20.2.4 Adjudication Process
20.2.4.1 Student Rights
20.2.4.2 Autonomous Process 
20.2.4.3 Honor Council Proceedings 
20.2.4.4 Appeals Process

20.2.4.1  STUDENT RIGHTS 

 
All charges shall be presented to the accused student in written form. The accused student will be given at least 3 university business days to prepare for Honor Council proceedings. In all Honor Council proceedings, the accused student shall be presumed not responsible until it is proven that a violation of the university rules occurred by a preponderance of the information standard.
 
Honor Council proceedings which may result in university mandated separation from the university shall be conducted by the following guidelines. Accused students subject to less severe sanctions may, at the discretion of the Director of the Aggie Honor System Office, be afforded but are not guaranteed the same guidelines. These guidelines are as follows:
 

1. Honor Council proceedings typically shall be conducted in private and may involve joint conferences where two or more students are charged in the same fact pattern.
2. In Honor Council proceedings involving more than one accused student, the Director of the Aggie Honor System Office or that individual’s designee may permit the Honor Council proceedings concerning each student to be conducted either separately or jointly.
3. There will be no finding of responsibility solely because a student remains silent during an Honor Council proceeding.
4. The accused student has the opportunity to be assisted by an advisor of their choice, at their own expense. Students who are charged in the same fact pattern, or who are not in good standing with the university, are not eligible to serve as an advisor at Honor Council proceedings. The advisor may not be a witness or otherwise have any conflicting role in the process. The accused student is responsible for presenting their own information. Therefore, a student should select as an advisor a person whose schedule allows attendance at the scheduled date and time for the Honor Council Proceedings. Honor Council Proceedings will not typically be delayed due to scheduling conflicts of an advisor. There is no restriction on who a student may consult or seek advice from the restriction pertains to the proceedings only.
5. The accused student and their advisor, if any, shall be allowed to attend the entire portion of the Honor Council proceedings at which information is received (excluding deliberations) provided the accused student and their advisor appear at the designated time and do not inhibit the proceeding. Admission of any other person to the Honor Council proceeding shall be at the discretion of the Director of the Aggie Honor System Office or designee.
6. The reporting party/parties who initiated the report shall be allowed to attend the entire portion of the Honor Council proceedings at which information is received (excluding deliberations) provided they appear at the designated time and do not inhibit the proceedings.  If the reporting party/parties are not available at the scheduled time, they may submit a written statement detailing facts, classroom procedures, preferred sanctions, and any other information relevant to determination of responsibility and sanctions.
7. The accused student and the Director of the Aggie Honor System Office may arrange for witnesses to present factual, relevant information to the Honor Council. Witnesses may provide this information to and answer questions from the Honor Council and accused student. 
8. Pertinent records, exhibits, student impact statements and other written statements may be accepted as information for consideration by an Honor Council at the discretion of the chairperson. Student impact statements and other documents determined at the discretion of the chairperson shall be reviewed by the Honor Council during the sanction phase only.
9. All procedural questions are subject to the final decision of the Director of the Aggie Honor System Office or their designee.
10. After the portion of the Honor Council Proceeding concludes in which all pertinent information has been received, the Honor Council shall deliberate in private to determine whether the accused student has violated each section of the Aggie Honor System Rules for which the student is charged.
11. The focus of inquiry in Honor Council proceedings shall be the determination of whether a violation of University rules occurred. In all initial Honor Council proceedings, the burden of proof shall rest with the Reporter of the violation, and said burden of proof shall be by a preponderance of the information. Preponderance of the information is defined as the greater weight and degree of credible information admitted in the conference. The Honor Council Panel’s determination shall be made on the basis of whether it is more likely than not that the accused student violated the Aggie Honor System Rule(s) for which they are charged.
12. There shall be a single verbatim record, such as a tape or digital recording, of all Honor Council proceedings. Deliberations shall not be recorded. The record shall be the property of the university.
13. If an accused student with notice, does not appear at an Honor Council Proceeding, the information in support of charges shall be presented, considered, and a decision may be made. The Director of the Aggie Honor System Office may also make reasonable accommodations to provide access for students with disabilities.

