Appeals of the decision of the Dean of Students (for students) or the Vice President/President (for employees) may be filed by the complainant or the respondent or both. All requests for appeal considerations must be submitted in writing to the Title IX Coordinator within five business days who will then share it with the appropriate office (Dean of Students/Designee for students) or (Vice President/President for employees) for consideration. The Title IX Coordinator and the Dean of Students or designee will ensure it meets the following criteria to permit the appeals to move forward.
Appeals are limited to allegations of the following:
A procedural error or omission occurred that significantly impacted the outcome.
There is new evidence, unknown or unavailable during the investigation, that could substantially impact the finding or sanction. A summary of this new evidence and its potential impact upon the investigation must be included in the appeal.
The sanctions imposed are substantially disproportionate to the severity of the violation.
The original finding and sanction/responsive actions will stand if the appeal is not timely or is not based on the grounds listed above, and such a finding and sanction/responsive action(s) are final. When a party requests an appeal, the other party (parties) will be notified and given an opportunity to respond.
For students: In cases involving student conduct, a person designated by the Dean of Students will review the appeal request(s).
For employees: In cases involving employee conduct, a person designated by the President will review the appeal request(s).
Where the designee finds that at least one of the grounds is met, and proceeds with the appeal, additional principles governing the hearing of appeals include the following:
The original decision will only be changed when there is a compelling justification to do so. Interim and/or protective actions will be imposed and/or continued as appropriate.
Appeals are not intended to be full re-hearings of the complaint. Appeals are confined to a review of the written documentation or record of the original hearing and pertinent documentation regarding the grounds for appeal.