Actions Which May Be Appealed. The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities shall provide institutions the opportunity to appeal adverse actions, issuance or continuation of Show-Cause orders, and/or imposition or continuation of Probation. The Commission will provide the institution in a timely manner with written notification of the result of the appeal as well as a detailed explanation for the result.

Grounds for Appeal.  An appeal shall be based on one or more of the following grounds:

a.	the evaluator(s) and/or the Commission made substantial errors or omissions in carrying out prescribed procedures which affected the decision of the Commission;
b.	the evidence before the Commission at the time the accrediting decision was made was materially in error;
c.	the decision of the Commission was not adequately supported by the facts before it at the time, or it was contrary to the substantial weight of evidence before the Commission.

Role of the Chair. In handling properly filed appeals, the Chair of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities shall appoint a seven-member Appeal Board to consider the grievance and designate the chair. Members of the Appeal Board shall consist of representatives employed full-time by member institutions with the exception of one member who shall represent the public. At least one member of the Appeal Board shall represent an institution with similar characteristics to those of the institution filing the appeal. No member of an Appeal Board shall be a current member of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities or shall have served on an evaluation committee to the aggrieved institution.

The Chair of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities shall set the date, time, and place of the hearing by the Appeal Board. The hearing shall be no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after receipt of the appeal and there shall be at least thirty (30) days' written notice of the hearing given to the Commission and to the institution. If the institution and/or the Commission plan to call witnesses at the hearing, they shall provide the Chair of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and the opposing party with all the witnesses' names and positions at least five (5) calendar days before the hearing.

In carrying out its duties the Appeal Board shall:

a.	meet at the time and place designated by the Chair to consider the appeal;
b.	provide a hearing if the institution so requests;
c.	consider the grounds for the appeal as alleged by the institution;
d.	study the evidence submitted by the institution in support of its allegation;
e.	consider the report of the evaluation committee, the institution's response, and other supporting statements and documents;
f.	consider whether the Commission substantially followed stated policies and procedures;
g.	prepare a report of the meeting of the Appeal Board, including a final judgment of the Board, within twenty (20) days after the end of the hearing; and
h.	forward a record to the Chair of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, including a report of the hearing of the Appeal Board, the appeal filed by the applicant, and other relevant statements and documents considered by the Board.

Conduct of the Hearing.  The Chair of the Appeal Board may retain legal counsel as he/she deems appropriate and may decide any prehearing issues that may arise. Discovery such as depositions, interrogatories, and production of documents is not available to the parties except by mutual agreement. The chair of the Appeal Board shall make an initial determination of whether the Appeal Board has jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

a.	The chair of the Appeal Board shall control the hearing and the presentation of the evidence. He/she shall ensure that all participants have a reasonable opportunity to be heard and to present relevant oral and written evidence. The Chair of the Appeal Board may limit the duration of a hearing dividing the available time equitably between the parties.
b.	The technical rules of evidence shall not apply, but the Chair of the Appeal Board may limit the evidence to avoid undue repetition and to ensure relevance. He/she shall rule on all questions pertaining to the conduct of the hearing.
c.	The institution's presentation during the appeal hearing shall be strictly limited to those matters raised in the appeal documents; no additional written materials or evidence unavailable to the Commission at the time of its action may be presented.
d.	Each party shall have the right to be represented by counsel or authorized spokesperson, to examine the witnesses of the other party, and to present oral and written evidence.
e.	The hearing shall be closed. A secretary shall record the minutes of the hearing. A court reporter may be present to prepare a record of the hearing at the election of either party and at the expense of the electing party. Where the hearing is closed, only necessary participants shall be present.

a.	If the decision of the Commission is sustained, the entire cost of the Appeal Board, and cost of Commission legal counsel, shall be borne by the institution.
b.	If the institution's appeal is upheld, the cost of the Appeal Board shall be borne equally by the institution and Commission and each shall each bear the cost of its own legal counsel.