Appeal Procedures
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
The [Dean's] letter to the student [regarding determination of a violation] shall inform him or her that the decision and sanction may be appealed to the CAS Committee on Appeals by filing a written notice of appeal within ten days of the date of the letter of notification. The notice of appeal should state what is being appealed--whether the finding of academic dishonesty or the sanction imposed--and the grounds for the appeal. The letter should also state whether the student desires to present the appeal in person to the Committee. Any proposed sanctions shall not take effect until the appeal period has expired or until after a decision has been reached by the Committee on Appeals. If the appeal is not granted, the sanction imposed by the Associate Dean will be applied retroactively and, if necessary, current registrations may be canceled.The Committee on Appeals shall review the appeal as soon as practical after it has been filed. If the student so requests, he or she will be granted an opportunity to appear in person to present his or her case to the Committee. The Committee on Appeals may, at its sole discretion, invite the Associate Dean or faculty member to its consideration of the appeal.
The Committee on Appeals shall take whatever action it feels necessary regarding the appeal, shall inform the student in writing of its decision, and shall also inform the student that he or she may appeal the Committee's decision by filing a further appeal within ten days to the Provost of the University. Such appeals must be in writing and include a detailed statement setting forth the grounds for the appeal. Appeals to the Provost will be limited to alleged errors in procedures, interpretation of regulations, or alleged manifest discrepancies between the evidence and a school finding and/or sanction. The Provost will receive appeals only after a sanction has been specified for the alleged violation; an appeal to the Provost may concern the finding and/or the proposed sanction. The decision of the Committee on Appeals shall be implemented immediately if the student does not appeal to the Provost; if the student appeals to the Provost, implementation of the decision of the Committee will be stayed pending the result of that appeal.
McCORMICK SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES
The McCormick Hearing Board, through its chairperson, shall within seven days of the hearing inform the student in writing of its decision and further inform the student that he or she may appeal the Board's decision by filing an appeal in writing within ten days of receipt of such notification to the Provost of the University.No sanction will be finally imposed until the appeal period has expired or until a decision has been reached in response to an appeal. If the appeal is not granted, the recommended sanction will be applied retroactively and , if necessary, current registration may be cancelled.
MEDILL SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM
The letter [from the Medill administrative officer notifying a student that an offense has been found] shall inform the student that the decision and/or penalty may be appealed to the Academic Standards Committee of Medill. This is done by filing a written notice of appeal to the committee chair within ten days of the date of the letter of notification. The appeal letter should state the grounds for the appeal and all other information the student thinks is appropriate.The Academic Standards Committee will review the appeal as soon as practical after it has been filed. The student will be invited to appear at the meeting to review the appeal, and the committee may, at its discretion, invite the administrator and/or the instructor to the meeting. Students of the Medill School of Journalism should serve on the Academic Standards Committee when that committee meets to hear appeals of matters involving allegations of academic dishonesty. Three graduate students should serve on the committee when the allegations concern students enrolled in Medill graduate courses, and three undergraduates should serve on the committee when the allegations concern students enrolled in Medill undergraduate courses. The dean of the school should select the students at random on a case-by-case basis. Students who have a personal knowledge of the alleged incident or in other ways would be unable to render an impartial decision will be expected to disqualify themselves (just as faculty are expected to disqualify themselves) and the dean will then select the names of other students.
The decision of the Academic Standards Committee can be appealed to the Provost within seven days of the date of the letter of notification from the chair of the Academic Standards Committee. Proposed penalties take effect after the appropriate appeals period has expired or after all University appeals have been exhausted. If the student's final appeal is not granted, the penalty imposed by the administrator may be applied retroactively and, if necessary, current registration may be canceled.
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL POLICY
See p. 58 of the 2005-06 Student Handbook:
Undergraduate :: SESP Handbook
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
See pages 9-10 of the 2005-06 Undergraduate Handbook:
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATON
School of Communication at Northwestern University :: School of Communication :: Academic Integrity
UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC CONDUCT COMMITTEE
Procedures for Appeal Hearings
Note: The following UACC procedures apply to cases that have already been appealed to the appropriate committee of the school where the alleged offence took place. A student who has appealed without success at the school level may petition the Provost to review an adverse finding.When requested by the Provost, the Undergraduate Academic Conduct Committee hears appeals by students found by any of the six undergraduate schools to have violated principles of academic integrity. Its recommendations regarding such appeals are advisory to the Provost, who as the University's top academic officer is the highest level of appeal.
Any student wishing to appeal either a finding or a sanction imposed by his or her school must notify the Provost in writing within the deadline specified by that school, stating the specific grounds of the appeal. The UACC will consider the appeal as soon as possible after receiving the Provost's request for advice.
The school whose judgement is under appeal will be represented by its academic dean or a designated representative. The student making the appeal may be accompanied to the hearing by a parent, a fellow student, or a member of the University faculty or staff as a non-participating consultant, but it is understood that the student accused will conduct his or her own appeal. A quorum consisting of at least five members of the UACC, no fewer than two of whom shall be students, will make its recommendation to the Provost.
An appeal will be limited to a review of the case file (including any written materials submitted to and considered by the individual or committee rendering the decision under appeal) and to statements from the student accused and from the representative of the undergraduate school involved. No witnesses will be heard, and no new information will be received. Appeals of decisions will be limited to errors in procedures, interpretation of regulations, or the question of whether a finding or sanction appears manifestly contrary to the evidence.
UACC members and the student making the appeal may address questions to any person present at the hearing. UACC appeal hearings are closed proceedings, limited to the persons specified above. The Commitee may at any time excuse non-members in order to conduct private deliberation.
Any student making an appeal is strongly encouraged to appear in person as described above. If for any reason the student is unwilling or unable to appear in person, the Committee will, at its discretion upon study of pertinent written materials, consider the appeal without convening a meeting, or convene a formal meeting to discuss the case. In no case, however, will the Committee hear an appeal conducted by a third party such as a fellow student, family member, or attorney. Absence of the student making an appeal shall not prevent the Committee from requesting statements from, or the appearance of, others who in its judgement may be able to supply pertinent information.
In circumstances where the Provost determines that a prompt review of an appeal is necessary, and that it is not possible to convene the Committee for a formal meeting within the time required, members of the Committee will be provided copies of relevant documents and severally report their recommendations to the Chair, who will in turn report to the Provost.
Hearings conducted by the UACC are not formal legal proceedings and are not subject to strict rules of evidence or procedure. The UACC cannot recommend sanctions more severe than those specified by the school involved in the charges. If there is new evidence, or if the Committee finds that prior evidence has not been duly weighed, it may recommend that the school re-hear a case. All UACC findings are addressed to the Provost as recommendations, and are not binding