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Judicial Process

Inherent Authority

The University reserves the right to take necessary and appropriate action to protect the safety and well being of the campus community. Such action may include taking disciplinary action against those students whose behavior off University premises constitutes a violation of this Code. Students may be accountable both to civil authorities and to the University for acts that constitute violations of law and of this Code. Disciplinary actions at the University will not be subject to challenge on the grounds that criminal charges involving the same incident have been dismissed or reduced or that no criminal charges have been brought.
All University community members including guests should report infractions of this Code, as well as any behavior they believe to be suspicious, to Point Park Public Safety. The Public Safety officers will take a report of the individual infraction/behavior and send the report to the Director, Judicial Affairs.

Procedural Guidelines

  1. All incident reports will be received and investigated by the Director, Judicial Affairs.
  2. Based on that review/investigation, the Director of Judicial Affairs will make the decision of what policies were violated (if any) and what each student’s charges will be along with the process that the student can take to resolve the issue
  3. The charged student will receive a letter that includes:
    • The policies in which they are being charged with violating
    • The date in which the alleged violation occurred
    • The time, date, and location of where to report to resolve the judicial matte

Disciplinary Conferences

A disciplinary conference will normally consist of an informal, non-adversarial meeting between the accused student and a University administrator as designated by the Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life, designee, or the Director, Judicial Affairs. Charged students may request the Office of Judicial Affairs to call appropriate and relevant witnesses on their behalf. Charged students may also request an informational meeting prior to the disciplinary conference to ask any questions, go over the charges, and review the process. Accused students who fail to appear after written notice will be deemed not to have contested the allegations against them; however, a student may elect not to speak on his or her own behalf. Students who fail to be present for their disciplinary conference will waive their right to appeal.

The following procedural guidelines are applicable to charged students in disciplinary conferences:

  1. Written notice of the specific charges and date of the scheduled conference at least three days prior to the conference.
  2. Reasonable access to the case file at least three days prior to and during the conference. A case file is part of the student’s education record under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The personal notes of University staff members are not included in the case file. The case file will be retained in the Office of Judicial Affairs.
  3. The opportunity to respond to the evidence and to call appropriate and relevant student witnesses. It is expected that all witnesses will provide information that is true and correct. Any student who knowingly provides false information during a disciplinary conference will be charged.
  4. Accused students have the right to a support person of his/her choosing but this person has no role in the hearing and may not speak or address the Board for any reason.
  5. Notarized affidavits may be accepted or other accommodations made at the discretion of the presiding officer in lieu of live testimony if a witness is out of state or otherwise determined to be unavailable.

University Judicial Board Hearings

The University Judicial Board (UJB) will convene to determine a finding of fact and render a decision of “In Violation/Not in Violation” for all charges, when the sanction for, and if finding could be, removal from the residence halls, suspension or expulsion from the University.

Any given, University Judicial Board (UJB) is made up of 4 student representatives and 1 faculty or staff representative. If the alleged misconduct may result in suspension or expulsion from the University, whenever possible, a faculty or staff member will be included; however, the absence of a faculty or staff member will not prevent the Board from hearing a case. Quorum will consist of three board members in any combination.  Adhoc boards may be appointed by the Director, Judicial Affairs, Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life, or designee if after reasonable effort, a board is not able to be constituted, is unable to obtain a quorum or is otherwise unable to hear the case. Adhoc boards may be composed of staff, faculty, students or any combination thereof.

The following procedural guidelines shall be applicable in all UJB hearings including UJB disciplinary conferences:

