The University of Texas at Arlington

The Hearing Officer is responsible for conducting the hearing in an orderly manner and controlling the conduct of the witnesses and participants in the hearing. The Hearing Officer shall rule on all procedural matters and on objections regarding exhibits and testimony of witnesses, may question witnesses, and is entitled to have the advice and assistance of legal counsel from the U. T. System Office of General Counsel.



The hearing shall be called to order and shall proceed in the following manner:

1. If, in the opinion of the Hearing Officer, the demeanor or conduct of any person(s) in attendance at the hearing causes or contributes to any disruption, disturbance, or distraction of the hearing, such person(s) shall be required to leave the hearing room.
2. No camera or photographic equipment of any kind, nor any equipment that may be used to record or transmit sound, shall be permitted in the hearing room or in the hallway outside of the hearing room during the progress of the hearing or any recess. This prohibition shall not apply to any equipment used under the direction of the Hearing Officer to make the official recording of the hearing.
3. No persons shall be present during the hearing except the accused student; the Discipline Coordinator; the advisor, if any, of the accused student; the Hearing Officer and advisor, if any; the University personnel operating the recording equipment; witnesses while testifying; and other individuals as authorized by law or policy.

The hearing shall proceed in the following manner:

1. The Hearing Officer shall read aloud the charges against the accused student, explain the rights of the parties and answer questions from the parties concerning the procedures to be followed;
2. The Dean of Students or Discipline Coordinator shall proceed to present evidence in support of the charges;
3. The accused student shall present evidence in his/her defense;
4. Each party may present rebuttal evidence; and
5. Argument may be presented by each party in accordance with Section 2-605.

The Dean of Students or Discipline Coordinator shall have the burden of establishing the truth of the charges against the accused student by the preponderance of the evidence. The term preponderance of the evidence means the greater weight of the credible or believable evidence.



As the party having the burden of proof, the Dean of Students or Discipline Coordinator shall have the right to open and conclude, both in presenting evidence and in argument. In the opening argument at the close of presentation of evidence, the Discipline Coordinator may recommend a penalty to be assessed by the Hearing Officer in the event the accused student is found responsible for the charges. The recommendation may be based upon penalties assessed in the past for violations of a similar nature, the nature and circumstances of the conduct, the past disciplinary record of the accused student, or other relevant factors. The accused student shall be entitled to respond to the recommendation in his/her argument to the Hearing Officer.



Each witness shall be requested by the Hearing Officer to swear or affirm that the testimony he/she will give will be true.



The witnesses shall be removed from the hearing room to some place where they cannot hear the testimony given by any other witness in the hearing. This process is called placing the witnesses under the rule. Neither party shall be placed under the rule. Witnesses placed under the rule shall be instructed by the Hearing Officer not to converse about the case or their testimony with each other or with any person other than the parties or their respective advisor, and that they are not to read any report of or comment upon the testimony given at the hearing while under the rule. Violation of such instructions will result in the imposition of such sanction as the Hearing Officer may deem appropriate, including the exclusion of the testimony of the witness.



A digital record of the proceedings shall be made under the direction and control of the Hearing Officer. In the event the decision of the Hearing Officer is appealed, a copy of the recorded proceedings will be made and provided to the parties.

1. The term Evidence refers to the means by which alleged facts are either proved or disproved. It includes the testimony of witnesses and documentary or objective exhibits offered by the parties and admitted by the Hearing Officer.
2. The Hearing Officer shall be the sole judge of the admissibility of evidence, the credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be given to the evidence or any inference drawn therefrom. The Hearing Officer may ask such questions of witnesses or the parties as may be deemed appropriate to ascertain the facts or to aid the Hearing Officer in deciding the admissibility of evidence, the credibility of a witness, or the weight to be given to evidence admitted.
3. Documents, letters, writings, pictures, drawings, or objects that a party plans to offer in evidence shall first be given to the Hearing Officer to be marked and identified as the exhibit of that party and listed by the Hearing Officer. After being marked and identified, each exhibit shall be shown to the opposing party and that party shall be given the opportunity to object to the admission of the exhibit.
4. Either party may object to the admission of evidence upon any ground deemed appropriate. The Hearing Officer shall rule upon such objections and either admit or exclude the evidence.
5. Evidence which is irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious will be excluded by the Hearing Officer upon objection of either party.

The Hearing Officer shall render and send to the Dean of Students Office and the accused student within ten days a written decision that contains findings of fact and a conclusion as to being found responsible or not being found responsible of the accused student. Upon a conclusion of being found responsible, the Hearing Officer shall assess a penalty(ies) as specified in Section 2-301. Being found responsible for the illegal use, possession, or sale of a drug or narcotic on campus requires the assessment of a minimum penalty provided in Section 2-202.L.