VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

8. After excusing the accused and all witnesses, the chair will stop the recording for deliberations of the Council. 9. The Council shall discuss the case until all members present are satisfied that the case is fully vetted. 10. The Chair will poll the members present with the following questions: a. Do you believe the accused is guilty of the suspected violation? i. HCC members shall vote “yes” only if they believe there is a preponderance of reasonable evidence to support the accusation. HCC members shall vote “no” if they cannot reach this conclusion. a.) If greater than 50% of the votes indicate that the HCC believes the accused to be not guilty of the suspected violation, the HCC will recommend the following: “No offense has occurred, and no action is recommended.” b.) If greater than 50 % of the votes indicate the HCC believes the accused to be guilty of the suspected violation, the HCC shall vote “Yes, a preponderance of reasonable evidence supports that a violation of the HCC has occurred”. c.) If a determination cannot be made the HCC votes “Not enough evidence exists for the HCC to make the determination of guilty or not guilty”. In this situation, the case is referred back to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. 11. If the HCC determines the accused to be guilty, the Chair will accept a motion and a second to the motion to classify the offense as a Class I Minor Offense, Class II Offense (includes a Repeated Offense), or a Class III offense. a. The HCC shall make sanction recommendations to the Campus Dean for students found guilty of Class I offenses. b. Class II or Class III offenses are referred to the Campus Dean for his/her determination of action. F. Finalization and Notification . The Chair will review the recommendation with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs to assure that it aligns with College Policy. The Chair will then revise or submit the final recommendation to the Campus Dean. 1. The Campus Dean will accept the finding of guilty or not guilty and/or determine a need for further referral. 2. The Campus Dean will meet with the accused and provide a letter outlining all sanctions recommended by the Council on all Class I offenses and those that will be imposed by the Campus Dean. G. All proceedings and sanctions shall be confidential and shall be enforced by the administration only. H. The entire proceedings from accusation to hearing recommendations must not exceed 8 calendar weeks. School breaks and holidays are not included in the time computation. Classification of Offenses and Sanctions The HCC ranks violations according to class so as to help maintain consistency. The HCC recognizes the following classifications and recommended sanctions: A. Class I Offense 1. Type of offense: Minor offense that does not include cheating. 2. Recommended sanctions: HCC education on offense, directives on how to correct behaviors,

and/or college or community service as assigned by the Campus Dean. 3. The Campus Dean may add sanctions as he or she deems necessary.

B. Class II Offense 1. Type of offense: Significant offense, including but not limited to cheating, unprofessional behavior in a professional environment (clinical or mission trip), unprofessional behavior toward

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