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NORTHERN
VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE |
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STUDENT CONDUCT, RIGHTS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES Northern Virginia Community College is a learning community with specific expectations concerning the conduct of its students. This section of the student handbook discusses your rights, responsibilities, and conduct as you pursue your education. Northern Virginia Community College's approach to student learning and student conduct is to provide a safe and healthy learning environment that facilitates the mission of the College. When a student's conduct adversely affects the College's pursuit of its educational objectives, actions will be taken to remedy the situation. Northern Virginia Community College's approach will be both to resolve the problem situation and to help students to learn from their mistakes. In accord with this general philosophy, efforts will always be made to resolve discipline issues informally if possible. SECTION I. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES A. The submission of an application for admission to Northern Virginia Community College represents a voluntary decision on your part to participate in the programs offered by the institution pursuant to its policies, rules, and regulations. College approval of your application, in turn, represents the extension of a privilege to join the College community and to remain a part of it so long as you meet its required academic and behavior standards. B. You have the privilege of exercising your rights without fear or prejudice as long as you respect the laws of the state, the policies of the College, and the rights of others on campus. Such rights include the following:
C. You are asked to assist the College in fostering good community relations. In this regard, you should refrain from crossing private property to get to campus, parking in and traversing within unauthorized areas, and traveling faster than the speed limit allows. The surrounding community needs our support in the overall protection and safety of its residents and property. College disciplinary action shall be limited to conduct which adversely affects the College community's pursuit of its educational objectives. The following misconduct is subject to disciplinary action: A. All forms of dishonesty including cheating, plagiarism, knowingly furnishing false information to the College, forgery, and alteration or use of College documents or instruments of identification with intent to defraud. (See the "Academic Dishonesty" section in this handbook.) B. Disruption or obstruction of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary proceedings, or other College activities. The initial response to disruptive behavior, normally, will be to ask you to be orderly and to set up a time for discussion of the issue. If you refuse to do this, the instructor may require you to leave the classroom. The instructor may contact the dean of Student Development to determine what disciplinary procedures are appropriate. Thus, while an instructor may not dismiss you from the course without following due process procedures outlined in the Student Handbook, the instructor may dismiss you from a class session when you are disrupting "the continuity of the educational process." C. Physical and/or psychological abuse or the threat of such abuse of any person on College premises or at College activities. This includes hazing of any sort. Hazing is defined as, "To initiate or discipline (fellow students) by means of horseplay, practical jokes, and tricks, often in the nature of humiliating or painful ordeals." D. Sexual harassment or assault. (See special section of this handbook entitled "Sexual Harassment.") E. Participating in or inciting a riot or an unauthorized or disorderly assembly. F. Seizing, holding, commandeering, or damaging any property or facilities of the College, or threatening to do so, or refusing to depart from any property or facilities of the College upon direction by College officials or other person authorized by the president. G. Use of alcoholic beverages including the purchase, serving, consumption, possession, or sale of such items on College property or at any College-sponsored student event or activity. H. Gambling or holding a raffle or lottery on the campus or at any College function without proper College and other necessary approval. I. Possessing, using, selling, or distributing any types of drugs for illegal purposes. J. Possessing on College property or at any College activity any dangerous chemical or explosive elements or component parts thereof, rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver, or other firearm or weapon not used for lawful College studies without an authorization of the president of the College. K. Physically detaining or restraining any other person or removing such person from any place where he/she is authorized to remain, or in any way obstructing the free movement of persons or vehicles on College premises or at College activities. L. Littering, defacing, destroying, or damaging property of the College or property under its jurisdiction or removing or using such property without authorization. M. Willfully encouraging others to commit any of the acts which have been herein prohibited. N. Violating any local, state or federal laws. O. Violating any rule or regulation not contained within the official College publications but announced as administrative edict by a College official or other person authorized by the president. P. Violation of campus and College fire regulations, i.e., failure to comply with emergency evacuation procedures, tampering with fire protection apparatus, etc. Q. Theft or attempted theft of College or personal property on College premises. R. Unauthorized entry into or presence in any College building or facility. S. Violation of College policy on demonstrations. T. Violation of College policy on solicitation and sales. U. Violation of College policy by smoking in any College facility. SECTION III. STUDENT DISCIPLINARY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES A. Disciplinary Procedures The campus dean of Student Development is responsible for the administration of disciplinary procedures. Allegations of violations of College policy are accepted for consideration only when the apparent infractions are observed on College property or other locations where the College provides services. Infractions of