Student conduct is expected to be in accordance with standards of common decency and decorum, with recognition of and respect for the personal and property rights of others and the educational mission of the College. A student shall be subject to disciplinary action by the College, up to and including permanent expulsion, for misconduct on any property owned or controlled by the College; or off College property at any function that is authorized, sponsored, or conducted by the College; or in parking lots adjacent to areas or buildings where College functions are being conducted.
Disciplinary complaints in relation to the Code of Student Conduct are routed through the Office of the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus. The Dean will appoint a designated college official as the investigator, and the Complaint Process will begin.
Procedures outlined in this section do not apply to the following areas: Academic Grievances, Sexual Misconduct, Civil Rights, Americans with Disabilities Act, Title IX, Motor Vehicle Violations, Educational Records, and Financial Aid.
Interim Suspension - 72 Hours
In certain circumstances, there may be a need for an immediate Interim Suspension of 72 hours. Interim suspension recommendations must be routed through the office of the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus. During the interim suspension, the accused student shall be denied access to the campus (including classes) and/or all other College activities or privileges for which the student might otherwise be eligible, as the dean may determine to be appropriate.
- Interim suspension may be imposed for the following reasons:
- To ensure the safety and well-being of members of the College community or preservation of College property;
- To ensure the student’s own physical or emotional safety and well-being; or
- If the student poses a definite threat of disruption of or interference with the normal operations of the College.
- The Dean shall request a hearing of the charges before the College Judiciary Committee within 72 hours of the interim suspension.
- The Dean or designee shall provide the accused student(s) a written Statement of Charges as filed to provide the student(s) reasonable notice of the circumstances on which the alleged violation is based. The statement will be sent to the student’s College Email AND by a Process Server. The written Statement of Charges shall include the following:
- Date the original complaint was reported,
- Name of person to whom the original complaint was reported,
- Facts of the complaint, and
- Action taken, if any, by the receiving official to resolve the complaint.
- Notification to the student(s) that it is permissible to appear alone or with counsel before the Judiciary Committee and may be present during all phases of the hearing except during the committee’s deliberation. Requestor of counsel shall be required to sign a FERPA release before the meeting begins.
- Counsel shall be made aware of the following:
- Counsel shall not speak for or on behalf of the accused student(s) but may act only in an advisory capacity.
- Counsel may not question or cross-examine witnesses or committee members. (If counsel attempts to question or cross-examine a witness or committee member, they will be excused from proceedings.)
- Notification to the student(s) that they will be provided the opportunity to present evidence and to conduct reasonable cross- examination of witnesses.
- The Dean or designee shall provide the accused student(s) a written Statement of Charges as filed to provide the student(s) reasonable notice of the circumstances on which the alleged violation is based. The statement will be sent to the student’s College Email AND by a Process Server. The written Statement of Charges shall include the following:
- Upon Notification of an event necessitating an Interim Suspension, the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus will designate an investigator to complete the investigation process within two (2) business days.
- Investigation documentation will be distributed to the Judiciary Committee Chair for a hearing to convene within 72 hours of the initial suspension.
The student(s) that is scheduled for a hearing before the Judiciary Committee and that fails to appear at the designated date, hour, and place of the hearing after notification thereof, shall be deemed to have waived the right to a hearing and the right to appear before the Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee may then proceed with the hearing. If the accused student(s) is unable to attend the hearing for good cause at the appointed time, prior written notice of the inability to attend shall be submitted to the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus, where upon a new date shall be set by the Dean in coordination with the chairperson of the Judiciary Committee. Only one such extension shall be granted except where additional extensions would cause undue hardship to the student(s).
Complaint Process
- A complaint regarding the conduct of any student(s) may be filed by any student, faculty, or staff member having personal knowledge of the alleged activity. The College may also file complaints. Individuals are encouraged to report concerns within ten (10) working days of the occurrence of the event prompting the complaint.
- Such complaints must be in writing and shall be directed to the Office of the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus. The Complaint Form may be submitted electronically. The Complaint Form can be found on the College’s website page, Complaint & Disciplinary Procedures.
- The Dean will appoint a designated College official as the Investigator. The Investigator has ten (10) working days to complete the investigation.
- The office of the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus will work with the Investigator to schedule the date, time, and location of interviews with the complainant and the accused individual(s).
- The student(s) shall be advised that it is permissible to appear alone or with counsel during the meeting. However, Counsel shall not speak for or on behalf of the student(s), but may act only in an advisory capacity.
- The student(s) and Investigator will receive a calendar request through their College Email to solidify the meeting.
- If the student(s) are unable to attend the hearing for good cause at the appointed time, prior written notice of the inability to attend shall be submitted to the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus, where upon a new date shall be set by the office of the Dean in coordination with the Investigator. Only one such extension shall be granted, except where additional extensions would cause undue hardship to the student(s).
- The Investigator shall initially meet with the complainant (individual filing the complaint) to hear the details of the case. The investigator shall do the following:
- Document details of the case, including names, dates, locations, details of the incident, and evidence of the event (ex., text messages, emails, social media posts, documents, etc.).
- Determine the type of Misconduct based on the Code of Student Conduct.
- Determine what the outcome goal is for the Complainant.
- Notify the Complainant to check their student email for final results.
- The Investigator shall meet with the accused party to present the charges filed against them and hear their rebuttal of the events that they are being accused of. The investigator shall do the following:
- Document details of the case, including names, dates, locations, details of the incident, and evidence of the event (ex., text messages, emails, social media posts, documents, etc.).
- Notify the Accused to check their student email for final results.
- Upon completion of the interview and resolution process, the Investigator shall submit all original documents to the office of the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus, to be filed and recorded on the Student Complaint Drive.
- Using the code of Student Conduct Sanctions, the Dean of Student Success and Sparks Campus will prepare a Sanction Agreement to be submitted by email to the accused (see Appendix B – Sanction Agreement).
- The office of the Dean will prepare the Sanction Agreement for the students’ signature, and email it to the students’ college email accounts within three (3) business days.
- The office of the Dean will send copies of the Sanction Agreement to the appropriate Dean(s) for notification of involved parties.
- Upon receipt of the Sanction Agreement, the accused will select from one of the following options:
- Sign the Sanction Agreement, indicating acceptance of the sanction(s) imposed and waiving all rights to appeal; OR
- Sign the Sanction Agreement, declining the opportunity to accept the sanctions imposed and request to appeal the decision before the Judiciary Committee.
- Any student who fails to select ‘Accept’ or ‘Do Not Accept’ and fails to sign the Memorandum of Resolution/Sanction Agreement shall be deemed to have waived all rights to further appeal, and the sanction(s) imposed will be final.
- Students have five (5) working days from the date of the emailed Sanction Agreement to sign the document. At this time, the judgment is final.
- If the accused party does not agree to the Sanctions Agreement, they may begin the appeals process by completing the Appeals Request form on the College’s website page titled Complaint & Disciplinary Procedures (see Appendix H – Appeal Request).