COA 09-11 Catalog - Peralta Colleges

216district policies and proceduresHearing Procedures:Request for Hearing. Within 5 days after receipt of theVice President of Student Services’ (or designee’s) decisionregarding a long-term suspension, the student mayrequest a formal hearing. The request must be made inwriting to the President (or designee). Any charge(s) towhich the student does not respond shall be deemed valid.Any recommendation for expulsion by the Vice Presidentof Student Services (or designee) shall be automaticallyreviewed by the Student Disciplinary Hearing Panel.Schedule of Hearing. The formal hearing shall be heldwithin 10 calendar days after a written request for hearingis received. Student’s failure to confirm attendance athearing or failure to appear at the hearing withoutreasonable cause constitutes waiver of the student’s rightto appeal.Student Disciplinary Hearing Panel. The hearing panelfor any disciplinary action shall be composed of onefaculty (selected by the President of the Faculty Senate),one classified (selected by the President of the ClassifiedSenate), one administrator (selected by the President ofthe College) and one student (selected by the AssociatedStudents).The President (or designee), at the beginning of the academicyear, will establish the panel, along with alternates. The chairof the committee will be appointed by the President.Hearing Panel Chair. The President (or designee) shallappoint one member of the panel to serve as the chair.The decision of the hearing panel chair shall be final onall matters relating to the conduct of the hearing unlessthere is a vote by two other members of the panel to thecontrary.Conduct of the Hearing:The members of the hearing panel shall be providedwith a copy of the accusation against the student andany written response provided by the student before thehearing begins.The facts supporting the accusation shall be presented bya college representative who shall be the Vice Presidentof Student Services.The college representative and the student may callwitnesses and introduce oral and written testimonyrelevant to the issues of the matter.Formal rules of evidence shall not apply. Any relevantevidence shall be admitted.Unless the hearing panel determines to proceed otherwise,the college representative and the student shall each bepermitted to make an opening statement. Thereafter, thecollege representative shall make the first presentation,followed by the student. The college representative maypresent rebuttal evidence after the student completeshis or her evidence. The burden shall be on the collegerepresentative to prove by substantial evidence that thefacts alleged are true.The student may represent himself or herself, and mayalso have the right to be represented by a person of his orher choice, except that the student shall not be representedby an attorney unless, in the judgment of the hearingpanel, complex legal issues are involved. If the studentwishes to be represented by an attorney, a request mustbe presented not less than 5 days prior to the date of thehearing. If the student is permitted to be represented byan attorney, the college representative may request legalassistance. The hearing panel may also request legalassistance; any legal advisor provided to the panel maysit with it in an advisory capacity to provide legal counselbut shall not be a member of the panel nor vote with it.Hearings shall be closed and confidential unless thestudent requests that it be open to the public. Any suchrequest must be made no less than 5 days prior to thedate of the hearing.In a closed hearing, witnesses shall not be present at thehearing when not testifying, unless all parties and thepanel agree to the contrary.The hearing shall be recorded by the District either bytape recording or stenographic recording, and shall bethe only recording made. No witness who refuses tobe recorded may be permitted to give testimony. In theevent the recording is by tape recording, the hearingpanel chair shall, at the beginning of the hearing, ask eachperson present to identify himself or herself by name,and thereafter shall ask witnesses to identify themselvesby name. Tape recording shall remain in the custody ofthe District at all times, unless released to a professionaltranscribing service. The student may request a copy ofthe tape recording.All testimony shall be taken under oath; the oath shallbe administered by the hearing panel chair. Writtenstatements of witnesses under penalty of perjury shallnot be used unless the witness is unavailable to testify.A witness who refuses to be tape-recorded is notunavailable.Within 10 days following the close of the hearing, thehearing panel shall prepare and send to the President(or designee) a written recommendation regardingthe disciplinary action to be imposed, if any. Therecommendation shall include specific factual findingsregarding the accusation, and shall include specificconclusions regarding whether any specific section of theStandards of Student Conduct were violated. The decision