Student Code of Conduct Procedures

All suspected violations of the Code will be reviewed in accordance with the procedures outlined below.

1. Disciplinary Correspondence All disciplinary correspondence will be sent to the student's official mailing address as listed with the Office of the Registrar. The University reserves the right to use other reasonable means to notify students.

2. Filing Complaints:

• Any member of the University community may make a complaint and/or referral or offer information concerning such complaint and/or referral to the Office of the Dean of Students. A complaint or referral made against a student or students alleging violation(s) of the Student Code of Conduct shall be directed to the Dean of Students for review. Any complaint should be prepared in writing on a University incident report form and should be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place, preferably within 48 hours.
• While action on a complaint of violating a University rule or regulation is pending, the status of the student shall not be altered except for reasons outlined in Section J.

3. Presumption of Non-Violation Any student charged with a violation under this Code shall be presumed not responsible until it is proven that, more likely than not, the violation of the rule or regulation occurred.

4. Preliminary Investigation When the Dean of Students or designee receives information that a student has allegedly violated University rules, regulations, or local, state, or federal law, the Dean or designee shall investigate the alleged violation and determine whether further action is necessary. After completing a preliminary investigation, the Dean or designee may:

• Find no basis for the complaint and dismiss the allegation as unfounded, or
• Contact the student for a discussion and either:
  (1) Dismiss the allegation.
  (2) Identify that the alleged violation(s) equate to a Level I infraction and assign the case to a Student Conduct Officer to conduct a student conduct meeting with the student(s).
  (3) Identify that the alleged violation(s) equate to a Level II infraction and schedule a hearing with the Student Discipline Committee.

5. Summoning a Student for a Student Conduct Meeting A student conduct meeting is a meeting between a student(s) involved in an alleged violation of the Code and a Student Conduct Officer and may include sanctions. In some cases, the meeting may resolve the matter.

• The Student Conduct Officer shall provide the student with:
  (1) Written notice of the charge(s) and an outline of rights.
  (2) Review of all available information, documents, exhibits, and a list of witnesses that may testify against the student.
• Following receipt of the notice of charges, a student:
  (1) May elect not to contest the charges and to accept responsibility for them. If this election is made, the student must sign a waiver of the right to a hearing, and must accept the sanction imposed by the Student Conduct Officer. The decision to waive a hearing and accept the sanction is final and not appealable.
  (2) May contest the charges and elect to proceed to a hearing. The hearing shall be scheduled not less than five (5) nor more than 15 calendar days from the student conduct meeting.