DUE PROCESS Report: Universities Deny Fair Hearings. DO NOT Guarantee The Accused a Presumption of Innocence
According to a first-of-its-kind report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a new survey reveals that the overwhelming majority of America’s top universities fail to provide students accused of serious misconduct with the most basic elements of fair procedure. A shocking 85 percent of top institutions maintain policies that receive a D or F grade for due process protections. Nearly 74 percent of institutions don’t even presume a student innocent until proven guilty. “Most people will probably be surprised to learn that students are routinely expelled from college without so much as a hearing,” said Samantha Harris, FIRE’s vice president of policy research. “This report should be a huge red flag to students, parents, legislators, and the general public that an accused student’s academic and professional future often hinges on little more than the whim of college administrators.”
