Procedure: Model Student Conduct Code
______Technical College Student Conduct Code
One mission of the ______Technical College is to provide technical and adult education programs for the people of Georgia. To fulfill this mission, the ______Technical College must provide opportunities for intellectual, emotional, social, and physical growth. Technical College students assume an obligation to act in a manner compatible with the fulfillment of the mission. The Technical College community recognizes its responsibility to provide an atmosphere conducive to growth. With these principles in mind, the ______Technical College Student Body Association in conjunction with the Student Affairs Office establishes this Student Code of Conduct.
ARTICLE I: DEFINITIONS1) The term Technical College means ______Technical College.
2) The term "student" includes all persons taking courses at the Technical College, both full-time and part-time. Persons who are not officially enrolled for a particular term but who have a continuing relationship with the Technical College are considered "students."
3) The term "faculty member" means any person hired by the Technical College to conduct teaching, service, or research activities.
4) The term "Technical College official" includes any person employed by the Technical College, performing assigned administrative responsibilities.
5) The term "member of the Technical College community" includes any person who is a student, faculty member, Technical College official or any other person employed by the Technical College.
6) The term "Technical College premises" includes all land, buildings, facilities, and other property in the possession of or owned, used, or controlled by the Technical College (including adjacent streets and sidewalks).
7) The term "organization" means any number of persons who have complied with the formal requirements for Technical College recognition.
8) The term "judicial body" means any person or persons authorized by the President to determine whether a student has violated the Student Code or other regulations and to recommend imposition of sanctions.
9) The term "Judicial Advisor" means a Technical College official authorized on a case-by-case basis by the President to impose sanctions upon students found to have violated the Student Code. The President may authorize a Judicial Advisor to serve simultaneously as a Judicial Advisor and the sole member or one of the members of a judicial body. Nothing shall prevent the President from authorizing the same Judicial Advisor to impose sanctions in all cases. Unless otherwise noted, the "Judicial Advisor" of the Technical College is the Vice President of Student Affairs.
10) The term "Appellate Board" means any person or persons designated by the President to consider an appeal from a judicial body's determination that a student has violated the Student Code, other regulations, or from the sanctions imposed by the Judicial Advisor. The President may serve as the Appellate Board.
11) The term "shall" is used in the imperative sense.
12) The term "may" is used in the permissive sense.
13) The term "policy" is defined as the written regulations of the Technical College as found in, but not limited to, the Student Code of Conduct, Student Handbook(s), Residence Hall Handbook(s), Technical College Catalog(s), the Technical College Policy Manual, and the Policy Manual approved by the State Board for the Department of Technical and Adult Education.
14) The term "cheating" includes, but is not limited to: (1) use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; (2) dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; or (3) the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the Technical College faculty or staff.
15) The term "plagiarism" includes, but is not limited, to, the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials.
16) The term "Department" means the Department of Technical and Adult Education.
17) Business day or days are weekdays when classes are in session.
ARTICLE II: JUDICIAL AUTHORITY
1) The Judicial Advisor shall determine the composition of judicial bodies and appellate boards and, subject to Article IV,1,B, shall determine which judicial body, Judicial Advisor and Appellate Board shall be authorized to hear each case. Normally, the Technical College Student Discipline Committee shall be the judicial body authorized to hear cases alleging violations of the Student Code
2) The Judicial Advisor shall develop policies for the administration of the judicial program and procedural rules for the conduct of hearings that are not inconsistent with provisions of the Student Code.
3) Decisions made by a judicial body and/or Judicial Advisor shall be final, pending the normal appeal process.
4) A judicial body may be designated as arbiter of disputes within the student community in cases that do not involve a violation of the Student Code. All parties must agree to arbitration, and to be bound by the decision with no right of appeal.
ARTICLE III: PROSCRIBED CONDUCT1) Jurisdiction of the Technical College.
Generally, Technical College jurisdiction and discipline shall be limited to conduct which occurs on Technical College premises, off-campus classes, activities or functions sponsored by the Technical College, or which adversely affects the Technical College Community and/or the pursuit of its objectives.
