If a student has been documented for being involved in a policy violation, the student will be contacted by email (university email) and asked to attend an individual hearing about your conduct. During this meeting, you will have the opportunity to discuss the incident with a University hearing officer, a professional staff member who investigated and determined responsibility of any violations. Failure to attend this meeting can and will result in the case being decided in your absence, as will a failure to comply violation and additional violations on your record that can result in a registration hold being placed on your account.
Should you accept responsibility or be found responsible for the changes, you will receive sanctions. These are outcomes designed to educate you about how your actions impacted you and the university community. A list of possible sanctions can be found in Student Code of Conduct (link here). The hearing officer will be use the preponderance of evidence standard when deciding a case, which means that the determination is more likely than not that the violation occurred.
Appeals
If you do not agree with the particulars of the violation or the sanction, you will three days to appeal. In most cases, the appeal will be sent to the appeal officer for your hearing officer. For students in the residence halls, that is the Associate Director for Housing and Residence, then the Director of Housing and Residence Life, then the Vice President for Student Life and Success. If BSU professional are acting as your hearing officers, your appeal will be sent to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. In cases where the Vice President of Student Life and Success is your hearing officer, your appeal office is the Provost and the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Opening the Individual Hearing Email
At Bemidji State University, we use Maxient to send letters to alleged violators of the Student Code of Conduct.
Parent Notification
The Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents parents from being contacted during policy violation concerning their student without written consent from the student. However, parents may be contacted for more serious violations such as underage drinking and illegal drug use.
Differences from a Legal Process
BSU’s conduct process is created to teach students to take responsibility for their actions and assist them in realizing how their decisions impact the community as well as themselves.
For the goals to be achieved, students are to represent themselves in hearings. Attorneys are not permitted to be part of conduct hearing as they could in criminal or civil court. Decisions about violations of the Code of Conduct are based on the preponderance of evidence standard or, “more likely than not” guideline.
Consequences of Misconduct
Sanctions are assigned based on the violation and the frequency of the violation. They include but are not limited to:
- Disciplinary warning
- Disciplinary probation
- Housing probations (restriction to certain buildings/areas)
- Attendance at a workshop or class
- Attendance to XX class
- Community Service
- Counseling Referrals
- Loss of Privileges
- Fines or Restitution
- Research and/or reflection papers
For more severe policy violations such as sexual assault or repeated violations (numerous alcohol or drug violations students can face suspension for expulsion.
Impact of Misconduct
- Employers ask for conduct records as part of their hiring processes
- Government agencies and the military perform conduct checks on applicants
- Students wishing to study abroad, transfer to other institutions, or gaining admission to Bar Associations
- Know your conduct is cumulative during your time at BSU. Conduct records are on file for at least seven years after your last semester of attendance.
For questions, please refer to student handbook or contact us at conduct@bemidjistate.edu