Recent Code Updates

A workgroup of faculty, staff, and students have spent this academic year soliciting feedback about the current Code of Student Conduct. The Associate Provost/Dean of Students charged the group to propose a revised Code that considers the following:

1. Revision of prohibited conduct with an anti-racist lens
2. Incorporation and foregrounding of alternative/non-adjudicative resolution options
3. Process for integration of academic integrity adjudication into Code

The workgroup proposed significant revision to the Code, and solicited feedback about the draft changes. We integrated feedback and submitted the proposed final version to the Associate Provost/Dean of Students. This Code has been approved for the 2023-24 academic year.

The following summarizes the recommended changes:

Process Changes

• Replacing integrity formation mission/vision with curricular approach and learning outcomes
  • Related with ongoing work to align student development work with academic affairs.
• Foregrounding informal/non-adjudicative and alternative resolution options
  • Aligned with goal of de-emphasizing formal processes, and making clearer to students that these are possible options for resolving a report.
• Clarification of student rights and responsibilities in process
  • Aligned with goal of formatting policy with less formal language.
• Addition of students to Review Boards
  • Aligned with goals of incorporating students into the process.

Prohibited Conduct Changes

• Rename prohibited conduct to community standards
• Separate cannabis/marijuana from other drugs
  • Aligned with state and regional efforts to decriminalize cannabis.
• Revise disorderly conduct and disruption
  • Consistent with feedback from students and faculty about offering more detail.
• Expand examples of sanctions to offer greater clarity and order them based on type of sanction.

Language Changes

• Student instead of Respondent
  • Aligned with goal of formatting policy with less formal language.
• Collapse three definitions of Review Board, Conduct Review Board, and Organization Review Board into Review Board.
  • Aligned with goal of formatting policy with less formal language.
• Meeting instead of hearing
  • Aligned with goal of formatting policy with less formal language.

Formatting Changes

• Adding a table of contents for ease of reference.
• Inserting hyperlinks throughout document.
• Creating bulleted lists in some cases rather than paragraphs for ease of reading.

The Code of Student Conduct is updated from time-to-time to ensure its alignment with best practices as well as legal and regulatory requirements. Minimal updates were made to the Code of Student Conduct for the 2022-23 academic year. These updates were published and effective August 10, 2022. This year review resulted in a few minor edits, which include the following:

• Edits to the annual welcome letter on page 1.
• Revising titles to align the Code with current institutional positions.
• Replacement of the Integrity Formation Mission/Vision/Values with the revised Integrity Formation Learning Outcomes.
• Revision of 2.26 to reflect the shift of academic integrity administration processes to the Office of the Dean of Students from the Office of the Provost.
• Process clarification of 3.2, Step 3 to clarify the referral of cases from the Title IX Coordinator to the Office of the Dean of Students for non-Title IX sexual misconduct allegations.

During the 2022-23 academic year, the Associate Provost/Dean of Students will empanel a committee of students, faculty, and staff to conduct a thorough review of the Code of Student Conduct and recommend changes for upcoming years. More details will be shared with the University community as they are available.

The Code of Student Conduct is updated from time-to-time to ensure its alignment with best practices as well as legal and regulatory requirements. Minimal updates were made to the Code of Student Conduct for the 2021-22 academic year. These updates were published and effective August 23, 2021. This years review resulted in a few minor edits, which include the following:

• Edits to the annual welcome letter on page 1.
• Minor re-phrasing of policies 2.1 and 2.3 to replace the word "Use" with "Consumption".
• Minor revision of policy 2.33 to reflect updated disease prevention policies.
• Process clarification in Step 1 of the conduct process to clarify that a complaint may be dismissed upon initial review due to a lack of actionable information.
• Process clarification in Step 5 to clarify that those serving as advisors cannot be be a respondent or witness in the case.
• Process clarification in Step 5 to clarify that those serving as witnesses cannot be a respondent or advisor in the case.

The Code of Student Conduct is updated from time-to-time to ensure its alignment with best practices as well as legal and regulatory requirements. Minimal updates were made to the Code of Student Conduct for the 2020-2021 academic year: these updates were published and effective August 1, 2020. This years review resulted in a few minor edits, which include the following:

• Edits to the annual welcome letter on page 1;
• An explicit inclusion of virtual environments in Section 1 under Jurisdiction
• Minor re-phrasing of policies 2.20, 2.30, and 2.31 to enhance clarity
• In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the addition of a disease prevention policy 2.33 on page 8: Failure to comply with university disease prevention policies, including: physical distancing requirements use of masks and/or other personal protective equipment when required and/or, hosting unauthorized visitors/guests on university owned, leased, or managed property. For more information about current disease prevention policies, visit: COVID-19 Response.
• The addition of the following student right on page 9: The right To be notified of the conduct determination, including any sanctions, in writing.

