Both the Complainant and the Respondent may appeal a decision of the Hearing Panel to a three (3) member Review Panel that is chaired by the nonvoting Review Panel Chair. No person who served on the Hearing Panel will sit on the Review Panel in the same case. A member of the Review Panel may be asked to withdraw for good cause upon request of either party, which determination shall be made in the Review Panel Chair’s sole discretion. If the Review Panel Chair is reasonably challenged by a party, the Director shall appoint another member.

Because the student conduct system utilizes the decision of the University Hearing and Review Panels to define or interpret violations, summaries of all decisions of those boards shall be kept on file in the OSCCS, including a brief description of the nature of the case and its disposition, but with names of individuals and other identifying information redacted.

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**Please submit comments on the main Fall 2020 Proposed Amendments to the Campus Code of Conduct page.**

The Review Panel may, but is not required to, stay a sanction where the appealing party demonstrates the need for a stay by a clear showing. An application for a stay must be submitted to the Director. The Director will provide a copy of the stay application to the Review Panel and the other party, who is entitled to respond to the stay application by submitting to the Director a written response. The Review Panel will set a reasonable timeline for handling the stay application, including a deadline for the other party to respond to the stay application.

The Director may dismiss a Formal Complaint and close a case at any stage of proceedings where the Director determines:

• the subject matter of the complaint or the individual against whom the complaint has been filed are not subject to the University’s jurisdiction under these Procedures; or,
• the facts set forth in the Formal Complaint do not constitute prohibited conduct under the Code; or,
• the Complainant fails or refuses to cooperate with the investigation such that the investigator is materially hindered in their ability to investigate, including where the Complainant

• 18.1 Overview of Investigations of a Formal Complaint
• 18.2 Time Frame of the Investigation
• 18.3 Investigative Interview Process
• 18.4 Evidentiary Materials
• 18.5 Expert Testimony and Materials

At the discretion of the Director, multiple reports or Formal Complaints under these Procedures that are factually related will be joined in one investigation whether they involve single or multiple Complainants or Respondents. At the discretion of the Panel Chair, in consultation with the investigator, multiple Formal Complaints, whether or not joined in one investigation, and multiple investigations under these Procedures may be joined in one hearing if doing so is likely to result in reliable and more efficient outcomes without causing prejudice to a party or parties or confusion for t

Both the Complainant and the Respondent may decline to participate in the investigation and/or hearing.

The parties or the Director may seek to resolve a Formal Complaint through Alternate Resolution at any time. Participation in Alternate Resolution is entirely voluntary; the Director will neither pressure nor compel either party to participate in the process or to agree to any specific terms. For the Alternate Resolution process to begin, both the Complainant and the Respondent must agree to explore Alternate Resolution as a potential means of resolution, and the Director must agree that the matter is appropriate for this process.

All members of the University community are expected to cooperate and participate in inquiries, investigations, and resolutions of Reports and Formal Complaints under these Procedures.

At all stages of the process, all Cornell University community members are required to provide truthful information. Obstruction of an investigation and/or adjudication under these Procedures is prohibited and independently subject to disciplinary sanctions under the Code.