Appeal Procedure

3.5 Appeals

Upon the conclusion of either the Informal Meeting Resolution or the Formal Meeting Resolution, the sanctioned student may appeal the decision established by the Student Conduct Officer or the Conduct Hearing Panel. The appeal process is as follows:

3.5.1 Appeals are to be filed in writing with the Vice President of Student Affairs within five (5) business days of the decision.

3.5.2. Appeal requests are limited to the following grounds:

i.          To consider new evidence, unavailable during the original investigation, that could substantially impact the original finding or sanction. A summary of this new evidence and its potential impact must be included.

ii.         A procedural or substantive error occurred that significantly impacted the outcome of the decision. The specific error(s) alleged to have occurred must be identified in the appeal request.

iii.        The sanctions imposed are substantially outside of the guidelines set by Chattahoochee Technical College for this type of offense or the cumulative conduct record of the sanctioned student.

3.5.3 All appeals are reviewed by the Vice President of Student Affairs. A decision concerning said appeal shall be made no less than five (5) business days and no more than fifteen (15) business days from the date the student requests the appeal. All decisions established by the Vice President of Student Affairs are final.

3.5.4 The Vice President of Student Affairs may decide on one of the following as a result of the appeal request.

i.          Uphold the decision of the hearing panel or the Conduct Officer. In this instance the case will not be reheard or modified and the original decision and sanctions stand.

ii          Uphold but modify. In this instance the Vice President of Student Affairs may elect to uphold the decision established by the hearing panel but modify the sanctions imposed.

iii.        Appeal granted. The Vice President may determine that either insufficient due process was given to the individual, new evidence unknown at the time of the hearing or evidence that was not considered may make a difference in the decision process and therefore the initial decision is vacated and the violation is returned to a hearing panel for a new hearing.