The Independent Hearing Officer (IHO) is a University staff member within the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs’ Immediate Office who works with the Center for Student Conduct to ensure that the UC Berkeley Code of Student Conduct is followed when a student has been charged with a violation of the Code. The IHO is also responsible for overseeing and administering the formal hearing process found in the Code of Student Conduct. This oversight and administration includes presiding over all student conduct hearings, scheduling hearings, ruling on procedural and evidentiary questions, training hearing panel members, and developing pre-hearing procedures.
If you have any questions, or need to contact the Independent Hearing Officer, you can send an email to sa_iho@berkeley.edu.
Note: The Independent Hearing Officer remains available as operations are being managed remotely. Emails are regularly checked and responded to. The Independent Hearing Officer continues to support a timely resolution process for student conduct cases through the adjudication of cases via virtual hearings for students.
The Independent Hearing Officer DOES:
- Preside over all formal student conduct hearings.
- Make determinations on procedural and evidentiary issues before and during the formal hearing (ex: exclude information from hearing materials, order of presentation of information, etc.).
- Review and approve/deny extension requests on any of the timelines found in the Code of Student Conduct.
- Set parameter for the role that advisors will play in the formal hearing process.
- Schedule and manage the logistics for all formal student conduct hearings.
- Establish and manage procedures for parties to share information with one another before the formal hearing.
- Rule on and remedy violations of a charged student’s procedural rights under the Code of Conduct if they are raised.
- Distribute recommendations on findings and sanctions through a Hearing Report to the responding student, Dean of Students, and Center for Student Conduct following a formal hearing.
- Ensure the formal hearing is officially recorded in compliance with the guidelines set forth in the Code of Student Conduct.
The Independent Hearing Officer DOES NOT:
- Work in the Center for Student Conduct, the IHO is housed in a separate office.
- Know the details of a student’s conduct case before it is referred to a formal hearing.
- Communicate with any one about the specifics of a student’s conduct case unless the student has an equal opportunity to give input.
- Oversee other grievance procedures or determinations about a student’s grade.
- Act as the Hearing Officer in cases related to allegations of sexual violence or sexual harassment.
Below you will find links to the Center for Student Conduct and the Student Advocate’s Office websites. These may be useful resources as you navigate the student conduct process.
The information found on this page is not a formal part of the UC Berkeley Code of Student Conduct. The information found here should be considered one of many resources available to students when navigating the student conduct process.