Sexual Misconduct:
Reporting to the Dean of Students/
Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards 

When the Dean of Students (DOS), Assistant Dean of Students (ADOS) or both are notified about student sexual misconduct, they will initiate a meeting with the alleged victim. The purpose of this meeting is to begin a preliminary investigation, provide available resources, and work with the alleged victim to help them decide whether and how to press charges. Alleged victims may pursue a college conduct review which will lead to a student conduct hearing.

Student Conduct Hearings

If the alleged victim wants to proceed with a conduct hearing through the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, either a Level I or Level II conduct procedure may be followed. In most cases, the Dean of Students (DOS) or Assistant Dean of Students (ADOS) will work with the alleged victim to choose the level; however, the prior history of the accused student may affect the appropriate level of conduct review. The accused students’ prior conduct history will not be shared with the alleged victim or with members of the Student Conduct Board unless the accused student is found responsible. The Board will be apprised of any conduct history when making decisions about appropriate sanctions.

• In Level I reviews, the accused student is made aware of the charges and has a hearing with either the Dean of Students or ADOS; the alleged victim does not attend. If the accused student is found responsible, the student may be sanctioned with a warning, conduct probation or a deferred suspension.
• In Level II reviews, if the accused student is found responsible, this student may be sanctioned with any sanction available in a Level 1 review, but may also face suspension or dismissal from the college. Level II reviews are conducted by a 3 person Student Conduct Board comprised of a student, staff, and faculty member.  First, the accused student is made aware of the charges. A review is held before a Student Conduct Board to determine responsibility and witnesses can be called. For due process reasons, the alleged victim is required to participate in the review in some form (e.g., via phone conference, video conference, sitting in an adjacent room with a partition separating the victim and the accused) but is not required to be physically present in the same room and is not required to stay for the entire review, but may choose to stay. If an alleged victim declines to participate, a Level II hearing cannot be held. The alleged victim has the right to question the accused student but only through the Student Conduct Board Chair. An advisor (such as a supportive staff or faculty member or attorney, or the Deputy Title IX Coordinator) may accompany the alleged victim; the accused student has the same right. Alleged victims’ or accused students’ friends are not permitted to attend the review although they may be called as witnesses if they have first-hand knowledge of the misconduct or if they are serving as a character witness.

The preponderance of evidence standard will be used to determine the outcome of both level I and level II reviews.  Preponderance of the evidence means that the information presented shows that it is “more likely than not” that the accused student violated this policy.

Accused students who are found to have violated the Code of Conduct have the right to appeal the outcome of the hearing in accordance with College conduct appeal procedures. Alleged victims also have the right to appeal the outcome of a hearing. If either party chooses to appeal, they will have 5 days from notification of the decision to submit a letter stating why they are appealing. If only one party chooses to appeal, the other party will be notified and will have 5 days to provide written documentation regarding the decision. (See appeal section of Code of Conduct http://www.geneseo.edu/handbook/policies_procedures#Appeals.)

Possible Student Conduct Sanctions

A list of possible sanctions for both Level I and Level II proceedings can be found at:
http://www.geneseo.edu/handbook/policies_procedures#Sanctions