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Appeal Qualifications and Outcomes

Appeal Qualifications

Respondents and Victims have the right to appeal the outcome of a Student Conduct case based on the following reasons:

  1. Errors in the hearing proceedings that substantially affected the outcome of the hearing.
  2. The sanction(s) is (are) extraordinarily disproportionate to the violation committed.
  3. Presentation of new information that was not available at the time of the original hearing, which may substantially affect the outcome of the hearing.
A student has five (5) class days from date of the Decision Letter to appeal the final Student Conduct outcome(s). After submission of an appeal, the student will be contacted by the assigned Appellate Officer for an appeal review meeting, where students can provide further information related to their appeal request, including any additional documentation. If a student does not respond or schedule an appeal review meeting, the Appellate Officer will review the case and make their final decision solely based on the submitted information. For more information, please visit our Summary of the Appeal Process page. 

 

If you would like to appeal the outcome of a case or an immediate suspension, please use the following Appeal Request Form.

Note: Outcomes of criminal or civil cases have no bearing in any aspect of the process, including the appeal.

  • Standard Suspension
    Standard suspensions typically take effect the current and/or upcoming semester. The student is no longer allowed to attend classes during the duration of the stated suspension. Students are also restricted from visiting the UNF campus during their suspension term, and if they need to be on-campus, they must arrange for an escort through the University Police Department. Both Immediate Suspensions and Standard Suspensions as part of the outcome of a conduct case can be appealed.
  • Immediate Suspension
    An immediate suspension takes effect the day the Notice of Immediate Suspension is sent to the student. An immediate suspension is an interim measure taken prior to the student's hearing that may be issued by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, or designee, for actions that may affect the safety, health, or general welfare of the student or University community. Students who have been immediately suspended have three (3) class days from the date of Suspension Letter to appeal in writing. During an Immediate Suspension, a student cannot be on University property, cannot attend classes, and cannot use University facilities. Both Immediate Suspensions and Standard Suspensions as part of the outcome of a conduct case can be appealed.

    Immediate Suspension Appeals

    A student may appeal the immediate suspension. Request for an appeal must be submitted in writing to the Office within three (3) class days of the Notice of Immediate Suspension. The date of the immediate suspension appeal will be scheduled within five (5) class days of the appeal request and may be extended beyond five class days if both parties agree that the suspension appeal should be held at a later date. Immediate Suspension Appeals are conducted in the form of a Panel Appeal Hearing. The Panel will determine whether the immediate suspension will remain in effect until a regular hearing is held on the alleged violations of the Code of Conduct.

    An Immediate Suspension Appeal must be based on one or both of the following grounds:

    • An egregious error pertaining to the student's involvement; or
    • Information showing that the violation, even if proven, does not pose a threat to the safety, health, or general welfare of the University community and this does not warrant a suspension.

    The Panel will recommend to the Provost/Designee that the immediate suspension should be upheld or overturned based on information presented at the panel appeal hearing. The Provost/Designee will make a final determination based on the panel's recommendation, which will be communicated to the student in writing within three (3) class days.

For a summary of the Appeal Process, please see: 

Appeal Outcomes

NOTE: An appeal decision constitutes final University action and therefore cannot be appealed further within the University. If a student receives a sanction where they are suspended or expelled, the student will be notified in the decision letter that the student may appeal the University's final action to an outside judicial forum.

Outcome 1: Uphold original case decision 

If the appeal outcome received is to “Uphold the original case decision”, then your appeal has been denied. This means that you must still complete any and all sanctions that were originally assigned to you by your hearing administrator, or the panel hearing officers if your hearing forum was in the format of panel hearing. An Appeal Modified Sanction letter will be sent to the student’s UNF email address with information regarding the updated sanctions/deadlines.

Outcome 2: Vacate Decision, no conduct record

If the appeal outcome received was “Vacate the decision, no conduct record”, then your appeal has been approved. This means that you are no longer being found "Responsible" for the charges and you do not need to complete the sanctions that were previously assigned to you. This also means that this incident will not appear on your conduct record.

Outcome 3: Remand for new hearing

If the appeal outcome was “Remand for new hearing”, then your case is being sent back through the Dean of Students Office to be heard by a different Hearing Administrator than the one originally assigned to your case.

Outcome 4: Modified Sanction

If the appeal outcome was “Modified Sanctions”, an Appeal Modified Sanction letter will be sent to the student’s UNF email address with information on newly assigned sanctions, omitted sanctions, deadline dates, etc.