Student Conduct System
The student conduct process is managed through the Office of Student Conduct Services. The office is responsible for: adjudicating cases of alleged student misconduct; coordinating cases of academic dishonesty; addressing student organization, group or athletic team conduct issues; and managing all related processes, records and communications. Student Conduct Services also responds to violations of the Student Code of Conduct that take place off the premises of Kutztown University campus as outlined in the Off Campus Student Rights & Responsibilities of the Student Code of Conduct.
The evolution of the student conduct system is the result of the efforts of faculty, students and administrators of Kutztown University, and the legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PA Code, Title 22, Part XVII, Chapter 505; PASSHE Board of Governor Policy 1984-13A). During the 1970s, the university community produced the basis for the current student conduct process, the Document on Student Rights and Welfare. This document outlines the inherent freedoms and the operable standards that are in place at Kutztown University. Over the years the document has undergone some changes, but in principle the substance has remained intact as the foundation for which allegations of student misconduct are addressed and resolved.
Within the Document there are a variety of procedures that ensure that every student, regardless of the charges, is initially considered not responsible and has a right to be heard. The right to be heard plays a major role in defining due process. The due process that is observed at the university is specifically detailed in The Key.
The student conduct system is designed to help sustain an environment conducive to learning. In a collegiate community a member's freedom of action is a necessary condition of scholarly activity. This freedom, however, is concomitant with the responsibility to respect the freedom of other individuals in their pursuit of knowledge. In order to maintain this balance, there must be a system from which offended parties can achieve redress against those who have imposed on their rights, person or property. Each member of the academic community has the right to his/her privacy and to be free of intrusion by institutional regulatory devices, provided that he/she does not disturb the peace, destroy property or disturb the order of the college/the well-being of any of its members; similarly, each member has the obligation to respect the rights and freedoms of others.
In an effort to outline how the student conduct program operates each of the following entities involved in various aspects of the process are outlined below:
- Student Conduct Services
- University Conduct Board
- Student Faculty Judiciary
- Ombudsperson
- Legal Counsel
- Vice President for Student Services & Campus Life
- University President
Student Conduct Services
The Office of Student Conduct Services has chief responsibility for the implementation of the student conduct processes on campus. The office manages processes and is the central repository for student conduct records. As the Vice President for Student Services & Campus Life’s (VP) designees, the Associate VP/Dean and the Associate Dean have authority to coordinate defined processes, to interim suspend students and to make recommendations to the VP for suspension and/or dismissal of students. Student Conduct Services also works with the following entities of the university’s student conduct system: Case Officers; University Conduct Board; Process Administrators, Student Faculty Judiciary; Ombudsperson; Vice President of Student Services & Campus Life and University President.
University Conduct Board
The University Conduct Board (UCB) is the primary hearing authority that consists of 18 members of the university community and is responsible for hearing cases of student misconduct. The UCB is the first level body that addresses student misconduct issues that are in dispute. Cases brought before the UCB will be heard by a three person panel along with a presiding Process Administrator.
Student Faculty Judiciary
The Student Faculty Judiciary (SFJ) consists of four (4) students elected by Student Government Board and five (5) faculty appointed by University Senate. The SFJ is charged with addressing specific issues related to violations of the Student Code of Conduct such as violations of the Academic Honesty Policy as well as serving as the second level or appellate body for adjudication process matters.
Ombudsperson
The Ombudsperson is an advocate for a fair process. He/she works independently of University structures, considers all sides of a question as impartially and objectively as possible and is mindful of possible conflicts of interest. The Ombudsperson at Kutztown operates in an advisory capacity, relying on the cooperation and goodwill of students, faculty and the administration of the University community.
The ombudsperson is a member of the faculty who is charged to serve as an advocate and mediator regarding issues of academic dispute and/or faculty conflicts.
Vice President for Student Services & Campus Life
The Vice President is responsible for making decisions related to the suspension or dismissal of students based on the recommendations from the Associate Vice President/Dean, Associate Dean, University Conduct Board, Student Faculty Judiciary or other authorized hearing authority.
University President
The University President considers requests to review cases of appeal after the Student Faculty Judiciary has rendered a decision. Requests must follow section 4.9.4 of The Key in order to have a request reviewed. The University President is the “court of last resort” as it relates to decisions of student conduct that have been appealed.