Disciplinary Procedures

All alleged offences will be dealt with by the Disciplinary Committee, as hereinafter provided, which is empowered to investigate all alleged offences and to issue findings thereon. Subject to appeal, as set out below, the findings of the Disciplinary Committee in relation to offences shall be final; its reports and findings shall, however, be submitted to the Registrar, the Director of Student Services and the President.
There shall be an Appeal Committee whose function will be to deal with appeals against the findings of the Disciplinary Committee in relation to alleged offences. The provisions in Section 6.6 set the procedure to be followed in cases of an Appeal.

Composition of Disciplinary Committee

The University shall establish a pool of seven (7) committee members. All members of the Disciplinary Committee shall be appointed at the discretion of the President. The Committee members shall include the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee who is a faculty member, three (3) other faculty members, one (1) staff member and two (2) representatives of the Student Representative Council.
For the purposes of a major offence, the Disciplinary Committee can convene the hearing with a quorum of any five (5) committee members. For the purposes of a minor offence, the Disciplinary Committee can convene the hearing with a quorum of any three (3) committee members to be appointed at the discretion of the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, provided that there is no more than one (1) member of the Student Representative Council. If for any reason, any of the Committee members are unable to attend, the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee or his nominee, shall appoint any other member to sit in the absentee’s place.
The Disciplinary Committee may conduct any necessary investigation when an allegation of misconduct is alleged.
If, any member of the Disciplinary Committee or the Appeal Committee other than the President, or his nominee, is found to be implicated in any aspect of the case under review, the President or his nominee shall nominate, on ad hoc basis, a substitute member with full membership rights for the duration of the case.

Process of Misconduct Proceedings

A complaint can be filed by another student, by a faculty or staff member to the Registrar’s, or to the Director of Student Services, or to the President of his/her designee. The matter may be referred to the Disciplinary Committee by the President or his/her designee.

Where an offence of misconduct is alleged, the Disciplinary Committee shall investigate and decide whether or not there is a case for the student or students concerned to answer. The process of investigation and evidence-gathering may involve interviewing suspects and witnesses. A student who is the subject of an investigation has the right to be informed, in writing, what offence he or she is suspected of having committed. He or she has the right not to answer any question (however, such silence will be reported in any subsequent disciplinary hearing).

When their investigation is complete, the Disciplinary Committee can then decide on one of the following:

Whether it is a major or minor offence.
If the facts do not support a charge of misconduct under the Code. In this case, the Disciplinary Committee may find the student not in violation of the Code. The student will be informed in writing and that is the end of the matter.
If the Disciplinary Committee finds that an offence supports a charge under this Code, and the accused student accepts the findings. In this case, the accused student agrees to accept responsibility and the case moves to Disciplinary Sanctions (refer to Section 6.5).
If the Disciplinary Committee decides that an offence supports a charge under this Code, but the accused student disagrees. In this case, the accused student is charged with violation of the Code and the Disciplinary Committee will then summon each student concerned to a disciplinary hearing (procedure laid down in Section 6.4).
The number of committee members responsible for adjudicating disciplinary cases differs according to the nature and seriousness of the alleged offence, i.e.; whether it is a major offence or a minor offence as explained in Section 5 above.

The student defendant always has the following statutory rights:

To know which Section of the Code he or she is accused of breaching, when and where;
To know the full evidence against him or her;
To be accompanied or represented (lawyer not required to make statements or remarks);
To call witnesses in defense;
To appeal against the outcome of proceedings.

When a hearing is requested, the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee shall:

Make arrangements for the hearing and shall notify the student of the time, date, and place of the hearing.
Unless the student requests otherwise, the hearing will be closed except to participants.
The student shall notify the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee in advance of the hearing if the student desires the hearing to be public.

The purpose of the hearing is to:

Allow the Disciplinary Committee members to judge whether a violation of regulations of the Code has occurred and to recommend the appropriate action to be taken.
Provide students with institutional due process and to provide an atmosphere in which students can both learn and practice rules and procedures of responsible social conduct.
Apply in practice those principles and rules of justice and civic responsibility.
Prior to the hearing, the accused student, as well as any witnesses, may meet any two (2) members of the Disciplinary Committee to answer any questions.

