Purpose
All students at Golden Gate University School of Law have an obligation to conduct themselves in a manner compatible with the School of Law’s function as an educational institution preparing students for entry into the legal profession. The standards of professionalism within the legal field and within the School of Law are based on principles of honesty and ethics. The School of Law takes seriously these principles and expects all students to do the same.
Misconduct, as defined herein, is subject to discipline, which may include suspension or expulsion, as well as communication of the charge and/or sanction to employers, other educational institutions, and relevant bar admission agencies.
Jurisdiction
These Standards of Student Conduct apply to conduct that is engaged in by each School of Law student, whether active, on leave, or on suspension. It sets forth the procedures by which all complaints of such conduct shall be handled (in conjunction with the Discrimination and Harassment Policy, where applicable).
Jurisdiction of the Standards of Student Conduct extends to:
- Conduct on the part of a student that occurs on or adjacent to the property of Golden Gate University or on the campus of a summer abroad program of Golden Gate University School of Law or other school, or otherwise occurs in connection with any activity or program operated or sponsored by the University;
- Conduct on the part of a student which, in the judgment of School officials, bears upon the student’s ethical and moral fitness to practice law in the State of California and any other relevant jurisdiction, wherever such conduct occurs; and/or
- Any other conduct that results in a criminal conviction under local, State, or Federal law.
Definition of Terms
The following definitions apply solely to these standards of student conduct.
- “Academic Activity” includes classroom instruction, clinical instruction, externship, and other officially recognized academic and co-curricular programs such as participation in Law Review and in Moot Court competitions.
- “Associate Dean” means the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or his/her delegate or representative.
- “Charged Student” means a student against whom charges under the Standards of Student Conduct have been brought.
- “Cheating” means the act of obtaining, attempting to obtain, or helping another student to obtain credit for academic work through any dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means.
- “Dean” means the Dean of the School of Law, his/her delegate or representative.
- “Hearing Panel” means the Student Hearings Committee.
- “Instructor” means a person who engages in either classroom or clinical instruction of students of the law school on a full- or part-time basis, including persons who are employed to assist in such programs as the Law School’s academic support programs.
- “Library” means any library of Golden Gate University.
- “Member of the University community” includes any person who is a student of, faculty member of, administrator of, or any person employed by the University.
- “Plagiarism” means the presentation of another person’s idea or product as one’s own, regardless of intent.
- “Preponderance of the Evidence” means proof by information that, compared with information opposing it, leads to the conclusion that the fact at issue is more probably true than not.
- “Registrar” means the university registrar, his/her delegate or representative.
- “SBA” means the Student Bar Association of Golden Gate University School of Law.
- “School of Law” means Golden Gate University School of Law.
- “Staff” means any non-instructional employee of the School of Law or of the University.
- “Student” includes any person who has enrolled in a program, course or courses at the School of Law (full-time, part-time, JD, LLM, SJD, visiting, auditing and non-degree). This term also includes any person who has enrolled and not yet graduated or withdrawn, but who is visiting away, on break (mid-semester or between semesters), on a leave of absence from the School of Law, or on suspension. “Student” includes a person whose conduct at issue occurred while a student, but the nature of such conduct was discovered after his/her academic degree was awarded.
- “The Standards” means Golden Gate University School of Law Standards of Student Conduct.
- “University” means Golden Gate University, including all of its campuses.
- “University premises” includes all land, buildings, facilities, and other property in the possession of or owned, used, or controlled by the University.
Prohibited Conduct
Any student who commits, attempts to commit, or assists another student to commit any prohibited conduct as defined by the Standards will be found to be in violation of the Standards.
When more than one student is involved, each may be held equally responsible. The Law School determines the responsibility for misconduct using the standard of preponderance of the evidence.
Aspects of a case such as intent and extenuating circumstances may or may not be considerations in determining whether a violation has occurred, depending on the nature of the alleged violation. Such aspects may be relevant in the determination of appropriate sanctions.