 
 
 
 

20.2.4.2  AUTONOMOUS PROCESS

Step 1
Upon encountering alleged academic misconduct, the instructor may engage the autonomous process or refer the case to the Honor Council. Under either option, a report must be filed with the Aggie Honor System Office.  Additionally, students may also choose to move a case from the autonomous process into the Honor Council process by selecting that option on their Student Response Form to the Aggie Honor System Office. Students choosing to move their case from the autonomous process into the Honor Council process should have significant, relevant information they believe the panel would utilize to draw a different conclusion than the original decision of the instructor. This information will be provided to the Aggie Honor System Office along with the Student Response Form.

Step 2
If the instructor engages the autonomous process, the instructor may meet with the Alleged Violator. In this meeting, the instructor shall inform the student of the charge(s) and give the student an opportunity to respond. If the allegations are delivered to the student in writing (on paper or email) in advance of the meeting, the space is to be designated a Concealed Carry Weapons Restricted Space. The Aggie Honor System Office’s process for requesting this designation is located at http://ccrr.tamu.edu. 

Alternatively, the instructor may notify the student of the allegation through email and the student may respond to the instructor through email. Prior to making a final decision as to whether academic misconduct occurred, the instructor should wait five (5) University business days for a response from the accused student. If the student responds within the five (5) university business days, the instructor will consider that information in determining if a violation occurred and what an appropriate sanction is for that behavior.  If the student expresses a desire to meet to discuss the allegation instead of responding through email, the instructor may accommodate this request and the meeting space will be designated as a Concealed Carry Weapons Restricted Space and a request for such a space must be submitted through http://ccrr.tamu.edu. 

If the student does not reciprocate contact or respond with additional information after five (5) university business days, the instructor will file the Honor Code Violation Report online autonomously with the notation “student was not available for a response” in the student response section. Reporters should be prepared to detail any attempts to contact the student and secure a response from them. If the student does not respond or reciprocate contact, skip to Step 5 of this process.

Step 3
During the meeting with the alleged violator, or after considering the response from the student through email, the instructor will determine if academic misconduct occurred. If no violation is found, the process concludes and no action is taken. If the instructor determines that there has been a violation of the Aggie Code of Honor, as demonstrated by a preponderance of the information, the instructor may either file the report autonomously following the steps below or file the report and refer the case to the Honor Council for adjudication. At any point and for any reason, an instructor may forward a case to the Honor Council for adjudication. 

Step 4
If the instructor determines that there has been a violation of the Aggie Code of Honor and wishes to engage the autonomous process, the instructor determines the severity of the Aggie Code of Honor violation and assesses a sanction using the sanction options provided by the Aggie Honor System rules. 

The instructor may impose the following sanctions, which are fully described in the Honor System Rules:

1. Academic Sanctions
2. Educational Sanctions

If, after meeting with the student and/or communicating with the student about the allegations through email, the instructor is still unsure of whether a violation has been committed, or is not comfortable with the sanctioning process, the case can be filed online through the violation report process and forwarded to the Honor Council for adjudication as soon as practicable, preferably within five (5) university business days.

If, in the opinion of the instructor, the violation is so egregious that it deserves a sanction of separation from the university, the case may be referred to the Honor Council for adjudication.

Step 5
Once an instructor determines that it is more likely than not that a violation occurred, based on the preponderance of the information standard, and the sanction is determined, a report will be filed with the Aggie Honor System Office. 

Step 6
Accused students will be contacted by the Aggie Honor System Office through their university email and informed of their rights and responsibilities by AHSO staff.  The student will fill out a student response form in order to respond to the charges, indicate their understanding of their rights in the process, and confirm their response to the instructor’s allegations. The student’s options are to:

1. Agree with the charges and the applicable sanction(s),
2. Indicate their agreement that a violation occurred but intention to appeal the sanction only through the Honor Council appeals process, or
3. Move the allegation into the Honor Council proceeding and provide significant, relevant information they believe a panel would utilize to reach a different conclusion than the original decision of the instructor.

