Student Rights and Responsibilities

Student Code of Conduct and Judicial Procedures

Preamble

Schoolcraft College exists to serve students and the surrounding community. The College is also a community, and students are important members of this community. Every student should know the responsibilities that students assume toward each other, faculty and staff as equal members of this community. Schoolcraft College cannot condone or support any action or activity by an individual or group that impinges on the rights of others, whether these individuals are members of the student body or the community at large.

The Student Code of Conduct defines a student’s basic rights within the College community, states what actions students may expect from the College to protect those rights, and explains the College’s expectations of its student members, including the standards by which student behavior is measured.

Academic and Personal Behaviors

In consideration of the many rights of and responsibilities to each member of the College community, and in compliance with the requirements of local and state statutes, the Board of Trustees of Schoolcraft College hereby adopts the following regulations and prohibits ALL PERSONS from engaging or participating in any of the practices or behavior listed below. (The following list is illustrative and not meant to be an exhaustive enumeration of inappropriate behavior.)

1. Obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, or other activities, including the College’s public service functions or other authorized activities, on College-owned or controlled property.
2. Physical abuse, assault or battery, or unauthorized detention of any person on College-owned or controlled property or at College-sponsored or supervised functions. Harassment and/or conduct or expression (verbal, or written) which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person.
3. Theft of or damage to property.
4. Unauthorized entry or use of College facilities.
5. Violation of College policies or regulations concerning falsification of records, registration of organizations, or the use of College facilities.
6. Interference with the proper educational functions and the appropriate educational climate of the College by obscene actions or language or disorderly conduct, including aiding or abetting another to breach the peace on College-owned/controlled property or at College sponsored/supervised functions.
7. Illegal use, possession, or distribution of alcoholic beverages, narcotics, or controlled/illicit substances, or public intoxication.
8. Failure to comply with directions of College personnel, Campus Security Police, or any other law enforcement officers acting in the performance of their duties.
9. Unauthorized obstruction of the free flow and orderly movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic and serious or repeated violation of campus traffic rules and regulations.
10. Possession or use of firearms, explosives, other weapons, dangerous chemicals, or improper use of fire extinguishers on College property. NOTE: Exceptions to possession or use of firearms are: a) Certified law enforcement officers, b) Students enrolled in Schoolcraft College classes requiring firearms training, c) College- owned firearms used for instructional purposes.
11. Violation of federal, state, and local laws.
12. Acts of dishonesty, including but not limited to the following:
    1. Cheating, plagiarism or forms of academic dishonesty.
    2. Furnishing false information to any College official, faculty member or office.
    3. Forgery, alteration, or misuse of any College document, record or instrument of identification.
13. Unauthorized possession, duplication or use of keys to any College premises or unauthorized entry to or use of College premises.
14. Participation in a campus demonstration which disrupts the normal operations of the College and infringes on the rights of other members of the College community; leading or inciting others to disrupt scheduled and/or normal activities within any campus building or area; intentional obstruction which unreasonably interferes with freedom of movement, either pedestrian or vehicular, on campus.
15. Conduct which is disorderly, lewd, or indecent; breach of peace on College premises or at functions sponsored or participated in by the College.
16. Theft or other abuse of computer time, including but not limited to:
    1. Unauthorized entry into a file, to use, read or change the contents, or for any other purpose.
    2. Unauthorized transfer of a file.
    3. Unauthorized use of another individual’s identification and password.
    4. Use of computing facilities to interfere with the work of another student, faculty member, College personnel or employee.
    5. Use of the computing facilities to interfere with normal operation of the College computing system.
    6. Access to or distribution of obscene or pornographic materials.
    7. Use of personal information from College system to harass students, staff or faculty on or off campus.
17. Discrimination, harassment and offensive conduct against any person, student, or staff member on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age, marital status, disability, and/or national origin. (See College Policy 1080.)
18. Abuse of the Disciplinary System, including but not limited to:
    1. Failure to obey the summons of the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee or a College official.
    2. Falsification, distortion, or misrepresentation of information before the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee or Appellate.
    3. Disruption or interference with the orderly conduct of a hearing.
    4. Institution of a hearing or proceeding knowingly without cause.
    5. Attempting to discourage an individual’s proper participation in, or use of, the Student Disciplinary System.
    6. Attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee or Appellate prior to and/or during, and/or after a proceeding.
    7. Harassment (verbal or physical) and/or intimidation of a member of the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee or Appellate prior to, during, and/or after a proceeding.
    8. Failure to comply with the sanction(s) imposed under the Student Code.
    9. Influencing or attempting to influence another person to commit an abuse of the Student Disciplinary System.

Decisions and Judicial Authority

1. The Dean of Student Services shall:
   1. Determine the composition of the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee and shall act as the Appellate.
   2. Develop policies and procedural rules for the conduct of hearings which are consistent with provisions of the Student Code.
   3. Authorize the suspension of any student when the circumstances warrant immediate action such as in the case of threatening or assaultive behaviors. The suspension will remain in effect until the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee meets to hear the case.
2. Decisions made by the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee shall be final, pending the normal appeal process.
3. The Student Disciplinary Standards Committee may be designated as arbiter of disputes within the student community in cases which 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.

