(A) Definitions.
(1) Accusation - formal allegation of
specific conduct violation(s).
(2)
Adjudication - the process by which the university conducts disciplinary
meetings, hearings, or other actions, bringing matters to resolution.
(3) Administrative conversation - informal
discussion with the director of student conduct (or designee) that is
educational and informative in nature, and shall not result in binding
decisions. An administrative conversation is considered a reasonable
request.
(4) Administrative hearing
- a student conduct process involving one Kent state university
hearing officer. An accused
student(s), an accused student organization(s), and complainant(s), a
witness(es), and investigator(s), and conduct advisor(s), and support person(s)
may participate for the puprose of rendering a determination of responsibility
and sanctioning (if applicable); see rule
3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative
Code.
(5) Appeal - the method by
which due process and/or a decision can be challenged; all appeals must be
submitted in writing to the office of student conduct, and may only be
considered if it is in accordance with the code of student conduct
procedures.
(6) Complaint - written
or electronic statement or report provided from any person to the office of
student conduct; not all complaints result in incident reports or adjudication
through the student conduct process.
(7) Complainant - a person, persons,
unit/office, or student organization who submits
a report alleging that a student or student organization violated university
rules, regulations, or policies.
(8) Code of student conduct - document that
contains and explains university rules, regulations, policies, and procedures
for addressing student and student organization behavior.
(9) Conduct advisor - any person who advises
a student or student organization regarding university policies or procedures.
A student may have one person serving as a conduct advisor. A conduct advisor
may participate in the questioning part of a hearing. If an accommodation is
required for a rspondent or complainant, a person such as an interpreter, sign
language communicator, or physcial needs assistant may attend a hearing and
will not be counted as a conduct adviser.
(10) Conflict of interest - bias for or
against any party in the student conduct process.
(11) Consent - an action defined as the
voluntary, unambiguous and uncoerced agreement to participate in an act, the
nature and full extent of which is understood by all parties. Silence or lack
of resistance cannot be the sole factor in determining consent. Consent may be
given verbally or nonverbally. All parties are responsible for confirming that
their counterpart's consent is maintained throughout the act and is present
before engaging in a new act. A person may be incapable of giving consent due
to physical incapacitation, physical or mental disability, threat, coercion,
the influence of drugs, or age.
(a) Coercion
- when an individual unreasonably pressures another to engage in sexual
activity, despite responses that the conduct is unwelcome or unwanted. Coercion
includes elements of pressure, duress, cajoling, and compulsion. The pressure
to participate may also be considered unreasonable when the pressuring
individual is in a position of influence or authority over the other
individual.
(b) Incapacitation - a
state where a person lacks the capacity to reasonably appreciate the nature or
extent of the situation because of their physical or mental status,
developmental disability, or alcohol or drug use.
(12) Deliberation - private meeting by a
student conduct hearing officer/panel/ administrative hearing officer to render
a determination of responsibility and sanctioning (if applicable). A student
conduct convener may be present during deliberation.
(13) Director of student conduct - staff
member assigned with overseeing the office of student conduct. At regional
campuses, this may be referred to by a different title, such as "student
conduct coordinator."
(14)
Disciplinary probation - sanction specifying a period of time during which a
student or student organization who has been found responsible for any
violation may
be subject to immediate disciplinary suspension and/or dismissal in the
event of a subsequent violation.
(15) Disciplinary suspension - sanction of
involuntary separation of a student or student organization from the university
for a specific period of time (a student may be
assigned persona non grata status effective the date of suspension).
(16) Disciplinary dismissal - sanction of
involuntary separation of a student or loss of university-recognized student
organization status from the university indefinitely (a student
may be assigned persona non grata status
effective the date of dismissal).
(17) Disciplinary record - the record of a
student conduct process and its findings; all disciplinary records are
considered educational records based on the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA).