federal, state or local laws occurring off campus shall be the sole concern of the civil authorities except when such actions: (1) directly affect the health, safety or security of the College community, (2) affect the College's pursuit of its educational purposes, or (3) occur as a direct result of a College connected disruption. Reports of alleged student violations of College regulations may be submitted by any individual to the dean of Student Development. Whenever possible, the dean will attempt to resolve the problem informally. If an informal resolution to the matter cannot be found, or is not appropriate, the dean of Student Development will interpret the alleged misconduct with regard to regulations and identify specific charges that will be brought against you. Disciplinary proceedings will be instituted only for charges of violating College regulations. After reviewing the allegations, specifying the charges, and obtaining any necessary information, the campus dean of Student Development will discuss the case with you, including the nature and source of the charges and your rights and responsibilities. You may then choose either 1 or 2 below:
B. The Committee of Review The Committee of Review is an administrative hearing body, appointed by the campus provost, and consists of the following membership:
The Committee of Review shall make its decision by simple majority vote. All members must be present. The chair of the Committee is a voting member. All decisions of the Committee of Review must be supported by the weight of the evidence, taking into account the credibility of the witnesses. C. Appeals 1. All appeals must be submitted in writing and must include the basis for the appeal. 2. All appeals must be filed within ten (10) calendar days of the postmark of formal written notification of any hearing body. 3. Disciplinary decisions may be appealed in order, first to the provost and then to the president. 4. If you appeal the decision of any hearing body, a decision will be made within ten (10) calendar days of the postmark of your appeal. 5. Pending the outcome of the appeal hearing, the disciplinary actions stipulated in the original hearing shall, ordinarily, not be imposed. 6. The provost and president may only affirm, lessen, or reverse the decision of the original hearing body. The provost and president may not impose a more severe disciplinary action. 7. The president's decision of an appeal will be final. D. Procedural Safeguards for Students and Clarifications In order to provide an orderly procedure for handling disciplinary cases which gives you due process and justice, the following safeguards will be available: 1. You will receive written notification of the time, place, and date of any hearing at least seven (7) calendar days before the hearing to allow you a reasonable amount of time to prepare a defense. You will receive a written statement of the charges brought against you. Upon request, you will be allowed access to any and all known materials to be introduced by the College as evidence at the hearing against you. 2. When an alleged infraction takes place on your home campus or during off-campus activities sponsored by that campus, all records of the alleged infraction and materials pertaining to and resulting from the hearing of thecase will be retained by the office of the dean of Student Development on your home campus. In cases where the alleged infraction takes place at a campus other than your home campus, records will be retained by the office of the dean of Student Development for that campus until after the conclusion of the disciplinary process 3. An appeal action can only be initiated at the campus where the incident took place. At the conclusion of the disciplinary process, material will be returned to the office of the dean of Student Development on your home campus. 4. You may elect not to appear at a hearing, but the hearing will still be held in your absence. 5. You may submit a signed statement to the Committee of Review which includes any information or facts you wish to be considered in the review of your case, whether or not you choose to appear for the hearing. 6. You may have an advisor present at any hearing, but must so inform the chair of the Committee of Review in writing postmarked at least five (5) calendar days prior to the hearing. You may receive advice, but this person may not speak for you. 7. You will be given the opportunity to speak for yourself and to present witnesses on your behalf. 8. You may remain silent if you choose to do so. 9. Hearings will be closed to the public and press. All decisions and proceedings will be confidential. 10. All evidence against you will be presented in your presence, if you have chosen to appear, and you will be permitted to question any witnesses. 11. The burden of proof will rest with those bringing the charges. 12. All decisions will be based only on evidence presented before the hearing body. A determination of guilt will be based on a preponderance of evidence brought against the accused. 13. Written notification of any hearing body's decision will be postmarked within ten (10) calendar days of the conclusion of the hearing. 14. An audiotape of the Committee of Review hearing will be kept by the College. A copy may be made available to you upon written request at your own expense. The audiotape will be maintained by the office of the dean of Student Development at your home campus. After three (3) years, all tapes will be destroyed. 15. You may appeal any decision to the next higher administrative level and shall be advised in writing of the appeal procedures along with your formal notification of the decision. 16. Calendar day periods for responses will not include official College holidays or when the College is closed for inclement weather or other emergencies. 17. Postmark dates shall be the dates which are used as the official dates of notification. 18. Deadlines may be extended by mutual agreement of both parties. Agreement shall be in writing. In the case of injury, illness or other mitigating circumstance on either part, a deadline revision will be considered appropriate. E. Disciplinary Actions Disciplinary actions which may be taken are the following: 1. Removal of the charges against you. 2. Admonition--An oral or written statement to you that you are violating or have violated College rules and may be subject to more severe disciplinary action if further violations occur. 