Appeal Process

Appeal Process

Grounds for Appeal

Disagreement with the outcome of a hearing is not sufficient grounds for an appeal. Appeals of conduct hearing decisions may be made by an accused student only on one or more of the following grounds:

1. the hearing administrator or SCRB exhibited unfair bias, which influenced the results of the hearing;
2. the availability of new evidence, unavailable at the time of the hearing, that could substantially impact the hearing administrator’s or SCRB’s decisions or sanctions;
3. an error in hearing procedures, such as those described in the “Student Conduct Process Rights — Accused Student,” that is of such magnitude as to deny fundamental fairness; and/or
4. the sanction(s) issued by the hearing administrator or SCRB are inappropriate for or inconsistent with the violation.

How to Appeal

Instructions for submitting an appeal electronically, using UMW’s conduct management system, can be found in the hearing outcome letter that every student receives after the conclusion of their conduct hearing. All appeals should be submitted electronically. If students are unable to submit their appeal electronically for any reason, they should contact the Office of Student Conduct and Responsibility for assistance. Appeals must be submitted within five (5) working days of the date on the hearing outcome letter. It is the responsibility of the student making the appeal to clearly, concisely, and completely state, in their written appeal, why they are submitting an appeal of the hearing outcome or of the sanction. Otherwise, the hearing outcome and the sanction will be considered to have been determined reasonably and in a manner that is consistent with Student Conduct’s published procedures.

How Appeals are Handled

The Office of Student Conduct and Responsibility will acknowledge the receipt of the student’s appeal in writing. The student making the appeal is allowed to request a meeting with the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs or designee  to ask questions about the appeal process. Sanctions issued as a result of the original hearing will be deferred pending finalization of the appeal process. However, if a student was suspended on an interim basis from UMW, or suspended on an interim basis from living in or entering a residence hall pending the outcome of a hearing, that interim suspension will remain in place until the appeal process is finalized.

The Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs or designee will review the appeal and determine if it meets one or more of the grounds for appeal listed above. If the appeal was not submitted within the stated time frame or does not include details on how it meets one of the grounds for appeal listed above, the appeal will be denied and the student submitting the appeal will be notified in writing. If the appeal is accepted, the following will occur:

An appellate panel consisting of faculty, staff, and SCRB members will be convened to consider the appeal.  This is, in most cases, an administrative process which includes a full review of any new documentation submitted as part of the appeal as well as all documents and/or recordings associated with the case.  This is not intended to be a complete rehearing of the case. The student submitting the appeal will not be present for the appellate review.

In the event that the appellate panel finds that there is sufficient evidence that one of the first three criteria for an appeal were met, the appellate panel may recommend that the outcome be changed (either the finding of “responsible” for one or more charges and/or the sanctions).  If the appeal is based solely on criteria #4, the appellate board will only consider and recommend changes to the original sanctions.  The Vice President for Student Affairs or designee will then review the decision made by the appellate board to ensure their review fell within the parameters of the appeal process. The student submitting the appeal will be notified of the final outcome in writing.

The aforementioned appellate panel is a trained panel comprised of one UMW administrator, one member of UMW’s teaching faculty, and three members of SCRB who did not participate in the original hearing. The appellate hearing will be chaired by the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs or designee. Appeal decisions are final.