Conduct Policies and Procedures

Michigan Technological University is a globally recognized technological university that educates students, advances knowledge, innovates to improve quality of life, and promotes mutual respect and equity for all people of Michigan, the nation, and the global community. The Student Code of Community Conduct supports the University’s role in preparing students to create the future. Informed by its mission, vision, and values, Student Affairs provides opportunities for students to put our culture of integrity into action. Innovative student-centered activities, programs, and services promote civic engagement and responsibility and help our students develop strong leadership and team-building capabilities, critical thinking skills, and ethical awareness.

• Our Mission
• Our Goals
• Our Values
• Our Vision
• Our Learning Outcomes

 

Michigan Technological University “prepares students to create the future.” In doing so, the University inspires the values of community, scholarship, possibilities, accountability and tenacity. These values should serve to guide decisions and foster learning. Standards of conduct are set forth in the Student Code of Community Conduct to assist the University community in furthering its mission and values. The Office of Academic and Community Conduct has been given the responsibility for enforcing these standards.

Attendance at the University is both voluntary and a privilege. Upon enrollment, students have the responsibility to uphold the rules and values of the University, and the right to a fair and equitable conduct process. Students, student groups, and/or student organizations are responsible for knowing and complying with the information, policies, and procedures outlined in the Code.

 

The University will take all actions that it deems necessary and appropriate to protect the integrity and best interests of the University and the University community. The Code (which also encompasses behavior that might constitute a violation of law) provides ample interpretive latitude. If desired, an expedited review and modification process can be created with advance notice and opportunity to comment provided. While some deviation from practices described in the Code may at times be necessary, every effort will be made to ensure that the intent of fairness of the Code is maintained. The Code is a dynamic document, and as such is periodically reviewed, and can be modified. It is the responsibility of every member of the University community to periodically review the Code. Final authority in conduct matters is vested in University administration and the Board of Trustees.

Student welfare is the University’s primary concern. When students and other individuals need emergency medical help, the University encourages students to offer assistance to others in need and to seek assistance for themselves. Sometimes students may be hesitant to seek or offer assistance due to concerns that their conduct violates University rules, or that a student in a medical emergency will be charged with a rule violation. This provision is included to address that concern.

Any situation where a reasonable person would believe an individual’s physical and/or psychological health is at serious risk and immediate action must be taken to protect the individual or others is defined as a medical emergency. In cases of medical emergency, the University will use considerable discretion to avoid a finding of responsibility under the provisions of the Code.

This statement of intent is broadly defined to allow for generous interpretation and consideration of individual circumstances and the intent of those involved.  It applies to the student(s) providing, as well as receiving medical assistance. Educational conditions may be imposed rather than conduct sanctions, if appropriate, based on the professional judgment of the Dean of Students or designee. This statement of intent applies only to administrative enforcement of the Code and does not provide immunity/amnesty from arrest or criminal prosecution.

After receiving a report, a University official may decide to schedule a meeting with the responding party to discuss the alleged violation(s). At the meeting, the official will:
(1) explain the purpose of the conduct intervention meeting;
(2) review the incident report and any impacts/harms to individuals and/or community as a whole;
(3) listen to the responding party’s explanation of what occurred and why;
(4) discuss community behavioral expectations and conflict resolution techniques;
(5) discuss the consequences of the student conduct process; and
(6) assist the student in developing an action plan to: repair the impacts/harms to individuals and or community; avoid recurring behavioral issues; make use of appropriate service referrals, as needed; and reintegrate themselves back in to the community.

 

No sanctions will be imposed other than a verbal warning during the conduct intervention, and there is no right to an appeal. The official has the authority to change handling the incident at the conduct intervention level to the administrative option, voluntary adaptable resolution, or formal action, based on the information revealed in the conduct intervention meeting. Such actions may also be taken if the student fails to appear for the conduct intervention meeting. If a change is made, the responding party will receive the appropriate notice and opportunity to respond.

After receiving a report, the official may offer the option for the reporting party and the responding party to informally resolve the conflict/incident. If the responding party accepts responsibility for violating the Code, and the reporting parties agree to be involved, restorative practices such as mediation, facilitated dialogue, restorative group conferencing, and/or circle processes may be utilized.

