If the accused student is found responsible for any violation of the student code of conduct or other University policy, he or she may be subjected to one or more of the following sanctions which may, under certain circumstances, be communicated to the student’s parents or guardians.
Disciplinary Sanctions
The Office of Student Integrity and Conduct may assign any of the following sanctions in addition to disciplinary conduct points:
Campus Resource Referral
A student or group may be required to contact an individual or department on campus.
Counseling
A student may be referred to undergo counseling with the University Office of Counseling Services or designee for a specified time period or until he or she has successfully completed a course of counseling (and such completion is documented by the Counselor in writing).
Deferred Suspension
Individual or group suspension may be deferred. Deferred terms, i.e., conditions of the deferred suspension and its duration, will be set by the Conduct Officer or Hearing Panel which imposed the sanction. If a succeeding Conduct Officer or Hearing Panel finds the student responsible for violating the terms of deferred suspension during the period set up by the preceding Conduct Officer or Hearing Panel, the student may be suspended.
Disqualification from holding official student position or participating in university activities
An individual or group sanctioned will be restricted from either representing the University in an intercollegiate activity or from participation/representation in any University activity or organization.
Drug Test
A student may be subject to random on-going drug testing. The number of tests/dates will be determined by the Office of Integrity and Conduct. The fee for drug testing will be included in the fine assessed at the time of adjudication. Any missed test, diluted test, or positive test may result in immediate suspension from the University.
Educational Sanction
The objective of an educational sanction is to provide opportunities for education, reflection, and rehabilitation and is selected to be commensurate with the offense.
Expulsion
An individual or group will be separated from the University on a permanent basis. An individual’s expulsion will be permanently recorded on his/her academic transcript. A student expelled from the University may not enter campus grounds for any reason without the express written permission from the Dean of Students or VPEMSA. A student expelled from the University will not receive a refund of any monies paid and is not relieved of any financial obligations to the University, including tuition, fees, and room and board.
Fine
An individual or group may be fined any amount determined to be appropriate and commensurate with the severity of the offense.
Loss of privilege
A student or organization may forfeit the privilege of participating in certain co-curricular activities or representing the University in an official capacity.
No contact order
For complaints involving allegations between students, the DOS will issue a no contact order. If it is deemed appropriate by the DOS that a no contact order should be issued, the complainant and respondent will each receive the order. Each party will be informed by the DOS once a no contact order has been issued to the other party.
If living on campus, students involved in a conduct matter who live near or with each other may also request to have living arrangements modified pending the outcome of the hearing.
Probation
A student or group is given a warning that further violations will result in consideration of suspension. The student or a group representative may be required to report to a Conduct Officer on a regular basis during the period of the probation. Terms of the probation shall be specified and may include denial of specified social privileges, exclusion from extracurricular activities and other measures deemed appropriate. Violation of this Code of Conduct during the period of probation will normally result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
Reassignment of Housing Location/Cancellation of Housing Contract
A student removed from the residence halls for an assigned period of time or expelled from the residence halls on a permanent basis may not enter any residence hall without the express written permission from the Office of Residence Life and Student Housing.
A student who is reassigned to a residence hall due to disciplinary action may only enter the newly assigned residence hall. The reassigned student may not enter any other residence hall without the express written permission from the Office of Residence Life and Housing. If the student’s housing contract is still in force at the time of the suspension or expulsion, no refund of the housing deposit or fee will be made.
Residence Hall Probation
A student is advised that additional violations on or off campus could result in the reassignment of their housing location or the cancellation of their housing contract.
Residence Hall Restriction
A student may be restricted from entering a specific residence hall or all residence halls, as specified, without the ex-press written permission of the Office of Residence Life and Housing.
Restitution
Restitution is reimbursement for damage to or misappropriation of property. It may be in the form of service or other compensation.
Social Probation
A student placed on disciplinary probation may not, for a specified period of time, (a) participate in intramural, intercollegiate, or club sports, (b) represent the University in any public function or performance, (c) hold office in student organizations, or (d) be eligible to be initiated into a fraternity or sorority. A student who engages in prohibited conduct prior to the expiration of his or her disciplinary probation may be subject to suspension from the University.
Suspension
An individual or group will be dismissed from the University for an assigned time period, and under the conditions deemed necessary by the conduct review process. A student suspended from the University may not enter campus grounds for any reason during the period of her/his suspension without the express written permission from the Office of the Dean of Students. A student suspended from the University before an academic semester ends will not receive a refund of any monies paid and is not relieved of any financial obligations to the University, including tuition, fees, and room and board. No academic credit earned during the period of suspension at any other institution may be transferred to VUU. A conduct suspension and its effective dates are recorded on a student’s academic transcript. The notation remains for the time the student is enrolled in the University and is re-moved three (3) years after graduation. If the student leaves the University before graduation, the notation is removed three (3) years after the anticipated date of commencement from the University.
Suspension from the residence halls
A student may be suspended from the residence halls when his or her conduct violates the Code of Conduct or the Residence Life Handbook. Students suspended from the residence halls must complete the official check-out process and are prohibited from visiting any of the residence halls for the length of time imposed. Students suspended from the residence halls will not be entitled to reimbursement of fees associated with room charges.
Title IX referral
Any complaints involving allegations of Title IX sexual harassment or sexual assault and other conduct matters falling under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended. All Title IX student conduct matters are handled exclusively under VUU Policy 2.5.1, Title IX Sexual Harassment, which may be accessed here: http://VUU.edu/IAE/PoliciesandProcedures.
In cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct, the investigation will focus primarily upon the allegations of sexual misconduct. Students involved in a sexual misconduct case may qualify to receive amnesty for other violations of the Code of Conduct.
University Service Hours
A student may be required to perform a certain number of hours of work on campus for a designated University employee, department or organization.
Warning
Notice, orally or in writing, that continuation or repetition of prohibited conduct may be cause for additional disciplinary action.
The University recognizes that some violations may be handled concurrently by the University and civil and/or criminal authorities. The criminal court process is separate and distinct from the conduct review process, which determines only violations of the Student Code and imposes sanctions within the University community. As such, consistent with changes in the federal October 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (Section 952) and its amendment to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974), and as a part of a disciplinary action if deemed appropriate, the Office of Student Integrity & Conduct or designee may contact the parents or guardian of a student under the age of 21 who has committed a disciplinary violation with respect to the use of or possession of alcohol or a con-trolled substance.
False Reports
Virginia Union University will not tolerate intentional false reporting of incidents. It is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct to make an intentionally false report of any policy violation, and it may also violate state criminal statutes and civil defamation laws.
Retention of conduct records
Upon graduation or withdrawal from the University, student records in the Office of Student Conduct are maintained for a period of no less than seven (7) years to facilitate compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act; after which time they are destroyed. Records of students who are suspended or expelled from the University will be maintained indefinitely. Conduct records may be released to third parties pursuant to University policies and federal and state laws.
Sanctions resulting in a change of a student’s standing with the University may be disclosed to third parties; those sanctions include conduct probation, deferred suspension, suspension, and expulsion. Educational sanctions assigned may also be disclosed. Sanctions not affecting a student’s standing with the University will not be disclosed; those sanctions include formal and informal warnings.