Caltech Graduate Review Board


Bylaws of the Graduate Review Board

Article I
The Honor System

Section 1. No one shall take unfair advantage of any member of the California Institute of Technology ("Caltech" or the "Institute") community.

Section 2. The Honor System as stated in Section 1 shall be the fundamental principle of conduct of all members of the corporation. It shall apply to all scholastic activities as well as to relations with other members of the Caltech community.

Article II
The Graduate Review Board

Section 1. Purposes and Duties. The Graduate Review Board ("GRB") shall review all cases of alleged violations of the Honor System by graduate students and shall make recommendations to the Dean of Graduate Studies for action in those cases in which the violation is deemed to have occurred. It shall be the duty of the Chair to see that the student body is informed of the policies of the Graduate Review Board. Violations of the Honor System may be brought to the attention of the Chair by any member of the Caltech community. The Chair shall conduct and control all aspect of GRB hearings.

Section 2. Membership. The GRB shall consist of a Chair and Secretary elected by the Graduate Student Council ("GSC") Board of Directors from among their members, and representatives. The Chair and Secretary may not be GRB representatives.

(a) The number of graduate option and at large representatives authorized for the GRB shall be the same as those authorized for the GSC Board of Directors.

(b) If the number of GRB representative nominees exceeds the number of available positions, an election in accord with GSC election rules shall be held.

(c) In case of absence or disability of the Chair or Secretary, the GSC Board of Directors shall select a temporary replacement.

(d) All details of holding office not specified in this section above shall follow the same procedures as for GSC directors.

Section 3. Quorum and Voting

(a) Eight (8) GRB representatives shall constitute a quorum.

(b) If the purpose of the quorum is to act as a panel in a hearing the following restrictions also apply:

1. The panel must be selected by random draw by the GRB Chair from among the qualified representatives.

2. The panel shall include at least one of the GRB members representing the suspected violators' option, provided that he or she has not been disqualified and provided that he or she was elected by the option.

3. No panel may include more than four (4) GRB representatives from one graduate option, i.e., fewer representatives than the number that constitutes a simple majority of a quorum.

4. Provided that enough GRB representatives remain to obtain a quorum, the suspected violator (violators) may dismiss up to four (4) panel members from his or her (their) case.

5. If a panel member feels unable to render an unbiased judgment in a particular case, that member should disqualify himself or herself. Furthermore, no member of the GRB shall sit in judgment of his or her own case.

6. If a panel member's objectivity is questioned, the Chair shall rule on the challenge.


(c) The Chair, Secretary, and a quorum must be present at all hearings and meetings.

(d) A simple majority vote of those representatives present shall be necessary for a decision of the GRB, except as stated below. The Chair and Secretary do not cast votes.

Section 4. Rules of Procedure

(a) All persons appearing before the GRB at a hearing or a preliminary investigation will be informed of the reasons for their presence.

(b) When a suspected violation of the Honor System is reported to the GRB Chair, the Chair and Secretary will conduct a preliminary investigation to examine all relevant facts. They may require any persons involved or thought to have pertinent information to discuss their knowledge of any information concerning the case.

(c) Any person asked to attend a preliminary investigation may be accompanied by any one GRB member of his or her choice. No one else may attend the preliminary investigation.

(d) After completing their preliminary investigation, the Chair and Secretary, in consultation with the Dean of Graduate Studies, will decide whether the GRB will accept or refuse jurisdiction. Factors which may result in a determination to refuse jurisdiction include but are not limited to urgency of Institute resolution, safety, prolonged duration of hearings, extreme seriousness or complexity of the alleged violation, or insufficient interest of the Institute community. Following a determination to refuse jurisdiction the Chair will immediately refer the matter to the Dean of Graduate Studies for resolution as the Dean deems appropriate. If jurisdiction is retained by the GRB and if the Chair or Secretary determines that a reasonable suspicion exists, the Chair shall convene a panel to conduct a preliminary hearing.

(e) The Chair shall describe to the panel the suspected violations and shall summarize all evidence pertaining thereto. The suspected violator's name remains confidential. Only the Chair, Secretary, and panel may be present at this hearing.

(f) The panel votes whether to consider the case in a formal hearing. The panel may also, at their discretion, recommend that the case be referred to the Dean of Graduate Studies due to special circumstances. Failing such actions, the Chair will dismiss the case and no records will be kept. A dismissed case can be re-opened only if there is new evidence.

(g) If there are two or more suspected violators, the panel will also decide which, if any, of the suspected violators' cases will be heard individually.

