Advisers

Advisers to the Accused Student

1. Every accused student will be assigned a student adviser from the body of the Undergraduate Honor Council. A list of all possible student advisers will be made available on the Honor Council webpage, and the accused student may select an adviser from this list for the investigation and the hearing.
2. In the alternative, 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 advisor have any formal legal training (except in cases involving graduate/professional students in the Law School taking an undergraduate course 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).
3. An Adviser accompanies the accused student to investigative meetings and the hearing and explains the procedures of the Honor Council regarding investigations, hearings, and the penalties that may be assigned.
4. 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.
5. An Adviser may confer with the accused during the investigation and hearing upon the accused’s request, but the adviser may not speak directly with the investigator during an interview or with Honor Council members on the panel during the hearing.
6. Consultations are expected to be infrequent in nature given the investigation and hearing 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 investigator or presiding officer of the Honor Council may pause the meeting or hearing at their discretion as well as make referrals to campus resources.
7. If at any time the investigator or presiding officer of the Honor Council determines an Adviser does not meet the qualifications and expectations outlined above, the Adviser may be removed from further participation in the investigation or panel hearing respectively. Prior to removal, the investigator or presiding officer may, but is not required to, warn of potential removal.
8. Advisers may not be paid for their services nor should any person present themselves as an expert adviser.
9. An accused student may separately obtain professional legal representation, advice, and counsel. However, an attorney may not participate in or be present during an Honor Council investigation or hearing, nor will an investigation or hearing be delayed due to the involvement of an attorney. The Honor Council is a student tribunal untrained in the law. An attorney representing an accused may direct any questions to the Office of the General Counsel.

Faculty Advisers to the Honor Council

The Chancellor or the Chancellor’s designee appoints faculty advisers to the Honor Council. The president of the Honor Council or staff from Student Accountability assigns one faculty adviser to attend every hearing. Faculty advisers may ask questions and participate in the discussion. In a full panel hearing, the faculty adviser does not have a vote in the outcome, but the faculty adviser does have a vote in the outcome of a small panel hearing.