XVIII: Appeals

A. The policy in this section applies to decisions that were made by the AdHoc Committee, the Conduct Committee (ConCom), the Clear and Present Danger Committee, the Central Level PNG Review Committee, or by staff with regard to BSC member conduct related matters.

B. If the decision was made with regard to the AdCode (Section II of the Policy Directory) then the Chair shall be the Administrative Committee Chair, the Manager shall be the Operations Manager, the Advisor shall be the Administrative Member Advisor, and the Student Executive shall be the Vice President of Internal Affairs. If the decision was made with regard to the Conduct Code (Section VII of the Policy Directory) then the Chair shall be the Conduct Committee Chair that was not a part of the initial decision, the staff member shall be the Conduct Hearing Coordinator, the Advisor shall be the Conduct Member Advisor who was not part of the initial conduct decision, and the representative from the initial conduct decision shall be the Conduct Committee Chair (if applicable).

C. The Appeals Committee for a conduct-related issue shall consist of:

a. The Advisor not participating in the initial conduct decision

b. The Chair of the initial Conduct Hearing

c. The other Conduct Committee Chair

d. The Cooperative Experience Manager

e. The Vice President of Experience and Training (VPET) or another Board Director of their choice (a non-voting member)

D. The Appeals Committee for an administrative-related issue shall consist of:

a The Advisor (a non-voting member)

b The Chair (a non-voting member)

c The Student Executive

d Operations Manager (a non-voting member)

e Two Board Directors (board will elect and maintain a pool of at least five board directors to serve in this capacity at the start of each semester; Cabinet/SumCom members may serve until then)

E. The Appeals Committee will first ensure that all appeals conform to II.XVIII.H before proceeding with adjudication.

F. The member who initially brought the case, the respondent, or the Chair. The Chair shall inform the member of their rights to appeal.

G. All appeals must be filed no later than five (5) business days after the date the appellant was notified of the decision.

H. The appellant must submit a document outlining the reasons for their appeal and the decision that they wish the Appeals Committee to take. The Chair of the Appeals Committee shall appoint someone to represent the decision that the Enforcement Committee made and submit a report summarizing the case and the Enforcement Committee’s reasoning.

I. Appeals may be made for the following reasons:

a. New evidence that could not be presented at the time of the original meeting.

b. Procedural error that unfairly and materially affected the outcome of the case.

c. Gross misapplication of policy by the original body.

J. The Chair of the Appeals Committee shall designate a specific amount of time for opening statements, questions, closing statements, and deliberation. The time allotted to both parties must be the same.

K. All decisions made by the Appeals Committee are final and cannot be appealed.

L. The Chair rendering the initial decision must swiftly notify members of their right to appeal, the deadline to file, and the process to initiate.

M. If there is a conflict of interest that would preclude a staff person or student leader from serving on the Appeals Committee, or one of the stated members is not available to participate, the President, Operations Manager, Executive Director or Cooperative Experience Manager may designate an appropriate alternate taking into consideration the intended make-up of the committee.

N. The Administrative Appeals Committee must be trained in the Administrative Code, procedure, mock cases, and anti-oppression.

[Updated 05/07/20]