The University is committed to promoting a positive and safe Learning Environment. Individual Faculty Members and staff have the right to determine whether specific Student behavior and conduct is disruptive to the Learning Environment, and as a result, Faculty Members and staff may require a Student to leave an individual Learning Environment; however, they are not authorized to permanently remove a Student from the Learning Environment without following the process set forth below and/or the Honor Code Resolution Process, whichever is determined to be the most appropriate by the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities.
This process should be initiated as soon as possible after the initial disruption. If during this process, the Student’s continued presence in the Learning Environment represents a significant impediment to the educational process of the Learning Environment, the University may officially withdraw or remove the Student from the Learning Environment. If attempts at informal resolution fail or are not possible, the withdrawal or removal procedure will be followed. Faculty members, staff, or Students in the Learning Environment in which the disruption is alleged to have occurred should file an SRR Incident Report.
Process for Addressing Disruptions
The process to address a Disruption of the Learning Environment report is as follows:
After a Faculty Member, staff, or Student files an Incident Report, the Dean or designee, as a neutral party, will lead a meeting between the Student and Faculty Member or staff responsible for the Learning Environment to attempt to resolve the concern as soon as possible after the submission of the SRR Incident Report.
The Faculty Member or staff member need not lead the meeting but should be present at this initial meeting with the Student.
The Director of SRR, or their designee, will attend the meeting to help facilitate administrative response and provide clarification regarding policies and procedures.
Additional University Community Members (including, but not limited to, Dean’s office staff or Campus Safety staff) may be asked to attend this meeting.
The Student may bring a Support Person to this meeting, provided that the Support Person must follow all limitations on the role of a Support Person as set forth in the Honor Code.
If the Student fails to attend the meeting, the instructor may proceed with a request to the relevant Dean’s office for an involuntary removal of the Student from the Learning Environment.
If the initial conversation does not resolve the conflict or if the Student fails to attend the meeting, the Dean or designee will issue a determination within five (5) Business Days from the scheduled time of the meeting.
During the time between the meeting and the determination, the Student is not permitted to return to the Learning Environment and the Faculty Member and staff member shall provide the Student with materials, assignments, and other Learning Environment information the Faculty Member and staff member deems essential to assist the Student with remaining current in the Learning Environment.
The Dean or designee will communicate the determination regarding whether or not the Student will be withdrawn or removed from the Learning Environment to the Student, Faculty Member, and applicable University Officials.
If the Dean or designee determines that withdrawing or removing the Student from the Learning Environment is necessary, the Student will be provided the opportunity to withdraw from the Learning Environment voluntarily. If this is a course, if the Student does not drop the course voluntarily, the Office of the Registrar will drop the student from the course. In either case, the student’s transcript will reflect a “W” for withdrawal if the action occurs after the course drop deadline.
If the Dean or designee determines that withdrawal or removal is not warranted, the Student shall be allowed to return to the learning environment at the next scheduled opportunity. The Student may be required to sign a Behavioral Responsibilities Agreement to set forth the appropriate and inappropriate conduct and expectations for conduct for the remainder of the course as well as the consequences for violating the agreement. The agreement is not appealable. The agreement will be kept on file with the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities.
The Student may appeal the withdrawal or removal decision in writing to the Office of the Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor no later than five (5) Business Days from the date of the Dean’s or their designee’s decision. The Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor or their designee will consider appeals based only on the following criteria:
The existence of procedural errors so substantial that they greatly impacted the decision;
Presentation of new and significant evidence which was not reasonably available at the time of the initial meeting and would likely alter the decision; and/or
The decision is substantially disproportionate to the severity of the violation.
Disagreement with the decision is not grounds for appeal.
During the appeal process, the Student is not permitted to participate in the Learning Environment. The Faculty Member or staff member shall provide the Student with materials, assignments, and other Learning Environment information the Faculty Member or staff member deems essential to assist the Student with remaining current in the Learning Environment. The Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor or their designee will render a decision to the Student no later than five (5) Business Days from the date of receipt of the appeal. This decision is final with no further avenue of appeal.