Student Handbook

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Adjudication Procedures

The following steps detail the procedure for handling alleged violations of policies and/or standards of the University:

  1. An incident report is written and submitted to the Office of Student Life and/or to the Office of Safety and Security. Incident reports may be submitted by any member of the University community.
  2. The Director of Residence Life & Community Standards will determine if sufficient information is available to proceed.
  3. The student in alleged violation of a Community Standard will be notified within ten class days (Monday-Friday classes) of the alleged violation of Community Standard/s and will be required to respond in one of the following manners:
  •  The student will be notified through William Woods University email and required to respond via email or phone within a maximum of five class days. In some instances, a more immediate response may be outlined and expected.
  • Students who fail to respond to an initial notice of an alleged violation of Community Standards may be charged with Failure to Comply depending on the alleged violation and the response outlined in the student’s initial letter. At the discretion of the Director of Residence Life & Community Standards or the Vice President for Student Life, a decision may be made about the alleged violation in the student’s absence, or the case may be referred for further review.
  • The student will be notified in the initial notice whether the student may choose the hearing form or if the student is required to appear before the University Community Standards Board.
  • Community Standards Conference, Community Standards Board, or Taking Responsibility: For many alleged policy violations a student may choose to take responsibility for an alleged policy violation, appear before a Hearing Officer, or appear before the Community Standards Board.
  • Community Standards Conference: If choosing to appear before a hearing officer, the student is expected to contact the Office of Student Life within the deadline given in the initial notice to request a conference and follow instructions given to schedule a conference with the hearing officer. Contact information for the hearing officer will be provided to the student.
  • Community Standards Board: If choosing to appear before the Community Standards Board, the student is expected to attend the hearing at the date, time, and location mutually agreed upon between the student and Director of Residence Life & Community Standards and/or his/her designee.
  • Taking Responsibility: If choosing to take responsibility for the alleged policy violation, the student is expected to contact the Office of Student Life within the deadline given in the initial letter. Contact information will be provided in the student’s initial notice. Please note, students failing to reply by the deadline given in the initial notice may be deemed responsible. If the student takes responsibility or is found responsible after not responding by the deadline, the student will receive a follow up email outlining assigned sanctions and deadlines for the sanctions. If the student does not complete the sanctions by the designated deadline, he/she will be charged with Failure to Comply.
  • The two hearing processes will follow a similar structural format. If a student chooses a hearing, the hearing office or Student Community Standards Board will assign sanctions deemed appropriate or the student may be found not responsible, and no sanctions would be assigned.

University Standards Board: In some instances of a severe or reoccurring alleged Community Standards violation/s, a student may be required to appear before the University Standards Board. The date, time, and location of the hearing will be stated in the student’s hearing notice.