(18) Hearing officer -
any Kent state university faculty, staff, or student who has been appointed to
a student conduct decision-making role by the director of student conduct and
has been trained through the office of student conduct.
(19)
Hearing panel - a student conduct process involving at least
two and no more
than three Kent state university faculty, staff, or student hearing
officer, and a student conduct convener. An accused student(s), an accused
student organization(s), and complainant (s), a witness(es), and
investigator(s) and conduct advisors, and support
person(s) may participate for the purpose of rendering a determination of
responsibility and sanctioning (if applicable); see rule
3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative
Code.
(20) Incident report -
a complaint or information that is reviewed by
the office of student conduct and may be adjudicated through the student
conduct process.
(21) Interim action -
an immediate action determined by the vice president for student affairs (or
designee) that may limit a student's or student organization's specific
privileges, including but not limited to no contact order(s), restriction from
specific facilities or locations, cease and desist mandates, participation in
student organization business or activities, suspension of student status, or
loss of university-recognized student organization status, etc.; see rule
3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative
Code.
(22)
Police/investigator - University police services,
other police
agency representative, or non-police
investigator (including office of compliance / Title IX representative)
who may provide information resulting from an investigation.
(23)
No contact order -states that a student or student organization may have no
direct or indirect contact with another person, student organization, or
student organization member (including by another person on behalf of the
person to whom the order was issued); prohibited contact includes but is not
limited to making a contact by way of personal (verbal or non-verbal),
physical, phone, and/or electronic means including social media.
(24)
Persona non grata - a student, student organization, or visitor who has been
deemed detrimental to the university community and thus is not permitted to be
present on Kent state university property or any or specified university
locations.
(25) Preponderance of
the evidence - the standard in determining if a student or student organization
is responsible for a violation; the complainant must show that it is "more
likely than not" that the alleged behavior occurred and was in violation of
university rules, regulations, or policies.
(26) Recognized
student organization - a group of students who go through the process outlined
in rule 3342-4-11.201 of the Administrative
Code and is registered (officially or as an interest group) referred to in the
code of student conduct as "student organization."
(27) Report of finding
- written decision that explains the outcome of a student conduct hearing, or
other action.
(28) Respondent - a
student or student organization that has been accused, informally or through an
incident report, of violating university rules, regulations, or
policies.
(29) Retaliation. A
retaliatory action is any materially adverse action taken against a person
because they participated in the process for reporting against a person because
they participated in the process for reporting or in an investigation regarding
complaints of prohibited conduct accusations. A materially adverse
action is one that might deter a reasonable person from participating in the
process. It may include, but is not limited to, termination, discipline, and
harassment, but does not include petty slights, minor annoyances, or trivial
punishment.
(30) Sanction -
requirements set forth upon a finding or individual / organizational acceptance
of responsibility for a violation of university rules, regulations or policies
through the student conduct process.
(31) Sanction hearing
- a student conduct process involving an accused student(s) and a hearing
officer (and student conduct convener), where the accused student(s) has, prior
to this hearing, accepted responsibility for accusations, and the hearing
officer renders a sanctioning decision; see paragraph (C)(4)(a) of rule
3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative
Code.
(32) Student - any
person who has applied to or enrolled at the university in any of its courses,
programs, campuses, or offerings, including, but not limited to, cooperative
programs or offerings with other institutions for whom a record is made at the
university by the registrar or which is submitted to the university for
admission or transfer credit; see rule
3342-1-01 of the Administrative
Code.
(33) Student conduct
convener - director of student conduct (or designee) responsible for logistics
and procedures associated with the student conduct process; the student conduct
convener may simultaneously serve as a hearing officer.
(34)
Student conduct process - inclusive of all processes for students or student
organizations from the time an incident report is referred to student conduct
for adjudication through the conclusion of the appeal process in accordance
with university policy and this code of student conduct.
