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General
Policies,
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FAQs for Accused Students
1. Who can be accused of a violation of the Code of Conduct? For the purposes of the University’s discipline process, a student is defined as a person who is enrolled full-time or part-time, undergraduate or graduate students, continuing students who have been previously enrolled and prospective students who seek to enroll. 2. Who can file an Allegation of Student Misconduct? Anyone can file an Allegation of Student Misconduct including: faculty, staff, and administration members, other students, and people outside of the University Community. 3. What policies can be violated? All policies of the University included in the student Code of Conduct. 4. Who do I need to meet with and when? First, someone from the Office of Judicial Affairs will contact you via email or phone. It is very important that you respond promptly. Once you’ve contacted a staff member, they will set up a Disciplinary Conference for you. During the Conference, the Judicial Affairs Designee will inform you of the next steps you need to take. It is equally important that if you were also cited by local or state police that you respond to that citation within ten days. The criminal process is separate from the University process and it is crucial that you respond to the citation given by local or state police. 5. What is the process that my case will follow? Cases follow the Judicial Affairs discipline process. The first step in this process is the Disciplinary Conference. During this conference the Judicial Affairs designee meets with the student in an informal, non-adversarial meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to examine the complaint, listen to the student being accused, discuss circumstances regarding the incident, and hear student concerns. The result of this conference is to determine whether or not to charge the student with a violation. If the decision is made to not charge the student, then the process ends with the Disciplinary Conference. If the decision is made to charge and sanction the student, the student will then have the option to Contest or Not Contest the charge and/or sanction. If the student decides to Not Contest the charge and sanction, then the charge and sanction go into effect. If the student decides to contest, the next step will be either a Sanction Review (if the student contests just the sanction) or an Administrative Hearing or a University Hearing Board Hearing (if the student contests the charge). University Hearing Board Hearings are used only for violations that may result in a sanction of Deferred Expulsion to Permanent Expulsion. The Judicial Affairs designee will be able to explain the specifics of this process during the Disciplinary Conference. 6. Can someone atted my meetings with me like a parent or lawyer? Yes, you may bring someone with you to the meeting however they play no formal role in the process. It is important to remember that this discipline process is not like the traditional legal process and therefore the same formal rules of law do not apply. For more information about advisors, visit the Advisors & Legal Counsel Page. 7. What should I wear? When you meet with you Judicial Affairs designee it is acceptable to wear your everyday clothes 8. What should I do if the information I give towards the case involves other possible violations of the Code of Conduct? The Office of Judicial Affairs responds to reports made regarding possible violations of the Code of Conduct. If you self-report information that was not sent to us in the original complaint, we would discuss that information with you, but not necessarily charge you with any additional violations from that information. 9. Once the charges and sanctions are issued to me, what happens next? After a decision has been made through a disciplinary conference, administrative hearing, or university board hearings, assuming there are no appeals, the sanctions assigned must be completed. Sanctions can vary and some may not require the student to do anything other than to watch their behavior in the future while others may require that the student attend a University program like the Alcohol Intervention Program. The Judicial Affairs designee assigned to the case will guide the student through the process to outline what must be completed and by what time. 10. What should I do if I think the sanction(s) that were assigned during the Disciplinary Conference are too severe? If you feel that the sanctions you received are too severe or not fair you can appeal your sanctions through a Sanction Review. You must request this review either through an Administrative Hearing Officer or the Vice President of Student Affairs, depending upon the level of sanction recommended. The person reviewing the sanction will review the record of the case and may sustain or modify the sanctions given. It is important to know that the person performing the review may modify the sanction by either decreasing or increasing the sanction. 11. What happens if I don't complete my sanctions? You can be charged with Failure to Comply. Since Failure to Comply is a violation of Student Code of Conduct there could be another Disciplinary Conference and the process could start over again. That is why it is very important that you understand your sanctions when they are assigned and complete them within the time allotted. 12. Who will know that I have been charged? Unless you accept responsibility or are found responsible for violating the Code of Conduct, the information regarding the incident, including any potential charges or sanctions, is not shared with anyone. If you are charged with violating the Code of Conduct and sanctioned, and you either accept responsibility or are found responsible, that information becomes part of your Educational Record here at the University, and as a result the information can only be shared with those people who have a legitimate education interest in the record or have a right to know as defined by the federal government. The JA Designee, University Hearing Board Members (if contesting the charge) Administrative Hearing Officer (if contesting the charge), and the student filing the charge are examples of people with a legitimate educational interest or a right to know. Depending upon your age and the nature of the offense and sanctions, your parents may also be informed of the charge and sanction if you were found responsible for violating the Code of Conduct. For more information, please consult the Student Discipline Records Policy. 13. Can I be charged criminally outside of the Univeristy Discipline Process? Yes, if local or state police were involved it is very likely that you will also be charged through those departments. And, just because a student has been sanctioned through the University does not mean they will not receive fines or punishments from local or state police and vice versa.
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Updated August 24, 2009