Current through Register Vol. 24-24, December 15, 2024
The college may impose disciplinary sanctions against a student
who commits, attempts to commit, aids, abets, incites, encourages, or assists
another person to commit, an act(s) of misconduct which include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(1)
Academic dishonesty. Any act of academic dishonesty including, but
not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication.
(a) Cheating: Includes any attempt to give or
obtain unauthorized assistance relating to the completion of an academic
assignment.
(b) Plagiarism includes
taking and using as one's own, without proper attribution, the ideas, writings,
or work of another person in completing an academic assignment. Prohibited
conduct may also include the unauthorized submission for credit of academic
work that has been submitted for credit in another course.
(c) Fabrication includes falsifying data,
information, or citations in completing an academic assignment and also
includes providing false or deceptive information to an instructor concerning
the completion of an assignment.
(d) Collusion includes assisting another to
commit an act of academic dishonesty, such as paying or bribing someone to
acquire a test or assignment, or to increase the score on a test or assignment;
taking a test or doing an assignment for someone else; allowing someone to do
these things for one's own benefit.
(e) Academic misconduct includes
intentionally violating college policies, such as altering grades,
misrepresenting one's identity failing to report known incident of academic
dishonesty or participating in obtaining or distributing any part of the test
or any information about a test.
Academic consequences for academic dishonesty or abetting in
academic dishonesty may be imposed at the discretion of a faculty member up to
and including a failing grade for the course. Students should refer to each of
their faculty's course syllabus. Further academic consequences may follow
consistent with the provisions in any program handbook. Incidents of academic
dishonesty may also be referred to the student conduct officer for disciplinary
action consistent with this chapter in addition to the academic consequences
identified above.
(2)
Other dishonesty. Any other
acts of dishonesty. Such acts include, but are not limited to:
(a) Forgery, alteration, submission of
falsified documents or misuse of any college document, record, or instrument of
identification;
(b) Tampering with
an election conducted by or for college students; or
(c) Furnishing false information, or failing
to furnish correct information, in response to the request or requirement of a
college officer or employee.
(3)
Obstructive or disruptive
conduct. Conduct, not otherwise protected by law, that interferes with,
impedes, or otherwise unreasonably hinders.
(a) Any instruction, research,
administration, disciplinary proceeding, or other college activities, including
the obstruction of the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular movement on college
property or at a college activity; or
(b) Any activity that is authorized to occur
on college property, whether or not actually conducted or sponsored by the
college.
(4)
Abuse
of others. Assault, unwanted touching, physical abuse, verbal abuse,
threat(s), intimidation, or other conduct which harms, threatens, or is
reasonably perceived as threatening the health or safety of another person or
another person's property unless otherwise protected by law.
(5)
Cyber misconduct.
Cyberstalking, cyberbullying or online harassment. Use of electronic
communications including, but not limited to, electronic mail, instant
messaging, electronic bulletin boards, and social media sites, to harass,
abuse, bully or engage in other conduct which harms, threatens, or is
reasonably perceived as threatening the health or safety of another person.
Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to, unauthorized monitoring
of another's email communications directly or through spyware, sending
threatening emails, disrupting electronic communications with spam or by
sending a computer virus, sending false messages to third parties using
another's email identity, nonconsensual recording of sexual activity, and
nonconsensual distribution of a recording of sexual activity.
(6)
Property violation. Damage
to, misappropriation of, unauthorized use or possession of, vandalism or other
nonaccidental damaging or destruction of college property or the property of
another person. Property for purposes of this subsection includes computer
passwords, access codes, identification cards, personal financial account
numbers, other confidential personal information, intellectual property and
college trademarks.
(7)
Failure to comply with directive. Failure to comply with the
directive of a college officer or employee who is acting in the legitimate
performance of his or her duties, including failure to properly identify
oneself to such a person when requested to do so.
(8)
Weapons violation.
Possession, holding, wearing, transporting, storage or presence of any firearm,
dagger, sword, knife or other cutting or stabbing instrument, club, explosive
device, or any other weapon apparently capable of producing bodily harm is
prohibited on the college campus, subject to the following exceptions:
(a) Commissioned law enforcement personnel,
legally authorized military personnel, or approved contractors, while in
performance of their duties;
(b) A
student with a valid concealed weapons permit may store a pistol in his or her
vehicle parked on campus in accordance with
RCW
9.41.050 (2) or (3),
provided the vehicle is locked and the weapon is concealed from view;
or
(c) The president or designee
may grant permission to bring a weapon on campus upon a determination that the
weapon is reasonably related to a legitimate pedagogical purpose. Such
permission shall be in writing and shall be subject to such terms or conditions
incorporated in the written permission.
This policy does not apply to the possession and/or use of
disabling and/or self-defense sprays when possessed and/or used for
self-defense.
(9)
Hazing.
(a) Hazing is any act committed as part of:
(i) A person's recruitment, initiation,
pledging, admission into, or affiliation with a student group;
(ii) Any pastime or amusement engaged in with
respect to such a student group; or
(iii) That causes, or is likely to cause,
bodily danger or physical harm, or serious psychological or emotional harm, to
any student.
