Campus Committee on Student Behavior Hearing Procedures - Twin Cities

A. Introduction 

The Campus Committee on Student Behavior (CCSB) assists in implementing the Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code at the University of Minnesota on the Twin Cities Campus for all violations by individual students, except for student sexual misconduct violations which are handled by the system-wide Sexual Misconduct Hearing Committee, and for all violations by student groups under the jurisdiction of Student Unions & Activities. The CCSB provides a fair hearing to determine if a student or student group has violated the Student Conduct Code and to determine what, if any, outcome should be reached. Complaints of prohibited behavior under the Student Conduct Code are referred to the CCSB for a hearing by the Office for Community Standards. The CCSB Secretary receives the complaints and assists the CCSB Chair in managing the hearing process.

B. Parties to the Complaint

In CCSB cases, the University is the formal complainant and the respondent student or student group is the party alleged by the University to be in violation of the Student Conduct Code. For the purpose of these procedures, the parties are identified as the University presenter and the respondent or student group.

The University appoints a presenter to bring the University’s case before the Committee. If a respondent or student group is represented by an attorney, the University’s Office of the General Counsel will assign an attorney to serve as the University presenter. Students may obtain the services of an advocate through Student Advocate Services, which can help them prepare and present their case before the CCSB. 

The respondent or student group must submit the name of any advocate or attorney to the CCSB Secretary before the prehearing conference, and must give immediate notice to the CCSB Secretary if there is any change in an advocate or attorney. 

Additionally, the respondent or student group may be accompanied by one support person in a non-participatory role at the prehearing conference and hearing.

C. Committee and Panels

The Senate Committee on Committees appoints faculty and staff members to the CCSB. The Student Committee on Committees appoints student members to the CCSB.

Panels are drawn from the CCSB to hear individual cases. A CCSB Panel consists of the Panel Chair and a panel of five (5) or more voting members. Each Panel will include at least one faculty and one student, not including periods when the University is not in session. The Panel Chair and the CCSB Secretary have no vote. The CCSB Chair normally serves as the Panel Chair, but may delegate that role to another CCSB member.

In addition to Panel members, the Dean of the respondent’s college appoints a faculty, staff, or student to sit on the Panel. In cases involving cross-collegiate situations, a representative from each college is appointed to the Panel. Collegiate-appointed panel members have a vote and are counted in the quorum of five. Collegiate representation is not applicable when the respondent is a student group. 

Panel members are not advocates for either side. The Panel shall fairly consider the information presented at the hearing and may ask questions of the witnesses. The Panel shall decide whether the respondent or student group violated the Student Conduct Code and, if so, what outcomes are appropriate. The Panel may not talk privately (outside of the hearing room) about the complaint with the parties or their advocates. 

D. The Complaint and Scheduling 

When a complaint is not resolved informally, the Office for Community Standards forwards it to the CCSB Secretary for a hearing. The CCSB Secretary will notify the CCSB Chair, the University presenter, and the respondent or student group of the statement of the complaint, the Student Conduct Code, and these procedures. Where more than one student is alleged to have violated the Student Conduct Code in a related incident, CCSB proceedings generally will be held together. The CCSB Chair has discretion to hold separate hearings upon a respondent’s or student group’s request prior to the prehearing conference. 

The CCSB will strive to complete a hearing within one month of the respondent’s request for a hearing, not including periods when the University is not in session. The CCSB Secretary will be responsible for scheduling a prehearing conference and the hearing, taking into account the parties’ availability on pre-selected dates as appropriate.

E. Student Status During the Process 

A respondent or student group ordinarily is allowed to continue the status of being in good-standing pending the outcome of the CCSB hearing. However, in certain cases, the President or delegate may suspend a respondent or student group temporarily, pending the CCSB’s hearing and decision, as provided in the Student Conduct Code. In such situations, the CCSB should hold a hearing as soon as possible. 

F. Prehearing Conference 

The Panel Chair will convene a prehearing conference to plan for the hearing and discuss the topics outlined in Appendix A of these procedures. The University presenter, the respondent or student group, the respondent’s or student group’s advocate, the CCSB Secretary, and the Panel Chair attend the prehearing conference. If either party does not attend the prehearing conference, the Panel Chair will determine whether and how that absence will affect the scheduling and presentations at the hearing. 

