Based on the review of the alleged code of conduct violations, the Disciplinary Officer shall determine if the matter goes to an Administrative Conference or to a Student Disciplinary Hearing.
Administrative Conference
The Disciplinary Officer shall schedule a meeting with the student involved to inform the student of the alleged offense. The student will be notified of charges/alleged violations and the basis for the charges. Based on the information at the Conference, the Disciplinary Officer may either dismiss the charges for lack of merit or notify the student of one or more disciplinary actions being taken (described in Step 3). The student may request the opportunity for a Student Disciplinary Hearing.
Student Disciplinary Hearing
- Hearing Notice: A notice of the hearing will be sent to the student and shall specify the date, time, and place of the hearing, a statement of the charges against the student, and the date, time, and location that the tangible evidence will be made available for inspection and (when applicable). A copy of the disciplinary procedures shall also be enclosed.
- Student Disciplinary Board: The Disciplinary Board shall include: one (1) student selected from the pool submitted by the Associated Student Organization governing body, one (1) faculty member selected from the pool submitted by the Academic Senate and one staff member from a pool submitted by CSEA and the Management Group. A Judicial Officer will also be appointed to assure the process is followed.
No person shall serve as a member of the Disciplinary Board if that person has been personally involved or could otherwise not act in a neutral manner. The student may request the names of the Disciplinary Board members and may challenge for cause any member of the Disciplinary Board by addressing the challenge to the Disciplinary Board Chairperson, who shall determine whether the cause for disqualification has been shown.
The scope of the duties of the Disciplinary Board is to weigh the evidence presented in relation to the alleged violation and, based on the evidence, submit a recommendation to the Disciplinary Officer regarding the student’s responsibility for violations of the Code of Conduct.
- Absence of the Student: The hearing shall proceed in the absence of the student.
- Chairperson: Prior to the hearing, the board shall select a Chairperson. The chairperson shall preside over the hearing.
- Behavior: Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated and will result in the exclusion of individuals.
- Hearing Process: A document describing the process for conducting disciplinary hearings will be distributed to all members of the Disciplinary Board. The Judicial Officer will assure the process is followed.
- Charges: The Chairperson shall describe copies of the charges and incident reports to the members of the Board, read the charges aloud, and ask the student if the charges have been received.
- Representation: The disciplinary hearing is an internal due process hearing conducted by the colleges of the San Mateo County Community College District.
- Participants: A student may be accompanied by a person of his or her choice who is an observer only. Each person present will be asked to identify themselves by name.
- Witnesses: Each side shall be entitled to call witnesses. All witnesses shall be excluded from the hearing process except when testifying.
- Plea: The student shall admit or deny responsibility for each charge. If the student admits each charge and wishes to present no evidence of mitigating circumstances or other defense, the Board shall retire to make its decision. If the student denies any or all of the charges, or wishes to present evidence of mitigating circumstances, the hearing shall proceed.
- Information: Formal rules of evidence shall not apply. All relevant information is admissible, including but not limited to testimony of witnesses, physical objects, police or security officer reports, photographs, and copies of documents. Any and all information will be entered for the record.
- Disciplinary Board Deliberation: The Disciplinary Board shall retire to deliberate in closed session with only the members of the Board and the Judicial Officer present. The Disciplinary Board shall reach its decision based only upon the evidence presented and shall not consider matters outside of the record. The Board shall recommend disciplinary sanctions to the Disciplinary Officer based upon its findings.
| < Step 1: Incident Occurs | Step 3: Disciplinary Action(s) Recommended > |
