Accountability Procedures for Violations by Students

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Rights of students suspected of misconduct are addressed through the following procedures, which are designed to provide a fair process. The rights of students suspected of misconduct include:

  • Timely notice of charges against students, including possible consequences.
  • Opportunity for students to present all relevant information at an accountability meeting, to challenge adverse testimony and information, to speak on their own behalf, to identify material witnesses, to be accompanied by an adviser as established in this process, and to offer a character witness statement.
  • Findings reached on the basis of the information presented using a “preponderance of the evidence,” or more likely than not, standard.
  • An unbiased appellate body to which students may appeal.

Receipt of an Incident Report

  1. When Student Accountability receives an incident report containing potential violation(s) of University policy, Student Accountability will review to determine if referral to the Formal Resolution Process is appropriate.
  2. Referral to the Formal Resolution Process is not a finding of wrongdoing; rather, the review determines whether:
    1. Enough information exists as to the identity, location, and manner of the incident to proceed; and
    2. The nature of the violation alleged is generally resolved through the Formal Resolution Process and not some other means.
  3. Most incidents that succeed under 2(a) will be resolved through the Formal Resolution Process.
    1. Examples of behavior that are generally referred to the Formal Resolution Process include, but are not limited to, underage possession and consumption of alcohol, drugs, intoxication, abuse (absent mutual combatants), theft, damage to property, failure to comply with University officials, disorderly conduct, repeated behavior for which an informal warning has been provided, and similar such incidents.
    2. Examples of behavior that may not be referred to the Formal Resolution process include, but are not limited to, violations of the Good Neighbor Policy without other exacerbating factors, violations of basic Residential Life policies, noise in the residence halls without prior concerns, inappropriate communications that do not rise to the level of abuse or harassment, and unintentional or negligible contact when a No Contact Directive is in place. See the Notices and Warnings for Student Behavior section for more information.
  4. Student Accountability’s determination for referral is final and not subject to appeal.
  5. If a referral is made, a staff member in Student Accountability (Accountability Officer) will be assigned to collect additional relevant information (Investigation) and resolve the case.
  6. If an Accountability Officer has a conflict of interest, that staff member is ineligible to consider a case. Staff with a conflict of interest must declare themselves ineligible. For the purposes of this section, a staff member is not considered to have a conflict of interest simply for having met with a student before or having adjudicated a prior case.

  7. Referral to the Formal Resolution Process does not necessarily result in the creation of a record reportable to external entities. For more information on what is reportable refer to the Notifications section. Student Accountability’s determination for referral is final and not subject to appeal.

Formal Resolution Process

Notice

  1. A student referred to the Formal Resolution Process will be notified that a report has been received and will be instructed to schedule a meeting with Student Accountability (Accountability Meeting). Alternatively, Student Accountability may set the date and time for the Accountability Meeting to occur after review of a student’s academic schedule.
  2. Failure by a referred student to respond to notifications from Student Accountability or to participate at the date and time provided may be considered a waiver of the right to appear, and an Accountability Meeting may be held in the student’s absence. Accountability Meetings will typically proceed in a student’s absence when there is reasonable belief the student received the notice provided.
  3. During the Accountability Meeting with the Accountability Officer, a referred student will be notified of the procedures that Student Accountability will follow as well as the policy(ies) the student is alleged to have violated (Charges).
  4. Following the presentation of the Charges, a referred student may choose to proceed immediately with the Accountability Meeting or take a three-day waiting period. The choice to proceed or request a waiting period has no bearing on the final outcome.
  5. Extensions beyond the three-day waiting period are permitted only at the discretion of Student Accountability with a presumption that most cases, including complex ones, can be resolved fairly within the provided timeframe.

