The following applies to violations of the Code of Conduct. However, process statements under Belmont’s Academic Honor Code and Sexual Misconduct Policies may differ from statements in this section. Those differences supersede information provided here.
- Terms
Accountability Officer(s) make judgments on what behavior has occurred and do not make judgments about the worth of the person; accordingly, character information is not warranted. Information can be presented in various forms, such as documentation, witness statements or personal accounts. During an Inquiry, the Accountability Officer in charge determines whether information is appropriate to the proceeding and will direct the student based upon that determination.
Administrative Inquiry. An “Administrative Inquiry” is conducted by the Director of Community Accountability or his/her designee in lieu of a Community Accountability Council Inquiry. The Associate Provost and Dean of Students or his or her designee reserves that right to route particular inquiries to an Administrative Inquiry.
Accountability Process. The “Accountability Process” encompasses the rights afforded to a student by Belmont and stated procedures for resolving an Incident.
Advisor. An “Advisor” is defined as a member of the University community (i.e., faculty, staff or peer.) that accompanies a student to his or her Inquiry as an emotional support to the student. The Advisor may not speak or otherwise participate in an Inquiry. No representation by an attorney and/or parent is permitted regardless of community membership.
Authorized University Official. An “Authorized University Official” is a designee of the Associate Provost and Dean of Students who is authorized to give notice of an incident to a student. Such authorized University officials may include, but are not limited to, members Residence Life, members of the Office of Campus Security or members of the Dean of Students.
Community Accountability Council/Honor Council. The Council(s) are comprised of students and at least one faculty and/or staff member that conduct the Inquiry into a student’s alleged violations. The Dean of Students Office reserves that right to designate this body to adjudicate particular inquiries. This Council(s) are overseen by the Director for Community Accountability.
Outcome Letter. At the conclusion of an Inquiry, the student will receive a response from the Accountability Officer(s) in the form of a “Outcome Letter.” In this response, the Accountability Officer(s) will state any decisions regarding responsibility and any Consequences. The response will be provided electronically to the student within a reasonable amount of time.
Consequences. Students who accept or are found responsible for an incident are given “Consequences” that focus on education, restitution and punishment.
Incident. The term “Incident” refers to student behavior(s) that a member of the Belmont community alleges to violate the Code of Conduct.
Information. Rather than providing evidence, “Information” is presented during an Inquiry for the purpose of clarifying details. Information may only address facts related to the incident such as who, what, when, where and—when intent is appropriate to the finding of responsibility or Consequences—why.
Information Session. An “Information Session” is conducted prior to a Community Accountability Council Inquiry or an Administrative Inquiry. During an Information Session, a student may view currently available University Information related to the Incident, may receive instructions regarding the Accountability Process and may have any existing violation definition reviewed with him or her.
Inquiry. An “Inquiry” is an opportunity for the University to determine what happened during an Incident by weighing the provided information—both by the University and the student subject to the accountability process—before making decisions about responsibility, when the student has denied responsibility and, if necessary, Consequences.
Notice of Community Responsibilities. The “Notice of Community Responsibilities” acts as official University notice for the student and begins the accountability process.
Preponderance of the Evidence. “Preponderance of Evidence” means that the information, as a whole, shows that the fact(s) supports the conclusion that it is “more likely than not” that the student engaged in the alleged behavior.
Responsible and Not Responsible. A student makes a declaration of “Responsible” or “Not Responsible” prior to an Inquiry on the Notice of Community Responsibilities. The student may make the declaration at the time the Notice of Community Responsibilities is received or at a time prior to the Inquiry. When a student declares he or she is Not Responsible, the Accountability Officer(s) will decide whether the student is responsible during an Inquiry by a Preponderance of the Evidence. Responsible or Not Responsible is used rather than guilty or not guilty.
Student Affairs Hold. A “Student Affairs Hold” is a mechanism used for compliance among the student population in regard to participation and completion of the accountability process. A Student Affairs Hold is an official stop on a student’s University records, which may prevent a student from registering, dropping and/or adding classes, requesting transcripts, graduating, etc.
Suspension Hold. A suspension hold may be placed on a student’s account during his or her suspension period. A Suspension Hold is only removed after a student’s suspension period has run its course. Transcripts may be made available from the Registrar during the suspension period; however, the transcript will note the suspension. A Suspension Hold may prevent a student from re-enrolling, registering for classes, dropping or adding courses, graduating and more.
