Although there are some similarities between university disciplinary proceedings and criminal proceedings, there are stark differences also. When a student is accused of misconduct at his or her school, whether it involves Title IX sexual misconduct, an academic misconduct or academic integrity issue or a general disciplinary issues such as say hazing or a case involving alcohol or drugs, the school will invoke its disciplinary process. In some instances, there could be a separate criminal proceeding. The school process would be handled internally at the school.
A criminal process would be handled by the applicable parties, law enforcement, the police that is the prosecutor's office or the district attorney's office, and ultimately the criminal court. There are cases where both would be involved. According to the department of justice statistics, 80% of say campus Title IX cases would be handled exclusively at the school not to base things off of statistics, but that's the good news. The bad news is that what can take place at a school can have tremendous life-altering impact and experience. Attorney advisor should be involved whether a student's facing school proceedings, school disciplinary proceedings, or criminal proceedings.
