(1) Initial hearing.

(a) Brief adjudicative proceedings shall be conducted by a conduct review officer. The conduct review officer shall not participate in any case in which they are a complainant or witness, or in which they have direct or personal interest, prejudice, or bias, or in which they have acted previously in an advisory capacity.

(b) The parties to a brief adjudicative proceeding are the respondent and the student conduct officer. Before taking action, the conduct review officer shall conduct an informal hearing and provide each party:

(i) An opportunity to be informed of the agency's view of the matter; and

(ii) An opportunity to explain the party's view of the matter.

(c) The conduct review officer shall serve as initial decision upon the respondent and the student conduct officer within 10 calendar days of consideration of the appeal. The initial decision shall contain a brief written statement of the reasons for the decision and information about how to seek administrative review of the initial decision. If no request for review is filed within 21 calendar days of service of the initial decision, the initial decision shall be deemed the final decision.

(d) If the conduct review officer upon review determines that the respondent's conduct may warrant imposition of a disciplinary suspension in excess of 10 instructional days or expulsion, the matter shall be referred to the student conduct board for a disciplinary hearing.

(2) Review of an initial decision.

(a) An initial decision is subject to review by the president, provided a party files a written request for review with the conduct review officer within 21 calendar days of service of the initial decision.

(b) The president shall not participate in any case in which he or she is a complainant or witness, or in which they have direct or personal interest, prejudice, or bias, or in which they have acted previously in an advisory capacity.

(c) During the review, the president shall give all parties an opportunity to file written responses explaining their view of the matter and shall make any inquiries necessary to ascertain whether the sanctions should be modified or whether the proceedings should be referred to the student conduct board for a formal adjudicative hearing.

(d) The decision on review must be in writing and must include a brief statement of the reasons for the decision and must be served on the parties within 20 calendar days of the initial decision or of the request for review, whichever is later. The decision on review will contain a notice that judicial review may be available. A request for review may be deemed to have been denied if the president does not make a disposition of the matter within 20 calendar days after the request is submitted.

(e) If the president upon review determines that the respondent's conduct may warrant imposition of a disciplinary suspension of more than 10 instructional days or expulsion, the matter shall be referred to the student conduct board for a disciplinary hearing.