 

Mediation uses a neutral third party to coordinate a structured intervention to assist with resolving conflict between two or more parties. (Mediation will not be an option for any allegation of sexual misconduct.) Facilitated dialogue is a structured conversation between two or more parties in which a facilitator guides the parties to a better understanding of their differences. Restorative group conferencing is a scripted dialog led by a facilitator in which the responsible party(s) and the impacted party(s) engage in collaborative decision making to identify outcomes and develop a formal agreement. The circle process is a means of organizing group communication, decision making, problem-solving and/or conflict resolution.

 

These voluntary processes allow all parties to be involved in and have influence on the resolution process and outcome. The primary focus is to address the impacts, repair the harm, restore integrity, and reintegrate individuals back in to the community. The outcome is a formal agreement between the parties as to what will be specifically done by the responding party. If all parties are not in agreement as to the outcome of the restorative practices, or at any time during the process the official decides it’s not in the best interest of those involved, including the University, then the matter will be handled through formal action.

Reasonable cause needs to be present for the University to take interim action prior to any further action or hearing with any responding party to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of the University community; to ensure the responding party’s own physical or emotional safety and well-being; or if the responding party poses a threat of disruption of or interference with, the normal operations of the University. If a responding party fails to comply with the requirements of the interim action, the University may immediately take any lawful action to obtain compliance.

 

Students can request an interim action review to be conducted at any time after interim action is imposed. The student must submit in writing the request for review. During the review process, the student will be given an opportunity to demonstrate in writing why they feel cause no longer exists for the interim action to be in effect. This may include providing additional information not available at the time the interim action was imposed. A separate University official will conduct the review.

 

“Interim action” includes, without limitation:

1) No verbal/non- verbal/third-party contact with another person(s).

2) Disciplinary hold on the student account that prevents registering for academic courses and/or making any type of academic requests (i.e., transcripts). In order to have the hold removed the student will need to comply with official’s request.

3) Mandatory behavioral agreement that reinforces conduct expectations, with any further violations of the Code resulting in formal action.

4) Restriction on student’s presence in the residence halls, on University property and/or at University events.

5) A requirement of an individualized psychological assessment through Counseling Services or at another facility and/or a medical assessment. The assessment(s) may be used to determine the appropriateness of withdrawing, sustaining, or altering the interim action.

6) Immediate suspension from the University.

The official may send a written notice of the alleged policy violation(s), findings based on a preponderance of the evidence, applicable sanctions and educational conditions, with the option for the student to (a) accept the findings and the designated sanctions and educational conditions, (b) request formal action or (c) reject the findings in part or entirely and request formal action. The written notice will be sent by a University official to the University email address assigned to the responding party. Response must be returned via email to the official within seven (7) business days of the official’s emailing of the notice.

 

If the student requests formal action, then an initial conference will be scheduled, and the case may proceed with further formal action. If the response is not returned within the designated time period, it shall be presumed the responding party waives their right to formal action and the sanctions and educational conditions outlined in the email notice will be imposed. If the responding party waives their right to formal action, reporting party may appeal the outcome and request formal action.

 The official will send to the responding party notice of the alleged violation(s), the range of sanctions related to the violation(s), the date, time, and location for an initial conference to the University email address assigned to the responding party. If the responding party fails to appear at the initial conference, the official may consider all information true and accurate, if it so appears, and take appropriate administrative action.

 

The initial conference notice is sent when a report from staff, faculty, law enforcement, or another source that indicates that there is reasonable cause to believe that a student may be responsible for a violation of the Code. At the initial conference, the student will meet with an official. The purpose of the initial conference is to provide the responding party with additional information about the reported incident and explain the procedures that will be followed to determine if they are responsible or not responsible for a violation the Code. At that time, the responding party will respond to the violation by electing one of the following courses of action:

 

1. To accept responsibility for violating one or more University rules. The case may then be immediately reviewed by the official, who will take appropriate action. A short postponement will be granted if the student wishes to demonstrate mitigating circumstance by producing relevant witnesses or information. A decision notice will be sent to the student within seven (7) business days, and will include any applicable sanction and condition(s). The official may choose to refer the student to a meeting with the University Conduct Board for determination of appropriate sanction and/or educational condition(s).

