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The majority of student conduct incidents at Merrimack College are adjudicated in a meeting with an Administrative Hearing Officer (AHO). The Associate Dean of Students, Graduate Fellow for Community Standards and administrators in the Office of Residence Life serve as AHOs.
- Graduate Residence Directors may hear matters with a maximum possible sanction of a disciplinary probation status.
- Area Coordinators and the Graduate Fellow in Community Standards may hear matters with a maximum possible sanction of removal from housing for designated periods of time.
- Assistant/Associate Directors of Residence Life and the Assistant Dean of Residence Life may hear matters with a maximum possible sanction of removal from housing for extended periods of time.
- The Associate Dean of Students (or desginee) and the Student Conduct Board can hear any matter, including those with a maximum possible sanction of expulsion from the College
An AHO utilizes the following procedures when meeting with a student:
- The AHO will explain all alleged student conduct violations to the student(s); review the details of any incident report and discuss any further information that the AHO may have gathered.
- The student(s) will have an opportunity to respond by presenting their own version of the events, as well as a reasonable number of witnesses (up to the AHO’s discretion) relevant to the matter.
- During a hearing, the AHO will ask questions of the student(s) and/or witnesses to clarify the event. An AHO will not ask about any past violations of student conduct policy in relation to whether or not a violation has occurred in the event being discussed. The student(s) can also ask questions of any witnesses and can ask the AHO any questions they have surrounding student conduct policy or procedures.
- The AHO will then conclude the meeting in one of three ways:
- If the student(s) has stated that they are responsible for all violations, the AHO will then discuss possible sanctions with the student(s) and give the student(s) a deadline by which they will receive their final notice regarding the sanctions.
- If the student(s) have stated that they are not responsible for any charges brought against them, the AHO will then give the student(s) a deadline by which they will receive the decision from the AHO. All decisions by AHO are made using the standard of proof outlined in this handbook.
- If the AHO requires further information, the AHO can seek out the information and schedule another discussion with the student(s) if needed
Written notification of the outcome and sanctions of any hearing will be sent to the student(s) via email, with a copy going to the Office of Community Standards for the student’s file. The Associate Dean of Students will have discretion to forward copies of all hearing results to parents of dependent students. In the case of student athletes, the Director of Athletics and the student’s coach may also be notified and, in the case of student leaders, their appropriate advisor.
The Student Conduct Board will consider all cases that may result in loss of housing, suspension, or expulsion from the College and other cases that are referred directly to it by the Associate Dean of Students (or designee) due to unusual complexity or seriousness. Examples include drug violations, sexual misconduct, assault, and other offenses. Finally, cases involving sexual misconduct may be adjudicated by a sub-committee of the Student Conduct Board as described in the College’s Sexual Misconduct procedures.
At certain times of the year (i.e. summer, vacation, exam periods, etc.) it may be impossible to convene the Student Conduct Board in a timely manner. At these times, and when cases would otherwise require Student Conduct Board attention, the Associate Dean of Students may conduct hearings or authorize another AHO to conduct hearings, make any findings of responsibility, and impose any appropriate sanctions if there is a determination of responsibility.
The membership of the Student Conduct Board is comprised of the following representatives who will each serve a term of one academic year, and may be reappointed to serve subsequent terms:
- Students selected from among potential candidates who are nominated or request to be a member of the board. The Associate Dean of Students will consider the candidates and select a few to be trained. All students must be in good disciplinary standing to serve as a Student Conduct Board Member.
- Faculty members appointed by the Faculty Senate, who are nominated or request to be members of the board. The Associate Dean of Students will consider the candidates and select a few to be trained.
- Administrators who are nominated or request to be members of the board. The Associate Dean of Students will consider the candidates and select a few to be trained.
An odd number and a minimum of three Board members, with at least one student representative and one faculty/staff representative, must be present to proceed with a hearing. Generally, the Associate Dean of Students (or designee) will act as a liaison to the Office of Community Standards for all meetings of the Student Conduct Board. In this capacity, they will not actively participate in the hearing and will be present only to ensure that procedures are followed throughout the hearing and will answer any procedural questions that may arise. The Associate Dean of Students (or designee) will also prepare cases to be heard by the Student Conduct Board, including contacting people who may have direct knowledge of the events in question as part of the investigation. A hearing will then be conducted and, based upon a thorough review of the information and using a standard of more likely than not (“preponderance of the evidence”), the Student Conduct Board will render a finding that a student is “responsible” or “not responsible” for an alleged violation. All decisions are made by majority vote. If responsible, the Student Conduct Board will consider the gravity of the matter and the student’s conduct history and determine an appropriate sanction. The Associate Dean of Students (or designee) will be responsible for notifying students of the hearing body’s resolution.
These procedures will generally be followed for Student Conduct Board Hearings:
- Members of the Student Conduct Board arrive ahead of the scheduled hearing start time to review reports and prepare questions.
- Persons issuing incident reports (presenters) and accused students are brought into the hearing room.
- The presenter(s), accused students and all members of the Student Conduct Board have access to copies of the incident report.
- All parties will introduce themselves starting with the Chairperson.
- The chairperson of the board reads aloud the description of the alleged violation of College policy.
- The student is asked if they understand the accusations and is asked to enter a response of responsible or not responsible.
- Presenter(s) gives a description of the incident.
- Board members ask questions for clarification and fact finding.
- Student(s) ask questions, through the chairperson.
- Accused student gives description of the incident. (In the event that there is more than one student, they shall give their descriptions in alphabetical order. This process shall prevail throughout the remainder of the hearing procedure.)
- Board members ask questions for clarification and fact finding.
- Presenter (s) ask questions.
- Any other accused students can ask questions in alphabetical order.
- Witnesses are brought in and dismissed by the chairperson. Members of the Student Conduct Board, presenter(s), and accused students (in this order) may ask questions of witnesses for clarification and fact finding.
- Accused student may present three written character references to the hearing body. In person character witnesses are not permitted during a hearing.
- Board members ask any final questions for clarification and fact finding of either the Presenter or the accused student(s).
- Presenter(s) makes final statement.
- Accused student makes final statement.
- The hearing is concluded and the Board begins its private deliberations. All decisions are made by majority vote. Decisions are “responsible” or “not responsible” and the Student Conduct Board makes a determination of sanction if responsibility is determined.
Mediation is an opportunity to assist students in resolving an interpersonal dispute. Mediation may be an appropriate alternative to the student conduct system in a situation that involves two or more students who are in a dispute with each other or conflicts that do not rise to a student conduct policy concern(s). The students involved in the dispute must both agree in writing to participate in a mediation and seek a mutually agreeable resolution.
Students seeking mediation should contact the Office of the Dean of Students. A staff member from the Office of the Dean of Students will determine if mediation is appropriate and then reach out to the other party/ies involved to determine their willingness to participate in a mediation.
Mediation is a private process between students and the mediator, unless one of the participants reveals information that could constitute a risk to the college community or its members. A record of the mediation will be provided to the Office of the Dean of Students. Mediation is not available once a formal student conduct decision has been made by a hearing officer or student conduct board. Merrimack College reserves the right not to use mediation or any other alternative dispute resolution when acts of physical violence are involved or alleged.
In mediation, a trained staff member will facilitate a conversation between the students involved with the goal of reaching an agreement that satisfies all parties involved. The mediator will not impose a solution or offer intervention through the student conduct process. At the conclusion of the mediation, all agreed-upon recommendations, stipulations, and expectations are recorded and signed by the students involved. A failure to abide by the resolution of the mediation may prolong the dispute until such a time that college intervention through the student conduct process becomes necessary.
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