Appealing a disciplinary sanction at Harvard is no easy task. There may be no school in America with a more complex bureaucracy, and the fact of the matter is you've already lost your case. You're now trying to convince the university that it made a mistake. That's going to be an uphill battle at any school, let alone Harvard.
You're going to need help. Not just any help, but the very best help you can find. A local attorney won't do. A family attorney won't do. You need an attorney who focuses on education issues, someone with experience representing students, and someone who understands the Harvard system. You need an attorney from the Lento Law Firm.
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team was specifically created to help protect student rights, defend students from unfair charges, and ensure every student has a reasonable opportunity to earn their degree. We know what you're up against. We've dealt with hundreds of student appeals, and we know how to use the Harvard system to your best advantage.
We can't help you, though, if you don't contact us, and you have a very limited window in which to do that. Harvard allows you just one week from the time you are notified of your original hearing decision to file an appeal. Act quickly. Call us today at 888-535-3686 today, or take time right now to fill out our online questionnaire.
The Bottom Line
If you've found yourself on this page, it means you've already gone through an investigative process at Harvard, and you've had the chance to defend yourself at a full hearing. You were found "Responsible" (guilty) and assigned a penalty, likely suspension or dismissal.
You do still have some options, but they are growing fewer all the time.
- Reconsideration: You can ask the Administrative Council to reconsider its decisions.
- You can appeal the Administrative Council's decision to the Faculty Council.
- You can try negotiating directly with the university.
- You can petition for readmission after some time away from the university.
Let's take a look at each one of these in turn.
The Reconsideration Process at Harvard
The reconsideration process is just what it sounds like: a request for the Administrative Council—the judicial body that originally ruled in your case—to take a second look at its decision.
As you might expect, the Council isn't likely to reverse its opinion simply because you disagree with that opinion. Nor will it allow you a “do-over” to retry your case now that you've practiced. You must have very specific grounds for an appeal. There are two:
- Some new information or evidence has come to light that you couldn't have known about at the time of your original hearing and which has some material relevancy to the case.
- Some evidence of a procedural error in the case. Again, that error must have some bearing on the case outcome.
Appeals must be filed with the Secretary of the Administrative Board within one week of the original decision.
The Administrative Board does have the power to request that you attend a meeting. If it does so, you are allowed to bring an advisor with you, and that advisor can be an attorney. A Lento Law Firm attorney cannot speak for you, but they can be on hand to help you respond to questions.
In many cases, though, the Board makes its decision based entirely on the record of the original hearing and the content of your appeal. This makes it crucial that you submit a compelling document, one with strong arguments and clear evidence.
The Appeals Process
Should the Administrative Council decide to refuse your appeal or decide to reaffirm its original decision, you then have the option to appeal your case further to the Faculty Council.
Appeals must be filed with the Secretary of the Faculty Council, and again, you have just one week in which to do so. Appeals work much as reconsiderations do. There are only two grounds for appeal, though they differ slightly from the grounds in reconsideration cases.
- Some evidence of a procedural error in the case which has a bearing on the case outcome;
- A departure from the Administrative Council's usual sanctions
Negotiation
Should you lose your appeal, you can try negotiating directly with Harvard's administration.
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team works regularly with the Office of the General Council at several US colleges and universities. These officers are retained by schools in order to provide legal opinions on issues that can arise.
Because we work so closely with such officials, we have a strong sense of how schools tend to make their decisions. We use this knowledge to your advantage in reconsiderations and appeals. If those should fail, we can also try using these relationships to initiate negotiations. In some cases, it is possible to persuade a school to change its mind. In others, it is possible to come up with an equitable solution in which you withdraw from the university and transfer to another school without penalty.
Readmission
Finally, Harvard allows students who have been dismissed for disciplinary misconduct to apply for readmission once they have been away from the university for some length of time. Such applications must show evidence that you understand the nature of your offense and have taken some concrete steps toward improving your conduct. For example,
- Record of performance at a job not connected to your family for an uninterrupted period of at least six months;
- Satisfactory record of conduct for the period away from Harvard;
- Written document explaining why you committed the misconduct you did;
- Written document explaining why you are now motivated to avoid the same kinds of misconduct
As with reconsiderations and appeals, the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm can work with you to prepare a convincing package, document your evidence, and draft a persuasive document.
Fight For Your Future
Let us be clear: we cannot promise to win your case. At this point, you are in a difficult situation. What we can promise you is that hiring the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team will give you the very best chance of success.
Don't wait, though. Harvard gives you just one week to file your appeal. Contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.
