Student Conduct

The Office of Student Conduct serves the University community by administering the student judicial system. Anytime a student has violated the Code of Student Conduct, his/her case will be referred to this office.

In accordance with the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), the University cannot contact or share information about a student’s judicial record without the student’s written permission. However, the 1998 amendment (SEC. 952) allows the university to contact parents for students who are responsible for violating the alcohol or drug policy.

The Director of Student Conduct is always available to discuss general information about the discipline process, University regulations, and related laws. It is important to know that federal laws prohibits staff from releasing any information about a student’s involvement in the disciplinary process without the student’s written permission, even to family members (i.e. mother, father, etc.)

Some students want direct family involvement for emotional support, case preparation, advice, and decision-making. These students may wish to have a family member serve as their advisor. Occasionally, a student may not want to inform family members about his or her involvement in the disciplinary process. Parents who are contacted by their son/daughter about pending disciplinary actions may want to suggest that the student sign an authorization (i.e., Release of Information form) allowing the director to talk with their parents about the case.

A student may have legal advisor accompany him/her to a hearing before the campus judicial board. The legal advisor may or may not represent the student (see new policy ACT NO. 464 and Code of Student Conduct), only advise him/her. Students who retain an attorney do so at their own expense.

A hold is placed by the Director of Student Conduct to block registration, graduation, or issuance of a diploma until a disciplinary matter has been resolved. Once the matter is resolved, the hold will be lifted. Questions pertaining to a disciplinary hold should be directed to the Director of Student Conduct.

Student Conduct is obligated to move forward with all disciplinary matters as soon as it has collected sufficient information to do so. The University is not required to defer to the timeline of the criminal courts and will not typically grant request made on this basis. Please remember that the University is not attempting to determine if a student committed a crime… only to determine whether or not the Code of Student Conduct has been violated.

Many students allege that staff has assured them they “will not get in trouble,” The fact is that only Student Conduct has the authority to determine whether or not a violation of the Code of Student Conduct may exist, and therefore whether or not to pursue the incident.

Sanctions are only imposed if a student has been found responsible for a violation of the Code of Student Conduct. The primary goals of sanctions are to protect the safety of the University community, to educate students about the inappropriateness of their conduct, and to provide opportunities to learn new behaviors and problem-solving techniques. Sanctions are designed to reflect the individual student and the impact of the violation (s) on the campus community.

Yes. The University reserves the right to assert jurisdiction for any incident (s) that take place off campus. Students may be taken before a University judicial body for any conduct that is deemed violative of this code, and for any conduct and/or behavior that reflects negatively on the image or reputation of the University.