Students will be informed of possible outcomes of each of these options.

Step 7
Once an instructor identifies potential academic misconduct, they have 10-business days to file a report with the Aggie honor System Office. The Director of the Aggie Honor System Office has the option of extending this deadline as determined to be appropriate.

20.2.4.3  HONOR COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS

The Aggie Honor System Office facilitates two processes that address allegations of academic misconduct through the Honor Council. These two proceedings are Honor Council conferences and Honor Council hearing panels. The Director of the Aggie Honor System Office or their designee shall determine which process the AHSO shall utilize in addressing an allegation within the jurisdiction of the Honor Council. 
 
 The Honor Council hearing panel process shall be utilized only when it is determined that the accused student has a previous finding of responsibility for academic misconduct on file with the AHSO or the Director or their designee determines the alleged behavior is particularly egregious and warrants consideration of suspension or expulsion from the university.


Honor Council Conference

 Step 1
A student or instructor may call the Aggie Honor System Office staff for clarification of alleged academic misconduct. If the student or instructor (hereinafter referred to as the “reporting party”) decides an alleged violation may have occurred, the Honor Code Violation Report form found on the Honor System website is completed. This report becomes a part of the case file. The reporting party shall file the Honor Code violation report online with the AHSO no later than 10 university business days or as soon as practicable. 
  
 Step 2
 AHSO staff confirms the accused student does not have a previous finding of responsibility for academic misconduct on file. If the accused student has a previous finding of responsibility for academic misconduct, the case must move through the Honor Council hearing panel. 
 
 Step 3
 The AHSO appoints an Academic Integrity Administrator (AIA) to facilitate the case. Accused students are directed to arrange a first-contact meeting with this staff member or otherwise familiarize themselves with the Honor Council conference process. The accused student is advised of the charges they are initially facing, their rights as an accused student, and the process moving forward. Students are also notified that they may be assisted by an advisor, consistent with 20.2.4.1 during the Honor Council conference. 
 
 Step 4
 The AIA gathers information from involved parties and creates the case file. Any information an accused student or reporting party wishes to be included in the case file for consideration during the Honor Council conference shall be provided to the AHSO at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled start time of the Honor Council conference. Any information from any party not provided at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled start time of the Honor Council conference may be accepted for consideration at the discretion of the chair of the Honor Council conference.
 
 Step 5
 The AHSO schedules an Honor Council conference. The panel shall include a chair and three Honor Council members. The chair shall be an instructor, student, or non-AHSO staff member responsible for facilitating the Honor Council conference and shall not vote in any part of the proceedings. Voting Honor Council members shall be selected from the available pool for the scheduled conference. The reporting party, witnesses with first-hand knowledge of the incident, and the accused student may also be invited to the Honor Council conference. If the panel members determine that additional charges should be considered, then this information will be provided to the accused student in the conference and the accused student will be allowed to respond, ask, and/or answer questions. When the chair determines each participant has had an opportunity to present their information and respond to questions, the conference will move into deliberations. The Honor Council members will deliberate in private and determine, by a preponderance of the information, whether or not the accused student is responsible for a violation of the Aggie Code of Honor. 
 
 Step 6
 If the voting Honor Council members determine that a violation did NOT occur, the case is dismissed, and no sanctions are applied. If the student is found responsible for a violation, the voting members of the Honor Council conference may receive additional information that impacts the student's sanction(s). Voting members will deliberate in private and decide upon an appropriate sanction.
 
 The Honor Council conference process may not assign sanctions listed in 20.1.4.1 Separation from the university. All other sanctions may be assigned through the Honor Council conference process. 
 
 Step 7
 The Aggie Honor System Office notifies the accused student in writing via email of the Honor Council Conference outcome and the accused student's right to appeal as outlined below.