2) Conduct Rules and Regulations
Any student found to have committed the following misconduct is subject to the disciplinary sanctions outlined in Article IV:a) Acts of dishonesty, including but not limited to the following:
i) Cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty.
ii) Furnishing false information to any Technical College official, faculty member or office.
iii) Forgery, alteration, or misuse of any Technical College document, record, or instrument of identification.
iiii) Tampering with the election of any Technical College recognized student organization.
b) Disruption or obstruction of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary proceedings, other Technical College activities, including its public-service functions on or off campus, or other authorized non-Technical College activities, when the act occurs on Technical College premises.
c) Physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, coercion and/or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person.d) Attempted or actual theft of and/or damage to property of the Technical College or property of a member of the Technical College community or other personal or public property.
e) Hazing, defined as an act which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student, or which destroys or removes public or private property, for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in, a group or organization.
f) Failure to comply with directions of Technical College officials or law enforcement officers acting in performance of their duties and/or failure to identify oneself to these persons when requested to do so.
g) Unauthorized possession, duplication or use of keys to any Technical College premises or unauthorized entry to or use of Technical College premises.
h) Violation of published Department or Technical College policies, rules or regulations including, but not limited to, rules imposed upon students who enroll in a particular class or program.
i) Violation of federal, state or local law on Technical College premises or at Technical College sponsored or supervised activities.
j) Use, possession or distribution of narcotic or other controlled substances except as expressly permitted by law.
k) Use, possession or distribution of alcoholic beverages except as expressly permitted by the law and Technical College regulations, or public intoxication.
l) Illegal or unauthorized possession of firearms, explosives, other weapons, or dangerous chemicals on Technical College premises.
m) Participation in a campus demonstration that disrupts the normal operations of the Technical College and infringes on the rights of other members of the Technical College community; leading or inciting others to disrupt scheduled and/or normal activities within any campus building or area; intentional obstruction that unreasonably interferes with freedom of movement, either pedestrian or vehicular, on campus.
n) Obstruction of the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic on Technical College premises or at Technical College sponsored or supervised functions.
o) Conduct that is unbecoming to a student, including but not limited to, conduct that is disorderly, lewd, or indecent; a breach of peace; or aiding, abetting, or procuring another person to breach the peace on Technical College premises or at other locations where classes, activities, or functions sponsored or participated by the Technical College may be held.
p) Theft or other abuse of computer time, including but not limited to:i) Unauthorized entry into a file, to use, read, or change the contents, or for any other purpose.
ii) Unauthorized transfer of a file.
iii) Unauthorized use of another individual's identification and password.
iv) Use of computing facilities to interfere with the work of another student, faculty member or Technical College Official.
v) Use of computing facilities to send obscene or abusive messages.
vi) Use of computing facilities to interfere with normal operation of the Technical College computing system.
vii) Violation of the Department's Acceptable Computer and Internet Use policy.q) Abuse of the Judicial System, including but not limited to:
i) Failure to obey the summons of a judicial body or Technical College official.
ii) Falsification, distortion, or misrepresentation of information before a judicial body.
iii) Disruption or interference with the orderly conduct of a judicial proceeding.
iv) Initialing a judicial proceeding knowingly without cause.
v) Attempting to discourage an individual's proper participation in, or use of, the judicial system.
vi) Attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of a judicial body prior to, and/or during the course of, the judicial proceeding.
vi) Harassment (verbal or physical) and/or intimidation of a member of a judicial body prior to, during, and/or after a judicial proceeding.
vii) Failure to comply with the sanction(s) imposed under the Student Code.
viii) Influencing or attempting to influence another person to commit an abuse of the judicial system.
r) Use of tobacco products in campus buildings except in marked designated smoking areas.
s) Failure to dress appropriately at all times. Dress requirements vary in classrooms, laboratory, and shop areas. Students enrolled in internships and clinical courses are required to dress appropriately according to the requirements of the work for which they are being trained. Student shall not dress, groom, wear, or use emblems, insignias, badges, or other symbols or lewd or vulgar words where the effect thereof is offensive to a reasonable person or otherwise causes disruption or interference with the orderly operations of the college. The supervising administrator shall determine if the particular mode of dress results in disruptions or interference. Students shall at all times observe rules governing body cleanliness and not wear short or tight shorts, swimsuits, tank tops bare midriffs, or have bare feet.
