Conduct

SUNY Broome strives to create an atmosphere that supports the academic mission of the institution. Students should be able to live and learn in an environment that is orderly, peaceful, and free of disturbances that impede an individual’s growth and development. Respect for the rights of others and for the College and its property are essential expectations for each SUNY Broome student. All individuals are responsible for their behavior while a member of the SUNY Broome community. This includes students, guests, and/or visitors. Individuals may be responsible for their behavior that takes place both on and/or off campus. Students are also accountable for the actions of others they deliberately incite or encourage to commit a violation of policy.

SUNY Broome is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment. Adherence to the Code of Conduct is essential, and the process for addressing violations is designed to ensure fairness and accountability.

Disciplinary Conference Process

1. Reporting:
Any individual can submit reports of Code of Conduct violations, and it is important to do so as soon as possible after the incident occurs. Reports are directed to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (OSRR) for review. The OSRR Coordinator will either assign the case to a Case Manager for a disciplinary conference or dismiss the report.

2. Disciplinary Conference:
A Case Manager conducts a Disciplinary Conference with the respondent. This informal meeting allows the Case Manager to investigate the complaint, listen to the respondent’s perspective, discuss circumstances, and clarify the conduct process. Title IX cases are managed separately under the Title IX Grievance Policy.

3. Right to Accompaniment:
Students are entitled to be accompanied by an advisor during the disciplinary process.

4. Charges:
The Case Manager will determine if charges are warranted based on the evidence available. If a violation is supported by the evidence, written charges and sanctions will be assigned to the respondent. Cases lacking sufficient evidence will be closed without any charges.

Case Hearings Process

1. 1.  Administrative Hearings (AHO):
      Conducted by the Dean of Students or their designee to determine if a student violated the Code of Conduct and to assign appropriate sanctions.
   2.  Campus Hearing Board (CHB):
      A group of faculty, staff, and students authorized by OSRR to determine Code of Conduct violations and assign sanctions.
   3.  Case Referred to Hearing:
      After the Disciplinary Conference, cases that may lead to major sanctions are referred to a hearing. Students can choose between an Administrative Hearing or a CHB.
   4. What to Expect During a Case Hearing:
      The respondent can submit a statement of facts before the hearing.
      The respondent may be assisted by an advisor.
      The respondent and advisor can attend the entire hearing except for deliberations.
      Hearings involving multiple respondents may be conducted jointly or separately.
      The respondent can question witnesses.
      Records, exhibits, and statements may be considered at the discretion of the Chair.
      Formal rules of process and evidence are not used; the hearing is informal.
      After the hearing, the AHO or CHB will determine if the respondent violated the Code of Conduct.

    

   Interim Actions

   In certain situations where immediate measures are necessary to address safety concerns, protect the well-being of the SUNY Broome community, or prevent disruptions to campus operations, interim actions may be implemented. These actions are temporary and designed to address urgent issues promptly.

   Types of Interim Actions:

   Administrative Directives: Temporary instructions or restrictions imposed on a student to address immediate concerns.
   Student Village Room Reassignment: Relocation of a student to a different room or building within the Student Village for safety or other reasons.
   Restriction from Parts of Campus: Prohibition from accessing certain areas of campus to ensure safety or prevent disruption.

   Email Correspondence

   Effective communication is essential for the student conduct process.

   1. 1. Notification Process:
         • Students will be notified of all conduct-related matters (such as incident reports, hearings, decisions, and appeals) through their SUNY Broome email account.
      2. Student Responsibility:
         • Daily Email Check: Students are responsible for checking their SUNY Broome email daily to stay informed about their conduct matters.

What’s the Difference?

Disciplinary conferences and College Hearing Boards are NOT a court of law. Although there are significant differences between campus conduct procedures and criminal justice procedures, they are not mutually exclusive. This means a student may be arrested and charged in the criminal justice system AND face consequences under the college’s student code of conduct.

Alleged violations of the code of conduct may or may not be violations of local, state, or federal law.

During the conduct process there are only findings of ‘responsible’ and ‘not responsible’. The outcome of campus proceedings are not determinant on the findings, verdicts of “guilty” or “not guilty”, of the criminal justice system.

Decisions made in the student conduct process are determined through the hosting of a disciplinary conference or campus hearing board, not a trial.

Any sanctions/outcomes given are not bound by technical rules of evidence. The determination of responsibility will be made on whether there is a preponderance of evidence indicating that it is more likely than not that there was a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

Information on Arrests:

If in violation of local, state, or federal laws, there are different types of processes by which law enforcement can effect an arrest on and off campus.

Appearance ticket: This is considered a non-custodial arrest. A person may or may not be placed in handcuffs, depending on the circumstances. Regardless, it is an arrest.  You must stay with the Officer until you receive the Appearance Ticket which will identify the date and time you must appear before a judge in a court of law off campus.