The Code of Student Conduct is updated from time-to-time to ensure its alignment with best practices as well as legal and regulatory requirements. Substantial revisions were made to the Code of Student Conduct for 2019-2020. These revisions were based on a comprehensive two-year review process that began in March 2017, and involved a university-wide Code of Student Conduct Review Committee comprised of faculty, staff, undergraduate, graduate, and law students.

Summary of Revisions

• Streamlined the Code. The updated version of the Code is more concise (about half as many pages as the prior version). This was done by including fewer standards of conduct with broader applicability, by referencing certain university policies to their web presence, and condensing repetitive and/or redundant language.
• Increased transparency and engagement. We created a regular, annual review process for the Code and included a campus-wide committee to assist in revisions. Students will be notified by email when substantive changes are made to the Code.
• Updated the Redhawk Commitment. The Office of the Dean of Students formed a separate committee of students to revise the Redhawk Commitment, which has been incorporated into the Code.
• Used inclusive and accessible language and added a definitions section. We clarified the Code by adding a definitions section to define key terms that are used throughout the document. We also updated the Code to use inclusive and accessible language for our student population(s).
• Provided more information to prepare students for the Integrity Formation process. We have been developing and updating the Integrity Formation website to include information about navigating the Integrity Formation process.
• Strengthened appeals process. The timeline for appeals has increased to five business days following a decision.
• Updated the list of potential sanctions and clarified who determines sanctions. Similar to the policies section, we removed redundant and/or repetitive language, as well as added descriptions and clarification of existing sanctions.
• Inspection of student conduct records. We added a section to describe how students can request access to and inspection of their student conduct records.
  Code Review Committee

The purpose of the Code of Student Conduct Review Committee is to advise the Vice President for Student Development by reviewing the Code of Student Conduct and making recommendations to align it with best practices. The Committee completed a comprehensive review of the Code of Student Conduct during the 2017-18 academic year. The Code was then edited and revised throughout the 2018-19 academic year. The 2019-20 Code reflects the recommendations of the review committee.

Committee Chair:

David Lance, J.D., Associate University Counsel

Previous Committee Members

Student Members:

• Evelyn Chow, Undergraduate Student
• Ray Ivey, School of Law
• Alyssa Garcia, School of Law
• Allison Gibbons, Undergraduate Student SGSU VP of University Affairs
• Rick Reyes, Undergraduate Student
• Mellanie Tanada, Graduate Student
• Braden Wild, Undergraduate Student

Faculty/Staff:

• Ryan Hamachek, M.A., Former Director, Wellness Health Promotion
• Andrea Katahira, J.D., Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity, Title IX Coordinator, Chief EEO Officer, ADA/504 Coordinator
• Armina Khwaja, Director of Student Conduct Integrity Formation
• Allison Lau, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Counseling Student Judicial Affairs at Highline Community College Adjunct Instructor, College of Education
• Charles Lawrence, Ph.D., Associate Provost
• Colette Taylor, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Leadership Professional Studies
• James Willette, Ph.D., Associate Vice President Dean of Students

Minor revisions to the 2018-19 Code of Student Conduct were published and effective on March 29, 2019. These revisions included:

• Updated location of the Department of Public Safety from the University Services Building to the 1313 Columbia Building.
• Updated Section 4.6 to clarify that consent cannot be obtained from an individual who is incapable of giving consent because the person has a mental, intellectual, or physical disability that renders them incapable of giving consent. The phrase that renders them incapable of giving consent was added to provide clarity to the policy.
• Updated job title from Dean of Students to Associate Vice President Dean of Students.

The Code of Student Conduct is updated from time-to-time to ensure its alignment with best practices as well as legal and regulatory requirements. Minimal updates were made to the Code of Student Conduct for the 2018-19 academic year and were effective September 12, 2018. Proposed changes were reviewed by the Chair of the Code of Student Conduct Review Committee and the Vice President for Student Development prior to publication.

Key updates reflected in the current version include:

• General: Updates to department names, staff names and titles, and department locations.
• Change Redhawk Commitment (page 5): A new Redhawk Commitment was developed by a cross-campus committee during the last academic year.
• Clarified/Added — Section 3.3.5 (page 9): Exposure now includes two examples to assist in clarifying the policy. The examples include public urination and/or defecation.
• Terminology Section 5.1 (page 42): Supporters are now referred to as Advisors.
• Changed Section 5.2 (page 43): We've extended the amount of minimum written notice given to respondents prior to a hearing from 2 business days to 3 business days. This change was made to ensure that students are able to reschedule or pursue needed accommodations.
• Changed Section 5.2.1 (page 47): We've extended the appeal window for the Integrity Formation and Sexual Misconduct processes to 5 calendar days. This change was made to ensure that all students have an appropriate and equal amount of time within which to file an appeal request.
• Clarified Section 5.3 (page 48): Examples of possible sanctions listed within the code are now alphabetized.
• Clarified/Added Section 5.3 (page 49): Disciplinary probation as a sanction now clarifies participation in study abroad programs as a possible impact.