The parties shall be informed of the names of the Panel Chair and potential members of the Panel at the prehearing conference. At that time, either party may ask that the Panel Chair be recused from the hearing due to a direct relationship with the case or being a complainant or witness. The Panel Chair decides whether to grant this recusal request. At that same time, either party may challenge the panel member(s) and/or collegiate representative(s) on the ground of conflict of interest or bias. The Panel Chair, after hearing arguments, will decide whether a panel member should be removed from the Panel. If a quorum is lost because of a successful challenge, a new person will be appointed from the CCSB or by a Dean, as appropriate. A party who learns after the prehearing conference of a potential conflict must immediately notify the CCSB Secretary of an objection. 

The parties will identify the witnesses they intend to present at the hearing. The Panel Chair or the panel may, in its discretion, exclude from the hearing witnesses who were not previously identified to the other party.

The University is committed to informal resolution of complaints whenever possible. During the prehearing conference and up to 24 hours prior to a hearing, the respondent or student group can accept an informal resolution from the Office for Community Standards.

G. The Hearing

1. Decorum 

   The Panel Chair is responsible for maintaining an orderly, fair, and respectful hearing, and has  broad authority to respond to disruptive or harassing behaviors, including adjourning the  hearing or excluding the offending person. All electronic devices, except those necessary when a hearing is held via Zoom, must be turned off during the  entire hearing. 

2. Record of Hearing 

   CCSB complaints, prehearing conferences, and hearings are closed to the public. Guests may be permitted to attend with agreement from both parties and the Panel Chair. The CCSB Secretary shall keep an official recording of each hearing. No camera, TV, or other equipment other than that used by the Secretary to keep the official record of the hearing will be permitted  in the hearing room.  

   A copy of the correspondence, the complaint and response, the exhibits presented at the hearing, the recording of the hearing, and the CCSB disposition shall be maintained in a file in the Office for Community Standards. 

3. Appearance 

   If the respondent or student group does not appear personally at the hearing, the Panel may elect to either (1) vote to suspend the respondent or student group until a hearing is held; or (2) vote to proceed with the hearing in the absence of the respondent. A respondent choosing not to appear may provide the Panel with a written statement signed by the respondent.  

4. Standard of Proof 

   To establish that a respondent or student group engaged in a behavior prohibited by  the Student Conduct  Code, the University presenter must persuade a majority of the Panel that it is more likely than  not that the respondent engaged in the behavior. 

5. Case Presentation 

   The parties are expected to be prepared for a clear, complete yet economical presentation of their cases. The Panel Chair may impose reasonable time limits on any phase of the proceedings. 

   Each party may offer reliable information relevant to the issue and may object to the information offered by the other party. The Panel Chair and the panel have discretion to determine what information should fairly be included or excluded.  

   The parties may also introduce relevant written documents, objects, films, or other materials as exhibits. Each party is responsible for bringing copies of written materials in sufficient number for distribution to panel members and the opposing party at the hearing.  

   Parties should offer witnesses in person whenever possible. Each party is responsible for getting its own witnesses to the hearing. If reasonable efforts to accommodate the schedules are not successful, the unavailability of a witness is not a ground for postponement of the hearing. If an important witness prefers not to testify, the parties may ask the Panel Chair to assist in encouraging the witness to testify. When necessary, witnesses may present information by telephone or written statement. After a party’s witness presents information, the other party may ask questions, and then Panel members may ask questions. Witnesses will only be allowed to appear at the hearing during their testimony, except for a witness who is the reporting instructor in cases involving scholastic dishonesty. In such cases, the reporting witness may appear throughout the proceeding. 

H. Panel Deliberations and Decision 

At the end of the hearing the Panel will retire to deliberate in closed session. The Panel Chair, Secretary, and Panel members, as well as legal counsel to Panel, may attend. 

The task of the Panel is more than determining responsibility; it is one of assessing the qualifications of the respondent or student group (if determined responsible for the  conduct) for continuing membership in the University community in light of the record of conduct and responsiveness to opportunities, advice, and counsel. The Panel decides the issues based on the information presented by the parties at the hearing and determines whether the University presenter persuaded them that the respondent or student group violated specified subdivisions of Section IV of the Student Conduct Code. The CCSB Panel must be prepared to make a judgment based on the information provided even if it is not complete. 