2. To accept responsibility for a violation(s), and request a restorative practice in lieu of formal sanction/educational condition(s). See Restorative Practices

3. To deny responsibility for the violation(s), in which case, the official shall determine the next appropriate course of action from the following: a) Hold an immediate formal hearing with the official or if the student so requests, postpone the hearing for a reasonable time in order to allow the student to prepare a response and/or to arrange for the person who filed the complaint to appear. b) Refer for a formal hearing to another official. c) Refer for a formal hearing before the University Conduct Board. If the board cannot convene, Office of Academic and Community Conduct will arrange a formal hearing by an official. d) Adjourn the conference in order to obtain additional information, and then complete the hearing at a later time after all additional information has been gathered. e) Dismiss the charges.

4. To stand mute on the charge. The case will then be referred for a formal hearing before the University Conduct Board.

* At the formal hearing, the student will appear before an individual official or a conduct board. As appropriate to the conduct charges, in most cases a conduct board will be convened to review the possible conduct violation.

 

Conduct boards generally consist of one member of the professional staff, one member of the faculty, and one full-time student. All conduct board members receive annual training modeled after the Association of Student Conduct Administration’s “Best Practices in Student Conduct Hearing Board Training Series.”

 

** Members of the University Conduct Board may be current or former licensed attorneys. These individuals serve on the University Conduct Board in their capacity as a student/faculty staff member of the University, not as an attorney. These individuals do not represent or advise the University on the matters before them as an attorney.

The Office of Academic and Community Conduct would like to emphasize that our hearing is not a criminal trial. The same strict procedures or rules of evidence as you would experience in criminal court procedures are not used. The standard used to determine if a student is responsible is called preponderance of evidence; this differs from normal court procedures because the hearing officer or committee may simply rule that it is more probable than not that a University regulation has been violated. The purpose of a hearing is to obtain the information necessary to make a decision in a student's case. Often, the student and the hearing officer may simply need to discuss the incident report. Sometimes the reporting party, the individual who makes the incident report, will attend. Additional witnesses or documents are sometimes helpful; however, character witnesses are not allowed.

Hearings are closed to the public. At the discretion of the official, an additional official may be present for the purpose of assisting in managing the hearing, but the assistant shall not otherwise participate in the hearing.

 

Where a sanction of suspension or expulsion can be imposed, hearings will be recorded. Deliberations will not be recorded. The recording will be the property of the University and maintained according to University records policy.

 

The official and/or chair of the conduct board shall exercise control over the proceedings to avoid needless consumption of time and to achieve orderly completion of the hearing. Any person, including the student charged with the conduct violation, who disrupts a hearing, may be excluded by the official or chair.

 

During the hearing, the student may present an explanation of the facts and circumstances relating to the incident, present relevant witness who can speak to the same, and reserve the right to not respond to questions. Both parties are allowed to direct relevant questions to the hearing officer and/or panel to be asked of each other and/or to witnesses who testify at the hearing. The official and/or chair may determine that witnesses or information is not relevant to the charge(s). The official and/or chair may also call on the reporting party to give an explanation of events.

 

The official and/or chair are authorized to take reasonable measures to maintain control over the proceedings in order to elicit relevant facts; to prevent the harassment of participants; to insure that proceedings are not disrupted; and to see that the interests of fairness are served. These measures may include regulating the timing, length and manner of presentations, objections, declaring recesses in the proceedings, and other appropriate actions. Officials and/or chairs should have training and experiences appropriate to the demands of the office.

 

The reporting party and responding party may each  invite one “support person” to accompany them during the conduct hearing process. A support person is any member of the University community (faculty/staff/student) chosen by the reporting party or responding party to provide moral support to a reporting party or responding party during a conduct hearing process. The support person may not be an immediate family member. When criminal charges have been filed against the accused student, their attorney may be present during the hearing as their support person. The reporting party may also invite an attorney present as their support person. Support persons, including attorneys, if allowed to be present throughout the proceedings, may not participate directly in the conduct process, but may offer advice, guidance, and/or support to the student (reporting party/responding party).

 

No conduct action shall be taken unless it is established by a preponderance of the information before the Conduct Board or hearing officer that the student is responsible for the violation(s). Formal rules of evidence shall not be applicable in conduct hearings. Information which reasonable persons would accept as having probative value in the conduct of their affairs can be considered.