Judicial Procedures

Charges and Hearings

1. Any member of the College community may file charges against any student for misconduct. Charges shall be prepared in writing and directed to the Dean of Student Services. Any charge should be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place.
2. The Dean of Student Services will designate an Administrator to 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. Such disposition shall be final and there shall be no subsequent proceedings. If the charges cannot be disposed of by mutual consent, the designated Administrator shall refer the matter to the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee.
3. All charges shall be presented to the accused student in written form. A time shall be set for a hearing, no less than five nor more than fifteen calendar days after the student has been notified. Maximum time limits for scheduling of hearings may be extended at the discretion of the Chairperson of the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee.
4. If the accused student does not respond to the written notice of the hearing and does not appear, the hearing shall take place as scheduled. If the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee finds that the accused student violated the Student Code, sanctions may be imposed.
5. Hearings shall be conducted by the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee according to the following guidelines:
   1. Hearings normally shall be conducted in private. At the request of the accused student and subject to the discretion of the Chairperson, a representative of the student press may be admitted, but shall not have the privilege of participating in the hearing.
   2. Admission of any person to the hearing shall be at the discretion of the Chairperson of the Disciplinary Standards Committee.
   3. In hearings involving more than one accused student, the Chairperson, at his or her discretion, may permit the hearings concerning each student to be conducted separately.
   4. 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 his or her own case. Therefore, advisors are not permitted to speak or to participate directly in any hearing before the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee.
   5. The complainant, the accused, and the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee shall have the privilege of presenting witnesses subject to the right of cross examination by the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee.
   6. Pertinent records, exhibits, and written statements may be accepted as evidence for consideration by the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee at the discretion of the Chairperson.
   7. All procedural questions are subject to the final decision of the Chairperson of the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee.
   8. After the hearing, the Committee shall determine (by majority vote) whether the student has violated each section of the Student Code which the student is charged with violating.
   9. The Student Disciplinary Standards Committee’s decision shall be made on the basis of whether it is more likely than not that the accused student violated the Student Code.
6. There shall be a single verbatim record, such as a tape recording, of all hearings before the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee. The record shall be the property of the College.
7. Except in the case of a student charged with failing to obey the summons of the Student Disciplinary Committee or College official, no student may be found to have violated the Student Code solely because the student failed to appear before the committee. In all cases, the evidence in support of the charges shall be presented and considered.

Sanctions

1. The following sanctions may be imposed upon any student found to have violated the Student Code.
   1. Warning—A notice in writing to the student that the student is violating or has violated institutional regulations.
   2. 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.
   3. Loss of Privileges—Denial of specified privileges for a designated period of time.
   4. Restitution—Compensation for loss, damage, or injury. This may take the form of appropriate service and/or monetary or material replacement.
   5. Discretionary Sanctions—Work assignments, service to the College, or other related discretionary assignments. (Such assignments must have the prior approval of the Dean of Student Services.)
   6. College Suspension—Separation of the student from the College for a definite period of time after which the student is eligible to return. Conditions for readmission may be specified.
   7. Removal from program of study.
   8. Expulsion—Permanent separation of the student from the College.
2. More than one of the sanctions listed above may be imposed for any single violation.
3. Discipline records are maintained or expunged at the discretion of the College. Two years after final disposition of the case, students may petition the Dean of Student Services to have their discipline record reviewed.
4. The following sanctions may be imposed upon groups or organizations:
   1. Those sanctions listed in Sanctions, 1a–1g.
   2. Deactivation—Loss of all privileges, including College recognition for a specified period of time.
5. In each case in which the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee determines that a student has violated the Student Code, the sanction shall be determined and imposed by the Committee. Following the hearing, the Committee Chairperson shall within ten (10) calendar days advise the accused in writing of its determination and of the sanctions imposed, if any.

Appeal

1. The accused, having been found in violation of any portion of the Student Code, may appeal the decision/ sanctions imposed by the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee.
2. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Dean of Student Services within ten (10) calendar days from the date that the accused is notified by the Chairperson of the Student Disciplinary Standards Committee regarding the Committee decision or sanctions.
3. The Dean of Student Services shall review all pertinent data regarding the appeal and will render a written decision within ten (10) calendar days. The Dean of Student Service’s decision is final.

Violation of Law and College Discipline

1. If a student is charged only with an off-campus violation of federal, state, or local laws, but not with any other violation of this Code, disciplinary action may be taken and sanctions imposed for grave misconduct which demonstrates flagrant disregard for the College community. In such cases, no sanction may be imposed unless the student has been found guilty in a court of law or has declined to contest such charges, although not actually admitting guilt.
2. College disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against a student charged with violation of a law which is also a violation of this Student Code; for example, if both violations result from the same factual situation, without regard to the pendency of civil litigation in court or criminal arrest and prosecution. Proceedings under this Student Code may be carried out prior to, simultaneously with, or following civil or criminal proceedings off campus.
3. When a student is charged by federal, state or local authorities with a violation of law, the 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 under the Student Code, however, the College may advise off-campus authorities of the existence of the Student Code and of how such matters will be handled internally within the College community. The College will cooperate fully with the 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 faculty members, acting in their personal capacities, remain free to interact with governmental representatives, as they deem appropriate.