Catalog Navigator : Aspects of the Disciplinary Process

Advisors

It is a student's right to bring one advisor who is a current DePaul community member (faculty, staff or student) to a disciplinary meeting or hearing. This right applies to the student being referred for disciplinary action as well as the one bringing the charges, if appropriate. All advisors will be approved by the hearing officer or judicial board moderator prior to the hearing.

The role of the advisor is to act as a support person for the student by conferring quietly with him/her during the adjudicatory process. The advisor is not to directly address the adjudicatory agent(s) or anyone else present at a meeting or hearing.

Disciplinary Records

Records of disciplinary cases that result in sanctions shall be kept in a referred student's disciplinary file located in either the Dean of Students or Residential Education Office.

Except in cases involving suspension or dismissal from the university, student disciplinary records are destroyed one year after graduation or two years after withdrawal in good standing.

Students who are dismissed from the university will have a notation describing such action placed permanently on their transcripts.

The university will not release disciplinary records to non-DePaul personnel unless directed to do so in writing by the student or a civil authority pursuant to a validly issued subpoena or other appropriate court order.

Judicial Boards

Two types of judicial boards are used to hear alleged violations of this code:

Residence Hall Judicial Board: The Residence Hall Judicial Board pool is comprised of the following:

a minimum of 5 residents appointed by the Residence Hall Council Judicial Board chairperson for a term of one academic year;
a minimum of 5 resident/community advisors who are appointed by the Residence Hall Council Judicial Board chairperson for a term of one academic year; and
the judicial board chairperson, who is appointed by the Residence Hall Council Senate for a term of one year.

A quorum of two residents, one resident advisor and the chairperson must be present to hear a case. Quorum may be waived by the referred student. All vote on the final outcome.

The judicial board is moderated and trained by the Assistant Director of Residential Education, who must be present at all hearings unless a designee is assigned. The moderator has no voting role in the outcome of any case.

University Judicial Board: The University Judicial Board pool is comprised of the following:

six current students with at least sophomore status nominated by the Student Government Association for an appointment of one year;
six faculty members nominated by the Faculty Council for an appointment of one year; and
six staff members nominated by the Staff Council for an appointment of one year.

A quorum of three members (one from each constituency) is required to hear a case. This quorum shall be chosen by the Dean of Students prior to the hearing of a case. The chairperson shall be decided upon at the time of the hearing. The University Judicial Board is moderated and trained by the Dean of Students, who must be present at all hearings unless a designee is assigned. The moderator has no voting role in the outcome of any case.

Jurisdiction

Who actually investigates and hears an alleged violation of the Code of Student Responsibility is dependent on three factors:

the seriousness of the alleged violation;
the pattern of behavior of the alleged violator; and
where the incident occurred.

The University may exercise jurisdiction for all offenses committed on campus. Additionally, the University may exercise jurisdiction on an offense committed off-campus (including on-line communities) when:

the victim and/or accused student of such offense is a member of the campus community (student, faculty or staff); or
the offense occurred at a college sponsored or sanctioned event; or
the accused student used his or her status as a member of the University community to assist in the commission of the offense (student ID card to pass a bad check); or
the offense seriously impairs the pursuit of the University's objectives.

Serious incidents of misconduct will be investigated by the Dean of Students Office. Less serious incidents that occur in or near the residence halls will usually be investigated by the Residence Director of the building in or near where the violation occurred. The Dean of Students Office reserves the right to determine who shall investigate any incident of misconduct.

Because of the serious nature of the complaints, all incidents involving issues of sexual assault, intimidation shall be handled by the Dean of Students Office. All cases involving activities at off-campus sites shall also be handled by the Dean of Students Office. In cases of harassment both sexual harassment or those forms that would fit under the university Anti-Discriminatory Harassment policy, where a student is the respondent, all cases will be handled by the Associate Vice President for Student Advocacy.

In cases where jurisdiction is not clearly established, the Dean of Students shall make the final decision on who the appropriate hearing agent shall be. Once a jurisdictional decision has been made, jurisdiction cannot be changed unless the hearing agent assigned to the case excuses him/herself for justifiable cause or the Dean of Students Office otherwise determines that the current jurisdiction is fundamentally unfair.

Witnesses

Students involved on either side of a disciplinary case, as complainants or referred students, may bring witnesses to hearings to support their statements. All witnesses must be current members of the DePaul community (faculty, staff or students). Appearance of witnesses at the appropriate time, date and location of any hearing is the responsibility of the involved students.

Witnesses on either side of a case will present their information individually. No other witness will be allowed in the hearing room. The university recognizes it cannot compel any student to present him/herself as a witness against his/her will, however, all students are encouraged to comply with the university disciplinary process.

Information that does not directly bear upon the circumstances of the case or duplicates all or part of testimony already presented may not be allowed. The adjudicatory agent will warn all witnesses that giving false information in the hearing will be considered a violation of this code of student responsibility and will result in disciplinary action.