Prohibited conduct includes any form of fraudulent, deceitful or dishonest conduct and attempted such conduct, including the following:
Academic Dishonesty
Prohibited conduct includes engaging in dishonest conduct, such as cheating, plagiarism, or any other dishonest conduct in connection with examinations, written work, or other academic activity.
- Cheating
The following are acts of cheating:
- Copying, in part or in whole, from another student’s test or other evaluation instrument (including papers or other written assignments), or using any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations or in preparing papers or other written assignments.
- Submitting work previously presented in another course, unless specifically authorized by the instructor of the subsequent course.
- Using or consulting, during an examination, sources or materials not authorized by the instructor.
- Disobeying assignment or exam instructions and procedures, including those described in the Administrative Rules & Procedures section of this handbook and those provided orally or in writing by a proctor or instructor.
- Altering or interfering with grading or grading instructions, including contacting an instructor between the time the final assignment is submitted or the exam is administered and when grades are recorded or notifying an instructor of the student’s contemplation of, or a decision to take a course on a “credit/no credit” basis.
- Obtaining or giving aid on an examination, assignment, or attendance verification in writing or orally, unless specifically authorized by the instructor. Any student who is asked for assistance on an assignment or examination is responsible for obtaining instructor approval before providing such assistance.
- Obtaining unauthorized prior knowledge of an examination or assignment, or if such knowledge was obtained inadvertently, failing to disclose immediately such knowledge to the Associate Dean.
- Committing any other act in the course of academic work which defrauds or misrepresents, including aiding or abetting in any of the actions defined above.
- Plagiarism
Prohibited conduct includes plagiarism, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Copying verbatim all or part of another person’s written work without proper citation or attribution.
- Paraphrasing ideas, theories, cases, conclusions, or research without proper attribution.
- Using equations, charts, figures, illustrations, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source.
- Representing as one’s own the original ideas (theories, models, principles, etc.), phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or any parts thereof, or the specific substance of another person’s work without giving appropriate credit.
- Representing another person’s scholarly works, computer programs, case studies, or artistic works as one’s own.
Misrepresentation
Prohibited conduct includes engaging in acts of misrepresentation of fact, such as:
- Forgery, written or oral false statement and/or the alteration, or misuse of documents, records, stationery, logo or identification related to the School of Law or any governmental or other official entity.
- Misrepresentation or helping to misrepresent a student’s grades, awards, status, or rank to employers or potential employers
- Furnishing information which is known by the student to be false or misleading to any instructor, member of the staff, or other employee or agent of the School of Law, the University or any State Bar. This includes but is not limited to furnishing false, incomplete or misleading information in a student’s application for financial aid, petition for incomplete, exam reschedule request, or request for accommodation.
- Furnishing false, incomplete or misleading information in or failure to inform the School of Law within thirty (30) calendar days of (1) any and all changes to a student’s law school application materials, including arrests, charges and offenses committed prior to matriculation, and (2) any arrests, charges, or offenses committed during law school. Students are not required to disclose any minor traffic or parking citation to the School of Law unless it involves alcohol, drugs or an arrest.
- Accusing another student of violating The Standards, knowing that the accusation is false, or showing a reckless disregard as to its truth.
- Misrepresenting the policies, practices and procedures of the School of Law
Interference with Property and Misuse of Services
Prohibited conduct includes the unauthorized taking, destroying or damaging of property, or misusing services or facilities of the School of Law, the University, instructors, or other students, including:
- Unauthorized taking, attempting to take, damaging, or destroying notes, books, papers, or other academic materials of other students.
- Unauthorized taking, attempting to take, damaging or defacing of property belonging to the School of Law (including lockers), the University, a member of the University community, or a visitor on University property.
- Unauthorized taking, attempting to take, damaging, destroying, or misusing library property or materials or misusing library services including LexisNexis, Westlaw, or any other research service the library subscribes to.
- Unauthorized possession, duplication, or use of keys to any University premises or vehicles or unauthorized entry to or use of University facilities or vehicles.
