Appeals

Any student conduct determination resulting in suspension or expulsion from the college may be appealed by the respondent to the vice president of student services.  The appeal must be sent in writing to the office of the vice president of student services.  The appeal must be received by the office of the vice president of student services within seven business days after the notice of suspension or expulsion was delivered to the student’s HCC email address.

The vice president of student services will act on appeals based upon the report filed by the hearing committee chairperson, the student’s written brief, and any written response or memorandum prepared by college officials.  All written materials considered by the vice president of student services will be subject to inspection, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.  New evidentiary hearings will not be conducted in appeal. The decision of the vice president of student services is final.

The following standards will apply when appeals are considered:

• Cases may be upheld if the standards for the appeal are not met.
• Sanctions may be reduced or removed if found to be substantially disproportionate to the offense.
• Cases may be remanded for rehearing only if specified procedural errors or errors in interpretation of college regulations were so substantial as to effectively deny the student a fair hearing, or if new and significant evidence became available that could not have been discovered by a properly diligent student before or during the original hearing.
• Cases may be dismissed if the finding is held to be unsupported by any evidence.

See the Sexual Misconduct policy for policies and procedures related to appeals for cases involving violations of the sexual misconduct policy.