(35)
Support person -
a student may have one person serving as a support person. A support person is
an individual selected by either a compainant or respondent to provide support
to the student through the conduct process. A support person may not
participate in questioning. If an accommodation is required for a respondent or
complainant, a person such as an interpreter, sign language communicator, or
physical needs assistant may attend a hearing and will not be countd as a
support person.
(36)
University - Kent state university as established in Chapter 3341. of the
Revised Code.
(37) Warning -
Sanction stipulating that inappropriate behavior, if repeated, may lead to a
more severe sanction.
(38) Witness
- any person who has direct information regarding an alleged incident; and/or a
professional with demonstrated experience (such as a licensed health care
professional) in a field directly related to an element relevant to the
hearing.
(B) Prohibited
conduct. Students and student organizations are expected to abide by federal,
state, and local laws and ordinances, as well as to adhere to all university
rules and regulations contained in the university policy register. Any student
or student organization found to have committed or to have attempted to commit
the specified forms of misconduct is subject to sanctioning outlined in
paragraph (C) of this rule. Prohibited student conduct accusations are assigned
by a complainant(s) or the director of student conduct (or designee) and should
include the specific of prohibited conduct the respondent is accused of
violating. Adjustments to assigned prohibited conduct may be made prior to a
hearing by the director of student conduct (or designee), with notice to the
respondent and complainant as appropriate, in accordance with paragraph (C)(5)
of rule 3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative Code.
Violations include but are not limited to the following.
(1) Alcohol.
(a) Use or possession of alcoholic beverages
except as expressly permitted by law, university rules, regulations, or
policies.
(b) Distribution of
alcoholic beverages except as expressly permitted by law and university rules,
regulations, or policies.
(c)
Public intoxication - being unable to care for one's
own well-being or having a disruptive impact on the community due to the
influence of alcohol.
(d)
Violation of residence hall policies pertaining to alcohol
listed in the hallways handbook.
(2) Animals. Possession or
accompaniment of animals in any university building at any time. Exceptions
include service animals, assistance animals, authorized laboratory animals,
allowable pets within specific residence services guidelines, and any other
applicable university rules, regulations, and policies.
(3) Complicity. Presence during any violation
of university rules, regulations, or policies in such a way as to
aid, abet, or conspire in the (attempted or carried
out) violation.
(4)
Computer/information technology misuse. Not in accordance with rule 3342-9-01
of the Administrative Code, including but not limited to:
(a) Use of computing facilities, computing
equipment, software or networks to harass or defame any other person, create or
knowingly propagate a virus, hacking, password cracking, unauthorized viewing
of others files, willful modification of hardware and software installations,
unauthorized monitoring, spamming, private commercial purposes, improper web
publishing, or breach of electronic information security.
(b) Violation of the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act of 1998.
(5) Controlled substances. Use, possession,
sale or distribution of narcotics, controlled substances, and/or related
paraphernalia except as expressly permitted by law, university rules or
regulations.
(6) Destruction/misuse
of property.
(a) Destroying, defacing,
tampering with, materially altering or otherwise damaging property not one's
own. This includes but is not limited to doors, windows, elevators, swipe card
mechanisms, restroom equipment, vending machines, university vehicles, computer
equipment, classroom equipment, etc.
(b) Creating a condition that endangers or
threatens property not one's own.
(7) Discrimination. Action based on race,
color, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry,
disability, genetic information, age, and military or veteran status that
limits the group or individual's ability to participate in the university's
educational and employment opportunities. See rule
3342-5-16.1 of the Administrative
Code.
(8) Disorderly conduct.
Actions that are disorderly, lewd, or indecent; and/or breach of peace; and/or
aiding, abetting, and/or procuring another person to breach the peace or
obstruct teaching, research, administration, or university activities or
functions.
(9) Fire safety.
(a) Tampering with, or misuse of, fire alarms
and/or firefighting equipment, including but not limited to: fire
extinguishers, fire hoses, heat and smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, or
other safety devices.
