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Community Standards & Student Conduct

Full Hearing

 

Preparation Guides:

Title IX Attorney Guide

Resources for:

Respondents (students alleged to have violated some aspect of the conduct code)
Complainants (students who report an alleged incident)

These resources provide additional information, explanations, and examples of the hearing process to help student parties prepare for hearings. These guides can be used alone or while working with University staff or other resources supporting you through the process.

Use of these guides is completely optional. The guides should not be considered legal advice. Directions and decisions by the Hearing Office or other decision-makers supersede the guides. It may be useful to note that the Hearing Office will periodically update the guides, however, changes in policy, law, and practice might take effect before updates are made.

In a conduct proceeding, if the facts of the case warrant the consideration of the sanctions of suspension or dismissal, the conduct officer will request a full hearing be initiated to continue the fact-finding process. The decision to initiate a full hearing is not a determination of responsibility. If a full hearing is initiated, a hearing officer will be assigned, who will contact the respondent (and complainant, if a party in a Chapter 210 matter) with information about the hearing.

A full hearing involves the conduct officer, respondent, complainant (in Chapter 210 cases), and any witnesses providing testimony before the hearing officer. The hearing officer will determine the admissibility and relevance of all evidence and information provided.

If the hearing officer determines a violation of the Student Conduct Code has occurred, the hearing officer has the full range of sanctions available to them. At the conclusion of the full hearing, the hearing officer will issue the initial order, which informs all parties concurrently of the result in writing, including the rationale and information on how to request an administrative review.

Students may be accompanied by an advisor of their choice throughout the conduct proceedings.  This advisor can be a family member, friend, attorney licensed in Washington state, or anyone else the student prefers. In a full hearing, including in any prehearing matters, if the party’s advisor is an attorney, the attorney may advise and represent the party, but the advisor may not disrupt or interfere with any aspect of the proceeding, as determined by the hearing officer.

More information about full hearings can be found here: