Washington Administrative Code › Title 132U - Whatcom Community College › Chapter 132U-126 - Student rights and responsibilities policy › Section 132U-126-045 - Initiation of disciplinary action

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
			 All disciplinary actions will be initiated by the student conduct officer in
			 response to a report filed by any college community member. A complaint should
			 be made in writing to the office of community standards. Additionally,
			 information received from any source (police report, third party, electronic,
			 etc.) may be considered as a complaint. If that officer is the subject of a
			 complaint initiated by the respondent, the president shall, upon request and
			 when feasible, designate another person to fulfill any such disciplinary
			 responsibilities relative to the complaint. All complaints of sexual misconduct
			 will be reviewed by the Title IX coordinator or designee to determine whether
			 the complaint is a violation of chapter 132U-305 WAC or the student code of
			 conduct.
(2) The student conduct
			 officer or designee shall initiate disciplinary action by serving the
			 respondent with written notice directing them to attend a disciplinary meeting.
			 The notice shall briefly describe the factual allegations, the provision(s) of
			 the conduct code the respondent is alleged to have violated, the range of
			 possible sanctions for the alleged violation(s), and specify the time and
			 location of the meeting. At the meeting, the student conduct officer will
			 present the allegations to the respondent and the respondent shall be afforded
			 an opportunity to explain what took place. If the respondent fails to attend
			 the meeting after proper service of notice, the student conduct officer may
			 take disciplinary action based upon the available information.
(3) The student conduct officer or designee,
			 prior to taking disciplinary action in a case involving allegations of sexual
			 misconduct, will make a reasonable effort to contact the complainant to discuss
			 the results of the investigation and possible sanctions and/or conditions, if
			 any, that may be imposed upon the respondent if the allegations of sexual
			 misconduct are found to have merit.
(4) Within ten business days of the initial
			 disciplinary meeting, and after considering the evidence in the case, including
			 any facts or argument presented by the respondent, the student conduct officer
			 or designee shall serve the respondent with a written decision setting forth
			 the facts and conclusions supporting their decision, the specific student
			 conduct code provisions found to have been violated, the sanction imposed, if
			 any, and a notice of any appeal rights with an explanation of the consequences
			 of failing to file a timely appeal.
(5) The student conduct officer may take any
			 of the following disciplinary actions:
(a)
			 Exonerate the respondent and terminate the proceedings.
(b) Impose a disciplinary sanction(s), as
			 described in WAC 132U-125-035.
(c)
			 Refer the matter directly to the student conduct committee for such
			 disciplinary action, as the committee deems appropriate. Such referral shall be
			 in writing, to the attention of the chair of the student conduct committee,
			 with a copy served on the respondent.