If you are looking for a UCSB Title IX lawyer after receiving a written notice, begin with the route and deadlines in that document. This page offers general educational information, not legal advice. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by the University of California, Santa Barbara. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Start With Your Written Notice
If UCSB’s Title IX/DHP Office has opened a matter involving you, the first thing to identify is what your written notice actually says. UCSB’s process for student sexual-misconduct allegations runs through one of two systemwide appendices, and the notice should tell you which one applies to your case:
- PACAOS Appendix E applies to conduct not covered by U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Title IX regulations.
- Interim PACAOS Appendix F applies to DOE-covered conduct.
Both appendix versions linked from UCSB’s SVSH response-procedures page are marked issued December 22, 2025, effective January 1, 2026. UCSB’s Student Conduct Code and its companion Investigation and Resolution Framework both direct formal student SVSH matters to Appendix E or F rather than to the general student-conduct timeline. This means the standard student-conduct deadlines you may see referenced elsewhere do not automatically apply to an SVSH matter. The applicable appendix does.
The University of California SVSH Policy and Appendix E or Appendix F govern every UC campus, and the campus Title IX office applies them. The main stages are a notice of charges, investigation and evidence review, a preliminary determination, a possible hearing, and an appeal. For the full walkthrough, see the University of California systemwide Title IX process.
The current UC systemwide SVSH interim policy, effective January 1, 2026 with an FAQ revision dated August 24, 2026, is available through UCLA’s Title IX policy index and directly at this policy copy. Because policy documents are updated, the version that applies can depend on when the incident happened and when your case was opened, so do not assume which version or route applies to your situation. Confirm it from your own notice. The periods below are general rules, not case-specific deadline calculations.
Report Versus Notice of Charges
An initial report to the Title IX/DHP Office is not the same as a notice of charges under Appendix E or F. A report can lead to outreach and assessment before an investigation. The appendices tie their normal investigation targets to the notice of charges and have later evidence, hearing, and appeal steps. Read the document you receive to identify the stage and the specific response it requests.
Early Steps to Take
Regardless of route, early preparation helps:
- Preserve texts, emails, DMs, call logs, photos, and any other records connected to the allegation. Do not delete or edit anything, even if it seems unhelpful.
- Write down your own timeline of events while memory is fresh, for your own reference.
- Identify potential witnesses. Follow any no-contact directive or other interim measure exactly as written.
- Ask the Title IX/DHP Office promptly if the route or deadline is unclear, and respond within the applicable period.
Investigation and Evidence Review
The two appendices treat evidence review differently, and the distinction matters:
Under Appendix E (section III.D.5), parties review relevant evidence before the investigative report is finalized. The Title IX Officer sets a response period that, absent good cause, will not exceed five business days.
Under Appendix F (section III.D.5), parties review directly related evidence and have, absent good cause, at least ten business days to submit a written response.
These evidence-review windows are separate from, and should not be confused with, any appeal deadline discussed below. Both appendices also describe a general investigation target of roughly 60 to 90 business days from notice of charges, subject to extension for good cause. This is a planning benchmark, not a guarantee of timing in any specific case.
Advisor and Support-Person Options
Both appendices allow each party to select an advisor of their choice, including an attorney, or to request that the university provide one. They also allow a support person under their stated rules.
The advisor’s role differs by route:
- Under Appendix E, an advisor generally may not speak on the party’s behalf during meetings or proceedings.
- Under Appendix F, an advisor’s role at a hearing includes asking the party’s questions of the other party and of witnesses. If a party does not have an advisor present for that questioning role at the hearing, the university will provide one at no cost.
An advisor does not speak for the student at every stage of either process. Understanding which functions the advisor can and cannot perform under your specific route is important before any meeting.
Students may also contact UCSB’s Student Respondent Services at (805) 893-5012 or RSC@sa.ucsb.edu for help understanding the process and for referrals. These coordinators help with process navigation but do not provide response strategy or advocacy, and communications with them are not fully confidential. UCSB says details shared about the incident must be relayed to the Title IX/DHP Office. UCSB also lists its Associated Students Office of the Student Advocate as a separate resource that may serve as an advisor.
