What is the purpose of the judicial board hearing appeal process?
A student found responsible for violation(s) of the Honor and Student Conduct Codes through a hearing conducted by the Student Judicial Board or by the Administrative Board may submit one written request for additional review of the hearing results. An appeal request must address one or more of the following grounds:
- New information not known by the charged student at the time of the hearing that likely would significantly alter the hearing panel’s understanding of the case;
- Outcome(s) disproportionate to the severity of the violation(s); and/or
- Incorrect procedure that substantially impacted the fairness of the judicial board hearing.
The purpose of the appeal process is to guarantee that all students are afforded a fair address of alleged misconduct in accordance with student disciplinary procedures described in The Hornet.
What exactly do these grounds for appeal mean?
When you are found responsible by a judicial board for an infraction of the Honor and Student Conduct Codes, you have three bases on which to appeal the hearing results:
- New information not known by the charged student at the time of the hearing that likely would significantly alter the hearing panel’s understanding of the case, meaning that new facts became known to you after the hearing that you believe would change the panel’s decision of responsibility for one or more of the infractions or that you believe should change the outcomes issued; therefore, you want to have these new facts considered. This basis for appeal does not allow for post-hearing review of information that the charged student had at the time of the hearing but elected not to provide for the hearing panel’s consideration.
- Outcome(s) disproportionate to the severity of the violation(s), meaning that you believe that the outcomes assigned by the judicial board are not appropriate for the violation(s) for which you were found responsible. Remember that when issuing outcomes, the judicial board must consider the minimum outcome guidelines published in the Honor and Student Conduct Codes and Regulations. If the sanctions issued to you are in line with the minimum guidelines, they will not be considered excessive in the appeal process.
- Incorrect procedure that substantially impacted the fairness of the hearing, meaning that during the incident review process, a specific procedure was overlooked by the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices (or designee) or by the judicial board that you believe resulted in unfair decisions of responsibility and/or outcomes (See Rights of a Charged Student and Hearing Procedures). For example, if a charged student attends the hearing but is not given the opportunity to speak to the hearing panel, then important information may not have been brought out, and their rights as a charged student were violated. As another example, if the hearing was held more than 20 class days after charges were issued and the charged student did not request this delay, then a right of the charged student was violated. Remember that the procedural error must substantially impact the fairness of the hearing. On occasion, procedural irregularities occur that do not impact the fairness of the hearing. Examples include the completion of all hearing phases outlined in the Honor and Student Conduct Codes and Regulation but in a different order than is printed in the student handbook or recalling a hearing participant to provide additional information.
How do I initiate the appeal process?
If you decide to appeal the results of your judicial board hearing, the process is initiated when you submit the Appeal Request Form detailing the specific reason(s) for your appeal. All appeal requests must be submitted to the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices (CERP). You are responsible for ensuring that the request is received by CERP personnel by the deadline specified in your hearing outcome letter.
When writing an appeal request, you should explain in detail exactly why you believe an appeal is warranted and the specifics of your reasoning. Typically, a charged student is not afforded a meeting to discuss the appeal with the person resolving the request; therefore, you should detail in your appeal request letter all that you want to be considered.
May I submit letters of support for my appeal?
Your appeal request may include one letter from one character reference (current University of Lynchburg student, faculty, or staff member only). This one character reference letter is in addition to information from a character reference that you may have already presented during the judicial board hearing.
Who will review my appeal request?
In general, the Vice President for University Experience and Student Success (or designee) resolves appeal requests stemming from Student Judicial Board hearings and from Administrative Board hearings. However, if the Vice President for University Experience and Student Success participated significantly in addressing the matter prior to your submission of an appeal, the vice president may designate an alternate review person. Appeals of hearing decisions pertaining to academic integrity policies are typically delegated to the Vice President for Academic Affairs (or designee).
An appeal request should be submitted to the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices (125 Hundley Hall) regardless of the specific person who will review and resolve the request.
How long does the appeal process take?
You are limited to two weekdays (Monday-Friday) after your hearing ends to submit your appeal request. A specific deadline for submitting an appeal request was noted on the Appeal Request Form given to you at the conclusion of the hearing and/or in the hearing outcome letter sent to you.
After you submit an appeal request, the person resolving the appeal may take as much time as needed to reach a decision. In general, appeal requests are resolved within two weeks; however, additional time may be necessary.
What appeal outcomes are possible?
An appeal request may be resolved in one of four ways:
- Uphold all decisions made by the judicial board hearing panel: In this case, all of the judicial board’s original decisions regarding responsibility and outcomes remain in effect.
- Reverse all decisions made by the hearing panel: In this case, all of the judicial board’s original decisions regarding responsibility and outcomes are overturned.
- Modify any of the decisions made by the hearing board: Examples of possible modifications include changing a decision of “responsible” to “not responsible” or changing outcome requirements. Additionally, while not exercised haphazardly, the appeal outcome may increase the outcomes assigned by the judicial board.
- Send the case back to a judicial board for a new hearing: For example, in a case where significant new information has come to light that was not known by the charged student at the time of the hearing, the appeal outcome may be for a new judicial board hearing to be conducted. If the charged student is found responsible for an infraction through the second hearing, the charged student has the right to submit one appeal of the results of the second hearing.
Appeal outcome decisions are final decisions in the Student Disciplinary Process; additional appeal of a hearing’s outcome is not available through the Honor and Student Conduct Codes and Regulations. You will be notified in writing of the outcome of your appeal request. A letter detailing the outcome will be sent to your University of Lynchburg email address.
Do I need to complete the outcomes assigned to me while my appeal request is pending?
Unless instructed otherwise by the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices, you do not need to complete the outcomes assigned to you while your appeal is pending, although you may choose to do so. If the outcomes issued to you are upheld in the appeal results, new deadlines may be assigned to account for the time that elapsed while your appeal request was resolved.
I have appealed my suspension. Do I need to move out of my on-campus residence while my appeal is pending?
Unless instructed otherwise by the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices, you do not have to vacate your on-campus residence by the deadline specified in your hearing outcome letter while you await the results of your appeal request. However, you may not visit any residential facility other than the one in which you reside.
If your appeal outcome decision upholds the assignment of suspension, new instructions for vacating your on-campus residence and departing campus will be sent to you in your appeal results letter or separately by the office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices.
I have appealed my suspension. Can I attend class while my appeal is pending?
Yes, you should continue to attend all of your classes and complete all assignments while waiting for resolution of your appeal request. (Exception: Students placed on interim suspension prior to the hearing remain on interim suspension and cannot attend class while waiting for resolution of an appeal request.)
If I still have questions about the appeals process, whom should I contact?
The following are helpful sources of information about the University of Lynchburg appeal process:
- The Hornet student handbook,
- Your Disciplinary Process Advisor, if you opted to have one.
- The Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices
- 125 Hundley Hall
- 434.544.8765
- Student Judicial Board Office
- 113 Drysdale Student Center
- 434.544.8627
