WAC 132P-33-220   Student hearing committee.  (1) Composition. The college shall have a standing committee composed of nine members, who shall be chosen and appointed no later than October 15 of each year to serve as a standing committee until their successors are appointed. The membership of the standing committee shall consist of three members of the administration, excepting the dean of students, chosen by the college president; three faculty members chosen by the faculty organization; and three students chosen by the ASYVCC senate. Any student entitled to a hearing before a student hearing committee shall choose, in writing, five members of the standing committee to hear and decide the appeal, provided, the student must choose at least one student, one faculty member and one member of the administration from the nine member standing committee. The balance of the student hearing committee, two members, may be chosen from the remainder of the standing committee, provided that both shall not be from the same classification. If a hearing is to be conducted for a student from a specialized program (i.e., allied health, vocational-technical), an additional member will be appointed to the hearing committee by the division involved. In the event that unforseen circumstances prevent a previously selected committee member from attending the hearing, the student must choose a replacement from among the balance of the standing committee.

     (2) Procedures for hearing.

     (a) Five members of the student hearing committee will hear, de novo, and make recommendations to the college president or designee on all disciplinary cases appealed to the committee by the student or referred to it by the dean of students or designated representative. Recommendations involving suspension will be referred to the college president or designee.

     (b) The student hearing committee shall elect from among its five members a chair for the purpose of presiding at the disciplinary hearing.

     (c) Hearings generally will be held in closed session, except when a student requests that persons other than those directly involved be invited to attend. If at any time during the conduct of a hearing any person is disruptive of the proceedings, the chair of the student hearing committee may exclude such person from the hearing room.

     (d) The student has a right to a fair and impartial hearing before the committee on any charge of violating a provision or provisions of the Code of student rights and responsibilities. The student's failure to cooperate with the hearing procedures hereinafter outlined, however, shall not preclude the committee from making its findings of fact, conclusions and recommendations as provided below. Failure by the student to cooperate may be taken into consideration by the committee in recommending to the college president or designee the appropriate disciplinary action.

     (e) The student shall be given written notice of the time and place of the hearing before the committee. Said notice shall contain:

     (i) A statement of the date, time, place and nature of the disciplinary proceedings;

     (ii) A statement of the specific charges against the student including references to the particular sections of the Code of student rights and responsibilities involved;

     (iii) To the extent known, a list of witnesses who will appear and a summary description of any documentary or other physical evidence that will be presented by the college at the hearing.

     (f) The student shall be entitled to hear and examine the evidence against him/her and be informed of the identity of its source; the student shall be entitled to present evidence in his/her own behalf and cross-examine witnesses testifying against him/her as to factual matters. The student shall have all authority possessed by the college to obtain information that the student specifically describes, in writing, and tenders to the dean of students no later than three days prior to the hearings or to request the presence of witnesses or the production of other evidence relevant to the hearings.

     (g) The student may be represented by counsel of his/her choice at the disciplinary hearings. If the student elects to choose a duly licensed attorney admitted to practice in any state in the United States as counsel, the student must tender three days notice thereof to the dean of students.

     (h) In all disciplinary proceedings the college may be represented by the dean of students or designee; the dean of students may then present the college's case against the student accused of violating the Code of student rights and responsibilities, provided, that in those cases in which the student elects to be represented by a licensed attorney, the dean of students may elect to have the college represented by an assistant attorney general.

     (i) The proceedings of the hearing shall be recorded. A copy thereof shall be on file at the office of the dean of students.

     (j) The time of the hearing may be advanced by the committee at the request of the student or continued for good cause.

     (3) Admissible evidence.

     (a) Only those matters presented at the hearing in the presence of the accused student will be considered in determining whether the student hearing committee has sufficient cause to believe that the accused student is guilty of violating the rules that the student is charged with having violated.

     (b) In determining whether sufficient cause, as stated in the preceding paragraph (a) of this subsection, does exist, members of the student hearing committee shall give probative effect to evidence which possesses probative value commonly accepted by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs.

     (c) The chair of the student hearing committee shall, in the course of presiding at the disciplinary hearing, give effect to the rules of privilege recognized by law and exclude incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial and unduly repetitious evidence.

     (4) Interference with proceedings. Any student interfering with the proceedings of the meeting with the dean of students or the formal hearing or any subsequent hearing shall be in contempt of the proceedings and may be summarily suspended from the college by the dean of students or the student hearing committee or the college president or designee, within fifteen academic calendar days thereafter.

     (5) Decision by the committee.

     (a) Upon conclusion of the disciplinary hearing, the student hearing committee shall consider all the evidence therein presented and decide by majority vote whether to recommend to the college president or designee the following actions:

     (i) That the college terminate the proceedings and exonerate the student or students;

     (ii) That the college impose minor sanctions directly, such as, but not limited to, a warning, reprimand, fine, restitution, or disciplinary probation;

     (iii) That the student be suspended from college including a recommendation of the duration of suspension.

     (b) The student shall be provided with a copy of the committee's findings of fact and conclusions regarding whether the student did violate any rule or rules of the Code of student rights and responsibilities and the committee's recommendation to the college president or designee. The committee shall also advise the student in writing of the right to present within ten calendar days, a written statement to the college president or designee appealing the recommendation of the committee.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.50.140. 99-13-140, § 132P-33-220, filed 6/18/99, effective 7/19/99; 82-01-079 (Resolution No. 81-4), § 132P-33-220, filed 12/21/81.]