Student Code of Conduct

If you are documented in a residence hall, a report is initiated and reviewed by the Dean of Students Office the following business day. The case is then either assigned to a student conduct hearing officer for a student conduct conference or forwarded to a student conduct hearing panel. Student conduct hearing officers can be a professional staff member/administrator in the Office of Residence Life or an administrator in the Dean of Students Office.

Students are held to behavioral standards both on and off campus. If you are documented for an off-campus incident by local or state police, the Dean of Students Office is notified the following business day. The case is then assigned to a student conduct hearing officer for a student conduct conference or forwarded to a student conduct hearing panel.

A student conduct conference is an initial meeting to provide you, the responding student, with the opportunity to discuss the allegation(s) and review documentation that led to the charge(s). You will have the opportunity to ask questions about the incident or University policies. The hearing officer will then make a determination of responsibility.

If you are found responsible, the hearing officer conducting the student conduct conference will discuss and impose sanctions. Sanctions may be assigned immediately, or the hearing officer may ask you to return for a follow-up meeting in which sanctions will be discussed and assigned. An outcome letter will be sent to your Salve Regina email address once sanctions are assigned.

If you are found not responsible, there is no further action needed. The hearing officer may have an educational conversation with you regarding the incident and how to avoid similar incidents in the future.

In cases where responsibility for the alleged violation(s) may result in high-level sanctions including, but not limited to, suspension or dismissal, a respondent will be automatically forwarded to a student conduct hearing panel. A student conduct hearing panel is a hearing heard before three University employees who are trained in conduct policies and procedures.

A hearing panel coordinator is a staff member who meets with a respondent who is forwarded to a student conduct hearing panel prior to the hearing. The hearing panel coordinator will review the allegations with the respondent, walk them through the hearing process and answer any questions the respondent may have prior to their hearing. The hearing panel coordinator is also present at the hearing to oversee the process.

Sanctions range from warnings, fines and/or educational and developmental sanctions to suspension and expulsion. A full list of potential sanctions is located in the student code of conduct section of the student handbook.

If you are assigned a sanction (such as an educational reflective essay) and do not complete it, you may be assessed a judicial fine and/or charged with failure to comply with requests from University officials, and additional sanctions may be imposed.

The University does notify parents/guardians of students under age 21 regarding alcohol and/or drug violations. A copy of the outcome letter you receive as a student is also mailed home. Depending on the severity of the incident, a phone all may also be made.

The dean of students reviews all requests to appeal, and an appeal must be based on either a procedural error or new information. The full appeals procedure is located in the appeals section of the student handbook.

Expectations listed in the document below for remote student conduct meetings (student conduct conference and/or student conduct hearing panel). The Dean of Students Office recognizes that this is a remote meeting and not standard operating procedure and appreciates flexibility as we navigate the University’s response to COVID-19. During this time, students always have the right to request a remote student conduct meeting

• Guidelines and expectations for remote student conduct meetings