(2) Mediation Procedures. A Charged Student(s) may request to use Mediation at any time during the Adjudication process (with the exception of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment cases). A Victim may request Mediation without filing a complaint. Mediations of this type are non-binding except in cases noted below, and confidential to the extent permitted by law.
(a) Victim/Charged Student, Voluntary Mediation:
(A) Mediation between a Victim and a Charged Student may occur at the request of either party and with the consent of and voluntary participation of both parties;
(B) Before or during a student conduct hearing, the Office of Student Conduct may offer Mediation to a Charged Student in place of that hearing;
(C) When all parties agree to Mediation, Mediation will be used in place of the Adjudicative process;
(D) Agreements reached when Mediation is used in place of Adjudication will be binding with the permission of the Victim. Permission for a binding agreement will be given to the Office of Student Conduct by the Victim prior to the Mediation. In such a case, the binding agreement becomes a de facto sanction and will become part of the Charged Student's judicial file. The Charged Student must adhere to the agreement or face possible future Adjudicative action;
(E) The Victim may, at any time, withdraw permission for a binding agreement or withdraw the complaint. In this case, the Mediation becomes confidential and non-binding;
(F) The Victim may, at any time, withdraw the complaint and withdraw from the Mediation process;
(G) The Charged Student may, at any time, withdraw from the Mediation process. Such action by the Charged Student, however, may return the original charges to the Adjudicative process;
(H) If the Victim reports dissatisfaction with the outcome of the Mediation the Victim may return the complaint to the Adjudicative process for a student conduct hearing; and
(I) The Office of Student Conduct will, in most cases, honor the Victim's request to withdraw the complaint from the Adjudicative process. The Office of Student Conduct may, however, Adjudicate charges whenever it is determined that it is in the best interest of the University community to do so.
(b) Mandated participation in Mediation when charges of theft, vandalism, harassment, assault, or other harmful treatment are upheld through the Adjudicative process (except for sexual harassment and sexual misconduct cases). Participation in Victim/offender Mediation may be assigned to the Student in Violation as a sanction. When Mediation is used as a sanction, the following will apply:
(A) The Victim must agree to such a sanction in advance;
(B) The Student in Violation must verify that Mediation was attempted in order to fulfill the sanction of Mediation; and
(C) Unless otherwise requested by the Victim, agreements reached during sanctioned Mediations will be submitted to the Office of Student Conduct. This agreement will serve as a part of the sanction which the Student in Violation must complete. Failure to abide by the agreement may result in the Student in Violation facing further judicial charges for failure to complete a sanction.
(c) Automatic Diversion from the Adjudicative Procedures:
(A) When two or more Students have been charged with violating the Code for the same event, the Office of Student Conduct may offer, or the Students may request, to use Mediation as a diversion from the Adjudicative process. The Dean of Students, Student Conduct Coordinator or designee may assign interim sanctions pending the Mediation. The following conditions must apply:
(i) Two or more Students have been involved in the same incident,
(ii) The Students have each been charged with violations of the Code based on the same incident,
(iii) The Students are each victims of the other's behavior (e.g., by assault, vandalism, theft, etc.),
(iv) The Students agree to fully participate in Mediation,
(v) The Students agree to share the results of the Mediation with the Office of Student Conduct, and
(vi) The mediated agreement becomes binding and must be adhered to by both parties as a sanction unless otherwise indicated by the Office of Student Conduct.
(B) The Office of Student Conduct may return the case to the Adjudicative process for the following reasons:
(i) One or more of the Students does not participate in the Mediation,
(ii) Substantial evidence exists that one or more of the Students poses a clear and present threat to themselves or others; or
(iii) One or more of the Students fails to adhere to the agreement.
