Student Conduct Authority
Authority
The Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students is vested with the authority over student conduct by the President. The Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students appoints designees (e.g. residence life staff members) to oversee and manage the student conduct process. The Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students (or designee) may appoint administrative hearing and appeals officers as deemed necessary to efficiently and effectively supervise the student conduct process.
The Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students (or designee) will assume responsibility for the investigation of an allegation of misconduct to determine if the complaint has merit.
Gatekeeping
No complaint will be forwarded for a hearing unless there is reasonable cause to believe a policy has been violated. Reasonable cause is defined as some credible information to support each element of the offense, even if that information is merely a credible witness or a victim’s statement. A complaint wholly unsupported by any credible information will not be forwarded for a hearing.
Interpretation and Revision
The Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students will develop procedural rules for the administration of hearings that are consistent with provisions of the Code of Student Conduct. Material deviation from these rules will, generally, only be made as necessary and will include reasonable advance notice to the parties involved, either by posting online and/or in the form of written communication. The Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students may vary procedures with notice upon determining that changes to law or regulation require policy or procedural alterations not reflected in this Code. The Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students may make minor modifications to procedure that do not materially jeopardize the fairness owed to any party. Any question of interpretation of the Code of Student Conduct will be referred to the Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students whose interpretation is final. The Code of Student Conduct will be updated annually under the direction of the Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students with a comprehensive revision process being conducted every two years.
