An administrative hearing is a discussion between a student/student group alleged to be in violation of university policy and a hearing officer. Students/student groups will be notified (typically via e-mail) of the specific policy violation (s) under consideration in advance of an administrative hearing. Administrative hearings are conducted in private.
Notice
A respondent (the person accused of the alleged misconduct) will receive an administrative hearing notice letter, typically via email. The notice letter will include a brief summary of the alleged incident and the policy violation(s), and the student’s right to request a Community Standard Advisor (a staff member or student who has been trained to answer a student/student group(s) question about the disciplinary process).
The notice letter will also consist of a date, time, appointment location, and the name of the assigned hearing officer for the administrative hearing. All administrative hearings are scheduled based on a student’s academic schedule in the Duke Hub database.
If a student cannot attend their scheduled administrative hearing due to class, work, or other university business, the student is expected to contact their assigned hearing officer via email to set up a new administrative hearing appointment. If a student does not contact their assigned hearing officer to reschedule, it is expected that a student will be present at the scheduled date, time, and location outlined in their notice letter.
Upon proper notice, if the student/student group fails to attend the administrative hearing, the hearing officer may make a decision without the benefit of receiving the student’s input.
Hearing Officer
A staff member from the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards or designee serves as a hearing officer.
Witness
The hearing officer may request the presence of any witness with pertinent information about the alleged policy violation. Character witnesses are not permitted. If a witness is unidentified or unavailable to meet separately with the hearing officer, the witness’s statement may not constitute a sole or substantial basis for determining responsibility
Electronic Devices
A respondent, complainant, or witness may not utilize electronic devices that capture or facilitate communication (e.g., computer, cell phone, audio/video recorder, etc.) into any administrative hearing/meeting with the hearing officer.
Administrative Hearing Procedures
The general course of procedure for an administrative hearing is as follows:
The hearing officer will review the incident report and any evidence with the student/student group and give the student/student group an opportunity to respond. After the student/student group responds, the hearing officer will determine whether the student/student group is responsible for the alleged policy violation and, if so, issue (an) appropriate outcome(s).
A student/student group has the following rights during an administrative hearing:
- To be informed of the alleged policy violation (s)
- To be heard and give their perspective to the hearing officer
- To receive a Community Standard Advisor (CSA)
- To provide the contact information for a witness who was present before, during, or after the alleged incident
- To submit evidence
Outcome
The hearing officer will consider all relevant information provided before and/or during the hearing and determine appropriate outcomes based on a preponderance of information. All decisions of responsibility are based on the standard of preponderance of information. In determining appropriate outcomes, consideration may be given to the nature of and circumstances surrounding the violation, the student’s/ student group’s acceptance of responsibility, prior disciplinary violations, the impact of an outcome on the student/student group, precedent cases, university interests, and any other information deemed relevant by a hearing officer.
If a respondent does not accept the administrative hearing resolution, the student/student group may request a hearing before a panel of the Conduct Board (CB) by emailing conduct@duke.edu by the stated deadline.
Reporting Outcomes to Faculty
Faculty that refers students to the OSCCS for Academic Misconduct cases will receive a notice of the final outcome of the student's case to include:
- Alleged violation and corresponding finding: responsible or not responsible
- All OSCCS-issued outcomes and deadlines
Faculty will determine grade outcomes for students found responsible after being referred to OSCCS. Students may request that their academic dishonesty outcome be kept confidential.