(b)
Examples of hazing include, but are not limited to:
(i) Causing, directing, coercing, or forcing
a person to consume any food, liquid, alcohol, drug, or other substance which
subjects the person to risk of such harm;
(ii) Humiliation by ritual act;
(iii) Striking another person with an object
or body part;
(iv) Causing someone
to experience excessive fatigue, or physical and/or psychological shock;
or
(v) Causing someone to engage in
degrading or humiliating games or activities that create a risk of serious
psychological, emotional, and/or physical harm.
(c) "Hazing" does not include customary
athletic events or other similar contests or competitions.
(d) Consent is not a valid defense against
hazing.
(10)
Alcohol, cannabis, drug, and tobacco violations.
(a)
Alcohol. Use, possession,
manufacture, or distribution of alcoholic beverages or paraphernalia (except as
expressly permitted by college policies, and federal, state, and local laws),
or public intoxication on college premises or at college-sponsored events.
Alcoholic beverages may not, in any circumstance, be used by, possessed by, or
distributed to any person not of legal age.
(b)
Cannabis. The use,
possession, growing, delivery, sale, or being visibly under the influence of
cannabis or the psychoactive compounds found in cannabis and intended for human
consumption, regardless of form, or the possession of cannabis paraphernalia on
college premises or college-sponsored events. While state law permits the
recreational use of cannabis, federal law prohibits such use on college
premises or in connection with college activities.
(c)
Drugs. The use, possession,
delivery, sale, or being observably under the influence of any legend drug,
including anabolic steroids, androgens, or human growth hormones as defined in
chapter 69.41 RCW, or any other controlled substance under chapter 69.50 RCW,
except as prescribed for a student's use by a licensed practitioner.
(d)
Tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and
related products. The use of tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and related
products in any building owned, leased or operated by the college or in any
location where such use is prohibited, including 25 feet from entrances, exits,
windows that open, and ventilation intakes of any building owned, leased or
operated by the college. The use of tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and related
products on the college campus is restricted to designated smoking areas.
"Related products" include, but are not limited to, cigarettes, pipes, bidi,
clove cigarettes, waterpipes, hookahs, chewing tobacco, vaporizers, and
snuff.
(11)
Lewd
conduct. Conduct which is lewd or obscene that is not otherwise
protected under the law. This includes, but is not limited to: Indecent
exposure. The intentional or knowing exposure of a person's genitals or other
private body parts when done in a place or manner in which such exposure is
likely to cause affront or alarm. Breastfeeding or expressing breast milk is
not indecent exposure.
(12)
Discriminatory harassment.
(a)
Unwelcome and offensive conduct, including verbal, nonverbal, or physical
conduct, not otherwise protected by law, that is directed at a person because
of such person's protected status and that is sufficiently severe, persistent,
or pervasive so as to:
(i) Limit the ability
of a student to participate in or benefit from the college's educational and/or
social programs and/or student housing;
(ii) Alter the terms of an employee's
employment; or
(iii) Create an
intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for other campus community
members.
(b) Protected
status includes a person's race; color; creed/religion; national origin;
presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability; use of a trained
service animal; sex, including pregnancy; marital status; age; genetic
information; sexual orientation; gender identity or expression; honorably
discharged veteran or military status; HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C status; or
membership in any other group protected by federal, state, or local
law.
(13)
Sexual
discrimination. The term "sex discrimination" includes sex-based
harassment, and may occur when a respondent causes more than de minimis harm to
an individual by treating them different from a similarly-situated individual
on the basis of: Sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related
conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Conduct that prevents an
individual from participating in an education program or activity consistent
with the person's gender identity subjects a person to more than de minimis
harm on the basis of sex.
(a)
Sex-based
harassment. "Sex-based harassment" is a form of sex discrimination and
means sexual harassment or other harassment on the basis of sex, including the
following conduct:
(i)
Quid pro quo
harassment. A student, employee, agent, or other person authorized by
the college to provide an aid, benefit, or service under the college's
education program or activity explicitly or impliedly conditioning the
provision of such an aid, benefit, or service on a person's participation in
unwelcome sexual conduct.
(ii)
Hostile environment. Unwelcome sex-based conduct that, based on
the totality of the circumstances, is subjectively and objectively offensive
and is so severe or pervasive that it limits or denies a person's ability to
participate in or benefit from the recipient's education program or activity
(i.e., creates a hostile environment). Whether a hostile environment has been
created is a fact-specific inquiry that includes consideration of the
following:
(A) The degree to which the conduct
affected the complainant's ability to access the college's education program or
activity;
(B) The type, frequency,
and duration of the conduct;
(C)
The parties' ages, roles within the college's education program or activity,
previous interactions, and other factors about each party that may be relevant
to evaluating the effects of the conduct;
(D) The location of the conduct and the
context in which the conduct occurred; and
(E) Other sex-based harassment in the
college's education program or activity.
(iii)
Sexual violence. "Sexual
violence" includes nonconsensual sexual intercourse, nonconsensual sexual
contact, domestic violence, incest, statutory rape, dating violence, and
stalking.
