Student Conduct Code: Rights and Responsibilities

Mission Statement

The mission of the administration of student conduct at Guilford is to foster a campus community that enables students, faculty, and staff to pursue their educational and vocational goals in a secure environment. By providing students and hearing participants with an educational experience concerning due process and community expectations, the Office for Campus Life promotes respect, honesty, responsibility, and citizenship in accord with the goals of the college, the Office for Campus Life, and the Core Values of community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship.

Values Statement

The administration of student conduct at Guilford College embodies the following values in serving the college community.

We value…

responsibility, by encouraging and facilitating individuals to take responsibility for their actions and any resulting consequences;
individuality, which is premised upon the belief that each member is a unique and integral part of Guilford College, yet has an obligation to the entire campus community;
respect, of others for both their person and their property;
independence, of our faculty, staff, and student adjudicators in their quest for truth and in their determination of appropriate and impartial mechanisms for behavior modification; and
integrity, which encompasses honesty, citizenship, and sound judgment as a basis for all interactions and decisions.

Off-Campus Behavior

Although the college is not legally responsible or financially liable for the behavior of students off-campus, it does reserve the right to take disciplinary action against students when their off-campus behavior violates college expectations and policies or when it impacts the college community. Students participating in Guilford College off campus programs at Guilford College Study Abroad programs are bound by the policies contained in the student handbook.

Disciplinary Authority

The dean of students is designated by the college's president to be responsible for the administration of student conduct. The dean of students, in consultation with students, faculty and staff, shall develop policies for the administration of campus discipline. The Community Senate Judicial Committee, along with several additional faculty and staff members, will normally review the policies and procedures and recommend changes to the dean of students.

Adjudication and Resolution

Depending upon the nature of the violation, the following methods of adjudication will be utilized to resolve any allegations:

Informal Resolution. In some instances, incidents and/or allegations are most appropriately resolved in a manner not resulting in formal judicial charges, including, but not limited to, voluntary resolution with the Conflict Resolution Resource Center (CRRC), meeting with the director of counseling services, and/or other faculty/staff or other campus or off-campus resources as appropriate.
Administrative Hearing. An administrative hearing is conducted by a Campus Life administrator to adjudicate all Level I violations, violations where responsibility is freely admitted, and/or where there is no dispute of fact. In cases where separation from the college is a likely outcome, the associate dean for campus life hears cases and the dean for campus life hears the appeals.
The Judicial Board. A body of five (5) students and two (2) faculty members who serve as the Judicial Board to adjudicate alleged Level II or Level III violations of the Student Conduct Code where students do not accept responsibility for the violations. If necessary, the dean for campus life may appoint a committee of five, composed of three students and two faculty members, to handle any judicial matters that arise during the summer or after April 1 during the academic year. If such a board cannot be gathered, the matter will be handled administratively under normal guidelines.

Judicial Procedures

Commencing a Complaint. The college's judicial process determines an individual's status as a Guilford student. It is not the appropriate venue for individuals to bring complaints against one another or the larger community. Individuals who believe a violation of the Student Conduct Code has occurred should file a written Incident Report with the Office of Public Safety or the Office for Campus Life. The Office for Campus Life, based on reports from individuals or the Office of Public Safety, initiates complaints. Complaints are reviewed by the dean for campus life, his/her designees and the office of public safety to determine applicable alleged violations.

Hearing Procedures. The judicial process follows procedures to ensure basic fairness regardless of the method of adjudication. Anyone other than Guilford College trained judicial advocates or interpreters may not assist students during judicial proceedings (i..e. attorneys, parents, guardians, faculty members, etc.). The following procedures are followed in all judicial proceedings:

The student will be provided a written notice of formal charges filed not more than thirty (30) working days (excluding college holidays and breaks) after an initial incident report has been received and reviewed by the Office for Campus Life and/or the identity of the accused student becomes known to the Office for Campus Life. This notice will specify the nature and origin of the charges.
A member of the Office for Campus Life staff will meet with the accused at least three working days (excluding college holidays and breaks) in advance of any judicial hearing. In this meeting, the accused will receive full explanation of college judicial procedures. If appropriate, the accused may elect to resolve the charges in an administrative hearing, or the accused may be instructed that his/her case will be referred to a board for adjudication.
If the accused elects to resolve the charges in an administrative hearing, a member of the Office for Campus Life staff will impose an administrative sanction.
If the case is referred to the Judicial Board, all parties (both accused and complainant) will receive notice of the time and place of the board hearing at least three working days (excluding college holidays and breaks) in advance of the hearing.
1. Parties must submit a list of witnesses and/or any written materials for board review to the associate dean for campus life at least three (3) working days (excluding college holidays and breaks) before the hearing.
2. The judicial board hearing moderator will review all evidence and determine admissibility. Evidence may be excluded due to hearsay, relevance, redundancy, etc.
3. Due to federal privacy laws, evidence packets will only be reviewed by students under the supervision of college officials. This serves to prevent the copying and dissemination of federally protected information.
4. At the Judicial Board hearing, the following procedures occur:
  1. The Judicial Board convenes.
  2. Each party may file a request for removal of one member of the board.
  3. Both the college and the student have the right to review all evidence and testimony that may affect the decision of the board.
  4. Both the college and the student have the right to refute evidence, to introduce evidence and to summon witnesses on their behalf unless they waive these rights.
  5. The board, by consensus, renders a decision based on the "preponderance of the evidence" rather than "beyond a reasonable doubt."
The student can file an appeal under specific established appellate guidelines outlined in The Appeals Process section of the Guilford College Student Handbook.

Note: All outstanding judicial charges must be resolved before a student can graduate from the college or before a withdrawn student can be readmitted to the college. Students with unresolved judicial charges and/or sanctions may have an administrative hold placed on their account resulting in the inability to receive transcripts, register for classes, sign up for college housing or graduate. Proceedings of administrative or judicial board hearings may be audio or videotaped to ensure consistency and fairness.

Records of Judicial Hearings

Judicial records are created for all student cases in which disciplinary or academic honor code charges are alleged. These records include disciplinary reprimands; administrative hearings and judicial records of student disciplinary or academic honor cases where the student has been found responsible are maintained in the Office for Campus Life.

These records are maintained and purged according to the following guidelines:

Records involving cases in which the student was charged and found not responsible or in which charges were subsequently dropped are not retained in the official judicial records.
Records involving cases in which a finding of responsible was determined are held in the official judicial records at the college on the following basis:
1. Disciplinary reprimands are kept for one calendar year (12 months from the date of incident) in the official judicial records.
2. Records for cases resulting in an Administrative Hearing or a Judicial Board Hearing where a responsible outcome was determined are held in the official judicial records for seven calendar years beyond the hearing date. Records are purged during the summer after the seventh year.
3. Records for cases resulting in disciplinary suspension or dismissal from the college are retained indefinitely at the college's discretion.

All disciplinary and honor code violation records are considered confidential and are accessed and released in accordance with the provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). For internal college proceedings, authorized officials of the college will be provided access to records as necessary to their official duties in accordance with FERPA. Otherwise such records are released only upon the written permission of the student.

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