Navigating the Individual Conduct Process
The Conduct Process
Anyone can report alleged misconduct to Student Conduct and Community Standards (SCCS). SCCS receives reports from students, faculty, staff, parents, university offices, and the public about incidents that may violate KU policies. Each report is assessed for potential policy violations and legitimacy. Then the report is evaluated to determine the best resolution process. Resolution processes include conversation-based procedures that vary in formality. Incidents that may not violate policies, but cause community or individual harm may be referred to conflict resolution services.
After a report is evaluated, students who may have violated KU policies are assigned a hearing officer. The hearing officer’s role is to conduct hearings, communicate with students, and decide if it is more likely than not that a KU policy has been violated. Hearing officers must act impartially throughout the process. Students are encouraged to reach out to their hearing officers with any questions.
Hearing officers initially contact students by using the program, Maxient to send a hearing notice letter to their official KU email. This email will be sent directly from the assigned hearing officer via the address "notifications@maxient.com." The email subject line will state, "Correspondence for Case <Student Name>".
The email directs students to an external page to “pick up” their letter by entering their KUID number, which includes an incident summary, student’s rights, alleged policy violations, and the scheduled hearing time. A hearing notice does not imply a student has been found responsible for a policy violation.
Please note that expulsion and suspension are rare process outcomes. Depending on the circumstances, first-time policy violation outcomes normally result in a written warning and educational interventions. If expulsion or suspension are potential outcomes for a case, it would be explicitly stated in the hearing notice.
Students have two opportunities to attend a hearing. A second hearing notice will be issued if a student misses their first hearing.
During an administrative informal hearing, students are invited to engage in a nonjudgmental one-on-one conversation with their hearing officer. Throughout the meeting, hearing officers aim to understand the student’s perspective, gather information about the incident, and discuss potential outcomes focused on support and education. Hearing officers provide opportunities for students to ask questions and ensure they understand their rights.
Formal hearings follow a similar philosophy to informal administrative hearings. A formal hearing is conducted with a student, faculty, and staff panel instead of a single hearing officer. The formal resolution process is utilized for cases that may result in suspension of expulsion from KU.
Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with their rights before a hearing to ensure they understand support resources and process expectations. Students have many rights during all conduct processes.
Student Rights
1. Present their version of the events in question.
2. Be accompanied by up to three advisor(s).
3. Have witnesses present information, in writing or in person, on their or its behalf.
4. Not participate or answer questions in a hearing.
5. Question any statements presented (directly or indirectly).
6. The hearing officer/body be disinterested and able to act impartially.
7. Appeal the outcome of the hearing.
8. Receive advance notice of the alleged violation(s), a general summary of the complaint, who to contact for a meeting, and the date by which that contact must occur.
After a hearing or 10 business days preceding the second missed hearing appointment, students are issued an outcome letter to their official university email. The letter includes an incident summary, findings rationale, sanctions (if applicable), and appeal information.
If a decision is made that the student disagrees with, they have the right to appeal. The process is outlined in the outcome letter. An appeal is defined as a review of the original case. This may involve a review of the decision as recorded on paper, or other procedures. During an appeal, the burden is placed on the appealing student to demonstrate why the finding or sanction should be changed.
Anyone can report alleged misconduct to Student Conduct and Community Standards (SCCS). SCCS receives reports from students, faculty, staff, parents, university offices, and the public about incidents that may violate KU policies. Each report is assessed for potential policy violations and legitimacy. Then the report is evaluated to determine the best resolution process. Resolution processes include conversation-based procedures that vary in formality. Incidents that may not violate policies, but cause community or individual harm may be referred to conflict resolution services.
After a report is evaluated, students who may have violated KU policies are assigned a hearing officer. The hearing officer’s role is to conduct hearings, communicate with students, and decide if it is more likely than not that a KU policy has been violated. Hearing officers must act impartially throughout the process. Students are encouraged to reach out to their hearing officers with any questions.
Hearing officers initially contact students by using the program, Maxient to send a hearing notice letter to their official KU email. This email will be sent directly from the assigned hearing officer via the address "notifications@maxient.com." The email subject line will state, "Correspondence for Case <Student Name>".
The email directs students to an external page to “pick up” their letter by entering their KUID number, which includes an incident summary, student’s rights, alleged policy violations, and the scheduled hearing time. A hearing notice does not imply a student has been found responsible for a policy violation.
Please note that expulsion and suspension are rare process outcomes. Depending on the circumstances, first-time policy violation outcomes normally result in a written warning and educational interventions. If expulsion or suspension are potential outcomes for a case, it would be explicitly stated in the hearing notice.
Students have two opportunities to attend a hearing. A second hearing notice will be issued if a student misses their first hearing.
During an administrative informal hearing, students are invited to engage in a nonjudgmental one-on-one conversation with their hearing officer. Throughout the meeting, hearing officers aim to understand the student’s perspective, gather information about the incident, and discuss potential outcomes focused on support and education. Hearing officers provide opportunities for students to ask questions and ensure they understand their rights.
Formal hearings follow a similar philosophy to informal administrative hearings. A formal hearing is conducted with a student, faculty, and staff panel instead of a single hearing officer. The formal resolution process is utilized for cases that may result in suspension of expulsion from KU.
Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with their rights before a hearing to ensure they understand support resources and process expectations. Students have many rights during all conduct processes.
Student Rights
1. Present their version of the events in question.
2. Be accompanied by up to three advisor(s).
3. Have witnesses present information, in writing or in person, on their or its behalf.
4. Not participate or answer questions in a hearing.
5. Question any statements presented (directly or indirectly).
6. The hearing officer/body be disinterested and able to act impartially.
7. Appeal the outcome of the hearing.
8. Receive advance notice of the alleged violation(s), a general summary of the complaint, who to contact for a meeting, and the date by which that contact must occur.
After a hearing or 10 business days preceding the second missed hearing appointment, students are issued an outcome letter to their official university email. The letter includes an incident summary, findings rationale, sanctions (if applicable), and appeal information.
If a decision is made that the student disagrees with, they have the right to appeal. The process is outlined in the outcome letter. An appeal is defined as a review of the original case. This may involve a review of the decision as recorded on paper, or other procedures. During an appeal, the burden is placed on the appealing student to demonstrate why the finding or sanction should be changed.
Additional Processes
Following an Office of Civil Rights and Title IX (OCTRIX) investigation, OCRTIX may inform Student Conduct and Community Standards of the results. If the investigation indicates that a student may have violated university policies, Student Conduct and Community Standards coordinates a hearing to resolve the charges and issue sanctions. Please visit the OCRTIX website to learn more about their investigation process and reporting procedures.
Housing and Residence Life staff also serve as hearing officers for the administrative informal conduct process when a student violates the Housing and Residence Life Handbook. All hearing officers follow the same administrative informal procedures.
The University abides by an Amnesty Policy focused on prioritizing the health and safety of our community. KU students seeking immediate medical assistance on behalf of persons experiencing drug- or alcohol-related emergencies will not be sanctioned for violations of University and/or Department of Student Housing drug- or alcohol-related policies for their first incident.
When an incident occurs that may fall within the Amnesty Policy, students are still expected to participate in the misconduct process. If a Hearing Officer determines that the facts of the case meet the standards of the Amnesty Policy, Hearing Officers connect students to support resources which may include the completion of educational interventions. While SCCS will maintain a record of the incident, students are not considered to have a disciplinary record.