South Suburban College: Student Discipline, Dismissal & Federal Court

How do student discipline and dismissal cases work at South Suburban College?

South Suburban College is a public community college — Community College District No. 510 — in South Holland, Cook County, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, with 8,132 students over the 2024–25 year. The fact to know first: SSC’s Academic Code of Conduct counts offenses. A second “validated” cheating or plagiarism offense brings a one-semester suspension, and a third brings expulsion “for no less than two academic years” — so the first accusation matters.

South Suburban College is a public community college, so two bodies of law apply on top of its own policies. The first is constitutional due process: the college is a state actor, and Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565 (1975), requires notice of the charge and a meaningful chance to respond. The second is the deference courts give genuine academic judgment — Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78 (1978), and Regents of the University of Michigan v. Ewing, 474 U.S. 214 (1985). In the Seventh Circuit a due process claim also needs a protected interest: there is no free-standing property interest in a public education, and a student has to point to a specific promise the college made — Charleston v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois at Chicago, 741 F.3d 769 (7th Cir. 2013).

Illinois law treats a community college differently from a state university, and the difference matters. A community college district is a local public entity, not the State: it falls under the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 10/1-206, not the Court of Claims Act, so a breach-of-contract claim against it is brought in circuit court — see Luciano v. Waubonsee Community College, 245 Ill. App. 3d 1077 (1993). Review of the board’s disciplinary decision does not run through the Administrative Review Law, which the Public Community College Act does not adopt for these matters; the route is a common-law writ of certiorari (or mandamus) in the circuit court — Maas v. Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 529, 94 Ill. App. 3d 562 (1981). And in federal court the district is not an arm of the State and has no Eleventh Amendment immunity — Hostrop v. Board of Junior College District No. 515, 523 F.2d 569 (7th Cir. 1975) — so under Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978), it can be sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 where its own policy or custom caused the constitutional violation.

South Suburban lists no federal Direct Loans among its aid programs, but it takes part in the Federal Pell Grant, SEOG and Federal Work-Study programs. Title IX, Title VI and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act apply because it takes federal funds.

A federal claim arising at South Suburban College is filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois — Cook County sits in its Eastern Division under 28 U.S.C. § 93(a), and the statute fixes the places of holding court for that division at Chicago and Wheaton. I am a member of the general bar of that court, admitted on my Florida license under its Local Rule 83.10, which opens the general bar to an attorney in good standing before the highest court of any state. That means a Title IX, Section 504, ADA or due process complaint for a South Suburban College student is one I file and litigate under my own name, with no pro hac vice motion. The Northern District abrogated its local-counsel designation rule in July 2023, so a member of its bar with no office in the district no longer has to designate local counsel. One limit, stated plainly: the court keeps a separate trial bar, and under Local Rule 83.12 a general-bar member who is not on it — that is me — appears alone in everything except testimonial proceedings, meaning evidentiary hearings and trial, where a trial-bar member must sit as advisor unless the judge grants the rule’s narrow waiver.

Cheating and AI: five business days, and the offenses add up

SSC treats AI used without “proper attribution, citation, or authorization” as plagiarism (see AI accusations). The instructor sets the penalty in the syllabus — up to failing the course or “exclusion from a program of study.”

• The hold. The instructor has your record put on hold and writes an incident report. Withdrawing does not escape it: if you withdraw before the hold, the grade may still become an F if the claim is upheld.
• The appeal. If it is not resolved with the instructor, file the Academic Conduct Appeal Form with the Vice President of Academic Services “within five business days of the date of discussion with the instructor.” You keep attending class.
• The committee. The Vice President convenes the Academic Conduct Committee with you and the instructor, aiming to finish within 30 days. Its decision is final.

That third-offense rule collides with the Student Code of Conduct, which caps expulsion at the rest of the current semester plus two full semesters — a conflict to raise before any such sanction. See academic misconduct cases.

Conduct hearings: a short window, and 48 hours to reschedule

Conduct charges go to the Dean of Student Development or the College Disciplinary Standards Committee, and you receive notice of the specific violations within five business days.

• When a hearing is required. Whenever suspension beyond ten days, dismissal or expulsion is possible, a hearing is held “no sooner than two (2) school days and no more than seven (7) school days” after notice, sent to your SSC email and by first-class mail.
• Do not miss it. A request to reschedule must be made to the Dean “at least 48 hours prior” to the hearing. Without one, a student who does not appear “forfeits the right to appear,” and the committee may decide without you.
• The sanctions. Suspension is capped at ten school days per offense; dismissal lasts at most through the following full semester, then requires a written request for reinstatement; expulsion lasts at most through the following two full semesters.
• The appeal. In writing to the Vice President of Student and Enrollment Services “within 5 business days of receipt” of the decision, on three grounds only: new evidence, due process not followed, or a committee member’s conflict of interest. That decision is final.

The code publishes no standard of proof and says nothing about advisors or attorneys. Violence or threats bring immediate removal and an interim suspension until you meet the committee, which convenes within five school days. Board Policy 408.02 adds a promise: “Due process shall be afforded” in any disciplinary action, under the procedures in the catalog or handbook.

Grades, academic standing and nursing

A final-grade appeal must be started by October 15 for spring or summer grades and March 15 for fall grades; after that, “the grade becomes permanent.” Put every test and paper in at step 2 — materials not presented then “may not be considered” by the Academic Appeals Committee, whose decision is final.

Under the Standards of Academic Progress, a cumulative GPA below 2.0 means Academic Warning, and each further semester below 2.0 brings Probation, then Academic Dismissal. Readmission on Special Probation needs counselor approval; failing that semester means dismissal and a 16-week absence. See academic suspension.

