The Judiciary Board
The Judiciary Board has discretion to preside over hearings involving any disciplinary matter involving student discipline, including but not limited to matters involving alleged violations of University Policy, protocol, regulation, the Student Handbook, the Honor Code, Code of Conduct, the Clinical Training Manual (as applicable to students in the Doctor of Medicine program) and any matter for which there is precedent for interpreting and applying the rules and standards of conduct of the University. The Judiciary Board’s authority to handle University disciplinary matters derives directly from the University. All meetings and discussions of the Judiciary Board are confidential.
It is the policy of the University that, while evaluation of academic work is entirely in the hands of the instructor, questions of academic honesty and professionalism may be heard by a Judicial Panel of the Judiciary Board.
Members of the Judiciary Board
The members of the Judiciary Board are be chosen by the Dean of the relevant School. The Board is made up of SGU faculty and/or administration from the relevant School. A Panel of the Judiciary Board (Panel) comprised of up to six (6) members of the Judiciary Board of each School shall preside over hearings brought before the Judiciary Board of such school. The Panel will interpret and apply the standards and rules of the University.
Matters before the Judiciary Board
Matters before the Judiciary Board originate from complaints or allegations brought or referred to the Office of the Dean of Students and/or the Office of Judicial Affairs. Any student, faculty, or staff member may make a complaint and/or report of a violation of the Honor Code, Code of Conduct, University Policy, protocol, Manual, regulation, University, program or course requirements or professionalism to the Office of the Dean of Students and/or Office of Judicial Affairs. Any matter which for which a formal disciplinary hearing measures may be considered not initially raised to the Office of Judicial Affairs shall be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs. After consultation and investigation, the Judicial Officer will determine whether a matter should proceed to hearing. In such event, the Judicial Officer will issue a Notice of Hearing and provide the student with written notice of the charges and allegations.
The Judiciary Board, through its Panel presides over disciplinary hearings on disciplinary cases brought by the Office of Judicial Affairs.
Procedures of the Office of Judicial Affairs & Judiciary Board Hearings
The Judiciary Board decides its cases pursuant to established standards and the specific rules and policies established by the University, taking into account the Board’s understanding of the student’s particular circumstances.
Some matters may, but are not required to, originate with a referral to the Office of the Dean of Students, after which the Dean of Students and/or a designee may, in his/her discretion, meet with the student informally to discuss the incident, the relevant University rules or standards of conduct, and possible courses of action. If the Dean of Students/designee determines, in his/her discretion, the matter can be resolved informally, referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs is not required. If there are issues of fact and/or the Dean of Students/designee determines the matter could be appropriate for a hearing, a referral shall be made to the Office of Judicial Affairs for further investigation as may be deemed appropriate and/or the presentation of formal charges.
Matters may also be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs directly. Upon referral of a matter to the Office of Judicial Affairs, regardless of source, the Judicial Officer will review the referral and conduct any investigation he/she deems necessary. The Judicial Officer may include and/or designate such other individuals as he/she deems appropriate in process of conducting the investigation.
If charges are to be rendered, the Judicial Officer shall issue a written Notice of Hearing and Charges to the student. Except in circumstances where time is of the essence due to surrounding events or academic deadlines or some other exceptional circumstance, or unless otherwise agreed to by the student, the Notice of Hearing and Charges shall be sent to the student no less than five (5) days prior to the date of the scheduled hearing.
Unless otherwise agreed to by the student, no less than three (3) days prior to the date set for hearing, the student will be offered the opportunity to meet with the Judicial Officer to review the charges, the alleged violations and view and discuss the evidence.
The proceeding and procedures are not intended to be that of a criminal court and therefore, the student does not have the right to be represented by an attorney, however the student has the right to be accompanied at the hearing and during the meeting with the Judicial Officer by a faculty student advisor appointed for such purpose. The student will be advised of the name and contact information for the faculty student advisor prior to the date of the meeting with the Judicial Officer. The advisor cannot speak for the student and is not intended to provide legal advice, but to assist the student with regard to the procedures and process. A student may waive his/her right to be accompanied by a faculty student advisor at any point in the process.
The student may submit evidence and documentation to the Office of Judicial Affairs to include in the packet of materials to be presented to the Judicial Panel for consideration, provided such evidence and documentation is received by the Office of Judicial Affairs by the timeline set out by the Judicial Officer at or following the scheduled date of the Judicial Officer’s meeting with the student. The student may also submit to the Judicial Officer a list of witnesses he/she intends to call on his/her behalf to provide relevant testimony before the Judicial Panel at hearing. The packet of evidence shall be made available to the Judicial Panel prior to the commencement of the hearing. The Chair of the Panel shall preside over the hearing. In the event either party has additional relevant evidence to be submitted to the Judicial Panel that was not included in the packet, such evidence may be considered by the Judicial Panel at its discretion, taking into consideration statements made in connection with such additional evidence, along with any other relevant factors. The Chair may, but is not required to, place restrictions or conditions on its consideration of any additional evidence provided.
On the date of hearing, the Judicial Panel, which may consist of no less than three (3) and up to six (6) individuals, will act as the fact finder. The Chair of the Judicial Panel (Chair) presides over the hearing. The Chair is charged with conducting the hearing in an orderly fashion and has the authority to rule on questions of admissibility, adjournments, requests for breaks, relevance, scope, appropriateness of questions and evidence. This includes the authority to: (1) determine admissibility of testimony of witnesses; (2) deny the request to ask questions that are found to be misleading or inappropriate; (3) rule on the relevance and admissibility of evidence. The Judicial Officer and student may ask questions of witnesses at the discretion of the Chair; questions are usually posed to the Judicial Panel, who then asks the witnesses the questions, unless such questions are otherwise deemed inappropriate by the Chair. The Chair holds the authority to address any procedural and/or other issues that may arise.t
On the day of the hearing, after introductions are made, the student will be provided with an opportunity to challenge any member of the Judicial Panel on the grounds of prejudice. Any challenge made will be deliberated upon by the Judicial Panel and a determination will be made as to whether that member should be excluded and/or replaced.