  1. Charged students will have a pre-hearing conference with the Director of Judicial Affairs or designee to review the charge letter and the election of action form.
  2. Written notice of the specific charges and date of the scheduled conference at least three days prior to the conference or hearing and be given reasonable access to the case file, which will be retained in the Office of Judicial Affairs.
  3. The Office of Judicial Affairs will take steps to compel the attendance of student witnesses whose testimony may help the University Judicial Board establish the factual record. Failure to appear when called will result in charges under this Code but will not invalidate the proceedings. Character witnesses will not be heard.
  4. Accused students who fail to appear after written notice, which includes e-mail notice, will be deemed not to have contested the allegations against them; however, a student may elect not to speak on his or her own behalf. In such cases, the University Judicial Board’s decision will be based solely on witness testimony and other information presented during the proceeding.
  5. Hearings will be closed to the public.
  6. The presiding officer will exercise control over the proceedings to maintain proper decorum, to avoid needless consumption of time and to achieve an orderly completion of the hearing. Anyone disrupting the hearing, including the charged student, the support person, or witnesses, may be removed or excluded from the hearing by the presiding officer, the Director of Judicial Affairs, or the Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life, or designee. Such disruption is a violation of this Code, and a person may be charged following his or her disruption and removal.
  7. Hearings will be audio recorded at the discretion of the Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life or designee. Audio recordings are only for the purpose of appeal and may be listened to at the discretion of and by the Dean hearing the appeal.
  8. Any party may challenge a Board member on the grounds of personal bias. The decision to disqualify a Board member will be made by the Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life or designee. This decision is final.
  9. Witnesses will be truthful in giving testimony before the Board. Furnishing false information in such a context is a violation of this Code and appropriate sanctions will be applied.
  10. Only the immediate parties (and the charged student’s support person if applicable) to the alleged violation may be present throughout the hearing. All parties will be excluded during Board deliberations.
  11. The Board will question all parties in an effort to establish the factual record. On disputed points, a preponderance of the evidence available, fairly considered, will decide the facts. A “preponderance of the evidence” means that it is “more likely than not” that a fact is true or an event occurred.
  12. Formal rules of evidence will not be applicable in disciplinary proceedings described in this Code. Confidentiality will be observed.
  13. Board members and the charged student may question witnesses who testify for any of the parties at the hearing.
  14. Prior to the hearing, the Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life or designee may appoint a special presiding officer in complex cases.
  15. Reports of the Board shall include a finding of fact and a determination of whether or not the charged student is in violation of the alleged misconduct. If the Board determines the charged student to be in violation, the report will include a recommendation of sanction. The Board may consider mitigating or aggravating circumstances when making a sanction recommendation. The report will be forwarded to The Director, Judicial Affairs or designee for review. The Director, Judicial Affairs will impose all sanctions other than suspension or expulsion from the University. Should the board recommend suspension or expulsion: the Senior Assistant Dean will review and impose sanctions for suspension and the Associate Dean of Students will review and impose sanctions for expulsion. Sanctions may be appealed based on criteria set by the University (see Appeals).
  16. The accused student will receive, in writing within a reasonable amount of time, the decision of the Board and the sanction(s) determined.
  17. Accused students have the right to a support person of his/her choosing, but this person has no role in the hearing and may not speak or address the Board for any reason.
  18. Affidavits may be accepted or other accommodations made at the discretion of the presiding officer in lieu of live testimony if a witness is out of state or otherwise determined to be unavailable.
  19. Charged students will be given the option to either have their case heard in front of a full University Judicial Board or at a University Judicial Board Disciplinary Conference (UJB DC).  At a UJB DC, the charged student will have their case heard by one UJB representative.  All sanctions and procedures still apply.

Selection and Removal of Judicial Board Members

At least 20 students will be nominated by the President and Vice President of USG to represent all student constituents and appointed by the Director, Judicial Affairs after an interview/selection process. Faculty and Staff appointments are made by the Director, Judicial Affairs. UJB nominations may also be received through the solicitation of campus offices, faculty, or staff members.

Appointments are for 1 academic year.

Members of any judicial pool who are charged with any violation of this Code or with a criminal offense will be suspended from their judicial positions by the Director, Judicial Affairs, Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life or a designee during the pendency of the charges against them. Members found in violation of any such conduct or criminal offense will be disqualified from any further participation in the University Judicial System. Additional grounds and procedures for removal may be established by the Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life or designee.

Students, faculty and staff appointed as members of any University Judicial Board must adhere to absolute confidentiality relative to the matters and names of all persons who participate in the judicial process. Any student who violates this provision will be charged and, if found in violation, will be sanctioned.

Appeals

Requests for appeals must be in writing and based on new, relevant information not previously presented at the disciplinary conference or hearing that would significantly alter the findings of fact upon which the sanctions are based. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Office of Judicial Affairs no later than five business days after receipt of the findings and sanctions letter.

Appeals of low level disciplinary conferences will be reviewed by the Director, Judicial Affairs or designee. Mid-level disciplinary conferences and University Judicial Board level disciplinary conferences or hearings with sanctions resulting in up to removal from housing will be reviewed by the Senior Assistant Dean or designee. University Judicial Board level disciplinary conferences or hearings with sanctions resulting in suspension from the University will be reviewed by the Associate Dean of Students or designee. University Judicial Board level disciplinary conferences or hearings with sanctions resulting in expulsion from the University will be reviewed by the Dean of Student Affairs and Dean of Students or designee.

Appeals will be reviewed to determine its viability based on new information significantly altering the findings of fact. Failure to appeal within the allotted time or denial of the appeal will render the original decision final and conclusive. Decisions to grant or deny the appeal will be based on information supplied in the written appeal and, when necessary, on the record of the original proceedings. Findings and sanctions arising from new hearings or conferences are final and conclusive.

Judicial Record Expungement

For sanctions other than termination of housing contract, suspension, or expulsion, a student may apply to have their judicial history expunged after two years from the completion of all sanctions or in their semester of graduation. For details, contact of the Office of Judicial Affairs at (412)392-8029 or refer to the Office of Judicial Affairs portion of the Point Park University website.

Conflicts

In event of conflict between the terms of this Student Code of Conduct and any other provision of the Student Handbook, the terms of this Code shall govern.
All students are responsible for upholding all University policies and procedures.

This Student Code of Conduct and Procedural Guidelines may be changed at the discretion of the University