Each panel member will vote on whether the respondent or student group is responsible for violating the Student Conduct Code for each alleged charge, unless the respondent or student group stated at the hearing that they were responsible for the alleged conduct, in which case the CCSB Panel proceeds immediately to deliberate and vote on outcomes. A majority vote of Panel members is required to find a violation or to determine an outcome. A tie will be considered a vote of “not responsible.” If a respondent or student group is found responsible for one or more items, the Panel will next vote on outcomes, as listed in the Student Conduct Code.  

The Panel’s decision will be communicated in writing to the parties no later than one week following the hearing. No one participating in the deliberations will give any party verbal information about the decision or the deliberations prior to issuance of the decision.  

I. Appeal 

A student who is dissatisfied with the decision of the CCSB may file an appeal with the appellate officer according to the Administrative Procedure: Student Conduct Code Procedures: Twin Cities. 

Appendix A: Campus Committee on Student Behavior Prehearing Conference Order of Proceedings

The CCSB hearing for [Student] 

Date: 

Time: 

Place: 

Purposes for the Prehearing Conference are: 

1. To identify the advocates or attorneys of the parties. 
2. To review the complaint. 
3. To describe the procedures to be followed at the regular hearing (Appendix B). 
4. To review the date, time, and place for the hearing. 
5. To identify the panel members (5 required for a quorum). 
6. To identify the college representative who has been named by the college in which the accused is registered (not applicable when the accused is a student group). This person is a voting member of the panel. 
7. To identify and exchange the names of potential witnesses that may be scheduled to appear. 
8. To resolve special considerations, answer other questions, or share information prior to the hearing. 
9. To discuss an informal resolution of the complaint

Appendix B: Campus Committee on Student Behavior Hearing Order of Proceedings

1. Call to order by the Chair. 
   1. Reminder to turn off all electronic devices. 
2. Announcements and opening remarks by the Chair. 
   1. Notice that the hearing is being recorded. 
   2. Identification of the parties attending the hearing. 
   3. Review of the standard of proof. 
   4. Understandings reached at the prehearing conference.
3. Witnesses are asked to leave the hearing room until recalled by the Chair. 
4. Opening the hearing by the Chair. 
   1. Presentation of the complaint and alleged specific rules violation. 
   2. Poll the panel for bias. 
   3. Allow both parties to challenge any of the panel members.
   4. Announcement of the seating of the voting members (quorum of 5 required).
5. Respondent responds to the complaint (responsible or not responsible). 
6. Opening comments (up to 10 minutes), University presenter and then respondent. 
7. University presenter presents information about the alleged violation. 
   1. Respondent may question witness. 
   2. Panel members may question witness. 
8. Respondent presents information about the alleged violation. 
   1. University presenter may question witness. 
   2. Panel members may question witness. 
9. A witness may be recalled to testify on specific issues: 
   1. At the request of either party. 
   2. At the request of a Panel member. 
10. Closing comments (up to 10 minutes), University presenter and then respondent. 
11. Hearing is closed by the Chair. 
12. Panel retires to deliberate (closed meeting, not recorded). 
    1. The Panel finds the accused responsible or not responsible for each Student Conduct Code subdivision alleged in the complaint. 
    2. If responsible, the Panel decides on appropriate outcomes. 
    3. The Panel’s decision will be reported in writing to the parties by the CCSB Secretary.

Approval History

Adopted by Campus Committee on Student Behavior January 23, 1980 

Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs November 16, 2022.

Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs October 4, 2000, and the Vice President for Student Affairs October 17, 2000 

Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs March 6, 2002, and the Vice President for Student Affairs April 15, 2002 

Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs May 3, 2006, and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs August 2006 

Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs March 27, 2013, and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs March 26, 2013 

Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs February 12, 2014, and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs March 27, 2014 

Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs March 16, 2017, and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs March 20, 2017  

Technical changes made June 30, 2017  

 Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs March 6, 2019, and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs March 13, 2019 

Amendments approved by the Senate Committee on Student Affairs November 16, 2022