When an apparent violation of College or residence hall policy occurs, an incident report is filed. Based on this report, the Director may file specific charges against the suspected student(s) involved. Residents charged with infractions of policy will have a hearing. Alleged violations of College and residence hall policy may result in fines, community service hours, probationary status, removal from housing, suspension or expulsion from the College.

Residence hall students are responsible for their actions, and living in a densely populated environment requires maturity and good judgement. In order to maintain a positive educational environment, there are conditions that are part of your residence hall contract which govern acceptable and unacceptable behavior. These conditions allow Residence Life staff to take action if you don’t fulfill your part of the contract. The residence hall staff will confront you if your actions appear contrary to policy or community standards. Our hope is that by calling attention to your behavior and its consequences, better judgment will be exercised, and future problems can be avoided.

Incident reports are the primary means of communicating what goes on in the residence halls. The reports are used by the Residence Life staff as an informational and historical record of events, as well as a tool for follow-up investigations or disciplinary actions. Incident reports are not limited to violations of College and residence hall policy, but may be purely informational in nature. Once an incident report has been filed, the conduct officer will determine if there may have been a violation of College or Residence Hall Policy.

Once it has been determined that a hearing is necessary, the student(s) involved will be notified to meet with the Director of Residence Life or designee. At this meeting, the hearing party(ies) will discuss whether a violation has occurred, determine the degree to which the student was involved, and assign a sanction if appropriate.

The Hearing Officer will use appropriate and fair sanctions based upon the State Board of Education’s policy, College Policy and Residence Hall Policy. These sanctions include, but are not limited to:

Residence Hall Probation: A documented statement that further misconduct may result in a recommendation that the student be removed from the floor, hall, or house and/or be subjected to other disciplinary action.

Transfer to another Floor within the Hall or Room within the House: Moving the resident from his/her floor or room to another floor or room within the hall or house.

Eviction: Administrative action taken to remove a student from the residence hall system. The student is no longer permitted to reside in any College-owned residence hall. Eviction may occur within 48 hours of official notification.

Restitution: The student is required to make payment to the College or to the persons, groups, or organizations for damages which he/she is responsible. This is true whether the action was intentional or an accident.

Educational Sanctions: A student may be required to complete creative or educational sanctions. These have included research papers, counseling, etc.

Counseling and/or Alcohol/Drug Intake: A student may be referred to these support services as a way to assist the student in more effective management of personal crisis and alcohol/drug misuse.