Accountability Procedures for Violations by Organizations

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  1. When alleged behaviors by a student organization includes a violation of University policy, excluding sexual misconduct and discrimination policies, the matter will be resolved by the Director of Student Accountability or designee (“Adjudicator”). If policies specific to an office or organization are alleged to have been violated in conjunction with an alleged violation of University policy, the Adjudicator will combine all potential charges into one case for determination.
  2. The Adjudicator will notify the organization of the charges as well as provide a summary of information collected regarding the incident via an Investigation. The organization is not entitled to any additional information beyond the summary provided.
  3. The accused organization may designate a Representative. Alternatively or additionally, the organization may submit a written statement for consideration.
  4. Once the organization is in receipt of the charges and summary, it may choose to take a three-day waiting period prior to engaging in an accountability proceeding. Alternatively, it may choose to proceed directly to a resolution.
  5. During an accountability proceeding, the Adjudicator will determine responsibility and any sanctions or action items in their sole discretion absent referral or consultation as outlined below:
    1. Referrals. For matters specific to their areas and referred to them by the Adjudicator, authority may be exercised by the Interfraternity Council and Vanderbilt Student Communications, Incorporated. The nature of specific areas of authority is described in the constitutions or bylaws of each of these bodies. All findings of responsibility and sanctions are subject to review and final approval by the Adjudicator. The Adjudicator reserves the right to void the referral of authority at their discretion at any point during the process. Referrals are not appropriate when the alleged violation is determined to be severe, persistent, or pervasive.
    2. Consultations. For all other matters involving Registered Student Organizations that belong to an umbrella organization, including, but not limited to, the Multicultural Leadership Council (MLC), Intercultural Greek Council (IGC), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), and Panhellenic, the Adjudicator may consult with advisors and student leaders regarding responsibility and sanctions. All determinations of responsibility and sanctions are made by the Adjudicator in their sole discretion.
  6. The Representative may bring a Support Person to the accountability proceeding.
  7. The Adjudicator will resolve any questions concerning procedure or the admission of information (including but not limited to, its relevancy and reliability).
  8. The Adjudicator may choose to call witnesses with information about the facts of the alleged violation. The Adjudicator may use any information and/or evidence to make a determination of responsibility, including but not limited to past conduct history.
  9. The Adjudicator will make determinations of responsibility using the preponderance of the evidence (or more likely than not) standard and, if there is a finding of responsible, assign sanctions.
  10. The deliberations of an Accountability proceeding and the rationale for the outcome of a case are confidential.
  11. The Adjudicator will give notice of the outcome to the organization within five (5) business days of reaching an outcome unless there is a reasonable need for delay.
  12. The accused organization may file an appeal with the Appellate Review Board, but must do so within ten (10) days of the date its Representative is notified of the Adjudicator’s decision. Detailed information may be found in the Appeals and the Appellate Review Board section.