3) Violation of Law and Technical College Disciplinea) Technical College disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against a student charged with violation of a law that is also a violation of this Student Code. If both alleged violations result from the same factual situation, proceedings under this Student Code may be carried out prior to, simultaneously with, or following civil or criminal proceedings off-campus.
b) When a student is charged by federal, state or local authorities with a violation of law, the Technical College will not request or agree to special consideration for that individual because of his or her status as a student. If the alleged offense is also the subject of a proceeding before a judicial body under the Student Code, however, the Technical College may advise off-campus authorities of the existence of the Student Code and of how such matters will be handled internally within the Technical College community. The Technical College will cooperate with law enforcement and other agencies in the enforcement of criminal law on campus and in the conditions imposed by criminal courts for the rehabilitation of student violators. Individual students and Technical College employees, acting in their personal capacities, remain free to interact with governmental representatives as they deem appropriate.
ARTICLE IV: JUDICIAL POLICIES1) Charges and Hearings
a) Any member of the Technical College community may file charges against any student for misconduct. Charges shall be prepared in writing and directed to the Judicial Advisor responsible for the administration of the Technical College judicial system. Any charge should be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place, preferably within ten (10) business days.
b) The Judicial Advisor may conduct an investigation to determine if the charges have merit and/or if they can be disposed of administratively by mutual consent of the parties involved on a basis acceptable to the Judicial Advisor. Such disposition shall be final and there shall be no subsequent proceedings. If the charges cannot be disposed of by mutual consent, the Judicial Advisor may later serve in the same matter as the judicial body or a member thereof. At the accused student's discretion, a hearing shall be held before either the Judicial Advisor or the Judicial Body (Technical College Student Discipline Committee).
c) All charges shall be presented to the accused student in written form. A time shall be set for a hearing, not less than five nor more than fifteen (15) business days after the student has been notified. Maximum time limits for scheduling of hearings may be extended at the discretion of the Judicial Advisor.
d) Hearings shall be conducted by the Judicial Advisor or Judicial Body according to the following guidelines:i) Hearings normally shall be conducted in private.
ii) Admission of any person to the hearing shall be at the discretion of the judicial body and/or its Judicial Advisor.
iii) In hearings involving more than one accused student, the Chair of the judicial body may permit the hearings concerning each student to be conducted separately.
iv) The complainant and the accused have the right to be assisted by any advisor they choose, at their own expense. The advisor may be an attorney. The complainant and/or the accused is responsible for presenting their own case and, therefore, advisors are not permitted to speak nor to participate directly in any hearing before a judicial body.
v) The complainant, the accused and the judicial body shall have the privilege of presenting witnesses, subject to the right of cross examination by the judicial body.
vi) Pertinent records, exhibits and written statements may be accepted as evidence for consideration by a judicial body at the discretion of the Chair.
vii) All procedural questions are subject to the final decision of the Chair of the judicial body.
viii) After the hearing, the judicial body shall determine (by majority vote if the judicial body consists of more than one person) whether the student has violated each section of the Student Code which the student is charged with violating.
ix) The judicial body's determination shall be made on the basis of whether it is more likely than not that the accused student violated the Student Code except in those instances where the student faces suspension or expulsion in which case the standard of proof shall be by clear and convincing evidence.
e) There shall be a single verbatim record, such as a tape recording, of all hearings before a judicial body. The record shall be the property of the Technical College.
f) Except in the case of a student charged with failing to obey the summons of a judicial body or Technical College official, no student may be found to have violated the Student Code solely because the student failed to appear before a judicial body. In all cases, the evidence in support of the charges shall be presented and considered.
2) Sanctionsa) The following sanctions may be imposed upon any student found to have violated the Student Code:
i) Warning: A notice in writing to the student that the student is violating or has violated institutional regulations.
ii) Probation: A written reprimand for violation of specified regulations. Probation is for a designated period of time and includes the probability of more severe disciplinary sanctions if the student is found to be violating any institutional regulation(s) during the probationary period.
iii) Loss of privileges: Denial of specified privileges for a designated period of time.
iv) Fines: Previously established and published fines may be imposed.
v) Restitution: Compensation for loss, damage or injury. This may take the form of appropriate service and/or monetary or material replacement.
vi) Discretionary Sanctions: Work assignments, service to the Technical College or other related discretionary assignments.
vii) Residence Hall Suspension: Separation of the student from the residence halls for a definite period of time, after which the student is eligible to return. Conditions for readmission may be specified.
