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 and student groups, except for student sexual misconduct violations which are handled by the system-wide Sexual Misconduct Hearing Committee. 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(s) should be imposed. The Office for Community Standards refers complaints of prohibited behavior under the Student Conduct Code to the CCSB for a hearing. 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 student or student group alleged to have violated the Student Conduct Code is the respondent. For the purpose of these procedures, the parties are identified as the University presenter and the respondent or student group (hereinafter "respondent" refers to a respondent or a student group).

The University appoints a presenter to bring the University’s case before the Committee. If the respondent is represented by an attorney, the University’s Office of the General Counsel may assign an attorney to serve as the University presenter.

The respondent may select one support person and one advisor to accompany them to the prehearing conference and hearing. The support person is not permitted to participate at the prehearing conference or hearing. The advisor, who may be an attorney, is permitted to participate at the prehearing conference and hearing. Student Advocate Services provides advisors at no cost who can help respondents prepare and present their case before the CCSB.

The respondent must submit the name of any advisor, who may be an 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 advisor. If no advisor is identified by the prehearing conference, the respondent forfeits their right to have another person present at the hearing, and the respondent is expected to present their own case at the 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 three (3) or more voting members. The CCSB Secretary will include at least one faculty and strive to include one student on each Panel. Failure to secure a student panelist will not be grounds for postponing a hearing. 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.

Panel members are not advocates for any party. 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 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 advisors.

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 of the statement of the complaint, the Student Conduct Code, and these procedures. Where allegations against more than one student arise out of the same facts or circumstances, the matters will generally be consolidates into a single CCSB proceeding. The CCSB Chair has discretion to hold separate hearings upon a respondent’s request prior to the prehearing conference. 

The CCSB will strive to complete a hearing within 60 calendar days of the respondent’s request for a hearing, not including periods when the University is not in session. The CCSB Secretary schedules the next available date for a hearing. A prehearing will also be scheduled at that time. Requests from the parties to reschedule will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

E. Student Status During the Process 

A respondent 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 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, the respondent’s advisor, 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 of the hearing 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) 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 may be appointed from the CCSB, as appropriate. A party who learns after the prehearing conference of a potential conflict must immediately notify the CCSB Secretary.

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 a hearing, the respondent 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 by adjourning the hearing or excluding the offending person. All electronic devices, except those necessary when a hearing is held via Zoom, must be silenced and stowed during the entire hearing.

2. Record of Hearing 

   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 audio, video, or other recordings of the hearing are permitted by any participant. The only official record of the hearing will be the recording or documentation maintained by the designated Secretary. This prohibition applies to all devices and platforms, including personal phones, computers, screen-recording software, or any external equipment.

   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 kept confidential and shall be stored electronically by the University.

3. Appearance 

   If the respondent does not appear personally at the hearing or provide a written statement, the Panel may elect to either (1) vote to suspend the respondent 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 up to 24 hours prior to the hearing.

4. Standard of Proof 

   To establish that a respondent engaged in a behavior prohibited by the Student Conduct Code, the University presentation 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 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, video, or other materials as exhibits. The CCSB Secretary will ensure each party can access a secure digital Box to submit digital information in support of their case. Access to the hearing Box will be available a minimum of ten business days prior to the hearing date.

   Parties should offer live witnesses testimony whenever possible. Each party is responsible for getting its own witnesses to the hearing. If reasonable efforts to accommodate witness 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 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 (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 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 is responsible for violating the Student Conduct Code for each alleged charge, unless the respondent 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 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 written 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: 

Format: Zoom

Purposes for the Prehearing Conference are: 

1. To identify the advisors of the parties, who may be attorneys. 
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 format for the hearing. 
5. To identify the panel members (3 required for a quorum). 
6. To identify and exchange the names of potential witnesses that may be scheduled to appear. 
7. To resolve special considerations, answer other questions, or share information prior to the hearing. 
8. 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 silence and stow 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 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 3 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.