Honor Council Hearing Panel

Step 1
A student or instructor may call the Aggie Honor System staff for clarification of an alleged violation of the Aggie Code of Honor. If the student or instructor (hereinafter referred to as the “reporting party”) decides an alleged violation may have occurred, the Honor Code Violation Report form found on the Honor System website is completed. This report becomes a part of the case file.
 
Step 2
The reporting party shall file the Aggie Code of Honor Violation Report online with the AHSO no later than 10 university business days of the reporting party’s discovery of the alleged violation. Alternatively, the reporting party may provide details about the allegation to AHSO staff and an AHSO staff member may file the violation report directly. The Director of the ASHO may extend this deadline as determined to be appropriate. The Academic Integrity Administrator issues a case number when the report is filed in the AHSO, and the report data is entered in the Aggie Honor System Office database. The instructor may choose to engage the autonomous process, if it is determined by the AHSO that there are no previous violations for the student, or the instructor may choose to refer the case to the Honor Council. Instructors must report all violations, whether adjudicated autonomously or referred to the Honor Council.

Step 3

1. If the instructor engages the autonomous process, please see “AUTONOMOUS PROCESS” above.
2. If the reporting party refers the case to the Honor Council, the AHSO starts a case file and sends an email to the alleged violator notifying the individual of the report. 
3. A first-contact meeting is then arranged with the student. At the meeting the student is advised of the initial charges they are facing, their rights as an accused student, and the process moving forward. 

Step 4
The AHSO appoints one student and one faculty case investigator from the members of the Honor Council and schedules a meeting with the case investigators and the reporting party.

Step 5
The case investigators meet with the reporting party to gather information that supports the allegation, including the course syllabus, assignment guidelines, and any other materials that help clarify the case. The reporting party may offer the names of others who have knowledge that could clarify the case. It is critical that all communications remain confidential (until shared with the alleged violator later in the process). The case investigators may also meet with witnesses identified by the reporting party and accused student during this step.

Step 6
The case investigators organize the information for the charges identified. Case investigators confirm which charges the alleged violator will face during the Honor Council hearing panel.
 
Step 7
The case investigators write a report summarizing all interviews conducted. The official report will contain all information and documents collected. They send this report to the Academic Integrity Administrator. The report becomes a part of the case file. Both the reporting party and the alleged violator can review the case file before the hearing.

Step 8
The AHSO identifies four members of the Honor Council to serve as a hearing panel. The hearing panel is comprised of two student members and two faculty members. Three of these members are voting members. The fourth member is selected as a non-voting chair. The chair position may alternate between student and faculty Honor Council members as determined by the Director or designee.

Step 9
A hearing date and time are set by the AHSO. The chair and hearing panel members receive an advance copy of the case materials just prior to the case hearing to conduct a rudimentary preparation only. The AHSO will perform due diligence to ensure that no conflicts of interest exist during the selection of the hearing panel. However, at this point the hearing panel members inform the Director if there are any conflicts of interest. The case materials will not be shared or discussed among the hearing panel members prior to the beginning of the panel. The Case Hearing will be held at a specified time at a location disclosed only to the parties involved in the hearing. Any information an accused student or reporting party wishes to be included in the case file for consideration during the Honor Council hearing panel shall be provided to the AHSO at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled start time of the Honor Council hearing. Any information from any party not provided at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled start time of the Honor Council hearing may be accepted for consideration at the discretion of the chair of the Honor Council hearing.

Step 10
The AHSO furnishes a script for the hearing procedure to the chair of the Honor Council hearing panel. Hearing panel members receive information from all participants and the case file during the hearing. They then break to deliberate in private.

Step 11
During deliberations, hearing panel members first identify whether the student is or is not responsible for a violation of the Aggie Code of Honor. If the student is found responsible for a violation, then the hearing panel will return and provide this decision to the accused student.  The hearing panel receives any additional information on the record that may impact the student's sanction (including previous violations, if warranted), deliberates in private, and decides upon appropriate sanctions.

Step 12
The Aggie Honor System Office notifies the alleged violator in writing via email of the hearing panel decision. If the alleged violator is found in violation, directions for completing sanctions will be provided to the student in their decision letter.