Wesleyan University

The Graduate Judicial Board (GJB) shall hear complaints against graduate students involving alleged violations of the Code of Non-Academic Conduct and the Honor Code. The proceedings of the GJB will be carried out in conformity with the Guidelines for University Disciplinary Proceedings.

B. Composition and Tenure

1. The voting membership of the GJB shall consist of five graduate students, each serving a one-year term.

2. The advisory committee of the GJB shall consist of the Director of Graduate Student Services, and the Director of Graduate Studies.

C. Jurisdiction

1. These rules are intended to cover both full-time and part-time graduate students. Any under-graduate, graduate student, faculty member, or member of the Administration may bring a complaint against a graduate student through the GJB.

2. The GJB shall be responsible for primary adjudication of all alleged violations by graduate students of the university's codes of conduct (see Section A) except those that require extraordinary administrative action according to criteria jointly established in advance by the Director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate Council. Extraordinary cases are: those which occur during vacations and recesses in which the person accused requests resolution prior to the time at which the Board can next be convened; emergency cases in which the Director of Graduate Student Services, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Programs, determines that an imminent and likely danger to persons or property requires the immediate, temporary suspension of an individual, pending a full, formal hearing of the Board to be held at the earliest opportunity; and cases in which the defendant admits responsibility and requests administrative disposition of the case, in which event the Director of Graduate Student Services shall consult with the Director of Graduate Studies.

3. In judicial matters the Board shall receive evidence, hear witnesses, determine guilt or innocence, and recommend sanctions to the Director of Graduate Student Services. The considered judgment of the GJB shall be taken by the Director of Graduate Student Services as a binding recommendation, to be modified only in extraordinary circumstances and with the approval of the Graduate Council.

4. Only the defendant may appeal an adverse decision of the GJB. Such an appeal is directed to the President, who, in consultation with the Graduate Council, shall establish such procedure for hearing appeals as he/she deems appropriate.

5. The GJB may require the cooperation of any member of the University community in furnishing testimony or evidence, except that no member of the University staff with whom an accused has entered into a confidential relationship can be required to give information arising from that relationship without the permission of the accused. Furthermore, the GJB shall excuse a witness if it concludes that by giving testimony the witness may be endangered.

6. Whenever the GJB considers it desirable to change the standards, structures, and procedures under which it operates, it shall propose such changes to the Director of Graduate Student Services, Director of Graduate Studies, and to the Graduate Council. Authority to enact such changes is vested in the President, who acts in consultation with the Graduate Council.

* By Trustee resolution, the President is responsible for establishing and implementing all policies governing student conduct "in consultation with the Faculty." For purposes of clarity, however, frequent reference will be made in this document to the Director of Graduate Student Services in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council, since each exercise much of the operational responsibility for implementing the policies.

D. Selection

1. The voting members of the GJB shall be selected from among the registered full-time graduate students of the University.

2. All five voting members shall be selected to one full academic year which includes both fall and spring semesters. Additional members may be selected to fill vacancies. They will serve for the duration of the unexpired term. Members of the GJB will be expected to participate in an orientation session.

3. Voting members shall be elected by the Graduate Student Association.

4. A voting member of the GJB may be removed from the Board, for cause, by the Graduate Council, according to procedures established by the Council. Complaints against a voting member of the GJB should be submitted to the Director of Graduate Student Services in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies for forwarding to the Graduate Council.

5. A member of the GJB may serve concurrently on the Graduate Council.

6. No advisory member of the GJB shall sit in the appeal of any case in which he/she participated in an earlier stage.

E. Officers

1. At the first meeting of the GJB each semester, the voting members shall elect a Chair.

2. The Chair shall receive complaints forwarded by the Director of Graduate Student Services in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. The Director of Graduate Student Services with the Chair’s assistance shall schedule the complaints for mediation or adjudication as appropriate. The Director of Graduate Student Services shall maintain records and shall handle correspondence for the GJB. The officers may request administrative support in the performance of their duties from the Director of Graduate Student Services and/or the Director of Graduate Programs.

F. Procedure

1. Complaints are to be submitted in writing to the Director of Graduate Student Services for transmittal to the GJB. The student charged with a violation will be notified promptly of the charge in writing, together with a statement of his/her rights and the procedures to be followed by the Board in addressing the charge.

2. Minor cases, defined as those that do not carry the potential for severe sanctions, may not require elaborate process. The Director of Graduate Student Services, in consultation with the Chair and in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, will determine whether a given case is minor when the charges are first submitted.

3. The GJB shall attempt to resolve cases by mediation prior to any formal adjudication. In order to permit the expeditious handling of cases in which mediation is feasible or of minor judicial matters, the GJB may, with approval of the Graduate Council, develop simplified procedures and may delegate the responsibilities for mediation or adjudication to one or more of its members.

4. Except as approved by the Director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate Council, all members of the GJB shall have an absolute obligation to treat as confidential all proceedings and decisions of the Board.

5. Three voting members of the GJB, at least one faculty advisor (preferably the Director of Graduate Programs), and the Director of Graduate Student Services must be present for the hearing of a case.

6. Any voting member who feels prejudiced in a given case shall disqualify himself/herself and shall be replaced by another voting member. The partiality of a voting member may be raised by the complainant of the defendant prior to the hearing.

7. Decision as to guilt or innocence and the determination of sanctions shall be by majority vote of the members voting.

8. All judicial hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the standards of fair process (see Sec. VI of the "Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students"). (It should be noted that an elaborate process is not necessary in minor cases-see Section F.1.) The defendant will not be compelled to testify against himself or herself and no inference of guilt or innocence will be drawn from a defendant's failure to testify. The defendant will be given an opportunity to testify and to present evidence and witnesses. The defendant will also have an opportunity to hear and question adverse witnesses. The complaint must be established by a fair preponderance of the evidence. The defendant may review documents and records concerning to the case filed with the Board, except for confidential educational and disciplinary records of others. In the absence of a transcript, there should be both a digest and a verbatim record, such as a tape recording, of the hearing.

9. Nonvoting advisory members shall have full voice but no vote in all judicial deliberations.

10. Sanctions employed by the GJB shall be drawn from a list of established sanctions approved in advance by the Director of Graduate Student Services and the Director of Graduate Studies.

11. The GJB shall inform the Director of Graduate Student Services and the Director of Graduate Studies when a faculty member brings a charge of violation of academic standards, the GJB shall inform the Director of Graduate Student Services and the Director of Studies of the sanction it deems appropriate. The Director of Graduate Student Services in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies shall implement the decision in the name of the University in cases involving the student's standing as a member of the University and in cases of violation of the Honor System.

12. The GJB shall maintain records in a manner approved by the Director of Graduate Student Services and the Graduate Council and shall adhere to such other procedures as the Directors and Graduate Council may, from time to time, establish.