A. Notice of Charge(s)
After the Honor Council receives a report of a suspected violation, the reported student will be informed in writing of the charge, including the name of the course and the assignment, and will be referred to the Honor Code and Procedures. The Notice of Charge(s) will include information about the available resolution options.
B. Advisors to Reported Students
- Permitted Advisors
Reported students have the right to select an advisor who meets the eligibility requirements, so long as that advisor is not involved as a reporting party, reported student, or witness in the case.
Advisors must be one of the following: a current undergraduate student at Emory University; a current faculty or staff member in Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Goizueta Business School, or Oxford College; or a current staff member in Campus Life. No student, faculty, or staff member will be required to serve as a student’s advisor.
Students may select an advisor of their own choosing, request that the Honor Council provide an advisor, or decline to have an advisor.
- Advisor Role
The role of the advisor is to provide advice and support to the reported student throughout their case. The advisor is not a direct advocate for the reported student, and therefore, may not address the Honor Council directly on the student’s behalf during meetings and hearings; nor may the advisor directly question witnesses. Students may request to speak to their advisor privately during any meeting or hearing of the Honor Council to confer about the case. Advisors who do not abide by these stipulations may be dismissed from the meeting or hearing. While the process will attempt to schedule all meetings and hearings at a time convenient for both the reported student and their advisor, meetings and hearings will not be delayed due to the unavailability of the advisor.
C. Attending Meetings of the Honor Council
Attendance at Honor Council investigation meetings, hearings, and informal resolution meetings is limited to following individuals:
- student members of the Honor Council;
- faculty members of the Honor Council;
- staff or administrators participating on informal resolution meetings or administrative hearing panels;
- the reporting party;
- the reported student and their advisor; and
- any witnesses as permitted by the Honor Council.
No other individuals are permitted to attend investigation meetings, hearings, and informal resolution meetings.
D. Evidence
Formal rules of evidence do not apply to Honor Council proceedings. The Honor Council will collect relevant evidence and present it to the reported student according to the procedures dictated by the resolution method. The Honor Council may collect evidence from the reporting party, the reported student, any witnesses, and any other individual or office that has relevant information. Reported students may also submit evidence directly to the Honor Council for consideration. Reported students will be able to review evidence prior to an informal resolution meeting, full hearing, or administrative hearing, but because of considerations around exam and assignment security, some materials may be available only for review with an Honor Council member or administrator present. Only evidence presented at the Honor Council informal resolution meetings, full hearings, or administrative hearings will be considered in reaching a decision.
E. Witnesses
The Honor Council may call on witnesses or use witness statements for investigations, hearings, and informal resolution meetings. A witness may include any individual believed to have knowledge relevant to the reported violation, but the Honor Council will not consider character witnesses.
Witnesses will testify without oath, but with the understanding of university policies applicable to their participation. In-person witness testimony is preferred, but the Honor Council at its discretion may allow written statements to be submitted by a witness.
F. Honor Council Proceedings
Honor Council hearings and informal resolution meetings will be fair and impartial. On a case-by-case basis, the Honor Council has broad discretion to consider and weigh information it deems relevant in its proceedings, in the form of documents, witness testimony or statements, and other forms of information. Neither reported students nor their advisors may cross-examine witnesses at any stage of the process. Rather, the reported student may request that the Honor Council ask specific questions of the reporting party and any witness. The Honor Council has discretion to determine whether the question is relevant and should be asked, to reframe the question as deemed appropriate, or to decline to ask the question based on irrelevance.
The student and faculty members of the Honor Council may attend hearings and informal resolution meetings either as deliberating members or as silent observers for the purposes of training.
G. Standard of Proof, Finding of Responsibility, and Sanctions
For a finding of an Honor Code violation, the Honor Council must determine by a unanimous vote of the hearing board that there is clear and convincing evidence of a violation. “Clear and convincing” evidence means that a particular fact or set of facts is substantially more likely to be true than not to be true. If the reported student is found responsible in a hearing or accepts responsibility in an informal resolution meeting, the Honor Council will recommend any sanctions by a majority vote.
H. Summary Report, Decision, and Notification of Outcome
After any Honor Council informal resolution meeting, full hearing, or administrative hearing, the Honor Council will promptly prepare a summary of the hearing or meeting. This summary will report information that the Honor Council considered in reaching its findings and will be submitted to the dean with the accompanying recommendation and all evidence considered by the Honor Council.
The dean may impose the recommended sanction or sanctions of greater or lesser severity. Absent extenuating circumstances, the dean must notify the student in writing of the decision within ten business days.