Section 174-123-190. Procedure at hearing.

The procedures to be followed at hearings conducted by the student conduct appeals board are as follows:

(1) All procedural questions and other decisions are subject to the final decision of the chair of the board unless otherwise provided for in these rules. The chair will ensure that the proceeding is held in an orderly manner such that the rights of all parties to a full, fair and impartial proceeding that adheres to the code is achieved.

(2) The hearing is a closed proceeding which includes only members of the board; the advisor to the board, if any; the student conduct administrator and their advisor, if any; the complainant and the respondent and their advisor(s), if any; and persons requested to provide information at the hearing. Admission of any other person to the hearing is at the discretion of the board's chair and subject to the requirement set forth in subsection (8) of this section.

(3) The complainant and the respondent are neither encouraged nor required to be assisted by an advisor of their choosing at their own expense. The student conduct administrator and respondent are expected to present all information during the proceedings. Proceedings will not be automatically delayed due to the scheduling conflicts of an advisor. In cases where the complaint alleges sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, or physical abuse, the complainant may present information during the proceedings.

(4) There will be a single verbatim sound recording of the hearing, and the record will be on file with the vice-president for student affairs and is the property of the college.

(5) The respondent's failure to cooperate with or attend a hearing will not preclude the board from proceeding and issuing a final determination or upholding the determination of the student conduct administrator.

(6) Only those materials and information presented at the hearing will be considered. The chair may exclude or limit ineffectual, irrelevant, or unduly repetitious information.

(7) Any person disrupting the proceeding will be duly warned and subsequently may be excluded from the hearing by the chair. Any student engaging in such interference will be in violation of the student conduct code.

(8) The chair is authorized to take reasonable measures to maintain control over the proceedings in order to elicit relevant information, to prevent the mistreatment of participants, to insure that proceedings are not disrupted and the interests of fairness are served. This may include regulating the timing, length and manner of presentations, declaring recesses in the proceedings, and taking other appropriate actions.

(9) Only members of the student conduct appeals board and the advisor to the board, if any, will be present for deliberations. Deliberations are not recorded. During deliberations the board will consider all the information presented and decide by majority vote whether it is more likely than not that the respondent is responsible for violating each section of the code the respondent is charged with violating and/or what resolution and sanction(s) to impose.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.40.120. WSR 12-03-040, § 174-123-190, filed 1/10/12, effective 2/10/12.]

RCW 28B.40.120. WSR 12-03-040, § 174-123-190, filed 1/10/12, effective 2/10/12.