WAC 132Q-30-325   Student conduct board hearings.  Student conduct board hearings are conducted as follows:

     (1) Hearings will take place between five and ten instructional days from the date of the meeting with the chief student services officer. The chief student services officer will notify the student of the time and place of the hearing.

     (2) Hearings are conducted in private.

     (3) The complainant, the accused student, and their respective advisors may attend the portion of the hearing at which information is received, but may not attend the board's deliberations. Admission of any other person to the hearing is at the discretion of the student conduct board chair or the chief student services officer.

     (4) In circumstances involving more than one accused student, the chief student services officer may permit joint or separate hearings.

     (5) The complainant and the accused student have the right to be assisted by an advisor they choose, at their own expense. The complainant and the accused 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 they are 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.

     (6) The complainant, the accused student, and the board chair may arrange for witnesses to present pertinent information to the student conduct board. Witnesses may provide written statements in lieu of their attendance at the hearing. The accused 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 student conduct board. To preserve the educational tone of the hearing and to avoid an adversarial environment, questions are directed to the chair, rather than to the witness directly. Questions concerning whether potential information may be received are resolved by the chair.

     (7) The board chair determines which records, exhibits and written statements may be accepted as information for consideration by the board.

     (8) 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.

     (9) Questions related to the order of the proceedings are determined by the board chair.

     (10) If an accused student, with notice, does not appear before a student conduct board hearing, the information in support of the complaint is presented and considered in the absence of the accused student.

     (11) The board 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) There is a single verbatim record, such as a tape recording or transcript, of the information gathering portion of student conduct board hearings. Board deliberations are not recorded. The record is the property of the college.



[Statutory Authority: Chapter 28B.50 RCW. 07-10-042, § 132Q-30-325, filed 4/25/07, effective 6/25/07.]