(b)
Possession of flammable items, including but not limited to: candles, incense,
or other items which maintain a purpose of being used in a flammable
way.
(c) Arson. Causing a fire or
explosion, or unauthorized use of any potential incendiary device /
equipment.
(d)
Violation of the residence hall policies pertaining to
fire safety listed in the hallways handbook.
(10) Gambling. Gaming or betting for money or
other possessions on university property or in any university operated or
managed facility in violation of university rules, regulations, and policies.
except as expressly permitted by law.
(11) Gender based discrimination. All persons
are protected from unlawful discrimination.
(a) Pregnancy. Unlawful gender discrimination
includes, discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy,
termination of pregnancy, or recovery from any of these conditions.
(b) Gender identity. Regardless of an
individual's actual or perceived sexual orientation, discrimination and
harassment based on a person's gender identity, or non-conformity to
stereotypes associated with a particular gender, is prohibited. This includes
discrimination based on an individual's transgender identity.
(12) General safety. Failure to
conform to university safety regulations, including, but not limited to,
health/safety regulations issued by the president (or designee), residence
halls policies outlined in the hallways handbook and campus laboratory
guidelines.
(13) Harassment.
(a) Threatening or intimidating a person
creating a rational fear within that person.
(b) Engaging in unwanted conduct or
repeatedly committing acts directed at another person that would disrupt the
educational process.
(c) Creating a
condition that endangers or threatens the health, safety or welfare of another
person.
(d) Physically restraining
or detaining another person, or removing any person from any place where the
individual is authorized to remain.
(14) Hazing. Doing any act or coercing
another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation into any student or
other organization or any act to continue or reinstate membership in or
affiliation with any student or other organization that causes or creates a
substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person, including
coercing another to consume alcohol or a drug of abuse, as defined in section
3719.011 of the Revised Code.
This applies to any act, intended or carried out, whether or not the act is
voluntarily agreed upon; see rule
3342-4-07 of the Administrative
Code.
(15) Impaired driving.
Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of controlled substances
and/or alcohol.
(16)
Misrepresentation. Knowingly distorting or altering the truth
when providing information to an official(s) carrying
out assigned duties and responsibilities , including but not
limited to: falsification of admissions application, possessing false
identification, or falsification of documents provided to university faculty or
staff.
(17) Physical violence.
Punching, slapping, kicking, or otherwise striking any person(s); and/or other
conduct which threatens or endangers the health, safety, and/or welfare of any
person.
(18) Reasonable request.
Failure to comply with a reasonable request of an official(s) carrying out
assigned duties and responsibilities, including but not limited to a person
instructing a class, a librarian or designee in a library, a
police officer, or a residence services staff
member.
(19) Recording privacy.
Using electronic or other means to make an audio, video, or photographic record
of any person in a location where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy,
without the person's prior knowledge and written consent. The storing, sharing,
and/or distributing of such unauthorized records by any means are prohibited.
This includes but is not limited to: taking video or photographic images in
showers/locker rooms, residence hall rooms, and restrooms.
(20) Residence hall policies. Failure to
comply with residence hall policies outlined in the hallways handbook,
including but not limited to guest/ escort, room
capacity, quiet/courtesy hours,
misuse of university keys, facilities policies,
improper room change.
(21) Sexual
harassment. Conduct of the basis of sex that satisfied one or more of the
following: unwelcome conduct determied by a reasonable person to be so severe,
pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal
access to the university' education program or activity.
(a) Sexual assault, which includes the
following:
(i) Rape (except statutory rape).
The carnal knowledge of a person, without the consent of the victim, including
instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of their age
or because of their temporary or permanent mental or physical
incapacity.
(ii) Sodomy. Oral or
anal sexual intercourse with another person, without the consent of the victim,
including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of
their age or because of their temporary or permanent mental or physical
incapacity.
