Appeal Process

Acceptable Grounds for Integrity Formation Appeals

Significant Procedural Error

A procedural error occurred that significantly impacted the decision. A description of the error and its impact on the decision of the case must be included in the written appeal.

New Information

New information has been discovered that was not available or known to the appealing party during the student conduct process and the new information could substantially impact the findings (Note: If a student chooses not to attend a hearing, their testimony or documentary or tangible information may not be considered “new evidence” for the purpose of an appeal).

Substantially Disproportionate Sanctions

The sanctions imposed were substantially disproportionate to the violation(s).

This information is presented as a summary only. A complete description of the appeals process can be found in Section 3.3 of the Code of Student Conduct. Students found in violation of a policy related to sexual misconduct should visit the Office of Institutional Equity for more information.

What is an appeal?

An appeal is not a re-hearing and will not be granted based on a Student's disagreement with a decision; rather, an appeal is an administrative review of the investigation and process to identify any procedural errors, consider newly discovered information, and/or assess the proportionality of sanctions.

Students found to have violated the Code of Student Conduct may appeal online to the Dean of Students or their designee by following the procedures described in Section 3.3 of the Code of Student Conduct.

Summary of Appeal Process

Appeals must be submitted by 3:30pm on the fifth business day after the decision letter is issued.
Students must login using Seattle University credentials to submit the appeal online. If the online appeal form is unavailable, a written appeal can be submitted in-person to Student Center 140 or emailed to integrity@seattleu.edu.
When an incident involves multiple Students, each individual Student wishing to appeal must submit their own, individual appeal letter.
Appeals must meet at least one of the criteria detailed in Section 3.3 of the Code of Student Conduct (and detailed below).
The following actions may be taken:
- Affirm the decision and/or sanctions
- Modify the decision and/or sanctions
- Dismiss the charge(s) in whole or in part
- Conduct or direct further investigation or inquiry
- A combination of the actions specified above

Appeals are typically resolved within 30 days following receipt of the written appeal request. University appeal decisions are final.

What to include in your appeal

When you submit your appeal letter, you should consider including:

The reasons you are requesting an appeal. Speak to the three grounds for appeal when you're making your argument. So for example, you might say "I am requesting an appeal to consider new evidence that was not reasonably available at the time of my meeting."
For each reason, explain what the appeal reviewer should know. Think of this as a paper, where each paragraph should address one of the reasons you're talking about.
Include references to specific documents or pieces of evidence you think are relevant. This will help the appeal reviewer better understand your request.
If you're arguing that there is new evidence, you should explain why this was not reasonably available at the time of your meeting with your Conduct Administrator or Review Board, and how you think it would change the outcome. Include all new evidence with your request.

What are common problems or issues with appeals?

Some common problems include:

Writing about evidence not related to the case (personal academic history, character evidence, etc.) when trying to discuss the facts of the case itself.
Not identifying the grounds that you are requesting an appeal about.
Saying “I don’t like the outcome” without saying why.
Including spelling and grammatical errors/not proof-reading (this doesn’t “count against” you, but sometimes makes it harder for the appeal reviewer to understand/read).
If you want to include any attachments, forgetting to include them when you submit your appeal.
Waiting until the due date for the review to write and submit the appeal.