 

Written notice of the conduct decision will be sent to the student within seven (7) business days of the hearing. This time may be extended if necessary in the reasonable judgment of the official and/or chair.

 

Any conduct decision may be appealed and must follow the established procedures as outlined in the Appeal Procedures.

 

A written statement that further violations of University rules will result in more serious sanctions.

A status which generally will not exceed 18 months, unless in the discretion of the decision maker, the status should exceed 18 months. Students who violate any regulation while on conduct probation are likely to receive enhanced sanctions for any subsequent violations. Conduct probation means a student is not in good social/conduct standing, and therefore may be ineligible to participate in co- and/or extra- curricular activities, student employment, scholarships, etc. Once a student has completed at least 1/3 of their total probationary period, they may apply to the PERC program to be reinstated to good conduct standing. Applicants will be required to successfully complete additional educational conditions prior to being released from conduct probation. Please contact the Office of Academic and Community Conduct for more information on the PERC program.

The termination of a person’s status as a student for a definite or indefinite period of time with possibility of reinstatement. The student must submit a petition for reinstatement and have it approved before being allowed to return. If allowed to return, a determination will be made whether or not the student will be placed on conduct probation for a specified period of time.

The termination of a person’s status as a student without possibility of reinstatement.

Conduct decisions, in addition to a sanction, may include an educational condition(s) such as: writing assignments, educational/experiential workshops, counseling, fees, community service, restorative practices, loss of privileges, educational projects, and/or assessments. The University has complete discretion to require or to not require educational conditions on a case by case basis. Students with critical financial situations may submit a written petition to demonstrate why they cannot pay University education condition fees. The petition will be reviewed to determine if their fiscal conditions warrant a reduction or waiver.

 

Appeals will be considered on “questions of fact” by the introduction of new information that would significantly affect the outcome of the case. Information introduced that was not known or could not be reasonably known at the time of the hearing by the appealing student shall be considered new information. Evidence that was known but withheld by the appealing student shall not constitute a question of fact and will not be considered upon appeal.

Appeals will be considered on the basis of “questions of procedure” by the demonstration that a departure from established procedure guidelines occurred, and said breach significantly affected the outcome of the case.

 Appeals will be considered on the “severity of sanction” by the explanation of why the sanction should be reconsidered. The appeal must show that the degree of the sanction leveled was not within the exercise of good faith discretion by the University, and that therefore the sanction should be imposed to a lesser extent.

In cases of multiple charges where more than one University policy is implicated, the procedures governing Sexual and/or Relationship Misconduct violations will take precedence.

Records of all conduct actions by officials and boards are considered educational records under FERPA. For additional information, see http://www.mtu.edu/registrar/faculty-staff/ferpa/. Records of conduct actions shall be maintained by the Office of Academic and Community Conduct in accordance with the Student Affairs document retention policy. Records of incidents reportable under the Campus Security Act will be retained for seven (7) years from the date of the incident; records of incidents resulting in suspension (when the student does not return to the University) or expulsion will be retained indefinitely; and all other records will be retained for two (2) years following graduation or official withdrawal from the University. With the exception of the sanction of Expulsion, and Special Failing Grades (F*, U* and E* under the Academic Integrity Policy), disciplinary sanctions do not appear on University transcripts. In the case of pending actions where an academic grade cannot be assigned, a grade of “M” will be entered into the student’s academic record, which is not calculated into the student’s GPA.

The University reserves the right to revoke an awarded degree for fraud in receipt of the degree, or for serious disciplinary violations committed by a student prior to the student’s graduation.

The Code is adapted from the NCHERM Group Developmental Code of Student Conduct and is used here with permission. www.ncherm.org. Special acknowledgement to Gary Pavela for his Summer 2015 review and revision recommendations for the Code. Any questions regarding University rules and student conduct procedures should be addressed to: Office of Academic and Community Conduct, 310 Administration Building, 906-487-2951, studentconduct@mtu.edu.

 

History: Revised August 1, 2005; August 1, 2006; August 1, 2007; August 1; 2008; August 1, 2009; August 1, 2010; August 1, 2012; August 01, 2014; January 20, 2015; August 1, 2015; August 1, 2016; August 1, 2017; August 1, 2018.