WAC 132B-120-180   Student conduct committee procedures.  The student has a right to a fair and impartial hearing before the committee on any charge of misconduct resulting in disciplinary action other than warning or reprimand.

     The committee chair shall establish general rules of procedures for conducting hearings. All proceedings of the committee will be conducted with reasonable dispatch and terminated as soon as fairness to all parties involved permits.

     (1) The committee shall issue written notice of the date, time and place of the hearing, and the charges against the student consistent with RCW 34.05.434. This notice of hearing shall be provided no later than seven days prior to the date of the hearing. The notice may be amended at any time prior to the hearing, but if such amendment is prejudicial to the student's case, the hearing shall be rescheduled to a later date if so requested in writing by the student.

     (2) The vice-president for student services shall present evidence to the committee supporting the charges against the student. The vice-president for student services and the student (at his/her own expenses) have the right to be assisted by an advisor of their choice. The vice-president for student services and the student are responsible for presenting their own information. Advisors are not permitted to address the board or participate directly in the hearing. An advisor may communicate only with the person he or she is advising. The board chair may call recesses to facilitate this communication. A student should select as an advisor a person whose schedule allows attendance at the scheduled date and time for the hearing. Delays are not normally allowed due to the scheduling conflicts of an advisor.

     (3) If the student elects to choose and pay a duly licensed attorney admitted to practice in the state of Washington as the student's advisor, notice thereof must be tendered by the student to the vice-president for student services at least five calendar days prior to the hearing.

     (4) The vice-president for student services, the student and the committee chair may arrange for witnesses to present pertinent information to the committee. Witnesses may provide written statements in lieu of their attendance at the hearing. The student is responsible for informing his/her witnesses of the time and place of the hearing. Witnesses provide information to, and answer questions from, the committee. To preserve the educational tone of the hearing and to avoid an adversarial environment, students may be required to direct questions to the chair, rather than to the witness directly. Questions concerning whether potential information may be received are resolved by the chair.

     (5) Formal rules of process, procedure and technical rules of evidence, such as are applied in criminal or civil court, are not used in board proceedings. The student or his/her representative shall be entitled to hear and examine the evidence against him/her and be informed of the identity of its sources; the student shall be entitled to present evidence in his/her own behalf and to question witnesses testifying against him/her as to factual matters subject to the conditions outlined above. The committee shall request the administration to provide the student a list of witnesses who will appear, and a description of any documentary or other physical evidence that will be presented at the hearing. The student shall have all authority which is possessed by the college to obtain information subject to FERPA regulations or to request the presence of witnesses or the production of other evidence relevant to the issues at the hearing.

     (6) Only those matters presented at the hearing, in the presence of the student involved, will be considered in determining whether the student is guilty of the misconduct charged but the student's past record of conduct may be taken into account in formulating the committee's recommendation.

     (7) Hearings are conducted in private. Admission of any persons other than the vice-president for student services, the student, and their respective advisors is at the discretion of the committee chair.

     (8) Questions related to the order of the proceedings are determined by the committee chair.

     (9) The chairperson shall admit matters into evidence that reasonable persons would accept as having value in the conduct of their affairs. Unduly repetitive or irrelevant evidence may be excluded.

     (10) Failure on the part of the student(s) to appear or cooperate in the proceedings may result in default in accordance with RCW 34.05.440. The information in support of the complaint is presented and considered in the absence of the accused student. Failure of the student to cooperate may be taken into consideration by the committee in recommending penalties.

     (11) The committee chair may accommodate concerns for the personal safety, well-being, or fears of confrontation during the hearing by providing separate facilities or by permitting participation by telephone, audio tape, written statement or other means.

     (12) The committee may decide to uphold or modify sanctions in accordance with WAC 132B-120-130.

     (13) There shall be a single verbatim record, such as a tape recording or transcript, of the information gathering portion of student conduct board hearings. Committee deliberations are not recorded. The record is the property of the college. Following the conclusion of the conduct proceeding, access to records of the case and hearing file will be kept in the office of the vice-president for student services and limited to those designated by the college president. The accused student may make arrangements with the vice-president to purchase a copy of the record.

     (14) The burden of proof that guides the committee's decision is the preponderance of evidence, i.e., whether it is more likely than not that the accused student violated the standards of conduct for students.

     (15) The student will be provided with a copy of the findings of fact and with the conclusions of the committee within ten calendar days from the final hearing date. If the college is not in session, this period may be extended for a reasonable period of time.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140.13 [28B.50.140(13)]. 10-17-031, § 132B-120-180, filed 8/9/10, effective 9/9/10. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140. 04-01-100, § 132B-120-180, filed 12/16/03, effective 1/16/04. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140(13). 98-09-012, § 132B-120-180, filed 4/6/98, effective 5/7/98. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140(13) and 69.41.340. 91-11-102, § 132B-120-180, filed 5/22/91, effective 6/22/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140(13). 80-10-053 (Order 80-1, Resolution No. 10-80), § 132B-120-180, filed 8/6/80.]