If a determination is made by Dean for Special Student Services that a violation of the Code may have occurred, the Complainant(s) and the Accused Student(s) will be contacted by the Dean for Special Student Services within fifteen (15) business days after receipt of the completed Request for Resolution of an Alleged Violation of the Student Code of Conduct form.
Both the Complainant(s) and the Accused Student(s) will be required to put in writing their accounts of the incident. Upon written notification, the Complainant(s) and the Accused Student(s) may request that their full written accounts be submitted to the Howard University Police Department and substituted for the incident statement. The Accused Student(s) will be informed of the allegation and related information, and he/she will be given an opportunity to provide his/her version of the facts, and allowed to plead “Responsible” or “Not Responsible.” The Incident Statements of the Complainant(s) and Accused(s) will be shared with both parties, upon request.
If the Accused Student(s) fails to respond within six (6) business days of the date of the communication, the Dean for Special Student Services may proceed with scheduling and convene a hearing to resolve the matter.
A plea of “Not Responsible” by the Accused Student(s) will result in an automatic remanding the case to the appropriate hearing board or to an Administrative Hearing Office at the discretion of the Dean for Special Student Services. The Accused Student(s) and the Complainant(s) will be notified by mail of the date, time and place of the hearing.
All “Responsible” pleas by the Accused will result in an ODSSS review of the case and determination of appropriate sanction(s) to be imposed. The Complainant will receive written notification of the sanction(s). The sanction(s), not the plea, may be appealed in writing to ODSSS using the process for Filing an Appeal outlined in Section XVI, except when the Dean for Special Student Services appoints an Appeals Hearing Officer during periods when an Appeals Board cannot be convened.