viii) Residence Hall Expulsion: Permanent separation of the student from the residence halls.
ix) Technical College Suspension: Separation of the student from the Technical College for a definite period of time, after which the student is eligible to return. Conditions for readmission may be specified.
x) Technical College Expulsion: Permanent separation of the student from the Technical College. This may also mean expulsion from a particular program at the Technical College.b) More than one of the sanctions listed above may be imposed for any single violation.
c) Other than Technical College suspension or expulsion, disciplinary sanctions shall not be made part of the student's permanent academic record, maintained by the Office of Admissions and Records, but shall become part of the student's confidential record, maintained by the Vice President of Student Affairs. Upon graduation, the student's confidential record may be expunged of disciplinary actions, Technical College suspension or Technical College expulsion, upon application to the Judicial Advisor.
d) In addition to the penalties outlined in "i" through "vi" above, groups or organizations may also face:i) Deactivation;
ii) Loss of all privileges, including Technical College recognition, for a specified period of time.
e) In cases heard by the judicial body (Technical College Student Discipline Committee) where the student or organization is found to have violated the Student Code, the judicial body may make recommendations to the Judicial Advisor but the Judicial Advisor shall determine and impose the sanctions. The Judicial Advisor is not bound by the sanctions recommended by members of the judicial body. The Judicial Advisor shall notify the student(s) in writing of his/her final decision. In cases involving sanctions that include probation, suspension, or expulsion, the Judicial Advisor shall inform, by memorandum, the Offices of the Vice President for Instruction and Student Services.
3) Interim Suspension
In certain circumstances, the President may impose a Technical College or residence hall suspension prior to the hearing before a judicial body.a) Interim suspension may be imposed only: a) to ensure the safety and well-being of members of the Technical College community or preservation of Technical College property; b) to ensure the student's own physical or emotional safety and well-being; or c) if the student poses a definite threat of disruption of or interference with the normal operations of the Technical College.
b) During the interim suspension, students shall be denied access to the residence halls and/or to the campus (including classes) and/or all other Technical College activities or privileges for which the student might otherwise be eligible, as the President or the Judicial Advisor may determine to be appropriate.
c) The Offices of the Vice President for Instruction shall be notified in writing of the interim suspension.
4) Appealsa) A decision reached by the judicial body or a sanction imposed by the Judicial Advisor may be appealed by accused students or complainants to an appellate board within five (5) business days of the decision. Such appeals shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Judicial Advisor or his or her designee. In cases where the Technical College is the complainant, the Technical College shall have no right of appeal.
b) Except as required to explain the basis of new evidence, an appeal shall be limited to review of the verbatim record of the initial hearing and supporting documents for one or more of the following purposes:i) To determine whether the original hearing was conducted fairly in light of the charges and evidence presented, and in conformity with the prescribed procedures giving the complaining party a reasonable opportunity to prepare and present evidence that the Student Code was violated, and giving the accused student a reasonable opportunity to prepare and to present a rebuttal of those allegations.
ii) To determine whether the decision reached regarding the accused student was based on substantial evidence, that is, whether the facts in the case were sufficient to establish that a violation of the Student Code occurred.
iii) To determine whether the sanction(s) imposed were appropriate for the violation of the Student Code that the student was found to have committed.
iv) To consider new evidence, sufficient to alter a decision or other relevant facts not brought out in the original hearing, because the person appealing did not know such evidence and/or facts at the time of the original hearing.
c) In considering an appeal, the Appellate Board may (a) uphold the appeal and reduce or suspend sanctions, (b) uphold the appeal and increase or impose sanctions, (c) dismiss the appeal and affirm the original sanction(s).
d) The decision of the Appellate Board shall be final.
ARTICLE V: NOTIFICATION OF SANCTIONS
When imposition of any sanction includes restrictions on attendance in class or Technical College-sponsored activities or programs, the Offices of Student Services, Instructions and Admissions and Records shall be notified by the Judicial Advisor in writing within five (5) business days.
ARTICLE VI: INTERPRETATION AND REVISION1) Any question of interpretation regarding the Student Code shall be referred to the Vice President of Student Affairs.
2) The Student Code shall be normally reviewed every year by the Student Government Association in conjunction with the Vice President of Student Affairs and the Technical College Student Discipline Committee, if appropriate.
References
Created: September 7, 2001
Approved