Violations Of Law
Violations of federal, state and local laws are incorporated as offenses under the Student Code of Conduct. When an offense occurs over which the college has jurisdiction, the college conduct process will usually go forward notwithstanding any criminal complaint that may arise from the same incident. Should a student withdraw from the college when a criminal complaint is made, it is the typical practice of the college to pursue investigation and resolution of campus conduct matters, regardless of the fact that the student has withdrawn.
When a student is accused, arrested, charged or indicted for a violent or drug-related off-campus crime, the college may elect to take action against that student for violation of the code of conduct, which incorporates violation of local, state and federal laws as code infractions.
When criminal charges are pending, the college may be delayed or prevented from conducting its own investigation, and moving forward with a campus hearing. In such complaints, the college will delay its hearing until such time as it can conduct an internal investigation, or obtain from law enforcement sufficient information upon which to proceed.
It may be in the best interests of students accused of crimes to withdraw from the college, without penalty, until the criminal charges are resolved. The college has a procedure for voluntary withdrawals, when all of the following conditions are met:
- If the alleged victim of the crime is a student, the alleged victim must approve of the withdrawal and delay of the hearing.
- The accused student must comply with any and all campus efforts at investigation that will not prejudice their defense in the criminal trial.
- The accused student must agree that in order to be re-instated to active student status, they must first be subject to and fully cooperative with a campus hearing, and must comply with any sanctions that are administered.