15. Appeal Procedures

Students sanctioned for violations of this Code may appeal. The hearing decision may be appealed to the Dean of Student Life or the Dean’s designee. Only in cases in which the sanction involves suspension or expulsion from NDSU may an appeal be made to the President of NDSU.

15.1 Deadline for Appeals
An appeal for any decision must be made in writing within five (5) working days following the date the sanction is assigned and notice is received by the student. The date of the letter shall be the date the letter is sent. If sent by U. S. mail, three days will be added to the date the letter was mailed and that date will be used in starting the five (5) working days. If hand-delivered, a notation of that date will be made in the student’s behavioral file.

In extraordinary circumstances, time extensions may be granted by the Dean of Student Life. The person to whom to appeal will be specified in the decision letter. The University reserves the right, however, to reduce the time allowed for a student/organization appeal in cases that may have the potential to result in harm to persons and/or property. The reduced time for appeal will be specified in the letter of disciplinary sanction along with the rationale for allowing reduced time for an appeal. An appeal shall be written and contain the student/organization's name, the date of the decision or action, and the reason(s) for the appeal.

15.2 Appeal letters must be submitted to the person specified in the decision letter and must specify in detail one or more of the following bases of appeal:
(a) the sanction was too severe for the offense,
(b) the decision for nonaction/action/sanction was made in an arbitrary or capricious manner.
(c) the finding of the Code having been violated was not substantiated by the evidence, and/or
(d) the student's/student organization's rights were violated (specify those rights believed to have been violated).

15.3 Emergency Provisions
Normally a properly filed notice of appeal suspends the imposition of sanctions until the appeal is decided; however, some emergency provisions may be sustained throughout the appeal to protect persons and/or property. Such provisions will be explained in the original letter to the student/organization outlining the decision, along with the rationale for maintaining those emergency provisions throughout the appeal.

15.4 Appeal Review Procedures
The appeal will be reviewed by the appropriate appeals person/body. The chart showing the appeal pathways is printed in Part A. In any event, only one level of appeal will be permitted for any decision.

15.5 Appeal Advisory Board
The President, the Vice President for Student Affairs, and the Dean of Student Life or their designee's reserve the right to appoint an appeal advisory board to review appeals. In such instances the appointed advisory board will make a recommendation that the President, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Dean of Student Life or their designees may accept or reject. The decision of the administrator will generally be issued within 10 working days of receiving the recommendation from the advisory board and that decision will be final.

15.6 Review
The appeals person/body will review the written letter of appeal from the student/organization and the materials from the original hearing. After reviewing these materials, the appeals person/body may decide to do one of the following:
(a) issue a decision based solely on the written materials;
(b) issue a decision based on a review of written materials and discussion with the involved principals;
(c) recall one or more witnesses;
(d) return the case to the body conducting the original hearing for the presentation of new evidence and reconsideration of the decision and/or sanctions.

15.7 Decision/Sanction
When the appeal is made by the accused student/organization, the appeals person/body may uphold or lessen the original decision/sanction but not increase the sanctions/actions imposed by other persons or bodies. The decision on the appeal will generally be made within 10 working days of receipt of the appeal, but may take longer during University recesses, in the event of complex cases, or when an advisory board has been appointed to make an appeal recommendation.

15.8 Appeals by Complainants may only be allowed when it is alleged that the complainant was the subject of a crime of violence, including forcible and non-forcible sexual assaults, as defined in this Code. In some cases, a complainant’s appeal could result in a different decision and/or stronger sanctions than originally imposed.

15.9 Rehearings will only be granted if there is substantial evidence to determine that the student/organization was not afforded appropriate due process, or if there is substantial new evidence that has been discovered about the alleged violation and that was not available at the time of the earlier hearing.

HISTORY: July 28, 1993; August 1998; September 1999, August 2000, August 2002, August 2005