Staff members from the Department of Residential Life or the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution conduct administrative hearings. Administrative hearings are one-on-one meetings with the staff member and the charged student. Board hearings are held before the Student Conduct Hearing Board.

Participants in an Administrative Hearing

Charged student: Student charged with allegedly violating the standards listed in the Code of Student Conduct.

Hearing Administrator: Staff in either the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution or in the Department of Residential Life who resolves the disciplinary case, including meeting with the charged student.

Administrative Hearing Process

Filing a Complaint: Individuals who wish to pursue disciplinary charges against a student must file a written complaint with the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution. The complaint should be as detailed as possible, listing the individual charged as well as any witnesses. A Hearing Administrator will review the complaint to determine the most appropriate forum (Administrative Hearing or Student Conduct Board Hearing) to resolve the dispute.

Complainants/affected parties are encouraged to discuss their concerns with staff members of the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution and/or the Hearing Administrator. Every effort is made to provide complainants/affected parties with appropriate support services. Students who knowingly file a false complaint may be subject to disciplinary action.

The Hearing: During an Administrative Hearing, the charged student meets one-on-one with a Hearing Administrator. These meetings are designed to be educational, with the Hearing Administrator sharing the written documentation that formed the basis of the disciplinary charge(s). The Hearing Administrator opens a dialogue with the charged student by asking questions related to the incident and his or her understanding of community standards and University policy.

The Hearing Administrator weighs all the information presented and makes a determination based on the preponderance of the evidence. In other words, the Hearing Administrator determines whether it is more likely than not that the charged student violated the Code of Student Conduct.

Decisions are provided in written form and emailed through a secure database to the students NEU email account.