3. Disciplinary probation--Removal of the privilege of participating in extracurricular activities of the College, including the holding of any student office, for a period of time not exceeding one academic year. 4. Restitution--Theft of or damage to College property or other forms of misconduct may be dealt with through monetary reimbursement, appropriate campus service, or educational projects. 5. Grade penalty--In the case of academic dishonesty, an instructor may impose a grade penalty. 6. Disciplinary suspension--Exclusion from attending the College as a student for a definite period of time. 7. Dismissal from a curriculum--Exclusion from attending a curricular program. The conditions for readmission, if any, will be stated in the order of dismissal. 8. Dismissal from the College--Termination of student status for an indefinite period. The conditions of the readmission, if any, will be stated in the order of dismissal. The president is required to approve dismissal. 9. Letter of apology or other similar actions as deemed appropriate by the dean of Student Development, provost or president--Actions to help you make the situation better or to learn from your mistake. More than one disciplinary action may be taken. F. Special Steps Available to the President 1. Nothing in these procedures should be construed to prevent the president from taking such official steps as he/she may deem necessary. Final action shall be in accordance with the above procedure. 2. Pending a hearing, you may be suspended by the president of the College or his/her designee and barred from the College if your presence is deemed a danger to others or is likely to be disruptive to the normal educational activities of the College. 3. Before you may be suspended or dismissed, you will be informed of the reasons for the suspension or dismissal and you will be provided with an opportunity to respond except in exigent circumstances, in which case you will be given said opportunity as soon as is practicable. G. Disciplinary Records All records of disciplinary action will remain confidential, will remain separate from your academic record, will be maintained by the dean of Student Development and will not be available to unauthorized persons on campus or to any person off campus, without your express written permission. Exceptions will be made only under the conditions specified in the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and under a court order or subpoena. All records of a case will be maintained by the office of the campus dean of Student Development for three (3) years after the final resolution of the case at which time they will be destroyed. SECTION IV. ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE COLLEGE The president of each community college is responsible for the entire administration of the college, subject to the control of the chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, and the State Board for Community Colleges. It is his/her duty to administer the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia which may be applicable on the campus(es) as well as the policies, rules, and regulations of the State Board for Community Colleges, the chancellor of the Virginia Community College System and the College Board. Any authority or responsibility or duty granted to or imposed upon the college president may be delegated to another person or persons on the faculty or staff of the college of which he/she is president. The president or his/her delegate may take whatever legal or institutional action is necessary to effectuate this authority. SECTION V. ILLEGAL SUBSTANCE POLICY Students or employees of a Virginia community college shall not possess, sell, use, manufacture, give away or otherwise distribute illegal substances including drugs or, where prohibited, alcohol while on campus, attending a college sponsored off-campus event, or while serving as a representative of the college at off-campus meetings. Students or employees who violate this policy will have college charges processed against them in the normal manner of due process provided by college rules. Further, students or employees who violate this policy will have committed a criminal offense, and the college will notify the appropriate agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, county or city government for investigation and, if warranted, prosecution. SECTION VI. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY When College officials award credit, degrees and certificates, they must assume the absolute integrity of the work done by you; therefore, it is important that you maintain the highest standard of honor in your scholastic work. Academic dishonesty cannot be condoned. When such misconduct is established as having occurred, it subjects you to possible disciplinary actions ranging from admonition to dismissal, along with any grade penalty the instructor might, in appropriate cases, impose. Procedural safeguards of due process and appeal are available to you in disciplinary matters. Academic dishonesty, as a general rule, involves one of the following acts:
SECTION VII. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STUDENT/PATRON ETHICS AGREEMENT AND NVCC COMPUTER USE AGREEMENT The VCCS (Virginia Community College System) has established an information security policy to protect the investments made in computer resources and related assets, and to guard against unauthorized or improper use of such resources. Included in this policy is the requirement that all currently enrolled students and patrons who use computer resources will acknowledge their acceptance of the following Information Technology Student/Patron Ethics Agreement and NVCC Computer Use Agreement. Information Technology Student/Patron Ethics Agreement As a user of the Virginia Community College System's local and wide area computer systems, I understand and agree to abide by the following ethics agreement terms. These terms govern my access to and use of the information technology applications, services and resources of the VCCS and the information they generate. The college granted access to me as a necessary privilege in order to perform authorized functions at the college where I am currently enrolled. I will not knowingly permit use of my entrusted access control mechanism for any purposes other than those required to perform authorized functions related to my status as a student. These include logon identification, password, workstation identification, user identification, file protection keys or production read or write keys. I will not disclose information concerning any access control mechanism unless properly authorized