Greek Standards Board

Greek Standards Board Bylaws The Interfraternity/Panhellenic Standards Board Constitution and By-Laws Washington State University August 2006 Article I: Purpose of Standards Board The purpose of the Standards Board is to affirm that members are responsible enough to identify and deal with violations of Federal, State, Local, University, Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council policies and standards. The Standards Board will make every effort to discover the truth about reported incidents, provide due process and encourage Greek chapters to take responsibility for their actions through education and sanctions. Article II: Standards Board Composition Standards Board will be composed of members of Interfraternity and Panhellenic chapters at Washington State University. Board membership will vary, consisting of the two Chairpersons and 10-14 Greek men and women equally divided and selected by the Chairpersons through an application and interview process. Section 1: Criteria for Board Membership Each Board member must A. Be in good standing at Washington State University B. Be in good standing with his or her individual fraternity or sorority C. Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 D. Must be of at least sophomore class standing at Washington State University E. No more than one member from each chapter shall serve on the Standards Board Section 2: Term of Service Membership on the Standards Board shall be for one academic year. Those members wishing to serve another term must reapply for consideration of membership. Section 3: Training Board Chairpersons and Standards Board Advisor must train all members of the Standards Board on Board purposes, procedures, ethics, rules and regulations. Section 4: Vacancies Vacancies created by dismissal or withdrawal will be filled through an application process. Every effort will be made to select a replacement in order to keep Board membership equal between fraternities and sororities. Section 5: Removal of Members Any member of the Standards Board is subject to immediate removal from the board is they are believed to have compromised the integrity and confidentiality of the board. Any board member may also be dismissed by a 2/3 vote of the entire board if they are found to be a non-contributing member of the Board. Article III: Jurisdiction The Standards Board has jurisdiction over all members, chapters and colonies to enforce Panhellenic and Interfraternity policies and University rules and regulations. Instances of alleged misconduct may result in referral to the Standards Board or appropriate University body for disciplinary action under the discretion of Chairpersons and Standards Board Advisor. Article IV: Standards Procedure Section 1: Reporting of Violations An incident report shall be completed and submitted to the Standards Board Chairpersons, the Standards Board Advisor, the Director of Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life or Student Conduct within 10 working days of the alleged violation. Incident reports may be submitted by any student, chapter, and Pullman community member or through receiving a police report. Reports may be submitted anonymously. Section 2: Initial Investigation The Standards Board Advisor(s) and the Standards Board Chairpersons will review the case to determine if the case is within the Greek Standards Board's jurisdiction. After initial review by Board Advisor(s) and Chairpersons the standard required in a Standards Board hearing will be "preponderance of evidence" (i.e., answer the question, "Is it more believable than not that the situation or incident occurred?"). If a preponderance of evidence is determined: A. The president of the accused fraternity or sorority will be called to meet with the Standards Board Chairpersons and their Advisor to gather information from the side of the accused. B. During the meeting with the president of the accused fraternity/sorority, the Standards Board Chairpersons and Board Advisor(s) will make one of the following decisions: 1. Dismiss the charges if not enough evidence of a violation is available 2. Agreed violation and move into Sanction Process 3. Move into a Standards Board Hearing Section 3: Sanction Process If the accused chapter admits responsibility for the violation they may go straight into the sanction process, the chapter is accepting responsibility for the alleged incident and Board Chairpersons, Board Advisor and representative(s) from the accused party will decide proper disciplinary actions. A. Sanction Procedure 1. Identify the problem 2. Admission of responsibility by accused party 3. Search for solutions: list all possible sanctions and discuss each one. 4. Select a fair and reasonable course of action 5. Decide appropriate timeline for completion of sanctions with planned follow up meeting arranged 6. Agree to keep the Sanction discussion private. 7. Chairpersons will notify appropriate groups of outcome 8. The Standards Board Chairpersons are responsible for seeing that all decisions/agreements carried out. 9. Follow up meeting date and time set. Section 4: Hearing Procedure A. Before the Hearing 1. The Chairpersons will notify the accused party with a copy of the narrative pages of the incident report at least 72 hours prior to the hearing. 2. The accused party must be made aware of the charges against them within15 school days after the incident report has been submitted to the Chairpersons. 3. Once the accused party is notified of the charge, a hearing must take place within 20 academic days. 4. The Chairpersons will answer any questions the referred individual/chapter may have regarding the case or case proceedings. 5. Upon request, the accused party will be provided with a copy of the Constitution of the Standards Board. 6. Standards Board members who are associated with a chapter involved in a hearing may not hear the case. If both Chairs must exclude themselves, then the Standards Board Advisor will appoint a male and female Board member to the position of temporary Chairpersons. B. During the Hearing The Chairpersons will facilitate the hearing in accordance with the following procedures: 1. All Hearings will be coed. Fraternity infractions will be heard by 3 men and 2 women; sorority infractions will be heard by 3 women and 2 men. The Standards Board Advisor(s) will be present along with the Chairpersons. 2. At the beginning of the hearing, the incident report will read by Chairpersons. The person reporting the incident and the accused party will be given an opportunity to speak but is not required to be present at the hearing. 3. Witnesses for the person(s) reporting the incident and the accused party may add pertinent information to the hearing when appropriate or when asked to do so by Chairpersons. They may not ask questions. 4. The number of witness permitted at the hearing will be limited to 3 per involved chapter. Outside advisors are encouraged to attend but will not be allowed to speak. 5. At any time, the Chairpersons may limit the number of individuals present at an open hearing to maintain the order of the hearing. 