Custodial Arrest: A person is removed from an environment and detained by Public Safety.  You will be taken to the Broome County Jail processed and may be held without bail or released on either a promise to appear, or a monetary bail.

Information for Students

While a student at SUNY Broome, you are expected to accord yourself in a manner that enhances the opportunity for you and your classmates to get the most out of your classes.  While in class, students are expected to fulfill the following expectations:

• Attend class regularly and on time
• Be active and engaged in all courses, which includes participating in classroom conversations and being respectful and attentive to those instructing
• Offer original thoughts and responses to others in class discussions and writing
• Maintain academic integrity
• Appropriately challenge one another, encouraging respectful and constructive dialogue
• Have an open mind to new ways of thinking, working, studying, teaching, reading, and writing
• Contribute to your own educational experience

In concert with the SUNY Broome Rules of Student Conduct, SUNY Broome will not tolerate rude, unsafe, disruptive, or threatening conduct and will deal with infractions appropriately. Students who engage in disruptive or threatening classroom behaviors that interfere with the rights of fellow students who wish to learn, and/or impede their faculty’s ability to provide instruction will be expected to remedy such behavior immediately.  Each instructor has the latitude to determine what is acceptable behavior within their class.  Specific questions about their expectations can be found either in the course syllabus or by speaking with the instructor directly. A comprehensive list of disruptive behaviors cannot possibly be created, but behaviors that run contrary to our Civility Statement tend to fall within this scope.  A sampling is given below so that you can understand the essence of what is meant by disruptive.  Again, this list is not all inclusive.

• Refusal to comply with reasonable instructor directions, including expectations posted within the course syllabus
• Repeatedly arriving after class has begun or leaving class early
• Distractive talking, including speaking out of turn or monopolizing discussion
• Use of any electronic device not related to class during the class period
• Disruptions in online conversations as part of a distance education or web-based class
• Activities not relevant to the content and work of the class in session
• Use of alcohol, tobacco products, drugs, or controlled substances
• Threat of harm or violence including verbal, physical, or psychological threats, harassment, and physical violence

Any student removed from class will be required to meet with the appropriate College officials, as instructed by their faculty member.  During this meeting they will discuss the behavior’s negative effect on the learning environment, explore the causes of the behavior, discuss appropriate corrective measures, and review the possible consequences of any further classroom disruptions. This process does not override program specific guidelines and procedures.

Information for Faculty

These guidelines for addressing disruptive behavior are available for faculty and staff as a supporting mechanism as needed. Students who engage in disruptive or threatening classroom behaviors that interfere with the rights of fellow students who wish to learn and impede their faculty’s ability to provide instruction will be expected to remedy such behavior immediately.  Each faculty member has the latitude to determine what is acceptable behavior within their classroom. Guidelines for Managing Disruptive Behavior (pdf)

In addition to the Standards and Expectations required of all students attending SUNY Broome, residents of the Student Village have additional expectations that they must follow to best ensure the safety and success of all students in residence.  Those expectations are shared by the staff in residence, and are also located in the Housing & Residential Life Handbook.

Should a student be reported to have violated the Code of Conduct, that incident will be investigated and adjudicated as described in the Conduct Process.

In addition to any consequences faced due to the exhibited behavior, if a student is found responsible for violating the Code of Conduct they may find themselves being removed and/or banned from the Student Village.

Appealing a Removal/Ban From the Student Village

Current Residents

If you are a current resident and, due to a violation of the Code of Conduct, you are removed from housing you may appeal using the Student Conduct Appeals Process.

Non-Residents

To best ensure the safety of the students residing in the Student Village, the Housing staff might determine that an individual has caused disruption and/or harm to the community and ban that individual from visiting the Student Village.  Restrictions from visiting the Student Village by non-residents are determinations made by the Housing staff and are independent of the traditional conduct process.

Should this take place, students can appeal this decision in writing by emailing their appeal to the Director of Housing, at housing@sunybroome.edu.  Students must appeal their removal and/or ban from the Student Village within two business days of being notified of their removal and/or ban.  If denied, students may appeal to have their privileges reinstated after one year, and may re-appeal once a year thereafter.

Questions about either process can be directed to the Director of Housing at housing@sunybroome.edu.

SUNY Broome has a dedicated group of staff and faculty that work together to address concerns about students’ behavior.  This  team reviews the information about the student and takes appropriate action to best ensure the student’s well-being, the community’s safety, and the student’s success here at SUNY Broome.  If you would like to report a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, please submit an incident report by clicking on the button below.

 

In addition to the online reporting form above, reports of misconduct concerning academic conduct matters can also be made to the Dean or Chair responsible for that particular academic program.  If the misconduct is of a non-academic nature, reports can also be made to a Public Safety or a Housing staff member. The staff member shall assist the individual with the required documentation and refer the complaint immediately to the appropriate student conduct designee.