(h) If the panel votes to consider the case in a formal hearing:

1. The name(s) of the suspected violator(s) are disclosed to the panel.

2. The Chair and suspected violator jointly appoint one member of the panel to act as "counselor'' to the suspected violator(s). The counselor's purpose is not to act as an advocate but merely to explain the GRB's procedures to the suspected violator(s), answer any questions, and keep them informed of any proceeding for which they are not present. The Chair and the counselor will inform the suspected violator(s) that any information given and any questions asked of the counselor are not privileged and that the counselor will vote on the case.

3. A summary of the evidence presented to the panel at the preliminary hearing; and any other appropriate information, at the Chair's discretion, shall be presented to the suspected violator(s).


(i) The panel will examine all evidence and witnesses may be called; any panel member may directly question a witness or the suspected violator(s). The suspected violator may submit questions to the panel on information presented by witnesses and on evidence considered by the panel. Each suspected violator may request of the Chair that witnesses be required to appear on his or her behalf.

(j) A suspected violator attending a formal hearing may be accompanied by any one member of the Caltech community, of his or her choice, who may speak on behalf of the suspected violator with the panel's permission; this person may not be an attorney. The suspected violator and the member of the Caltech community may be present at all aspects of the hearing except the panel's private deliberations. Witnesses may be present only during their questioning. No one else may attend the hearing.

(k) After all of the evidence has been presented and all of the witnesses heard, a three-fourths (3/4) vote of approval by the panel shall be required to determine that an honor system violation has been committed. If no violation is deemed to have been committed, the case is dismissed and the records are destroyed. If a violation is deemed to have been committed by only some of the suspected violators in a multiple suspected violator case heard together, only the violators names and cases will appear in the record except for the participation of suspected violators as witnesses.

(l) If an honor system violation is deemed to have been committed, the Chair shall inform the panel of any previous violations committed by the suspected violator and of any pertinent information provided by the Dean of Graduate Studies. Prior violations shall not be disclosed unless a violation is deemed to have occurred and not until after all suspected violations have been decided. The panel then shall decide what action to recommend to the Dean of Graduate Studies in order to:

1. nullify the advantage that has been taken.

2. protect the Caltech community.

Any recommendation to the Dean must have the concurrence of three-fourths (3/4) of the panel. The panel may recommend any action it deems appropriate. The Chair and Secretary shall present to the Dean of Graduate Studies the recommendation of the panel and all of the records pertaining to the case. This recommendation is not binding upon the Dean.

(m) Persons who feel that either they have been unfairly treated by any members of the GRB or that their personal rights have been violated may petition the Dean of Graduate Studies.

(n) No decision of a previous panel shall be revoked, unless the panel is convinced that new evidence or changed conditions change the status of the original case, or upon recommendation of the Dean of Graduate Studies.

(o) Minutes of all proceedings of the GRB shall be recorded by the Secretary in a book of minutes of the Graduate Review Board maintained under lock and key by the Dean of Graduate Studies. Records of the proceedings shall include the names of all present, the names of witnesses, a record of the suspected violator's waiver or failure to take advantage of any important right, the decisions reached by the panel with corresponding vote tallies, a description of any previous violations, the concurring opinion, dissenting opinions, and a statement of the recommended action. No other recording of the proceedings shall be permitted. Only the GRB Chair, GRB Secretary, and the Dean of Graduate Studies, or his or her designee, may have access to these records; violators may access their portions of these records. When a matter is referred to the Dean of Graduate Studies, the Dean shall be requested to submit a short report for inclusion in the GRB records.

(p) If jurisdiction is not retained by the GRB, the matter referred to the Dean of Graduate Studies shall not be considered further by the GRB except as requested by the Dean, nor shall actions taken by the Dean in such matters be considered actions of the GRB.

(q) The GRB Chair and Secretary may consult with the Board of Control ("BOC") as necessary. If a suspected violation involves both undergraduate and graduate students, the GRB panel may invite the BOC to participate in their private deliberations.

(r) All those appearing before the panel, and the panel itself, are expected to maintain absolute secrecy regarding hearings of the GRB. Divulgence of any of the proceedings shall be considered a violation of the Honor System. Should the suspected violator wish to discuss the issues involved in his or her case with others, after his or her case has been completed, the suspected violator may do so at any time, provided no portion of the case that concerns other suspected violators is made public without the permission of those persons. However, once the suspected violator initiates public discussion, witnesses in the case and the accuser(s) are no longer bound to secrecy and the GRB panel, by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of approval, may make public statements about the case.

(s) When a suspected violation is reported to the GRB Chair by some member of the Caltech community, the Chair will inform this member that the case is being considered and the Dean of Graduate Studies will inform this member of the final disposition of the case.

(t) The GRB may invite the Caltech community to attend policy meetings which do not involve a suspected violation.


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