Current procedures: Decision and results
The principals and witnesses may be called for testimony several times before the committee renders a judgment. The committee deliberates in private and arrives at a decision by individual vote. If the student is found to have intentionally misled the committee during the course of the hearing, the committee may take that fact into account in reaching a conclusion and assigning a penalty. When a decision is reached, the student in question is called and informed of the judgment. Then the reporting witness is informed of the judgment, thanked for the exercise of a responsibility that is difficult but necessary, and cautioned against discussion of the case.
Acquittal
If the student in question is acquitted, all written record of his or her involvement in the case is destroyed. Records of cases, which are retained by the committee, aid future committees by the precedents they contain, although for the most part the committee is likely to consider each case as unique rather than search for a decision in a similar case.
Guilty verdict and consequences
If a person is found guilty, he or she is informed of the punishment, which is, at the committee's discretion, a one-, two-, or three-year suspension, or in the case of a second offense, permanent expulsion. The committee shall also have recourse, in the presence of extenuating circumstances, to probation up to four years, which becomes a part of the student's permanent record. Only the Dean of Undergraduate Students may review the final penalty.
Appeal
An appeal of a decision of the Honor Committee should be directed to the Office of the Dean of the College. Such appeals can only be made on the grounds of procedural unfairness or harmful bias. The penalty levied by the Honor Committee may not be increased upon appeal. If the Dean of the College determines that a penalty of the Honor Committee should be reduced, the Dean will make a recommendation to the President, describing the reasons for the proposed modification, and the President will decide whether or not to implement the recommendation.