University Representative. A “University Representative” is empowered to schedule inquiries and conduct Information Sessions. A University Representative may also serve as an accountability Officer. A University Representative includes the Associate Provost and Dean of Students or his/her designee. The University Representative will most often be a staff member of either Residence Life or Community Accountability. The Notice of Community Responsibilities should indicate the University Representative a student should contact questions.
Accountability Procedures
A full description of the process can be found in the Bruin Guide. Information in the Bruin Guide supersedes information presented on the website.
1. Notice:
When an Incident has occurred, a student will be provided notice of the Incident via a Notice of Community Responsibilities by an Authorized University Official electronically via email.
A Notice of Community Responsibilities is delivered to the student’s Belmont e-mail address and is considered to provide the student with notice of the Incident. In accordance with University policy, students are expected to check their e-mail daily.
Failure or refusal to respond to notice of the Incident (i.e., not checking campus mail, avoiding attempted contact efforts by University officials, etc.) may result in an Inquiry being conducted in the student’s absence and Consequences being assigned (see Pre-Inquiry).
2. Pre-Inquiry (Information Session):
Once notice has been provided, a student should contact the University Representative indicated on the Notice of Community Responsibilities within the two business days following the issue date of the Notice of Community Responsibilities in order to schedule an information session and/or inquiry.
University Representatives reserve the right to schedule an Inquiry time, date and location at his/her sole discretion and may take under consideration such factors as student’s schedule, Accountability Officer(s) schedule, prejudice to the student of delaying the Inquiry date, the time necessary to collect information, nature of the alleged violation(s) and other factors. Information sessions and inquiries may be conducted on the same day.
A student’s failure or refusal to contact the appropriate University Representative within the allotted two business days will be treated as the student’s acceptance of responsibility for all alleged violations, will waive any privilege to an Information Session and will result in an Inquiry being scheduled and conducted in the student’s absence.
3. Inquiry:
An Inquiry is a closed meeting involving only those who have information regarding what happened, the optional Advisor, and those responsible for the Accountability Process.
During an Inquiry, the student will have the opportunity to challenge or clarify University Information related to the Incident and present his/her own Information related to the Incident.
The Accountability Officer(s) will determine whether Information is relevant to what happened during an Incident and may redirect a person if Information is determined to be irrelevant.
The Accountability Officer(s) may take action against a person or Advisor who is interfering with the Inquiry in his or her sole discretion. Such action includes—but is not limited to—halting the Inquiry, rescheduling the Inquiry, or removing the person or Advisor from the Inquiry and proceeding in his or her absence.
Outcome Letter:
Decisions regarding responsibility and Consequences, if any, will be delivered to the student in writing through the student’s Belmont e-mail address. The student is considered to have received the Outcome Letter upon the letter being sent via e-mail.
Appeals:
Accountability Officer(s) decisions related to responsibility or Consequences can be appealed, provided that one or more of the reasons for appeal is relevant to the case. A written request should be completed and submitted to the Director of Community Accountability within two business days from the date the student receives the Community Accountability Outcome Letter. The appeal request form is attached to the outcome letter.
The Director of Community Accountability will review the request to determine if the request meets the grounds for an appeal. The request should state the reason(s) for appeal and the supporting facts. In order for an appeal to be considered valid, the request and supporting facts must be directly connected to one or more of the reasons(s) for appeal. If the appeal fails to meet the reason(s) for appeal, then the appeal will be denied. Student(s) will be notified that their appeal was denied due to failure to connect their request to one or more of the reasons(s) for appeal.
The reasons for appeal are limited to:
- Procedural error, which had a bearing on the original decisions.
- New information that was not available at the time of the Inquiry which had a bearing on the original decision(s).
- Information demonstrating that there is no way a reasonable person could have arrived at decisions similar to the original decisions absent bias.
If the appellate officer grants an appellate review, he or she will review the request within 15 business days. The Appellate Officer has the option of affirming the original decision(s) regarding responsibility and Consequences, affirming the original decision(s) regarding responsibility and modifying the Consequences, or reversing the original decisions regarding responsibility and Consequences. All appellate responses are final.