(iii) Sexual assault
with an object. To use an object or instrument to unlawfully penetrate, however
slightly, the genital or anal opening of the body of another person, without
the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of
giving consent because of their age or because of their temporary or permanent
mental or physical incapacity.
(iv)
Fondling. The touching of the private body parts of another person for the
purpose of sexual gratification without the consent of the victim, including
instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of their age
or because of their temporary or permanent mental or physical
incapacity.
(b) Dating
violence. Violence committeed by a person who is or has been in a social
relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of
such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the length
of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction
between the persons involved in the relationship.
(c) Domestic violence. Felony or misdemeanor
crimes of violence committee by a current or former spouse or intimate partner
of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a
person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse
or intimate partner, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim
under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction, or by any other
person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person's
acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the juridcition.
(d) Stalking. Engaging in a course of conduct
directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for
their safety or the safety of others, or suffer substantial emotional
distress.
(22) Smoking
and tobacco use. Failure to comply with smoking and tobacco prohibitions in
accordance with rule
3342-5-21 of the Administrative
Code.
(23) Student conduct process.
Non-compliance with or misuse of the student conduct process, including but not
limited to:
(a) Falsification, distortion, or
misrepresentation of information before a student conduct hearing officer,
hearing panel, or convener.
(b)
Disruption or interference with the orderly procedures of a student conduct
hearing.
(c) Attempting to
discourage an individual's or student organization's proper participation in,
or use of, the student conduct process.
(d) Attempting to influence the impartiality
of, or to intimidate, participants in the student conduct process prior to,
and/or during the course of, a student conduct proceeding.
(e) Retaliation against any individual who
participates in a complaint of a violation described in this policy.
(f) Failure to comply with the sanctions(s)
imposed under the code of student conduct.
(24) Theft. Using, taking, and/or possessing
property or services that are knowingly not one's own (or owned by a student
organization) and/or without permission of the owner.
(25) Trespassing/unauthorized entry.
Knowingly entering or remaining in a building, office, residence hall room or
any other properties at any time without appropriate permission or
authorization.
(26) University
grounds.
(a) Use of university space and
grounds by an organization or person without reservation of the space or proper
authorization.
(b) Operation or use
of scooters, bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades,
or other recreational items in any university building or facility; on any
artificial or specially prepared surface including but not limited to tennis
courts, running tracks and basketball courts; on a sidewalk, walkway, steps, or
a stairway that duly interferes with pedestrian traffic and/or demonstrates a
lack of necessary caution regarding pedestrian right-of-way; in a reckless or
unsafe manner on university grounds.
(27) University rules. Violation of
university rules, regulations, or policies.
(28) Weapons.
(a) Possession, storage, or use of firearms,
explosives, other weapons, or dangerous chemicals on or in any Kent state
university property, facility, or event; unless authorized by an appropriate
university official or permitted by a university policy. This includes but is
not limited to ammunition, brass knuckles, fireworks, airsoft guns, bb guns,
paintball guns, pellet guns, pistols, rifles, shotguns, taser / stun guns, nun
chucks, swords, etc. Any object not mentioned in this rule that is used to
intimidate, threaten or harm may be considered a weapon.
(b) Possession, storage, or use of firearms,
explosives, other weapons, or dangerous chemicals off campus that are
prohibited by law.
(C) Sanctions. Sanctions are designed to be
educational, restorative, and preventative. Sanctions may include but are not
limited to:
(1) Alcohol, drug, and/or other
education course;
(2) Community
service;
(3) Counseling
referral;
(4) Disciplinary
dismissal;
(5) Disciplinary
probation;
(6) Disciplinary
suspension;
(7) Educational
workshop;
(8) Letter of apology /
reflection paper;
(9) No contact
order;
(10) Persona non grata
(PNG) status (campus access restriction);
(11) Residence hall
restriction and/or room/hall changes;
(12) Revocation of
student organization recognition;
(13) Restitution for
damages;
(14) Warning;
and/or
(15) Other as deemed
appropriate.