The ACEN-accredited nursing program requires a C or better in every nursing course to progress, and drug screens continue at least annually; an admitted student with a positive screen “will be required to withdraw.” See nursing school dismissal.

Sexual misconduct

SSC’s Title IX grievance procedure provides a live hearing at which each party’s advisor — who “may be, but need not be, an attorney” — conducts cross-examination, at least ten days to review the evidence and the investigative report, and a preponderance standard. An appeal must reach the Title IX Coordinator “within ten (10) days” of the written findings; the procedure does not say whether these are calendar or business days, so count calendar days. For sexual misconduct, the federal rule is the 2020 Title IX regulation: the 2024 rule was vacated nationwide on January 9, 2025, in Tennessee v. Cardona, and on September 29, 2026 the Department of Education formally repealed it and restored the pre-2024 text (91 Fed. Reg. 61,308). The 2020 regulation requires postsecondary institutions to hold a live hearing at which each party’s advisor conducts cross-examination, as SSC’s procedure provides.

What a student defense lawyer can do here

Most of the value is early and quiet: reading SSC’s code against what the College actually did, writing the response or appeal on the grounds the code recognizes, preserving Title IX, Section 504, ADA and FERPA issues so they are in the record, and finding comparators.

At SSC two moves matter most. Treat a first cheating accusation as the case that decides the next two, and file the appeal with evidence inside five business days. In a conduct case, confirm the hearing date the day notice arrives, and ask in writing whether an advisor may attend, because the code is silent.

The limit: there is no discovery, the rules of evidence do not apply, and the written record built on campus is all a court will see.

The one Illinois statute that gives you procedure

Illinois has no general statute setting notice periods, hearing formats, standards of proof or appeal rights for college students. The Illinois School Code, 105 ILCS 5, has a detailed suspension and expulsion scheme, and it applies to elementary and secondary schools, not here. The exception is the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act, 110 ILCS 155, and it is a real one. It reaches every higher education institution in the state — public universities, community colleges, and private not-for-profit and for-profit institutions alike — and it requires timely written notice of the allegations to all parties, an investigation that is adequate, reliable and impartial, written notice of the outcome, and appeal rights. It requires the school to make confidential advisors available, trained to a statutory standard and kept separate from the people deciding the case. Both parties are entitled to an advisor of their choice, and that advisor may be an attorney — although the institution may limit how far an attorney-advisor participates in a hearing, which is why South Suburban College’s own rule on that, set out above, still governs what your lawyer may do in the room. The standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence, applied the same way to both sides.

What to do first

1. Check your SSC email and mail daily once a charge is possible; a hearing can come within two school days.
2. Diary deadlines with their units: five business days (cheating and conduct appeals), 48 hours (reschedule), ten days of unstated unit (Title IX appeal).
3. Do not withdraw to dodge a cheating claim; the F can still follow.
4. Ask in writing for the incident report, the evidence and the names of committee members.
5. Raise any disability now — a Section 504 and ADA question. The Illinois student defense hub explains the federal side.

One honest caveat about geography. Illinois has three federal districts. I am admitted to two of them, the Northern and the Southern. A federal claim arising at a school in Springfield, Peoria, Champaign-Urbana or the Quad Cities falls in the Central District; I am not a member of that bar, and those matters I handle with local counsel in that district or by pro hac vice admission. Appeals from the Northern District go to the Seventh Circuit, which keeps its own bar; my appellate admission is in the Eleventh. I say so before a retainer rather than after.

Where I am licensed. I am licensed to practice law in Florida. I am admitted to the bars of the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, the District of Colorado, the Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois, the District of Nebraska, the District of New Mexico, and the Western District of Wisconsin, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Federal court admission is not a license to practice the law of the state in which the court sits. I am not licensed in Illinois and do not advise on Illinois state law or appear in Illinois state court.

Other schools in the Northern District of Illinois

Every college writes its own conduct, academic-standing and appeal rules, and the deadlines are rarely the same from one campus to the next. These pages set out the procedure at other community colleges in the Northern District of Illinois:

• Triton College
• Waubonsee Community College
• Wilbur Wright College (City Colleges of Chicago)
• College of DuPage
• College of Lake County
• Elgin Community College

Common questions about South Suburban College student cases

How long do I have to appeal at South Suburban College?

Five business days from receipt for a conduct decision. Five business days from your discussion with the instructor for a cheating or plagiarism appeal. Ten days of unstated unit after written findings for Title IX. Final grades: by October 15 or March 15, depending on the term.

What happens if I am caught cheating twice at SSC?

A second validated offense brings a one-semester suspension, and a third brings expulsion for at least two academic years, though the conduct code defines expulsion as shorter. You may appeal a suspension or expulsion through the Vice President of Academic Services and the Academic Conduct Committee. Contest the first charge.

Can I bring a lawyer to my South Suburban College hearing?

The Student Code of Conduct does not say, so ask the Dean of Student Development in writing before the hearing — and remember that any rescheduling request is due at least 48 hours ahead. In a Title IX case the answer is yes: your advisor may be an attorney and conducts the cross-examination.

What standard of proof does South Suburban College use?

Preponderance of the evidence in Title IX cases. The Student Code of Conduct and the Academic Code of Conduct publish no standard at all. Board Policy 408.02 does promise that due process “shall be afforded” in disciplinary actions under the procedures in the catalog or handbook — worth quoting back.

Can I avoid a cheating sanction by withdrawing from the class?

No. The instructor asks for a hold on your record, and the code says that if you withdraw before the hold is in place, the grade may still be changed to an F if the claim is upheld following the appeal process. Appeal the charge within five business days of your discussion with the instructor instead.