to do so by my enrolling college. I will not use any access mechanism that the VCCS has not expressly assigned to me. I will treat all information maintained on the VCCS computer systems as strictly confidential and will not release information to any unauthorized person. I agree to abide by all applicable state, federal, VCCS, and college policies, procedures and standards that relate to the Information Security Policy and the Computer Ethics Guideline. I will follow all the security procedures of the VCCS computer systems and protect the data contained therein. If I observe any incidents of non-compliance with the terms of this agreement, I am responsible for reporting them to the Information Security Officer and management of my college. I understand that VCCNet administration, or appropriate designated college officials, reserve the right without notice to limit or restrict any individual's access and to inspect, remove or otherwise alter any data, file, or system resource that may undermine the authorized use of any network computing facilities (see VCCS Information Security Policy for details). By acknowledging this agreement, I hereby certify that I understand the preceding terms and provisions and that I accept the responsibility of adhering to the same. I further acknowledge that should I violate this agreement, I will be subject to disciplinary action. 11/95 ____________________________________________________________________ NORTHERN
VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE Computer Use Agreement Northern Virginia Community College's computing resources have been deployed to enhance the educational experience of its students and the operating efficiency of its faculty and staff. As with its other resources, these computing resources are the property of the College and are to be used for College purposes. Computers and other computer resources are College property and the rules and regulations that apply to College property apply to computing resources. Computer software, databases and electronic documents are protected by copyright law, and users may not violate the copyright protection of any information, software or data with which they come into contact through the College's computing resources. Students, faculty and staff are responsible for understanding how copyright law applies to their electronic transactions. Users of Northern Virginia Community College's computing resources are required to respect the privacy of other users. They may use only their own user identification unless they have been authorized by a College official to use someone else's. They may not allow others to use their user identification. Users may take advantage only of the computing equipment and services they have express permission to use. They may use these resources only for the purposes for which they have been given permission. They may not use any system loopholes or special knowledge of computer systems to make any changes in the system, to make use of any extra resources or to take resources from others. Users may not attempt to gain access to information owned by the College or by its authorized users without the permission of the owners of that information. They may not attempt to intercept or read messages not intended for them. Users must identify themselves in all messages sent from College computers. The College's computing resources may not be used to support any commercial venture or for personal financial gain, unless such use has been specifically approved in advance by the College president. The College's computing resources may not be used to send or seek out obscenities or obscene materials except to the extent that doing so is a component of a bona fide College activity. Users must obey any special rules that are posted or communicated to them by responsible staff members, whenever they use the College's computing laboratories and classrooms and computers in the Learning Resources Centers. Users shall do nothing intentionally that degrades or disrupts the computer systems or interferes with systems and equipment that support the work of others. Users must report problems with the College's resources to the staff in charge, or to the IT Help Desk. They should always try not to make matters worse. Violating College or VCCS policy regarding computer use is a serious offense that will result in disciplinary action as well as possible prosecution under federal and state law.
SECTION VIII. SEXUAL HARASSMENT Northern Virginia Community College does not and will not tolerate sexual harassment of students, faculty, and/or staff. This policy is part of the College's efforts to maintain a learning and work environment free from sexual harassment, exploitation or intimidation. Violation of this policy will subject individuals to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal for employees and students. Sexual Harassment Definition Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination which is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for employees and under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for students. In keeping with the guidelines provided by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on sexual harassment in employment, NVCC defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature directed at an individual, or action taken in retaliation for reporting such behavior, regardless of where such conduct may occur, when
Sexual harassment is a serious offense. As a consequence, any faculty or staff member who engages in such conduct or encourages such behavior by others shall be subject to disciplinary action which may include dismissal from state service. A student who engages or assists in such conduct shall be subject to disciplinary measures including reprimand, suspension, or dismissal when justified to remedy violations of this policy. Students accused of sexual harassment will have the right to a fair due process hearing. Complete Policy and Procedures You may obtain a complete copy of the policy and procedures from your campus dean of Student Development or the College director of Affirmative Action/Minority and Legal Affairs. SECTION IX. PROCEDURES FOR REGISTRATION OF COLLEGE DEMONSTRATIONS Any student or student organization desiring to hold a demonstration on College property must complete a "College Registration of Demonstration" form (NVCC 125-54) and submit same through the office of Student Activities to the dean of Student Development for consideration.
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