- Unauthorized taking, attempting to take or other abuse of University technology/computer time, including, but not limited to the following:
- Unauthorized entry into a file, to use, read or change the contents, or for any other purpose.
- Unauthorized transfer of a file.
- Unauthorized use of another individual’s identification and password.
- Use of computing facilities to interfere with the work of another member of the university community
- Use of computing facilities to view or send obscene, offensive, or abusive messages, materials or websites.
- Use of computing facilities in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted or otherwise protected material.
- Interference with normal operation of the University computing system.
- Unauthorized or inappropriate use of facsimile machines, media equipment, or phone equipment (including voicemail).
- Misuse of the University’s online event calendar.
Alcohol & Other Drugs
This section addresses actions which result in conviction under local, State, or Federal controlled substance law or which would otherwise violate the Drug- and Alcohol-Free Policy of Golden Gate University. Prohibited conduct of this nature includes, but is not limited to:
- Unauthorized use, possession, or distribution of illegal narcotics, dangerous drugs, or prescription drugs at any location under the School of Law’s jurisdiction.
- Public intoxication at School of Law or University sponsored or supervised activities, or use, possession, or distribution of alcoholic beverages or other intoxicants except as expressly permitted by law and the School of Law or University policies (refer to the Drug-and Alcohol-Free Policy chapter of this handbook).
Disruptive or Unprofessional Conduct
Prohibited conduct includes engaging in acts of disruptive or unprofessional conduct, such as:
- Obstruction of, disruption of, or tampering with any School of Law or University activity, including teaching, research, administration, disciplinary, or public service functions, or of any activities authorized or supervised by the School of Law or the University, including elections for any School of Law organization.
- Obstruction of the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic on University premises or at activities authorized or supervised by the School of Law or the University.
- Disorderly conduct or lewd, indecent, or obscene conduct or expression or breach of the peace or aiding, abetting, or procuring another person to breach the peace on University premises or at activities authorized or supervised by the School of Law or the University.
- Conduct that violates the Golden Gate University Discrimination & Harassment Policy (see corresponding chapter in this Handbook).
- Engaging in any act or omission in connection with legal representation (or assistance in legal representation) of any client which, if engaged in by an attorney, would violate the rules of professional conduct for attorneys of the state in which such conduct occurred.
Acts Harmful to Other Persons
Prohibited conduct includes engaging in acts that are harmful to other persons, defined as:
- Physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, and/or any other such conduct that threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person.
- Hazing, defined as an act that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student, or that destroys or removes public or private property, for initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in a group or organization.
- Possession of firearms, explosives, other weapons, or dangerous chemicals on University premises or at activities authorized or supervised by the School of Law or the University.
- Retaliation against an individual who filed, threatened to file, or served as a witness to a complaint under the policies and procedures set forth in this handbook or under the policies and procedures of any process under law.
Failure to Comply
Prohibited conduct includes engaging in acts constituting a failure to comply with administrative rules and procedures, such as:
- Engaging in employment in violation of hours restrictions imposed on first-year and full-time students.
- Registering for courses or failing to register for prescribed courses in violation of the rules contained in the Student Handbook, the required course schedule, any directive from a Law Student Support advisor, or any Student Advising form.
- Failure to comply with directions of the School of Law or University employees, officials, or law enforcement officers acting in performance of their duties and/or failure to identify oneself to the persons when requested to do so.
- Failure to cooperate with complaint procedures. Examples include:
- Failure to cooperate with the investigation of a complaint under The Standards, including failure to provide information known to the person being questioned or documents within his/her control.
- Failure to appear and testify, without reasonable excuse, as a witness or a charged student when properly asked to do so by the Associate Dean or the Hearing Panel.
- Knowingly misrepresenting any fact in proceedings that administer the Standards of Student Conduct.
- Violating an obligation of confidentiality imposed by The Standards.
Violation of Law and University Discipline
Disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against a student charged with violation of a law that also is a violation of these Standards of Student Conduct without regard to criminal arrest and prosecution or whether civil litigation is pending. Proceedings under these Standards of Student Conduct may be carried out before, simultaneously with, or following civil or criminal proceedings.
