The following steps are taken in the hearing process:

1. An incident report is filed with the Associate Director, Student Affairs.
   • If you need to report a breach of the Code of Conduct, please contact Campus Security at ext. 4300.
2. At the discretion of the Associate Director, Student Affairs, the incident may be deemed appropriate for a hearing with the Student Conduct Council, or for Restorative Justice proceedings.
3. The accused student will receive an email containing a letter that outlines:
   • the alleged breach(es) of the Student Code of Conduct,
   • the date and time of the hearing that provides reasonable notice. In most cases, the student will receive notification of a hearing within ten working days of the alleged incident, and at least five working days prior to the scheduled hearing.
   • a copy of the Student Code of Conduct,
   • contact information for the Students Ombudsperson, and
   • an opportunity to view the incident report.
4. Students are permitted to have one person acting in support at a hearing in addition to the Ombudsperson, who may also act as an advisor for the student at a hearing. Support persons may not participate in the hearing unless they are also a witness.
5. Students may bring witnesses if the person has direct knowledge of the incident. Witnesses will be only be present for their testimony and questions from the Student Conduct Council.
6. The accused will be given the opportunity to view the incident report and respond before the conclusion of the hearing.
7. The accused will leave the room while the Student Conduct Council deliberates. After a decision has been reached, the accused student will be invited back into the room and informed of the decision.
8. The Student Conduct Council shall seek consensus on the validity of an allegation and on appropriate outcomes. Student Conduct Council members may not abstain from a vote on appropriate outcomes.
9. Recommendations of the Student Conduct Council will be implemented at the discretion of the Associate Director, Student Affairs, or Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Students (or designate).
10. The student shall be notified after deliberations regarding the decision, any outcomes to complete, and the appeal procedure.
11. If a student fails to appear for a hearing, the hearing will be conducted in his/her absence. Normally, the student will be sent notification of the outcome of the hearing within five working days. Failure to appear is not a legitimate ground for appeal.

Students may appeal outcomes from the Student Affairs office to the Director, Student Life and Success under the following circumstances:

1. where evidence emerges that was not available to a party at the time of the original hearing,
2. there was clear evidence of bias, or
3. where the disciplinary procedures were not followed, and where the outcome of the case at the original hearing was substantially affected thereby.

Appealing Outcomes Applied by the Student Affairs Office

1. Students may appeal to the Director, Student Life and Success (or designate) any outcomes applied by the Student Conduct Council or the Associate Director, Student Affairs.
2. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Director, Student Life and Success (or designate) within 10 working days of the initial hearing. The writing can be directed to bclarke@brocku.ca.
3. The writing must include the basis for appeal as listed in Section 7.5 of the Code.
4. The Director, Student Life and Success (or designate) will decide within 10 business days, or as soon as practicable, upon receipt of the written appeal if sufficient grounds exist. If sufficient grounds for the appeal exist, an appeal hearing date will be established.
5. The Director, Student Life and Success (or designate) may further investigate the matter prior to the appeal hearing.
6. Students are permitted to have one person acting in support at a hearing in addition to the Ombudsperson, who may also act as an advisor for the student at a hearing. Support persons may not participate in the hearing. Attorneys are not permitted at this level of appeal.
7. The Director, Student Life and Success may invite the Associate Director, Student Affairs or other persons to the hearing.
8. At the outset of the appeal hearing, the accused student must demonstrate which ground for appeal was breached and provide rationale to support their claim.
9. The Director, Student Life and Success may ask questions of the accused student, or any other persons in the hearing.
10. The Director, Student Life and Success will issue a decision within 10 working days of the hearing.
11. The Director, Student Life and Success (or designate) may uphold, reduce or overturn the outcome.
12. The decision of the Director, Student Life and Success (or designate) is final.

Appealing Outcomes Applied by the Vice Provost

Outcomes applied by the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Students to suspend, expel or exclude a student from areas of the campus may be appealed to the Non-Academic Appeal Board.

1. Within 10 working days of the student having received notification from the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Students of a suspension, expulsion, or exclusion from areas on campus, the student may notify the Provost and Vice-President, Academic of their intent to appeal.
2. The Provost and Vice-President, Academic shall establish a Non-Academic Appeal Board hearing panel and notify all parties of the hearing date.
3. The University Appeal Board will consist of the Vice-President Academic (Chair), a person appointed by the President of the Brock University Students’ Union or Graduate Students’ Association, and a representative of the Human Rights and Equity Office.
4. The University Appeal Board must receive a list of witnesses and any other evidence in advance of the hearing. Failure to furnish the University Appeal Board with this information 24 hours in advance of the hearing may disqualify the witness(es) or the evidence.
5. The student may bring a support person that will not be active during the hearing. The student may bring a lawyer to represent their interests.
6. The Associate Director, Student Affairs will open the hearing with an overview of the incident, the procedures followed in advance of the appeal hearing, and any other relevant evidence.
7. The accused student may ask questions of the Associate Director, Student Affairs.
8. The Associate Director, Student Affairs may invite witnesses to answer questions which will be followed by questions from the accused student.
9. The accused student will be afforded time to speak in their defense before calling any witnesses for questioning by both parties.
10. The University Appeal Board may ask questions of any person, at any time.
11. When satisfied that all relevant information has been shared, the Provost and Vice-President, Academic will close the hearing.
12. The University Appeal Board will issue a decision within 10 business days of the hearing. This decision is final.

Call Campus security so they can deal with the situation. Campus security can be contacted at extension 4300 during business hours or extension 3200 for after hours.

You will be notified of another panel under section 20 on the Student Code of Conduct: Failure to Comply.  Automatically all outcomes will be doubled.  The panel may add on more outcomes.

Only if you are suspended or expelled from the university is there a record on your transcripts about your conduct hearing.

Yes. Brock has a Code of Conduct that all students must adhere to and this operates separately from other judicial systems.

You are allowed one support person. This person can be a friend or family member. This person is to act solely as a support person and not as an active participant in the hearing, thus they will not address the panel nor will the panel address them. You cannot bring a lawyer to your hearing. You may, however bring a lawyer to your appeal of a suspension, expulsion or exclusion from any University facilities.

Student Affairs will not release details about your case with anyone other than yourself. Your file is confidential and will be destroyed four years after the date of the incident. If you wish your parents or another person to know about the case, you may sign a release of information.

General probation means that if during your period of probation you are found responsible for any further violations of the Student Code of Conduct, your sanctions will be increased.