Disciplinary Process

The Disciplinary Process

All students who are alleged to have violated a residence hall policy or University policy as stated in The O Book will be afforded the following process:

1. A responsible student, faculty, or staff member will complete an incident report.
2. The report will then be referred to a judicial officer for action'.
3. A judicial officer decides which of two actions to take and notifies the student(s) involved in the incident.
   1. For minor residence hall policy infractions an incident may be resolved through an informal meeting with a Head Resident or the Director for Residential Services. He/she may impose appropriate sanctions for the violation which has occurred. If the student believes that the sanction is inappropriate, he/ she may appeal the decision to the Director of Residence Life. The decision of the Director will be final.
   2. For major infractions, the judicial officer will investigate the case for formal adjudication. The judicial officer will decide if there is sufficient evidence to warrant a hearing. If insufficient evidence exists, the case is dismissed. If the officer determines that there is sufficient evidence to warrant a hearing, the Student Affairs Office notifies the student whom receives the option of having an administrative hearing or a judicial board hearing. Administrative hearings will be heard by the judicial officer or a designee. Judicial Board hearings will be heard by the Judiciary Review Board which is comprised of a panel of five students and the judicial officer or a designee. The judicial officer or representative does not have voting authority.
4. The Judicial Officer schedules a hearing and the Judicial Review Board or a judicial officer determines if the student is in violation of University policy. If the student acknowledges responsibility for the alleged misconduct or is found responsible, a sanction will be imposed by the adjudicating body involved in the case. The Dean of Students will automatically review cases that result in the recommendation of suspension or expulsion.
5. A student found in violation of University policy has the right to appeal the decision to the Dean of Students. The appeal must be made in writing within three business days of the decision rendered by the Judicial Review Board or a judicial officer.
6. Students who fail to appear for their scheduled hearing and do not provide prior notice of their inability to make the hearing forfeit their right to have the hearing. At that time the adjudicating body will make a decision in their absence based on the information and evidence that has been provided to them.
7. Students who fail to complete or comply with their sanctions as specified by the Judicial Review Board or judicial officer may face further disciplinary action. Students who face second offenses or multiple violations of policy face increasingly more severe disciplinary action.
8. The decision of the Dean of Students is final, except that the student may appeal a case to the President if it is shown that the student's right to fundamental fairness provided by the University's disciplinary process has been violated. Also, an appeal is automatic whenever the student receives disciplinary expulsion. Appeals must be made in writing to the President of Oglethorpe University within three days after a verdict. The appeal must state the alleged violation of the student's right to fundamental fairness.
9. Student organizations will be subject to a similar disciplinary process as that outlined for individuals that is described in the "Discipline of Student Organizations" section of this book.

Verbal Warning - a spoken statement that the accused student's actions violated University policy.