If the alleged offense is both a violation of law and subject to these Standards of Student Conduct, the School of Law may advise off-campus authorities of the existence of these Standards of Student Conduct and of how such matters will be handled within the School of Law community.
Disciplinary Procedures
- Initiating A Complaint
Any member of the University community may initiate a complaint against any law student for misconduct. Members of the University community shall complete the School of Law Complaint Form and submit it to the Office of Academic Affairs. In cases of academic dishonesty, a complaint form will be provided to the instructor by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. The complaint form is to be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place and no later than one year from the date of the conduct forming the basis of the complaint.
The Office of Academic Affairs is responsible for investigating all allegations and facilitating the disciplinary and resolution process. In the event that the matter involves conduct as to which the Associate Dean is or may be a witness, the Associate Dean shall recuse himself or herself and shall refer the matter to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Law School. Notwithstanding the above, the Associate Dean is not required to recuse himself or herself from further participation in an investigation or a determination that the filing of a complaint is necessary, if the Associate Dean learns of additional information during the course of investigating a complaint and may be required to provide testimony regarding such information. In the event that the Associate Dean and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Law School recuse themselves, the Dean shall appoint a designee to handle the complaint.
The name of the complainant, the accused student, and all details with respect to the complaint and its resolution, shall be maintained in a confidential file. All such information shall be kept confidential; provided however, that such information may be disclosed when administratively required, required to complete the investigation, and/or required by legal compulsion, or when the School of Law believes it is obligated to report the matter to employers or potential employers, educational institutions or bar admission agencies seeking information as to applicants or to otherwise take independent formal action. In cases of academic dishonesty, the Associate Dean may consult with the instructor in finalizing the academic actions that may be taken. The School of Law may post or describe specific conduct complaints and their resolutions, as long as individuals’ names are redacted from any such posting or communication.
- Complaint and Notice
The Office of Academic Affairs will open an investigation. If the circumstances surrounding the complaint indicate that a violation of the Standards may have occurred, a written notice of a complaint will be issued to the accused student. Notice of a complaint will be considered adequate if it is sent to the last known e-mail address on file with the Registrar’s Office.
Proper written notice to a student will include the following:
- Recitation of facts surrounding the alleged incident, in sufficient detail as to date, time, and location;
- Statement of the specific conduct code provision(s) that may have been violated;
- Any penalty(ies) assigned or other action(s) taken pending the resolution of the complaint;
- Amount of time in which the student has to respond to the notice;
- Ramifications of not responding to the notice within the time limit; and
- Copy of “Rights of Accused Student(s) in Disciplinary Proceedings”
- The Investigation Process
The Associate Dean shall investigate whether the complaint has merit. With due regard for privacy of all individuals involved, the investigation may include checking in with a student’s past or current instructors.
The complainant, the accused student, and any witness having probative information shall be required to cooperate to the fullest extent possible with the investigation of a complaint. This shall include allowing the inspection of electronic files and hard copy drafts of documents. The Associate Dean may draw adverse inferences from any lack of cooperation by a student or witness.
- The Resolution Process
In an effort to ensure that cases are resolved in a timely manner, the School of Law reserves the right to move forward with the resolution and disciplinary process for a case in the following situation:
- The student fails to respond to a notification letter sent by the Office of Academic Affairs within the time limit specified in the letter.
- The student withdraws from the University after allegedly engaging in misconduct, whether or not the Office of Academic Affairs has initiated either the investigation or resolution process.
- The student fails to appear for any of his or her scheduled meetings with the Associate Dean during the investigation or resolution process.
If the complaint involves conduct regarding a specific course or courses, the Associate Dean may instruct the registrar to record a grade of Incomplete (“I”) pending resolution of the complaint.