6. When the Standards Board has no further questions the Chairpersons will close the discussion. At this time, the person reporting the incident and the accused party will each be given the opportunity to give a final statement. Afterward, the accused party and the person reporting the incident will be dismissed. The Board will then deliberate in closed session to determine the responsibility of the accused party. If the Board does not feel that enough information was obtained before deliberation, the accused party involved may be asked to return for further questioning. 7. Decisions made by the Board will be valid if quorums of Board members are present, unless otherwise agreed upon by the accused party before the start of the hearing. 8. In the case of a tie, the Chairpersons will vote as one. C. After the Hearing If the accused party is found responsible and sanctioned by the Standards Board then the accused party will be contacted within 24 hours. Article V: Sanctions The Standards Board's sanctions are intended to be educational in nature, so each decision will have a specific purpose. Sanctions must correspond to the nature of seriousness of the offense for all infractions. Chairpersons and/or Board members should take into consideration the accused party's level of violation, current status with the University, Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life and the party's National Headquarter and previous records. Section 1: Notification of all Appropriate Parties After sanctions have been determined Board Chairpersons shall notify the chapter's alumni board, require the accused party to write a letter of explanation to their National Headquarters and a letter of apology to the group(s) affected by the incident (if necessary). Section 2: Possible Sanctions A. STATUS OF THE CHAPTER 1. Recommendation that the chapter be placed on University probation. This would include specific requirements that a chapter would be expected to complete during the period of probation. This would include the stipulation that any subsequent violations during the period of probation could results in a request for withdrawal of the group's Interfraternity/Panhellenic recognition. 2. A referral to the office of Student Conduct for an investigation into University recognition might also be made. B. REVOCATION OF PRIVILEGES 1. Chapter ineligible to receive campus recognition and awards. 2. Revocation of social privileges for a specified amount of time. Social privileges are defined in the Fraternity Organization Agreement and other Washington State University policy and procedure documents. Groups that have had their social privileges revoked must consult the Standards Board Chairpersons in the beginning stages before planning any event. (ie a potential philanthropy event) 3. Suspension of an entire chapter from intramural participation for a specific period of time. C. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS 1. The Chapter (or groups of Chapter members) could be required to organize and present an applicable education program for the Greek community. 2. Mandatory attendance at educational sessions, seminars and classes related to the incident. D. MONETARY FINES 1. Monetary fines. 2. Financial restitution for damages caused. E. COMMUNITY SERVICE 1. Service hours for an entire chapter. 2. Service related to the Standards Board violation. F. COMBINATION OF ABOVE 1. The appropriate sanction and possible sanctions are not limited to the listed possibilities. Section 3: Failure to comply and sanction follow-up A. Failure to comply with the sanctions set forth by the Standards Board will automatically result in a second hearing with the Board. B. All communication regarding the hearing process, including questions about sanctions, must be handled through the Standards Board Chairpersons. C. A follow-up meeting with the accused party and Board Chairpersons must be no earlier than 30 days after the hearing and no later than 60 days to assure sanction compliance Article VI: Appeals All appeals must be rendered within three days of notification of the outcome ot the hearing. The Standards Board Advisor(s) and Chairpersons will review written appeals. Appeals will be granted if the following three criteria is met. Section 1: Criteria for Appeals A. Violation of t5he outlined process B. Emergence of new evidence C. Bias of board members Section 2: Appeal Procedure If an appeal is granted, five new board members will be selected from the Interfraternity/Panhellenic Standards Board. This will be a random selection done by the Standards Board Advisor(s) from the remaining Bard members that have not yet heard the case. The new board will receive a briefing on the ruling of the previous hearing and will be able to make the final determination of violation fault and proper sanctions. A. During the Hearing The Chairpersons will facilitate the hearing in accordance with the following procedures: 1. All Hearings will be coed. Fraternity infractions will be heard by 3 men and 2 women; sorority infractions will be heard by 3 women and 2 men. The Standards Board Advisor(s) will be present along with the Chairpersons. 2. At the beginning of the hearing, the incident report will read by Chairpersons. The person reporting the incident and the accused party will be given an opportunity to speak but is not required to be present at the hearing. 3. Witnesses for the person(s) reporting the incident and the accused party may add pertinent information to the hearing when appropriate or when asked to do so by Chairpersons. They may not ask questions. 4. The number of witness permitted at the hearing will be limited to 3 per involved chapter. Outside advisors are encouraged to attend but will not be allowed to speak. 5. At any time, the Chairpersons may limit the number of individuals present at an open hearing to maintain the order of the hearing. 6. When the Standards Board has no further questions the Chairpersons will close the discussion. At this time, the person reporting the incident and the accused party will each be given the opportunity to give a final statement. Afterward, the accused party and the person reporting the incident will be dismissed. The Board will then deliberate in closed session to determine the responsibility of the accused party. If the Board does not feel that enough information was obtained before deliberation, the accused party involved may be asked to return for further questioning. 7. Decisions made by the Board will be valid if quorums of Board members are present, unless otherwise agreed upon by the accused party before the start of the hearing. 8. In the case of a tie, the Chairpersons will vote as one. B. After the Hearing If the accused party is found responsible and sanctioned by the Standards Board then the accused party will be contacted within 24 hours. Article VII: Amendments The Standards Board Constitution is subject to the amendment procedures stated in either the Interfraternity or Panhellenic Constitutions and is an addition to those documents.