Members of the College community will make many decisions regarding their behavior, and it is desired that decisions not conflict with the College’s expected standards of behavior. However, when a person violates those standards due to a poor decision, then an appropriate sanction must be imposed by way of a judicial process which guarantees due process with due regard to the person’s rights as an individual.
The College maintains high community standards regarding student conduct in and outside the classroom, and these expectations of behavior apply to all students. It is the responsibility of the student to advise the Office of Student Conduct about any request(s) for accommodations they will need during the judicial process.
The college’s conduct process works as follows:
- Incident Reporting
Incident reports come from a number of different sources, including the University Police, New Paltz Police Department, Residential Life, students, faculty, and staff.
- Notification of Charges
All communication and meeting notices are sent to the official student email account (on Office 365). The email notice outlines the alleged violation as it relates to the Code of Student Conduct. The conduct officer indicates the date, time, and location of the conduct meeting.
- Judicial Hearing Process
- Administrative Hearing/Initial Conference
The Resident Director or Director of Student Conduct shall schedule an Initial Conference with the respondent and shall notify the respondent, in writing, of the time and place of the meeting which shall be conducted within fifteen (15) working days from the time of notification. This information shall be included with the Specification of Charges.
At the Initial Conference. if a student acknowledges an understanding and acceptance of the charges of violations, the case can then be adjudicated administratively by an administrator of the college who will take appropriate action and designate any possible sanctions.
If a student denies the alleged allegation of an administrative violation, the hearing will be conducted before an Administrative Officer of the college, who may be the same conducting the initial conference if agreed upon. - Disciplinary Hearing
If a student negates the charge of a Campus Regulation, hearings for alleged violations of Campus Regulations shall be referred to the campus judicial committee for a disciplinary hearing.
- Administrative Hearing/Initial Conference
- Decision
The decision letter with any sanction action is mailed to the student.
- Appeal Process
An appeal must be in writing and its scope, as identified by the appellant, shall be limited to the following:
- Questions of Fact: An appellant may appeal on “questions of fact” by introducing new evidence that would significantly affect the outcome of the case. Evidence that was known to the appellant at the time of the original hearing but was withheld shall not constitute a question of fact nor is it to be considered upon appeal.
- Questions of Procedure: Appeals will be considered on the basis of “questions of procedure” by demonstrating that procedural guidelines established in this document were breached and that such departure from established procedure significantly affected the outcome of the case.
- Questions of Fact: An appellant may appeal on “questions of fact” by introducing new evidence that would significantly affect the outcome of the case. Evidence that was known to the appellant at the time of the original hearing but was withheld shall not constitute a question of fact nor is it to be considered upon appeal.