Temporary Suspension

In extreme cases where the action of a student or group of students poses an immediate threat to the well-being of the University, or there is substantial evidence that the continued presence of the student(s) on the campus shall disrupt the University, the President of the University may temporarily suspend the student(s). After a determination by the President that the student’s (s’) presence no longer poses an immediate threat, the student(s) shall be restored to good standing pending a hearing by the Disciplinary Committee.

Procedure at Disciplinary Hearing

The circumstance which results in a hearing before the Disciplinary Committee is the referral by the Director of Student Services of a situation involving disciplinary action upon the student involved. The Chair of the Disciplinary Committee shall preside over the hearing and shall rule on the admissibility of evidence which may include hearsay, and on all other questions regarding the conduct of the hearing.
The appropriate hearing procedure is for the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee (or any other committee member who had full disclosure and an opportunity to present the case) to present a narration of the facts in the situation and specify any action they have recommended.
Points involved in such hearings traditionally have been classified as
- Issues of fact (Did a certain incident occur? Was the student involved in the incident?),
- Issues related to the nature or character of the incident (Was it an accidental, careless, or intentional action? Was it spontaneous, or premeditated? Were there justifiable reasons or extenuating circumstances?),
- Issues of degree or extent (Was it minor, moderate, or major?), and
- Issues of jurisdiction (Does the administration have jurisdiction over the incident and the persons involved?). That is, if the situation is the subject of a criminal investigation.
During the hearing, all evidence of the alleged misconduct will be reviewed by the Disciplinary Committee. All cases are decided on the ‘civil standard’ of proof (i.e. the balance of probabilities) – more likely than not based on the evidence the alleged misconduct did occur.
The accused student has the opportunity to ask questions, introduce witnesses or additional evidence and provide his or her own statement of facts.
After the Disciplinary Committee has reviewed all the evidence a decision must be made as to whether or not the accused student is responsible for the alleged misconduct and thus in violation of the Code.
The hearing can lead to one of two (3) outcomes:

The accused student is found not responsible. This concludes the case.
The accused student is found responsible. This moves to Disciplinary Sanctions (refer to Section 6.5).
The matter is found to be outside the jurisdiction of the University then President and the UCCI Board of Governors shall provide appropriate directive.

If the accused student fails to attend the hearing, for any reason, the Disciplinary Committee may, nevertheless, proceed to a finding. The student must however be notified of the Disciplinary Committee’s decision either by hand or by mail. If the notification of the decision is sent by mail, the said notification would be deemed delivered after 14 days from the date of postage.
At the hearing, the student is entitled to:

Present witnesses, to cross-examine witnesses who appear, and
Examine all evidence presented to the Committee.
The student then specifies the precise point at issue (the issue of fact, character, extent, or jurisdiction which occasions this hearing).

After the point at issue is specified,

The Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, assuming the burden of proof, presents its position.
It may present whatever relevant evidence, testimony, explanation, or argument it feels appropriate.
After presentation of the student affairs’ position, the student may present whatever relevant evidence, testimony, explanation, or argument the student feels appropriate.
Members of the Disciplinary Committee may ask questions to clarify issues at whatever point they feel necessary; however, such questions should not interrupt a speaker during the presentation unless the questions are essential.
All participants may ask questions after the initial presentations are made.

After all relevant matters have been placed before the committee,

It shall deliberate in closed session and render a decision.
The Chair of the Disciplinary Committee shall forward to the Registrar a written report of the decision and the reasons thereof.
The Registrar will report the decision of the hearing committee in a letter to the student and inform him or her of right to appeal to the Appeal Committee or the President on or before a specified date.
If no written choice is received within the time specified and the Office of the Registrar does not call for a review by the President, the action proposed shall be imposed and the disposition shall be considered final.

Disciplinary Sanctions

If the student accepts responsibility or is found in violation of the Code after the hearing, the Disciplinary Committee must decide on the most appropriate sanction(s).

Impose a fine of any size
Order the student to pay compensation to any person or body suffering injury, damage or loss as a result of his or her conduct
Suspend the student from specified university premises or facilities for whatever period of time, or on whatever terms, it thinks fit.
Expel the student from membership of the University.

In relation to academic misconduct, the Disciplinary Committee may also impose one or more of the following:

Reduce a mark awarded to any piece of work
Award no mark to, or disregard, any piece of work
Substitute an alternative mark for any piece of work
Permit the student to re-sit an examination or re-submit a piece of work on such conditions as it thinks fit
Fail the student in the examination or part of the examination concerned