Student Rights, Responsibilities and Judicial Procedures

Note:  For purposes of brevity, the title "vice president" will refer to the vice president of student services throughout this section.

Academic institutions exist for the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of students, and the well-being of society. Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals. As members of this academic community, students are encouraged to develop the capacity for critical judgment and to engage in a sustained and independent search for truth.

Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic conditions in the classroom, on the campus, and in the community. Students should exercise their freedom with responsibility. As members of the academic community, students are subject to the obligations accrued to them by virtue of this membership.

As members of the larger community of which the College is a part, students are entitled to all rights and protection accorded them by the laws of that community.

By the same token, students are also subject to all laws, the enforcement of which is the responsibility of duly constituted authorities. When students violate laws, they may incur penalties prescribed by legal authorities. In such instances, college discipline will be initiated only when the presence of the student on campus substantially disrupts the educational process of the College.

However, when a student’s violation of the law also adversely affects the College’s pursuit of its recognized educational objectives, the College may enforce its own regulations. 

When students violate college regulations, they are subject to disciplinary action by the College whether or not their conduct violates the law. If the student’s behavior simultaneously violates both College regulations and the law, the College may take disciplinary action independent of that taken by legal authorities.