Upon completing the investigation, if the Associate Dean concludes that no violation has occurred, the matter will be closed. In such cases all information related to the case will be secured in a sealed file and a conduct record will not be created for the accused student for the incident. If the Associate Dean determines that there was a violation of the Standards, he/she issues a Disciplinary Action Letter, outlining his/her findings and any resulting sanction(s). At this point, the case may be resolved in one of the following two ways:
- Informal Resolution Process: During an informal resolution process, the student and Associate Dean will meet informally to discuss the alleged violation(s). If the substantive facts, findings and sanction(s), as described in the Disciplinary Action Letter, can be agreed upon between the Associate Dean and the charged student, a Resolution of Complaint Form will be prepared and signed by both sides. A signed Resolution of Complaint Form will constitute a waiver of the right to a formal hearing and any appeal, and an acceptance of the finding(s) and sanction(s).
If the accused student does not agree with the finding(s) and/or outcome(s) recommended by the Associate Dean, as outlined in the Notice of Disciplinary Action Letter, he/she may request that the case be resolved through the Formal Hearing Process. The accused student must submit a Resolution of Complaint Form to the Associate Dean. If the Associate Dean does not receive a completed Resolution Complaint Form that is signed and dated by the accused student within five (5) business days from the date of the Notice of Disciplinary Action Letter, the finding(s) and outcome(s) detailed within the Notice of Disciplinary Action Letter will stand.
- Formal Hearing Process: A formal hearing will be conducted by the School of Law Hearing Panel. Procedures for a formal hearing will be consistent with those described in Section H. The formal hearing process is not available for cases in which the sanction imposed is either a warning or written reprimand.
Rights of Student(s) in Disciplinary Proceedings
The following rights apply to a student conduct proceeding that has reached the level of a formal hearing EXCEPT that Rights 1 through 5 apply also to any investigative meeting held with the Office of Academic Affairs. Students have the right to:
- A written notice of the complaint against them.
- Adequate notice of dates set for all meetings, conferences, and hearings.
- Reasonable review of the disciplinary case file maintained by the Office of Student Conduct & Professionalism prior to a formal hearing and/or appeal.
- A written notice of the outcome of the proceeding, and a description of the appeal procedure.
- Present witnesses and submit any pertinent, supportive documentation. In a formal hearing, the hearing panel, by a 2/3 vote of members present at the hearing, may limit the number of witnesses to avoid dilatory tactics.
- Submit an appeal.
- Engage an advisor or attorney, at the expense of the student. The advisor or attorney may appear at the proceedings with the student to provide advice, but may not represent the student, directly question or address witnesses, or, in any other way, participate in the proceedings.
- Question and cross-examine the complainant and all witnesses.
- Challenge a member of the hearing panel on the grounds of bias, conflict of interest or any other factor that could preclude the panel member from rendering an impartial and fair decision. The panel member may be disqualified upon majority vote of the remaining members of the board present at the hearing, conducted by a secret ballot. If the hearing panel votes to exclude the challenged panel member from that particular hearing, the hearing will continue with the remaining panel members present, even if the number of panel members is less than the number required by the Standards to reach a quorum for that hearing.
Procedures for Formal Hearings
The following are the procedural steps for formal hearings:
- Notice of Hearing: After the formal hearing is scheduled, the Office of Academic Affairs will notify the student(s) involved of the date, time and place of the hearing and of the pre-conference.
- Pre-conference: At least two (2) weeks prior to the formal hearing, a pre-hearing conference will be scheduled by the Office of Academic Affairs for any charged student. The two (2) week requirement may be modified by mutual consent of the charged student and the Office of Academic Affairs. The conference will include the presiding chair of the Hearing Panel, the Associate Dean, and the accused student (and their advisor, if applicable). The purpose of the pre-conference will be to identify those issues and facts which will be presented at the hearing, to exchange information as to witnesses to be called, to answer procedural questions, and to settle those matters which may be concluded by mutual agreement, including the admission of documents and/or written statements to be considered at the hearing. The conference will not be used to settle the issue of whether the student is responsible for the alleged violation nor will the conference be used to determine any applicable sanction(s). Failure of the accused student to appear will in no way affect any of their procedural rights and will not prohibit a hearing from being set and being held.
