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Behavioral Misconduct Process

Did you receive a notice stating you may have been involved in a violation of the Student Code of Conduct? First, take a deep breath! Second, read the notice carefully to ensure you know your Hearing Officer’s name and when/where your Hearing Process will be held.
Contact your Hearing Officer ASAP if you need to reschedule your appointment. Bring questions you have to your meeting and your Officer will be sure to answer them.

Read through the guide below to understand what you can expect to happen before, during and after the hearing process.

Before Your Hearing

After you’ve been notified of your Hearing, consider getting advice from a Respondent Advisor. Advisors can be anyone you choose, but the Conduct Programs also provide trained Respondent Advisors who volunteer to help students. You can simply talk with them, or ask them to attend hearings with you as a listener. The main goal of the Respondent Advisor Program is to help students navigate the Conduct/Academic Appeal Process and higher-level or repeated misconduct violations (especially those that may potentially result in suspension and/or expulsion through process).

Contact a Respondent Advisor

During Your Hearing

Most conduct incidents are addressed through lower-level meetings, also known as Administrative Conferences. In these meetings, you will connect with a Hearing Officer to share your perspective of the incident in question, and the Hearing Officer will ask you questions in order to get a complete understanding of the situation. All students may invite one support person/advisor to attend any conduct meeting or hearing.

After Your Hearing

Receive Decision

Regardless of the Hearing Officer’s decision, you will receive a letter within 10 business days via your Boise State email account notifying you of the outcome of the Administrative Conference.

Should your conduct incident be addressed through a formal Conduct Administrative Hearing or Conduct Board Hearing, a Student Conduct Administrator will be in touch to provide you additional details regarding the conduct process and timeline (also outlined in Student Code of Conduct, Section 6).

Complete Sanctions or Submit an Appeal

Following your hearing decision, you may choose to complete sanctions or submit an appeal.

Students found in violation of the Student Code of Conduct are able to appeal the violation and/or the sanction(s) within 10 business days of the outcome notice. In order to file an appeal, you must:

The appeal form and typed statement must be submitted by the date stated in the original decision letter. Late appeals will not be considered. Please send all appeal materials to srr@boisestate.edu.

Once the appeal is received by the Office of the Dean of Students, it will be reviewed by a Hearing Officer and a decision will be rendered within 10 business days of review. For incidents which have resulted in suspension or expulsion, appeals will be reviewed by the next convening Appeal Board (composed of 5 members, including a combination of faculty, staff, and students).

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What support is available to me?

All students may invite one support person/advisor to attend any conduct meeting/hearing. Should you need to reschedule a conduct hearing in order to have your support person/advisor present, you will need to contact the Student Conduct Administrator as soon as possible. Accommodations will be made if possible. In general, conduct hearings are not always able to be rescheduled to accommodate a support person/advisor. Moreover, you are not required to have a support person/advisor, and thus conduct meetings/hearings will proceed with or without an advisor.

For more information about the role of a support person/advisor (or to contact a University trained advisor), check out our Respondent Advisor Program.

What are potential outcomes of my hearing?

Once your Hearing Officer has made a determination on whether or not you have violated the Student Code of Conduct, they will send you an email within 10 business days of your hearing. If you are found Not Responsible, the incident will be closed and you do not have to do anything else. If you receive a Responsible finding, your letter will outline sanctions (assignments to complete your conduct process) which must be finished by issued due dates. Types of sanctions vary depending on the severity of the violation and are outlined in the Student Code of Conduct, Section 8.

For information about common sanctions for alcohol and drug violations, visit Sanctioning.

Can I appeal a hearing decision?

Students found in violation of the Student Code of Conduct are able to appeal the violation and/or the sanction(s) within 10 business days of the outcome notice. In order to file an appeal, you must submit the Student Conduct Appeal Form with a written statement explaining your reason(s) for appeal. Once the appeal is received by the Office of the Dean of Students, it will be reviewed by a Hearing Officer and a decision will be rendered within 10 business days of review. For incidents which have resulted in suspension or expulsion, appeals will be reviewed by the next convening Appeal Board (composed of 5 members, including a combination of faculty, staff, and students).

How is the conduct process different from the legal (criminal) process?

A student may be arrested and charged for a crime AND be required to go through the Boise State conduct process for the same alleged conduct.

There are significant differences between the criminal justice system and the conduct process at Boise State:

  • To determine if the Student Code of Conduct was violated, we use the preponderance of evidence standard, which is not as high as the standard used in criminal justice proceedings.
  • When evaluating evidence to reach a hearing decision, we do not follow rules of evidence that one would find in a civil or criminal court. Rather, we ask only that the evidence be relevant to the allegations at issue.
  • While students can have an attorney as an advisor, the student always must represent themselves in the hearing process (i.e., they must speak on their behalf).
  • Overall, students should find our process to be less formal, more engaging and more individually tailored than the criminal justice system.
  • In some cases, students risk separation from the university as a result of a conduct process/hearing. Even though our process is not as formal as a criminal justice proceeding, students should nonetheless take it seriously and conduct themselves in a respectful and professional manner.

Adapted from The Ohio State University’s Understanding the Conduct Process