Officer.

4.  Upon completion of the conduct conference the Hearing Officer shall make a determination of responsibility for the incident.  This determination shall be based upon the facts of the incident, and whether it is more likely than not that the student is responsible for the alleged violation(s).
5.  Normally, the respondent shall be provided written notification of the decision and if appropriate sanction(s) within five business days after the
conduct conference.

B. Procedural Review:

The decision of a hearing officer shall not normally be subject to appeal unless sanctions k-q of Article IV Section C are imposed.  However, the student may request in writing a procedural review of the conduct conference by the Dean of Students or designee.  The written request shall be submitted to the Dean of Students or designee not more than two business days after written notification of the decision/sanction is received. The Dean of Students or designee shall review the case.  If it is determined that there was procedural error, normally, the case shall be remanded to the hearing officer originally assigned to the complaint for further consideration.  If the Dean of Students is the hearing officer, the request for a procedural review shall be submitted to the Vice President for Student Affairs.

C.  Appeal:

Requests for appeals of decisions by a Hearing Officer (only if sanctions k-q are imposed) are directed to the Dean of Students or designee. Requests for appeals shall be made in writing within two business days of the written decision.

In the written appeal, it shall be the responsibility of the student pursuing the appeal to provide evidence of one or more of the following grounds for appeal:

a. the original hearing was not conducted in conformity with prescribed procedures.
b. the facts in the case were not sufficient to establish that a violation of the Community Standards occurred.
c. the sanction imposed was not appropriate for the violation of the Community Standards for which the student was found to be responsible.   
d. the existence of new relevant facts, sufficient to alter the decision, which were not brought out in the original hearing, and which could not have been known to or available to the appellant at the time of the original hearing. 

If an appeal is granted by the Dean of Students or designee, the following determination may be instituted: 1) the sanction may be replaced with another which may be more severe, less severe, or otherwise different; 2) the matter may be remanded to the original hearing officer for reconsideration of the original determination and/or sanction; or 3) the matter may be directed to a new hearing officer for a new hearing.

If the Dean of Students or designee finds no merit to the appeal, the decision of the hearing officer shall stand. 

During the appeal process, the imposition of the sanction(s) shall not occur; however, the Dean of Students or designee may impose limitations or conditions on the appealing respondent’s continued relationship with the College during the appeal process.

If the Dean of Students is the hearing officer, the request for an appeal shall be submitted to the Vice President for Student Affairs.

D. Failure to Appear:

The judicial process outlined above is intended to provide the student an opportunity to respond to allegations of violations of the Community Standards, thereby enabling the Hearing Officer to make an informed decision about responsibility and appropriate sanctions.  However, if a student fails to respond to three communications (in the form of written notification, telephone, e-mail, or oral requests) attempting to schedule a meeting or fails to attend a scheduled meeting, a decision based upon available information may be rendered in absentia. 

No student may be found to have violated the Community Standards solely because the student failed to appear.