Even if you’ve been found responsible for (guilty of) a serious offense at the University of Northern Colorado, and even if you’ve been assigned a major sanction like suspension or dismissal, there are still ways to salvage your academic career.

The most obvious option is filing an appeal. This right is enshrined in the university’s Student Code of Conduct, and while it won’t overturn a “responsible” finding, it can result in a reduced sanction or a brand-new hearing.

However, appeals can be tricky. Most students don’t really understand them, and that can doom their chances of success. Don’t go into an appeal alone. Make sure you have the LLF National Law Firm on your side. Our Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights, and no one in the country understands what you’re up against better than we do. We’re familiar with all UNC policies and procedures, including filing appeals. Most importantly, we’re on your side no matter what, and we’ll use every resource at our disposal to ensure you get the best possible resolution to your case.

It is important you act quickly, though. You have just five working days to file, and there’s a lot to get done. Don’t wait. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 to find out what we can do for your case, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.

The Filing Process

First things first: what’s involved in filing your appeal?

  • Obviously, your first job is to write the appeal. This is where things can get tricky. There is a form to fill out, but you also need to formulate a strong argument and come up with compelling evidence. Keep in mind as well that you must express yourself clearly. There are no hearings in appeals cases, so you won’t have a chance to explain your arguments in person.
  • You submit the Statement of Appeal Form online to the Dean of Students. Again, you have just five days in which to do this.
  • The Dean then assigns your appeal to one or more Appeal Readers. These officials are tasked with making a final judgment in the case.
  • An Appeal Reader has three options: affirm the original decision, modify that decision in some way, or order a new hearing.

Easy enough, right? Other than writing the appeal, your job is mostly just waiting for a response. That writing bit can be more complicated than you think, though. Let’s turn to it next.

Constructing Your Appeal

Most students assume an appeal is a second chance to prove their innocence. Nope. You’ve been found responsible for an offense, and an appeal cannot change that, at least on its own. Appeals have nothing to do with guilt or innocence. Their purpose is to consider whether you were treated fairly during the process.

This means that you need a new argument. You can’t focus on your own innocence. You must focus on the process. There are three options.

  • You can argue that the university committed some procedural error. Maybe you weren’t given enough time to prepare your case. Maybe the hearing panel refused to hear key evidence in your case. As a result, you deserve a new hearing, a new chance to defend yourself under fair conditions.
  • New evidence has come to light that could potentially alter the case outcome. You have the right to present all case materials, and if it turns out you didn’t have that opportunity, you deserve a new hearing—a new chance to prove your innocence.
  • You can argue that the sanction you’re facing is disproportionate to the nature of your offense.

This time around, a strong argument won’t be enough to win. In your original case, you had the presumption of innocence on your side. That means only a “preponderance of evidence” could have led to a responsible outcome. It was the university’s burden to come up with that evidence. Now, the burden rests squarely on your shoulders.

The bottom line is that it’s tough to win an appeal. Tough, but not impossible. All you need is sufficient grounds—a single mistake—to justify a new hearing or a lighter sanction. And as it turns out, colleges and universities make lots of mistakes when it comes to student justice. It makes sense when you think about: schools are set up to educate, not to decide weighty issues of jurisprudence.

If there are grounds for an appeal, you can be sure the LLF National Law Firm will find them. We’ll also make sure you submit the strongest possible appeal and that this time around, you get the justice you deserve.

The Office of General Counsel

An appeal is your most direct option for getting justice, but it’s not your only option. You can also try reaching out to the UNC administration directly and asking officials to reconsider your case.

Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Most college presidents and vice presidents don’t like to intervene in disciplinary matters. They’re busy, but more importantly, they like the system to work things out on its own. So just getting in to talk to them can be next to impossible.

The LLF National Law Firm has been representing students for a number of years, and along the way, we’ve forged some important relationships. Every school has an Office of General Counsel made up of attorneys hired to provide the school with legal advice. Over the years, we’ve gotten to know many of these attorneys, and we can sometimes rely on them to set up an interview for our clients. Once we open negotiations, we can often convince an administrator to reduce sanctions or even order a new hearing. At a minimum, we can ask that the school remove the record of your offense from your transcript so you can more easily transfer to another college or university.

Trust the LLF National Law Firm With Your Case

Whether you’re entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from the University of Northern Colorado, you owe it to yourself to continue the fight. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here and ready to help. We’ll guide you through the entire appeals process, make sure your case is airtight, and guarantee the college respects your rights.

As we said in the beginning, though, you cannot afford to wait. There are deadlines for filing your appeal. Get started now. Contact the LLF National Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.

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