- Formal Hearing:
- The focus of inquiry in a formal hearing within the School of Law will be the determination of whether a violation of the Standards occurred, as described in the Notice of Complaint Letter and the Formal Hearing Request, and the appropriate sanction(s) within the parameters of the Standards. Such decisions may be totally unrelated to any criminal or civil decisions against the student arising from the same incident.
- Formal rules of evidence will not apply to the School of Law proceedings, nor will deviations from these prescribed procedures necessarily invalidate a decision or proceeding unless significant prejudice to the accused student or the School of Law may result.
- The accused student will be presumed not to have violated the Standards until it is proven otherwise.
- The School of Law must prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence.
- The Associate Dean may recommend a sanction to the Hearing Panel, but the Hearing Panel will have the authority to reject the recommendation and issue any sanction(s) deemed appropriate.
- All formal hearings will be recorded. Copies of the recording will remain the property of the School of Law and will serve as the official record of the proceedings.
- Disposition of the Case:
- In the event the student also is registered for courses in another school within the University, the matter shall be assigned to the Hearing Panel of the school in which the student is currently doing a major portion of his or her work, unless otherwise determined by the Dean.
- Quorum for a formal hearing shall consist of the chair of the Hearing Panel, the SBA president, and at least three (3) members of the full-time faculty appointed by the Dean to the Hearing Panel. In the event that the SBA president is unable to serve in this role, the Dean shall appoint an alternative student representative to the Hearing Panel.
- Hearing Panel decisions will be made by a simple majority of the Hearing Panel members present at the hearing. After hearing the case, panel members will go into closed session to reach a decision.
Findings and recommendations of the Hearing Panel will be detailed in a written report to the Associate Dean within five (5) business days of completion of the hearing. In the Hearing Panel’s consideration of the official charge(s) against the student, the report will state what Standards of Student Conduct section(s), if any, the panel determined to have been violated by the student. The report also will detail any behavior(s) which the Hearing Panel believed to have constituted the violation. Finally, in cases where a student has been found responsible for misconduct, the Hearing Panel’s report will list any recommended sanction(s) within the parameters of the Standards. The Associate Dean will either accept or modify the Hearing Panel’s recommendations
Appeal of Formal Hearing Results
A student may appeal the sanction and/or underlying decision to the Dean of the School of Law within five (5) business days of the student receiving written notification of the final disposition by the Associate Dean. Students must complete a Student Appeal Form and submit it to the Dean of the School of Law. Appeals shall set forth:
- The specific determination or sanction being appealed;
- The basis for contesting the determination or sanction; and
- The relief requested.
An appeal shall be limited to review of the verbatim record of the hearing and supporting documents for one or more of the following purposes:
- To determine whether the hearing was conducted fairly in light of the charges and evidence presented and in conformity with these procedures giving the complaining party a reasonable opportunity to prepare and present evidence, and giving the accused student a reasonable opportunity to prepare and to present a rebuttal of those allegations;
- To determine whether the facts in the case were sufficient to establish that a violation of the Standards of Student Conduct occurred;
- To determine whether the sanction(s) imposed were appropriate for the violation of the Standards of Student Conduct that the student was found to have committed;
- To consider new evidence sufficient to alter a decision because the person appealing did not know of such evidence and/or facts at the time of the original hearing and could not have reasonably discovered such facts, and such information may have resulted in a different resolution.
The Dean of the School of Law shall respond to an appeal within fifteen (15) business days after the student files a notice of appeal. The Dean may reduce the sanction without further remand to the Hearing Panel. If the Dean determines that any other of the above conditions are met, he or she shall remand the matter back to the Hearing Panel for reconsideration. The scope of reconsideration shall be limited to one or more of the above conditions, as specified by the Dean. The final disposition of the Associate Dean based on the reconsidered recommendation by the Hearing Panel shall be final with no further right of appeal to the Dean of the School of Law.