At the commencement of the hearing, the charges and allegations shall be presented by the Judicial Officer. The Judicial Officer and student will be given an opportunity to provide opening statements. The student shall be entitled to provide testimony regarding the allegations and provide his/her side of the story to the Judicial Panel and the Judicial Panel and Judicial Officer will be given the opportunity to ask any questions they may have of the student. The Judicial Officer will then be given the opportunity to call witnesses to provide testimony to and answer questions posed by the Judicial Panel, Judicial Officer and student, after which the student will be provided the opportunity to call any witnesses. Should the Judicial Panel or Judicial Officer have any additional questions for the student, or the student Judicial Officer or Panel have any additional questions for any other witnesses, those questions may be posed at that time, subject to the discretion of the Chair. Once witness statements have been taken, the Judicial Officer and student will be given an opportunity to provide a brief summation of the matter. The Judicial Panel members may ask questions of the student and any witnesses and may request additional records and/or testimony prior to making a decision.
In arriving at any decision, the Judiciary Board pays close attention to the growth of students, as members of an academic community and graduates and professionals within their chosen profession. In coming to a determination as to a recommendation for penalty, the Judicial Panel may consider the students educational record, current status, student record and any prior disciplinary history and/or prior informal warnings issued by the University, which may be factored into such recommendation.
At the conclusion of its deliberations, the Judicial Panel shall provide its findings and recommendation to the Dean of Students for consideration and determination. The Dean of Students may but is not required to follow all recommendations of the Judicial Panel. The Office of the Dean of Students shall inform the student of the decision in writing. This decision and all official disciplinary correspondence (e.g., Notice of Violation) shall become part of the student’s official record.
The standard to be employed for all disciplinary cases is a preponderance of the evidence standard (more likely than not). Clear and convincing evidence is not required.
In disciplinary cases, if the Board determines that a violation occurred, it may recommend a range of penalties including, but not limited to one or a combination of the following:
- Warning with or without conditions- failure to comply will result in more serious and drastic penalties;
- Disciplinary probation – with or without conditions. During the period of time (to be specified) that a student is on probation, any further instance of misconduct will very likely result in dismissal. A student on probation must be especially conscientious about his/her behavior and responsibilities. If the offense is related to participation in extracurricular activity, the Board may at its discretion restrict such participation; in cases in which management of time appears to contribute to the problem, the Board may require that the student obtain the Board’s permission for participation in each individual activity. The Board may also attach individual requirements to probation;
- Suspension- for a set period of time to be specified, with or without conditions during the period of suspension, with or without conditions for return and/or period of probation following return from suspension; and
- Dismissal- An action taken in serious disciplinary cases whereby a student’s connection with the University is ended.
A student may ask that any decision of the Judiciary Board be reconsidered when there is additional or new relevant information available through the appeals process.
Appeal
A student who disagrees with the decision of the Dean of Students may appeal the decision within five (5) business days of the date the decision is sent. This appeal must be made to the Dean of the school for the program in which they are enrolled. For students in the pathway programs leading to the School of Medicine, the appropriate dean shall be the Dean of the School of Medicine or his/her designee. The Dean of the school or his/her designee shall consider an appeal that is timely and properly filed and render a final determination. For an appeal to be properly filed, it must be sent to the appropriate Dean, with a copy to the Office of the Dean of Students; received within five (5) business days of the date notice of the decision of the Dean of Students was given; and be based on one or more of the following grounds:
- Due process errors involving the responding student’s rights that affected the outcome of the initial hearing;
- Demonstrated prejudice against any party by the person presiding over the hearing;
- New information that was not available at the time of the original hearing;
- A sanction that is extraordinarily disproportionate to the offense committed; and/or
- The preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing does not support the finding.
The Dean or his/her designee shall review the submission made by the student, along with the underlying record, the student’s educational record, and information on the student’s current status and make a determination after consideration of the issues raised. The decision on appeal shall be shared in writing with the student. Any determination of an appeal shall be final and shall not subject to further appeal.
Interim Suspension
Any dean may immediately suspend a student for an egregious violation of the honor code, the code of conduct, professionalism, allegations involving serious criminal behavior or when the continued presence of the student raises serious concerns for the health, safety and wellbeing for himself/herself or others and/or there is reason to believe that the continued presence of the student or cause serious disruption to the educational process and/or orderly administration of the University/University activities. In such case, the Dean shall provide written notice of the suspension to the student. Such suspension must be promptly reported by the dean to the Office of Judicial Affairs and other relevant departments. The Office of the Dean of Students, together with the Office of Judicial Affairs and any other relevant offices will review the circumstances and take appropriate action pursuant to the disciplinary process.
Disciplinary cases are ordinarily considered by the Judiciary Board as quickly as is reasonably possible, given the Board’s schedule and the need to investigate matters carefully. A disciplinary matter concerning a student on leave of absence (LOA) or suspension will also be handled as quickly as possible, and no student on a leave of absence or suspension will be allowed to register until the pending disciplinary matter has been resolved. In the event a court action is pending or in progress, the Judicial Board may, but is not required, to delay or suspend its hearing process, pending progression or resolution of such case.
Students must comply with all University and disciplinary rules from matriculation until the conferring of the degree so long as they are enrolled, regardless of any intermittent status (such as LOA, suspension, etc.). A degree will not be granted to a student who is not in good standing or against whom a disciplinary charge is pending.