The UCSB Title IX/DHP Office can be reached at (805) 893-2701 and maintains a reporting portal.
Supportive Measures
Supportive measures (such as no-contact directives, schedule adjustments, or housing changes) may be available regardless of whether a formal complaint proceeds. These are generally non-punitive and are meant to be available to both parties while a matter is pending. Ask the Title IX/DHP Office what is available and how to request it.
Hearing and Determination
Whether a live hearing occurs, and what form it takes, depends on the applicable appendix and the specific case. Not every student matter includes a hearing, so do not assume one will happen in your case until your notice or the process itself confirms it.
Appeals: Separate Triggers, Separate Windows
Appeal rights and deadlines differ depending on the route and on whether a hearing occurred. Do not treat these as interchangeable:
Appendix E (section III.H):
- If there was a hearing, an appeal of the hearing outcome goes to the hearing coordinator within ten business days following issuance of the determination and any sanctions.
- If there was no hearing, a sanction appeal goes in writing to Student Conduct within ten business days after Student Conduct’s notice that the preliminary determination became final and a sanction would be imposed.
Appendix F (section III.H) uses the same two filing windows but keeps the hearing and no-hearing triggers separate. Its no-hearing sanction appeal applies when the parties accepted the preliminary determination. Appendix F hearing appeals also include grounds not found in Appendix E, such as qualifying new evidence or an outcome-affecting hearing-officer conflict or bias. Appendix E hearing grounds include material hearing-process error, an unreasonable determination based on the evidence before the hearing officer, and disproportionate sanctions; its no-hearing appeal is limited to disproportionate sanctions. Read the grounds in the appendix and notice that actually apply to your matter.
The other party’s opportunity to respond to an appeal also differs by scenario under Appendix F: three business days after a hearing appeal is filed, versus five business days after a no-hearing sanction appeal is filed. These response periods are distinct from the filing deadlines above and from each other.
Because these windows are short and route-specific, confirm the exact trigger language in your own notice or determination letter before relying on any date.
FAQs
Does the same deadline apply whether or not there was a hearing?
No. Appendix E and Appendix F both use a ten-business-day appeal window, but the trigger differs. One runs from issuance of a hearing determination and any sanction; the other runs from Student Conduct notice that a no-hearing preliminary determination became final and a sanction would be imposed. These are separate triggers.
Can my advisor speak for me at meetings?
Under Appendix E, an advisor generally may not speak for a party at meetings or proceedings. Under Appendix F, the advisor asks the party’s questions of the other party and witnesses at a hearing. Check the appendix and the meeting rules for the advisor’s role at other stages.
Is Student Respondent Services confidential?
No. It is not fully confidential. UCSB says incident details shared there must be relayed to the Title IX/DHP Office. The service does not provide response strategy.
How long does an investigation take?
Both appendices describe a general target of 60 to 90 business days from notice of charges, subject to good-cause extension. This is not a guarantee for any individual case.
Which policy version applies to me?
Confirm this from your own written notice. UCSB’s linked appendices and the current UC systemwide policy each show specific effective dates, but the applicable version for your matter depends on when and how your case was opened.
What should I do first?
Read your notice carefully, preserve relevant records, and confirm which appendix and deadlines apply before taking any other action.
A Note on Timing
This page does not calculate deadlines for any individual case and does not guarantee any outcome. Business-day deadlines can shift with holidays, extensions, or how a notice is worded. Always confirm dates against your own notice and the current version of the applicable appendix.
Sources
- UCSB SVSH Response Procedures
- PACAOS Appendix E (UCSB-linked copy)
- Interim PACAOS Appendix F (UCSB-linked copy)
- UCSB Student Conduct Code (Effective January 1, 2026)
- UCSB Student Conduct Investigation and Resolution Framework (Effective January 1, 2026)
- UC Systemwide SVSH Interim Policy
- UCLA Title IX Policy Index
- UCSB Title IX/DHP Office
- UCSB Student Respondent Services
