2021 - 2022 COM Student Handbook

Nova Southeastern University Student Handbook 47 Personal Rights of a Student (or Student Organization) during the Discipline Process a. Right to abstain from verbal participation—Students are not required to share their version of the incident in question, but must understand that their nonparticipation will not preclude a discipline officer from making a decision on charges or responsibility. b. Right to review and provide information and offer witnesses. Students are permitted to review the incident report that initiated the conduct process against them, and any other documentation they would otherwise be permitted to inspect or review pursuant to FERPA. Students may provide any information, documentation, or evidence to the investigator and/or discipline officer for consideration up to 48 hours after the conclusion of the conference/proceeding. c. Right to an adviser—For any alleged violation that will impact student enrollment status, students may choose to seek out an adviser. That individual may be present with the student during all meetings and/or hearings. An adviser must be either a full-time member of the university staff or faculty, unless 1) the alleged conduct arises under the NSU Sexual Misconduct Policy, in which case the Sexual Misconduct Policy procedures will apply, or 2) the student is alleged to have engaged in stalking, domestic violence, dating violence, or sexual assault outside of the Title IX context, in which case the student may select the adviser of their choice, in accordance with the policies described in the remainder of this paragraph. The adviser should be someone who understands the policies and procedures used in the student discipline process. An adviser may not “represent” a student or speak for him or her at any point. Rather, an adviser may be present to answer questions the involved student poses directly to the adviser. Regardless of whether a student chooses to utilize an adviser or not, every effort will be made by the discipline officer adjudicating the process to answer any questions a student may have before or after any meetings or hearings. d. Right to an impartial process—Students who believe that the judicial officer has a conflict of interest, which prevents them from conducting the student conduct process in an impartial manner, should notify the judicial officer of such allegation, along with any supporting information, in writing, prior to the occurrence of the student judicial conference/proceeding. In such circumstances, an independent administrator will be appointed by the vice president of Student Affairs to review such claims and make a determination if a conflict of interest exists. If the determination is made that a conflict exists, the vice president of Student Affairs will designate a replacement judicial officer to complete the student conduct process. If a determination is made that no conflict exists, the student conduct process will continue with the original judicial officer. Adjudication Process Notification Communication of the alleged violations will be provided to a student via his or her NSU provided email. Notices to student organizations will be sent via NSU email to the president of the organization. Notices of alleged violations will include the following: • the university conduct/academic responsibility standard(s) alleged to have been violated and sufficient details of the complaint for the basis of the allegation to be understood • a statement of the respondent student’s rights