In the event that the misconduct is an emergency, individuals should immediately call 911. Nothing in this procedure shall prevent the reporting individual from contacting Public Safety directly where there is a risk of harm or criminal activity.

If the misconduct involves sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking, additional resources for reporting can be found on our SUNY Broome Title IX website.  Federal, state, local, and SUNY guidelines are set so that all impacted by sexual violence can be supported throughout the process.  Information concerning the applicability of Title IX can be obtained from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.

If a student wishes to file an academic grievance, they must do so by following their departmental guidelines.  This information can be found on the Academic Grievance Procedure page.

 

Sanctions that include Student Village Termination, Suspension, or Expulsion

If a student faces serious consequences like Student Village Termination, Suspension, or Expulsion, they can appeal the decision made by the student conduct officer. To appeal, the student must fill out the Conduct Appeals Form and submit it online within 48 hours after getting the electronic notification of the decision. You can find the Conduct Appeals Form at Conduct Appeals Form.

In the appeal, the student should explain why they think the decision should be changed. Appeals can be made for at least one of these reasons:

• •  The respondent has been deprived of his/her rights and/or stated procedures were not followed that affected the outcome;
  •  New evidence is presented, that was not available during the time of the original outcome, relevant to establishing whether it is more likely than not that the respondent is responsible for misconduct; and/or

<li “> Suspension, Expulsion, and/or Student Village Termination* was applied and was not justified or was outside the College’s standard sanctioning range for such violations.

Not showing up, or being late for a scheduled hearing, cannot be used as a reason for an appeal.

The Campus Hearing Board, Dean of Students, or designee will decide if the appeal should be accepted. The student will be notified of the decision within five business days. The Campus Hearing Board, Dean of Students, or designee will review the case records and any new information provided. The Director of Housing and Residence Life may also review appeals for Student Village Termination.

Cases resulting in sanctions of Suspension to Expulsion (Title IX Only)

Cases resulting in sanctions of Suspension to Expulsion after a hearing of the Title IX Decision Panel review may be appealed to the Student Rights Appeals Officer by the respondent within five (5) business days of receiving official notification of the results of the hearing. Such appeals shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Dean of Students or his designee. The respondent may request an appeal on one or more of the following grounds:

1. the respondent has been deprived of his/her rights and/or stated procedures were not followed that affected the outcome;
2. new evidence is presented, that was not available during the time of the original outcome, relevant to establishing whether it is more likely than not that the respondent is responsible for misconduct; and/or
3. the sanction(s) imposed was outside the College’s sanction range for such violations and/or not justified by the nature of the offense.

The complainant may also request an appeal in cases involving a Title IX violation and those involving a crime of violence when suspension, indefinite expulsion or expulsion is either assigned or was possible in light of the charges assigned. The complainant appeal must be submitted within five (5) days of receiving official notification of the results of the hearing or review. The complainant may only request an appeal on one or more of the following grounds:

1. stated procedures were not followed that affected the outcome;
2. new evidence is presented, that was not available during the time of the original outcome, relevant to establishing whether it is more likely than not that the respondent is responsible for misconduct; and/or
3. the sanction(s) imposed was outside the College’s sanction range for such violations and/or not justified by the nature of the offense.

The Student Rights Appeals Officer will review the case records and any additional information that is submitted as may be requested by the Student Rights Appeals Officer. The original decisions regarding responsibility and sanctions may be sustained, modified or reversed. No decision should be overturned or modified without consultation with the Dean of Students, VP of Student Development or the President. If an appeal is granted, the following process will take place:

1. If an appeal is granted on the grounds that the student has been deprived of his/her rights and/or stated procedures were not followed that affected the outcome for the student(s), the matter will be referred to a new hearing board or Title IX Decision Panel to be reheard.
2. When an appeal is granted on the grounds that new evidence is presented that was not available during the time of the original hearing or review and that is relevant to establishing whether it is more likely than not that the respondent is responsible for misconduct, the Student Rights Appeals Officer shall return the case to the original hearing board or Title IX Decision Panel to be reheard with the new evidence.
3. When an appeal is granted on the grounds that the sanction(s) imposed was (were) outside the College’s sanction ranges for such violations and/or not justified by the nature of the offense, the Student Rights Appeals Officer shall modify the hearing sanction as he/she deems appropriate.

The Appeals Officer will forward their decision and rationale in writing (the “Appeal Report”) to the Dean of Students or designee within five (5) business days of receiving the appeal request.  A copy of the Appeal Report will be provided to the respondent and to the complainant, if applicable.  If an appeal is denied, no further review will occur. All appeal decisions are final.