Middlebury Handbook

1. Allegations

Students will be held accountable for policy violations that take place between the time they first arrive on campus to begin their Institute program and their graduation, or the Institute’s confirmation of their resignation or expulsion.

The ADSS or designee, in consultation as appropriate, will determine when and whether policy violation allegations will result in judicial hearings, and will identify those Institute policies that may have been violated. The person or group initiating an allegation is called the complainant; in most cases, the Institute serves as the complainant, although the Institute may choose not to exercise the full rights of a complainant as defined below. The student responding to allegations is called the respondent. All official allegations of policy violations are transmitted to the respondent through the ADSS on behalf of the Institute. Prior to the hearing, the respondent will be notified of the identity of the complainant and the names of any witnesses who will attend the proceedings. Respondents will be provided with a general statement of allegations, including identification of the alleged policy violations under consideration, and will have access to all hearing materials that will be shared with the board in advance of the hearing.

2. Disposition without Hearing

Upon receiving written notification of the allegations, respondents who do not contest them may request that the ADSS adjudicate their final and official disposition rather than pursuing adjudication through a judicial board hearing. In circumstances where the ADSS determines that disposition without hearing is not in the best interests of the Institute community, the request will be denied and the case will proceed to a hearing. In cases where disposition without hearing is permitted, the ADSS will propose a sanction appropriate to the acknowledged violation which approximates the sanction the ADSS believes the judicial board would assign with the same information. The respondent may accept the sanction, or may reject it, in which case the allegations will be adjudicated by the appropriate judicial board, and the board’s finding and sanction will apply. The ADSS will set a reasonable deadline by which the respondent must choose to accept the sanction or reject it and pursue a hearing.

3. Administration of Hearings

The ADSS serves as a procedural advisor and secretary to the judicial boards. The ADSS assists with scheduling, provides required notices to the parties, witnesses, and board members, identifies the materials to be included in the hearing and provides access to them to the parties and board members as appropriate, identifies and approves witnesses, and otherwise performs administrative functions for the board. The ADSS does not participate in the deliberations of the board, but may be present during deliberations to assist with administrative tasks and provide procedural guidelines.

4. Notification of Hearing

Notification in writing will be given to the respondent, the complainant, and any known witnesses called by the ADSS. Notification will include the time and place of the hearing and must be given to the complainant and respondent at least two business days in advance of the hearing. In most instances, the hearing will be scheduled not more than two weeks after the official transmission of the allegations, except where exigent circumstances require otherwise.

5. Attendance at Hearings

The respondent, complainant, and all required witnesses are expected to be present at the time and place of the scheduled hearing. Failure to appear at a scheduled hearing after proper notice may subject a student to disciplinary penalties up to and including suspension. Judicial proceedings take precedence over academic and nonacademic activities, and students shall be excused from other obligations to participate in the proceedings. Should a respondent who has been properly charged and notified of a scheduled hearing fail to appear, the hearing may proceed and sanctions may be imposed as if the respondent were present.

6. Disqualification

Any member of a judicial body who has a conflict of interest in a particular proceeding is disqualified from sitting on that case. If a member of the Conduct Judicial Board or the Judicial Appeals Board is disqualified, normally an alternate member from the same constituency will be selected to participate.

7. Quorum

Conduct Judicial Board hearings may not be conducted with fewer than three members. Three votes are needed for a finding of responsibility for a policy violation. In the event of a finding of responsibility for a policy violation, sanctions shall be determined by majority vote.

Judicial Appeals Board hearings may not be conducted with fewer than three members, at least one of whom is a student, present. In the event of a finding of responsibility for a policy violation, sanctions shall be determined by majority vote.

8. Audio Recording

All judicial hearings will be audio recorded. The recording is the property of the Institute. In the event of an appeal, the recording will be available for the consideration of the appeal, as well as to the respondent. Copies made for the respondent must be returned once the appeal is filed and may not be used for other purposes.

9. Participation in Judicial Proceedings

Normally, participation in or attendance at judicial hearings shall be limited to students and employees of the Institute. When others are involved in a case or can offer testimony that is directly relevant, the ADSS may permit those individuals to participate in a hearing.

10. Expectations

Honesty is expected on the part of all members of the community who participate in the judicial process. The provision of false or misleading information to a judicial body may itself be grounds for disciplinary action.

11. Support Person

The respondent and the complainant may each bring a support person who is a student or employee of the Institute. This person may be consulted by the respondent/complainant during the hearing, but, unless specifically invited, may not otherwise participate in the proceedings. Prior to the commencement of the hearing, each respondent and complainant shall provide the ADSS with the names of persons serving as their support person. The names will be shared with the both parties.

12. Character Reference

Complainants and respondents may each submit one character reference. If this individual is sharing their reference in person, the individual must be an Institute student or employee. If the individual is providing a letter of reference and is not appearing in person, they may submit the reference to the ADSS, who will read it to the board on the author’s behalf. Individuals submitting reference letters are not restricted to the Institute community membership. Character references may not exceed ten minutes in length (in-person references) or five pages of double-spaced 12-point text (letters of reference), and may not contain any content that refers directly to the incident under investigation or provide evidential testimony.

13. Independent Expertise

If the case involves a technical matter that falls outside the expertise of the members of the judicial body, the ADSS may invite an appropriate individual who possesses expertise relevant to the matter at hand to provide technical assistance to the board during the hearing.

14. Rights of the Respondent

The respondent has the right to be present throughout the hearing and to hear adverse testimony. In no case should the board consider evidence against a student unless the source, author, and content of any statement or other evidence has been identified to the student, and the student has been given the opportunity to rebut the statement or respond to the evidence. All written evidence intended to be introduced at the hearing must be provided to ADSS prior to the commencement of the hearing. Once the hearing begins, the chair reserves the right not to consider written evidence not provided in advance. Sanctions may only be imposed for the specific allegations of which the student has been notified in writing.

15. Evidence Rulings

Rules of evidence applicable in court proceedings do not apply in this process. The evidentiary materials and testimony may include information that the members of the board ultimately deem to be immaterial. The parties are invited to comment on the relevance, weight and substance of the evidence throughout the hearing. The evaluation of evidence by the members of the board includes consideration of its relevance, materiality, and credibility. In cases where evidentiary or procedural questions arise in connection with the hearing, the ADSS will make rulings prior to the hearing, and the chair of the judicial body shall make rulings on that arise in hearings. A decision of the chair may be modified by a majority vote.

16. Burden of Proof

The burden of proof rests with the party bringing the allegation.

17. Basis of Decision

In determining whether a policy has been violated, the board shall base its decision only on evidence introduced at the hearing of that case. Policy violation determinations will be made on the basis of a preponderance of the evidence; that is, after assessing all evidence for its relevance, weight and substance, whether it is more likely than not that the violation occurred.

18. Hearings

All hearings are confidential, and all board members are committed to maintaining the privacy of the involved parties by refusing to disclose or discuss the content of a hearing outside of the confines of the hearing itself. All complainants, respondents, advisors, character references, witnesses and other participants are asked to do the same.

19. Confidential Deliberations

All judicial board deliberations are confidential.

20. Decision

The ADSS will normally provide written notification of the decision to each respondent within two business days of the board’s determination. Failure to meet the time limitations in this section will not invalidate a decision.

21. Record of Proceedings

If a judicial proceeding results in a finding of no responsibility for any policy violation, there will be no record of the allegations or the hearing in the student's permanent official file.