Student Conduct

Rights of the Respondent

The Respondent has the following rights:

• to be provided a fundamentally fair process;
• tto be presumed not responsible for a violation of the Code of Student Conduct unless determined otherwise;
• to be given written notice of any allegation(s) or formal charge(s) of prohibited conduct;
• to review the information that will be presented in any resolution, provided that the information may be shared with the Respondent in a redacted format;
• to present relevant information on their behalf;
• to obtain support, advice, or assistance from a support individual, a Procedural Advisor, and/or an Advisor, pursuant to relevant sections of the Code of Student Conduct;
• to request reasonable accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act through the Appalachian State University Office of Access & Opportunity: Disability Resources;
• to request the identity of individuals providing written or verbal information for consideration at any hearing; to confront, in some manner, the allegations and information presented relevant to the formal charge(s) against them, which in all cases will be brought forward by the University;
• to request that a member of a Board or the Administrative Hearing Officer be excluded from the hearing on the basis of a conflict of interest or bias;
• to not speak or answer any question(s) if such statements or answers would tend to implicate them in a violation of the Code of Student Conduct. When a Respondent refuses to speak, therefore avoiding questioning, they relinquish the right to make a written or verbal statement at the end of the findings stage of the hearing; however, a summation of the relevant facts of the matter under adjudication may be made by the Respondent’s Procedural Advisor or Advisor, provided that the summation is not a substitute for the statement the Respondent declined to provide;
• to pose reasonable questions to any Witness appearing at a hearing in a manner determined by the Chair or Administrative Hearing Officer;
• to have prior disciplinary history excluded from a Formal Resolution except during the outcome phase unless the case is heard by an Administrative Hearing Officer;
• to provide an Impact Statement during the resolution process as stated in the Code of Student Conduct;
• to be informed of the final decision and results of a disciplinary proceeding;
• to appeal any Formal Resolution, pursuant to this Code;
• to have supervised access to a recording of the formal hearing proceedings; and
• to have any Disciplinary Records kept confidential unless an exception is allowed or required by law or regulation.

Rights of the Complainant

The Complainant has the following rights:

• to be provided a fundamentally fair process;
• to file a Complaint within one hundred eighty (180) calendar days following the date on which an alleged violation of the Code of Student Conduct occurred;
• to file criminal charges or pursue civil action in addition to any action taken under the Code of Student Conduct;
• to request reasonable accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act through the Appalachian State University Office of Access & Opportunity: Disability Resources;
• the University will release the final decision of any disciplinary proceeding to alleged victims of Crimes of Violence in accordance with FERPA, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, and the Clery Safety Act;
• in cases of Title IX Sexual Harassment, appeal rights provided to the Respondent are also provided to the Complainant.