Students and recognized organizations accused of violating the Code of Conduct have the right to a meaningful resolution process and to have their case adjudicated by impartial fact finders, including the right to challenge fact finders for bias or any conflicts of interest with the potential to undermine the integrity of the conduct process. Each case is evaluated for complexity, severity, and community impact.
Forums of Resolution
Students who are charged with violating the Student Code of Conduct can expect to engage in one of the resolution paths outlined below. Each resolution option offers the student due process and an opportunity to be heard. Students will be contacted with additional details specific to the resolution path(s) available to them.
- CONDUCT CONFERENCE. A one-on-one meeting with a trained Conduct Officer, designated by Community Standards, who will resolve cases of non-academic student misconduct and when appropriate, impose sanctions up to disciplinary and/or housing probation.
- UNIVERSITY HEARING. A mechanism for resolving cases of academic and non-academic misconduct when outcomes could reasonably result in University Housing Removal, University Suspension or University Dismissal.
The student conduct process, unlike the criminal and civil legal systems, is part of the University’s educational programs designed to address the student’s relationship to the institution and its behavioral standards and policies. While the process may involve situations that overlap with criminal laws (e.g., theft, drugs, or sexual assault) and civil statutes (e.g., fraud, social host laws, and other neighborhood issues), campus policies and processes are intentionally and appropriately different.
The student conduct process focuses on assessing the impacts of an individual’s behavior on the learning and living environment around them. If a student is undergoing civil or criminal action for the same behavior which forms the basis of alleged prohibited conduct as described in the the Student Code, the University is not obligated to suspend the conduct process and may administer disciplinary action concurrently. Formal rules of civil procedure and technical rules of evidence do not apply to these proceedings, though principles of fairness and predictability inherent in such rules inform and provide guidance.
The table below illustrates some (but not all) varying aspects of criminal/civil proceedings with the University's process.
|
|
Criminal and Civil Proceedings |
University Disciplinary Process |
|---|---|---|
Goal |
Public safety, deterrence, punitive in nature, enforce the law |
Educational, rehabilitative, uphold communal behavioral expectations, prepare students to be ethical and responsible global leaders |
Governing Law |
New Hampshire state law, penal code |
SRRR & Code of Conduct, FERPA, due process, Clery Act, Title IX Regulations |
Investigator
|
Law enforcement officers, Judge |
Single Administrator or Panel designated by Community Standards |
Evidentiary Standard |
Beyond a reasonable doubt or “no other reasonable or logical explanation that can derive from the facts presented” (criminal), clear and convincing or “substantially more likely than not to be true” |
Preponderance or “more likely than not” |
participants |
Plaintiff, Defendant, lawyer, Prosecutor |
Complainant, Respondent, Advisor, hearing officer |
Forum |
Trial |
Conference or University Hearing |
Findings |
Innocent or Guilty |
Responsible or Not Responsible |
Determination |
If a citizen committed a crime |
If a student’s behavior violated policy |
Highest Mode of Discipline |
Incarceration |
University Dismissal |
