Ohio Administrative Code
Title 3335 - Ohio State University
Chapter 3335-23 - Code of Student Conduct
Section 3335-23-05 - Initiation, inquiry and investigation of code violations
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 3335-23-05
Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Initiation.
Person(s) who witness, experience or become aware of what they believe to be a possible code of student conduct violation should provide information to the following officials or offices.
(1) Complaints about possible
code of student conduct violations occurring in
residence halls should be reported to the residence hall director;
(2) Complaints about possible non-residence
hall related code of student conduct violations
should be reported to the office of student conduct, or chief student conduct
officer for the regional campuses;
(3) Complaints about possible sexual
misconduct should be reported pursuant to the non-discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct
policy;
(4) Complaints about possible protected class
discrimination or harassment should be reported pursuant to
non-discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct
policy ;
(5) Complaints regarding academic misconduct
should be reported to the committee on academic misconduct; and
(6) In cases when the alleged activity may
involve a violation of criminal law in addition to a code of student conduct violation
, complaints should be reported
to the university police division or other appropriate law enforcement
agency.
(B) Preliminary inquiry.
The university conducts a preliminary inquiry into the nature of the incident, complaint or notice, jurisdiction, available information , and involved parties . Within the university's discretion, the preliminary inquiry may lead to:
(1) A determination that there is
insufficient information to pursue the investigation, or the behavior alleged,
even if proven, would not violate the code of student conduct;
(2) An informal resolution such as an
educational discussion or mediation. An educational discussion is a discussion
about the student's behavior and its impact. Informal resolution is not
available in cases of academic misconduct.
(3) An investigation and/or initiation
charges.
Typically, an informal resolution will end the conduct process, but if more information is shared during an educational discussion or informal resolution that warrants additional inquiry, an investigation may be initiated.
(C) Investigation.
(1) Role of the university.
(a) The director of student conduct, the
chief conduct officer for the regional campuses, residence hall directors,
assistant hall directors and other designated university personnel are
authorized to investigate alleged violations other than those involving
paragraphs (C)(1)(b) and (C)(1)(c) of this rule;
(b) The coordinator of the committee on
academic misconduct and other designated university personnel are
authorized to investigate allegations involving academic misconduct;
(c) Only those personnel designated by the
non-discrimination, harassment, and sexual
misconduct policy
shall investigate charges involving sexual misconduct.
(d) Only those personnel designated by
the
non-discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct policy
shall investigate charges involving
protected class discrimination or harassment.
(e) The Ohio state university police or other
appropriate law enforcement agency shall have primary responsibility for the
criminal investigation of acts that involve suspected criminal violation of
federal, state or local laws. Such investigation does not replace any other
university investigation.
(f) The
university may conduct concurrent investigations regarding potential violations
of institutional policy or federal, state and local law.
(2) Role of participants.
(a) During the investigation, the student
allegedly involved in misconduct may be:
(i)
Notified of the alleged violation;
(ii) Requested to make an appointment to
discuss the matter; and
(iii)
Provided a date by which the appointment must be made.
(b) Any person believed to have information
relevant to an investigation may also be contacted and requested to make an
appointment to discuss the matter.
(3) Failure to comply with a request to make
and/or
keep an appointment relevant to an investigation may result in a disciplinary
hold being placed on a respondent's registration and records and/or the
initiation of charges for student conduct system abuse.
(4) Upon completion of an investigation, the
investigator will decide upon an appropriate course of action, which may
include, but is not limited to:
(a) Taking no
further action and closing the case;
(b) Deferring initiation of charges with or
without conditions;
(c) Seeking
informal resolution; or
(d)
Initiating charges by the appropriate university official when a finding of
jurisdiction has been made and there is reasonable cause to believe that a
violation of the code of student conduct may have occurred. Reasonable cause is
defined as some credible information to support each element of the violation,
even if that information is merely a credible witness or a victim's statement.
Charges will not be issued where a complaint is unsupported by any credible
information or does not meet the elements of a code of student conduct
violation.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Ohio may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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