|
RESIDENCE HALL JUDICIAL SYSTEM
About Residential Life | Programming | Freshman - What to Bring
Judicial System
The basic collegiate experience takes place not only in the academic
environment
but in all facets of university life. It is the goal of the Office of
Residential Life to
help provide that community environment which is supportive of and conducive
to the maximum intellectual, psychological, spiritual and social growth
of all of
its members. Any violation of policies and procedures set forth in this
student
handbook or other residence documents demonstrates disregard for the
rights of
others in the University community. These actions will result in the
initiation of
the judicial process to ensure resolution.
Judicial Process
The Director of Residential Life is responsible for upholding University
policies
and regulations within residential facilities. The Director delegates
authority to
staff members within the Residential Life Department, including the
Resident
Assistants, Area Coordinators, and the Associate Director of Residential
Life.
Moreover, incident reports from the Office of Safety and Security regarding
residence violations will be considered and dealt with in a similar
manner to those
reports received from the Residential Life staff. The following structure
has been
developed to support these staff members in their efforts to maintain
the standards
of our campus residential community.
Level One:
First violation: $50.00 fine
Parental Notification (Written)
Substance Abuse or Anger Management
Workshop (if applicable)
Second violation: $100 fine
Parental Notification (Written)
Substance Abuse or Anger Management
Individual Counseling (If applicable)
Level Two:
$150 fine
Residence Hall probation
Dean of Students and Parental Notification
(Written and Oral)
Substance Abuse or Anger Management or
Individual Counseling (if applicable)
Level Three:
Suspension* from the Residence Halls
Referral to the Dean of Students’ Office for
further adjudication
Parental Notification (Written and Oral)
*SUSPENSION – Freshmen and sophomores are required
to live on campus.
Residence Hall Suspension means that a resident student may have housing
privileges
revoked for a period of time usually one to two weeks. It is the student’s
responsibility to find alternative accommodations and to arrange transportation
to and from campus during this time.
Parents who have signed and submitted Parental Release Forms declaring
students
dependent are notified of disciplinary action. Depending on the severity
of
the incident, any offense level may be bypassed and/or a referral may
be made
directly to the Dean of Students’ Office. Fire and safety violations
may exceed
these sanction levels and may receive individual fines based on the
severity of the
incident. Monies collected from all fines are used to augment Residential
Life
hall programming.
Responding to Violations of Community Living Standards
These standards and procedures have been established by the University
to support the educational mission, to sustain a safe and secure residence
hall environment, and to safeguard the interests of the residential
community. The University has a responsibility to restrict any behavior
that adversely affects others or impedes the academic success of its
residents. A student alleged to have violated the community living standards,
University policy or the terms and conditions of the Residence contract
can expect to be involved in the disciplinary process described here.
The discipline process is initiated upon receipt of a written report
of a violation
of community living standards from staff, Safety and Security Officers
or residents.
Residential staff members use Incident Reports to address alleged misconduct.
Students referenced in these reports will be given an opportunity to
discuss
the information with a residential life staff member, usually the Area
Coordinator
responsible for the area where the students reside. Once all information
is
obtained, the staff member will attempt to determine whether a student
is
responsible or not for a community living standard violation. If a resident
is
deemed responsible for violating any rules, standards, or terms and
conditions of
the residence contract, the staff member may impose a range of sanctions
described in the previous section and/or the following.
Other forms of sanctions
A student found in violation of residence hall rules and regulations
may be subject
to additional sanctions commensurate with the offense. When appropriate,
sanctions may also include:
Behavioral Contract
A written agreement which gives an individual the opportunity to correct
or change inappropriate behavior by meeting certain conditions for a
specified period of tie. Failure to adhere to the contract will result
in additional sanctions.
Educational Service Time
An individual is required to complete an assignment within a specified
period of time that will provide an opportunity for education on a topic
related to his/her misconduct.
Restitution
Repayment for actual loss in the case of property damage or theft.
Hall Transfer
Relocation to a different room or facility
Restriction of Privileges
An individual's actions, participation in hall activities or use of services are limited or withheld (e.g. visitation).
Combined Sanctions
A combination of the sanctions described above may be imposed.
Behavioral Appeal Process
A student has the right to appeal two types of behavioral
sanctions imposed by a
University official, namely, a student’s (1) suspension of any
kind or (2) dismissal
from the Residential Life Program and/or the University.
To initiate this process, the student must write and
submit on his or her own
behalf a letter of appeal within 48 hours of the imposition of the sanction.
Specifically, the written appeal must include demonstration of one or
more of the
following reasons for requesting an appeal:
- Specification of procedural errors alleged to have been committed
during the original hearing, which would have affected the outcome
of the original hearing
- Specification of new information which may have affected the outcome of
the original hearing. A detailed account of the specific new information the
student wishes to bring forward must be clearly indicated.
- Imposed sanction(s) is/are not appropriate for the violations committed.
This letter must be presented to the Dean of Students
and must include the
rationale upon which the appeal is based and all the relevant information
the student desires to be reviewed. The Dean or designee will then review
the entire situation within a reason able time and may uphold, modify,
or dismiss the original
decision and/or sanction. This decision will be final. Only students
dismissed
from the University may file a grievance. (See Appendix E for Behavioral
Grievance
Procedure)
Records
Centralized records about formal actions undertaken by the Office of
Residential
Life will be maintained by Residential Life. Confidentiality of the
records will be
maintained to the extent required by law, including the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Director will periodically
compile and release statistical data on the administration and enforcement
of
rules and regulations. However, data released will not reveal the identity
of individuals
involved.
|