Interim Suspension
Pending action on charges, a student’s status as a member of the University community will not be altered or his or her right to attend classes or perform his or her prescribed duties suspended, except under any of the following circumstances as determined by the Associate Dean and approved by the dean:
- To ensure the safety and well-being of members of the University community or preservation of University property;
- To ensure the student’s own physical or emotional safety and well-being;
- If the student poses a credible threat of disruption of or interference with the normal operations of the University; and/or
- If the student fails to attend the scheduled hearing on the disciplinary charges.
During the interim suspension, the student shall be denied access to University facilities including classes, and/or all other University activities or privileges for which the student might otherwise be eligible, and/or other restrictions, as the Associate Dean may determine.
Sanctions for Misconduct
The following sanctions may be imposed by the Associate Dean upon any student found responsible through either the informal or formal resolution process to have violated the Standards:
- Warning: a notice to the student that the student violated the Standards.
- Reprimand: a written reprimand for violation of these Standards. The reprimand will describe the standards violated and will advise the student that they may face more severe disciplinary sanctions if found in violation of any of these Standards during the remainder of their status as a student.
- Loss of privileges: denial of specified privileges for a designated period.
- Denial of course credit, an “F,” “WF” or “NC” grade, and loss of tuition: If the misconduct occurred in connection with a particular course, the student could be sanctioned with loss of credit for the course(s), an “F,” “WF” or “NC” grade, notation of the loss of credit on official transcript, and/or loss of tuition. Alternatively, a grade may be otherwise adjusted based on a finding of misconduct.
- Fines: imposition of a monetary penalty.
- Withdrawal and/or repayment of scholarship: withdrawal from course(s) and/or rescission of any offer of future financial scholarship, denial of eligibility for future scholarship, and/or requirement that the student repay scholarship funds already received.
- Restitution: compensation for loss, damage or injury. This may include appropriate community service (either within the University or outside the University) and/or monetary or material replacement.
- Discretionary sanctions: work assignments, service to the School of Law or the University, or other related discretionary assignments.
- Disciplinary Probation: An official notice that the student’s conduct is in violation of the Standards of Student Conduct but does not warrant suspension or expulsion. Probation is for a designated period of time and includes the probability of more severe disciplinary sanctions if the student commits another conduct code violation during the probationary period. During the probation period, a student may be subject to conditions including, but not limited to, exclusion from some programs and curricular or extracurricular activities, such as running for and/or holding office in any student organization.
- Suspension: separation of the student from the School of Law for a definite period, after which the student is eligible to return to the School. The Hearing Panel (in the case of a formal hearing) or the Associate Dean may specify conditions for reinstatement which must be satisfied in the administrative judgment of the Associate Dean in order to perfect eligibility to return to the School. During the suspension, the student shall be denied access to University facilities including classes, and/or all other University activities or privileges for which the student might otherwise be eligible, and/or other restrictions, as the Associate Dean may determine.
- Expulsion: permanent separation of the student from the School of Law.
- Revocation of a degree already granted by the School.
More than one of the sanctions listed above may be imposed for any single violation.
The final disposition, whether through the informal or the formal complaint process, will note whether the misconduct and/or any sanction is reportable. If reportable, a copy of the disposition will be placed in the student’s official file in the Registrar’s Office.
The School of Law may inform any bar examining agency of any reportable sanction to the extent that, in its judgment, it is required or permitted to do so.
The Associate Dean will inform the accused student in writing of the final disposition of the complaint.
Judicial Records Policy
The Office of Academic Affairs maintains a hard copy file and any taped recordings of the hearings.
Judicial records are regulated by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The judicial record of a student may be shared internally with University personnel only in instances where such disclosure is permitted under the provision of “an educational need to know” under FERPA.
Interpretation and Amendments
Any question of interpretation of these Standards of Student Conduct shall be referred to the Associate Dean. The Dean and only the Dean will make final and binding resolution of any such question.
The Office of Academic Affairs reserves the right to amend the Standards of Student Conduct at any time.
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