Accountability Meeting

  1. A referred student may participate personally and present information to establish their account of the alleged incident.
  2. The Accountability Officer should advise a referred student of statements, documents, or other information related to the incident that would be considered in the finding of responsibility (Relevant Information). The student may examine all Relevant Information in an effort to refute a violation occurred.
  3. A referred student may present personal testimony, documents, and other Relevant Information in regards to both the alleged violation of policy as well as any potential justification(s) and mitigating circumstances for consideration by the Accountability Officer.
  4. A referred student may, but is not required to, identify witnesses. A witness is an individual with direct information about the alleged incident due to either being present or being privy to direct communications with the referred student about the incident, with other witnesses, or with the accusing party (Witness).
  5. The Accountability Officer has discretion to determine whether a Witness has Relevant Information to the facts in dispute and, if so, whether inclusion of such facts is not redundant of existing information. Based on that determination, the Accountability Officer will meet with the Witness to collect such information. The referred student may review the Relevant Information collected.
  6. A referred student may, but is not required to, be accompanied by an adviser to participate in the Accountability Meeting.
    1. A student may select a current Vanderbilt student, faculty, or staff person to serve as their adviser; however, an adviser may not be related to the student nor may the adviser have any formal legal training (except in cases involving graduate/professional students in the Law School accused of misconduct). Additionally, an adviser may not have a substantial interest in the case or in a related case, including a case stemming out of the same set of facts (Adviser).
    2. Advisers may not be paid for their services nor should any person present themselves as an expert Adviser.
    3. The role of the Adviser is to serve as a supportive presence. The Adviser may not speak on behalf of the student nor otherwise supplant the student’s role in the process.
    4. An Adviser may consult with a student during the meeting upon a student’s request. Consultations are expected to be infrequent in nature given the Accountability Meeting is the student’s opportunity to give an account of what occurred during an alleged incident to the best of their knowledge. Parroting or repeating the Adviser’s words in response to a question is considered to supplant the student’s role in the process. If frequent consults with an Adviser are necessary for support, the Accountability Officer may pause the meeting at their discretion as well as make referrals to campus resources.
    5. If at any time the Accountability Officer determines an Adviser does not meet the qualifications or fails to adhere to the expectations outlined above, the Adviser may be removed from further participation in the accountability process. Prior to removal, an Accountability Officer may, but is not required to, warn of potential removal.
  7. A referred student may, but is not required to, provide one character statement. The character statement is limited to two 8.5 x 11 pages using standard formatting and text sizes. The character statement should be submitted to the Accountability Officer in PDF or Word format. A character statement should not be provided by a Witness or Adviser. Accordingly, a character witness may not testify or express an opinion concerning the alleged incident. A character witness statement will address the following three questions: (i) How long and in what capacity have you known the referred student?; (ii) Can you please share a time in which you placed trust in the referred student?; and (iii) In general, and without reference to this case, can you please describe the referred student’s character?
  8. Given the nature of the University’s accountability process, the testimony of, and information derived from experts, such as reports of handwriting experts, will not be considered, except in rare circumstances. In those rare cases, determinations as to the appropriateness of testimony of or information derived from an expert will be made in the sole discretion of the Director of Student Accountability or their designee (Director). Under no circumstances, however, will the use of polygraph examinations be permitted.
  9. A referred student may, but is not required to, obtain professional legal representation, advice, and counsel. However, an attorney may not participate in or be present during an Accountability Meeting or investigation, nor will an investigation or Accountability Meeting be delayed due to involvement of an attorney. An attorney representing a referred student may direct any questions to the Office of the General Counsel.
  10. Accountability Meetings may be recorded only by the University; no other recordings are permitted.
  11. Investigations and Accountability Meetings are not publicized or open to the public. Persons not convened or summoned (e.g., the student, the student’s Adviser, Witnesses) by the Accountability Officer are prohibited from attending an Accountability Meeting and any interviews during the course of an investigation.
  12. The Accountability Officer must hold in confidence the matters related to both the investigation and the Accountability Meeting, except when information is shared in accordance with federal privacy laws.

Findings

  1. At the conclusion of the Accountability Meeting, the Accountability Officer will consider all Relevant Information to determine responsibility and, if there is a responsible finding, sanctions and action plans. The Accountability Officer, having had the opportunity to review the Relevant Information as well as speak directly with the referred student and Witnesses, has discretion in what information considered will be given the most weight in arriving at a final outcome. An Accountability Officer may consult with relevant campus partners, if needed, but the final outcome is solely the decision of the Accountability Officer.
  2. Student Accountability uses a "preponderance of the evidence" standard in determining responsibility. Preponderance of the evidence means that upon consideration of all Relevant Information the Accountability Officer determines it is more likely than not a violation occurred.
  3. If mitigating circumstances may exist, the Accountability Officer will notify the Director. The Director will determine if mitigating circumstances exist and may consult with relevant campus partners in reaching that determination. Mitigating circumstances are typically acute—not chronic—circumstances that impaired the judgment of the student at or close to the time of the violation, which can be supported by third-party evidence. If mitigating circumstances are found, they may be considered upon a finding of responsibility to determine appropriate sanction(s) and action plan(s).
  4. If a referred student is found responsible for a violation of University policy, the finding will specify the violations for which the student is responsible and the corrective action to be taken and the sanction to be imposed. The finding will be delivered to the student promptly and, at the time of its delivery, the student will be reminded of the opportunity to appeal.
  5. A written record of findings, corrective actions, and sanctions assessed will be filed in cases resulting in a finding of responsibility. These elements become a part of the referred student’s record and may be examined by the student. However, the deliberations of an Accountability proceeding and the rationale for the outcome of a case are confidential.

Special Circumstances

  1. Students may be accountable to criminal and/or civil authorities as well as to the University for acts that constitute violations of law and of University policies and regulations. Students investigated for alleged violations of these policies and regulations are subject to University accountability proceedings delineated in this Handbook while criminal or civil proceedings regarding the same conduct are pending. Students in these circumstances may not challenge the University’s accountability proceedings on the grounds that criminal charges or civil actions regarding the same incident are pending, may be initiated, or have been terminated, dismissed, reduced, or not yet adjudicated. When appropriate, the University may refer matters to federal, state, and local authorities for prosecution.
  2. The policies and procedures governing cases involving sexual misconduct, including stalking, dating violence, and domestic violence as well as the policies and procedures governing cases involving student discrimination are outlined elsewhere in the Handbook.
  3. The Associate Dean for Community Standards and Student Support or designee may impose an interim restriction(s) pending an investigation and/or resolution of an Accountability Meeting. For more information, refer to the Interim Restriction policy.