(A)
Nonconsensual sexual
intercourse is any sexual intercourse (anal, oral, or vaginal), however
slight, with any object, by a person upon another person, that is without
consent and/or by force. Sexual intercourse includes anal or vaginal
penetration by a penis, tongue, finger, or object, or oral copulation by mouth
to genital contact or genital to mouth contact.
(B)
Nonconsensual sexual contact
is any intentional sexual touching, however slight, with any object, by a
person upon another person that is without consent and/or by force. Sexual
touching includes any bodily contact with the breasts, groin, mouth, or other
bodily orifice of another individual, or any other bodily contact in a sexual
manner.
(C)
Incest.
Sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a person known to be related to them,
either legitimately or illegitimately, as an ancestor, descendant, brother, or
sister of either wholly or half related. Descendant includes stepchildren, and
adopted children under the age of 18.
(D)
Statutory rape. Consensual
intercourse between a person who is 18 years of age or older, and a person who
is under the age of 16.
(E)
Domestic violence is physical violence, bodily injury, assault,
the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, sexual assault, or stalking
committed 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,
by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or
family violence laws of the state of Washington, 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 state of Washington.
(F)
Dating violence is physical
violence, bodily injury, assault, the infliction of fear of imminent physical
harm, sexual assault, or stalking committed by a person who is or has been in a
social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and where
the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a
consideration of the following factors:
(I)
The length of the relationship;
(II) The type of relationship; and
(III) The frequency of interaction between
the persons involved in the relationship.
(G)
Stalking means engaging in a
course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable
person to fear for the person's safety or the safety of others or to suffer
substantial emotional distress.
(b)
Consent. For purposes of
this code "consent" means knowing, voluntary and clear permission by word or
action, to engage in mutually agreed upon sexual activity.
(i) Each party has the responsibility to make
certain that the other has consented before engaging in the activity.
(ii) For consent to be valid, there must be
at the time of the act of sexual intercourse or sexual contact actual words or
conduct indicating freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual
contact.
(iii) A person cannot
consent if they are unable to understand what is happening or are disoriented,
helpless, asleep, or unconscious for any reason, including due to alcohol or
other drugs. An individual who engages in sexual activity when the individual
knows, or should know, that the other person is physically or mentally
incapacitated has engaged in nonconsensual conduct.
(iv) Intoxication is not a defense against
allegations that an individual has engaged in nonconsensual sexual
conduct.
(14)
Harassment or bullying. Conduct unrelated to a protected class
that is unwelcome and sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive such that
it could reasonably be expected to create an intimidating, hostile, or
offensive environment, or has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering
with a person's academic or work performance, or a person's ability to
participate in or benefit from the college's programs, services, opportunities,
or activities.
(a) Harassing conduct may
include, but is not limited to, physical, verbal, or nonverbal conduct,
including written, social media, and electronic communications unless otherwise
protected by law.
(b) For purposes
of this code, "bullying" is defined as repeated or aggressive unwanted behavior
not otherwise protected by law when a reasonable person would feel humiliated,
harmed, or intimidated.
(c) For
purposes of this code, "intimidation" is an implied threat. Intimidation exists
when a reasonable person would feel threatened or coerced even though an
explicit threat or display of physical force has not been made. Intimidation is
evaluated based on the intensity, frequency, or duration of the comments or
actions.
(15)
Retaliation. Harming, threatening, intimidating, coercing, or
taking adverse action of any kind against a person because such person reported
an alleged violation of this code or college policy, provided information about
an alleged violation, or participated as a witness or in any other capacity in
a college investigation or disciplinary proceeding.
(16)
Misuse of electronic
resources. Theft or other misuse of computer time or other electronic
information resources of the college. Such misuse includes, but is not limited
to:
(a) Unauthorized use of such resources or
opening of a file, message, or other item;
(b) Unauthorized duplication, transfer, or
distribution of a computer program, file, message, or other item;
(c) Unauthorized use or distribution of
someone else's password or other identification;
(d) Use of such time or resources to
interfere with someone else's work;
(e) Use of such time or resources to send,
display, or print an obscene or abusive message, text, or image;
(f) Use of such time or resources to
interfere with normal operation of the college's computing system or other
electronic information resources;
(g) Use of such time or resources in
violation of applicable copyright or other law;
(h) Adding to or otherwise altering the
infrastructure of the college's electronic information resources without
authorization; or
(i) Failure to
comply with the college's electronic use policy.
(17)
Unauthorized access.
Unauthorized possession, duplication, or other use of a key, keycard, or other
restricted means of access to college property, or unauthorized entry onto or
into college property.
(18)
Safety violations. Nonaccidental conduct that interferes with or
otherwise compromises any college policy, equipment, or procedure relating to
the safety and security of the campus community, including tampering with fire
safety equipment and triggering false alarms or other emergency response
systems.
(19)
Violation of
other laws or policies. Violation of any federal, state, or local law,
rule, or regulation or other college rules or policies, including college
traffic and parking rules.
(20)
Ethical violation. The breach of any generally recognized and
published code of ethics or standards of professional practice that governs the
conduct of a particular profession for which the student is taking a course or
is pursuing as an educational goal or major.