Student Conduct Office
The Student Conduct Office encourages the development and well-being of all students. This is accomplished by promoting reflection, fostering accountability, and educating students and campus partners on individual rights and responsibilities within the university community.
The Student Conduct Office offers educational presentations and workshops, including the Ethics and Decision Making Workshop and the Hazing Education Workshop, in addition to responding to cases of alleged student rule violations and referring students to appropriate resources. The staff in the Student Conduct Office are available for consultation on conflict resolution and student behavioral concerns. Staff are also available for presentations upon request.
Overview of Student Conduct Process
Texas A&M University views the student conduct system as an educational experience that can result in growth in personal understanding of one’s responsibilities and privileges in the university community. Acceptable standards of conduct have been established to protect the rights of others and the orderly operation of the university. The focus of student conduct proceedings is to determine whether the university’s standards of conduct have been violated (Texas A&M University Student Rule 25).
The Student Conduct Office receives reports from Residence Life, the Corps of Cadets, Athletics, the University Police Department, Student Conduct investigators, and the community at large.
- A student conduct administrator (SCA) reviews report for alleged student rule violations. See Student Rule 24 to review the Student Conduct Code,
- If the SCA determines one or more rule violations may have occurred, a charge letter is issued to the student.
- If the SCA determines the behavior described in the report does not rise to the level of a possible rule violation, they may choose to take no action or to hold an informal “call-in meeting” with the student.
Is there a possibility that a university rule was violated? (If yes, 2a; if no, 2b or 2c)
A student conduct administrator (SCA) reviews report for alleged student rule violations. See Student Rule 24 to review the Student Conduct Code.
a. If the SCA determines one or more rule violations may have occurred, a charge letter is issued to the student. Is suspension or expulsion a possible outcome if the student is found responsible? If no, proceed to 3a; if yes, 3b.
b. If the SCA determines the behavior described in the report does not rise to the level of a possible rule violation, they may choose to hold an informal “call-in meeting” to discuss the report with the student. The purpose of a call-in meeting may be to help the student reflect on the reported incident, to provide information about the student rules, and/or to connect the student to any resources that might be helpful.
c. If no rule violations have occurred, the SCA may decide no action is necessary at all.
Upon receiving a charge letter, you may come to the Student Conduct Office to review your conduct file. Your charge letter will indicate what the most severe possible outcome of the conduct conference could be.
a. If the most severe possible outcome is conduct probation, you will have an administrative conduct conference. If you have been assigned an administrative conduct conference, you are not required to attend an information session but may choose to schedule one to learn more about the process prior to the day of your conduct conference.
- When you arrive for your conduct conference, you will have the opportunity to review your conduct file if you have not viewed it prior to the student conduct conference. Please note that if your case involved an investigation, it is best to review the file in advance due to the typical length of an investigation report.
- The conduct conference is a time for you to share your perspective on the incident. This is your time to officially respond to the charge(s) and the information in your conduct file so that the panel members or student conduct administrator can make an informed decision about the charge(s).
- You may bring an advisor with you to your conduct conference. Please see Student Rule 26 for details regarding who can serve as this advisor.
b. If suspension or expulsion are possible outcomes of your case, you will have a conduct conference panel. If you have been assigned a conduct conference panel, you will also be scheduled to attend an information session to learn more about the process prior to your conduct conference panel.
- When you arrive for your conduct conference, you will have the opportunity to review your conduct file if you have not viewed it prior to the student conduct conference. Please note that if your case involved an investigation, it is best to review the file in advance due to the typical length of an investigation report.
- The conduct conference is a time for you to share your perspective on the incident. This is your time to officially respond to the charge(s) and the information in your conduct file so that the panel members or Student Conduct Administrator can make an informed decision about the charge(s).
- You may bring an advisor with you to your conduct conference. Please see Student Rule 26 for details regarding who can serve as this advisor.
At the start of your conduct conference (or during your information session, if applicable) the staff member(s) will meet with you to review your charge(s), your rights and responsibilities in the process, the range of possible sanctions, and to answer any questions that you may have. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to accept or not accept responsibility for the alleged student rule violation(s) in your charge letter.
The initial phase of the conference is focused on whether the alleged violation(s) identified in the charge letter occurred. The SCA or panel members gather information to decide whether the alleged behavior is more likely than not to have occurred using the preponderance of information standard and, if so, determine whether it is a violation of the Student Conduct Code. During this phase, you will be asked questions about the incident. Only information relevant to determining whether the charge(s) occurred is considered at this time.
- You will also have the opportunity to present witnesses with first-hand, direct knowledge of the incident(s), or any additional supporting information that you have pertaining to the charge(s).
- Once you have shared your perspective, the SCA or panel members will determine whether you are found responsible for any violations and let you know this outcome. If you have been found responsible for one or more violations, you will be assigned sanctions.
If you are found responsible or accept responsibility for one or more violation(s), the SCA or panel members will assign sanctions.
- Sanctions are requirements that are assigned with the purpose of fostering development, promoting wellbeing, and addressing the impact of the incident. Considerations of the impact include effects on the individual student, others involved, and the community.
- In addition to providing educational opportunities, sanctions may affect a student’s privileges at the university.
- See Student Rule 27 for possible sanctions.
You will typically learn the outcome at the end of the conference. The Student Conduct Office will issue an official outcome letter that will include the following: the findings for each charge, the rationale for those findings, assigned sanctions, if any, and a link to the appeal request form.
If you are found responsible or accept responsibility for any violations, you may file an appeal within five (5) university business days. At the conclusion of your conduct conference, the SCA or panel chair will explain the appeal process, including the specific aspects of the conduct conference that you can base your appeal on.
- To initiate an appeal, you must complete the online Appeal Request Form using the link in your outcome letter. The appeal request form will be routed to the appropriate office for review. If you do not submit the appeal request form by the deadline specified in your outcome letter, you will waive your opportunity to appeal.
- An appeal can be based on one or more of the following factors:
- New, relevant information that was not available at the time of the original conduct conference would have made a difference in the outcome;
- The severity of the sanction(s) assigned in the original conduct conference was not appropriate for the violation(s) for which you were found responsible; and/or
- A procedural error occurred in the course of the original conduct conference that had an impact on the outcome.
- Additionally, if you are under the age of 21 and have been found responsible for a violation involving use and/or possession of alcohol or drugs, you can use the appeal request form to appeal the parental notification letter that would typically be sent to your parent or guardian.
For more information on appeals, visit the appeals page.
Sanctions
When a student is found responsible or accepts responsibility for a violation of the Student Conduct Code, sanctions are assigned. Sanctions are selected with the purposes of fostering development, promoting wellbeing, and addressing the impact of the incident. Considerations of the impact include effects on the individual student, on others involved, and on the community. In addition to providing educational opportunities, sanctions may affect a student’s privileges at the university. The following factors are considered in determining the most appropriate sanctions:
- Nature of the violation – How serious is the violation? Who was harmed? What were the outcomes?
- Prior violations/previous disciplinary history – Does the student have other violations and sanctions on record? (Note: This is used only in the sanctioning phase, not in reaching a finding of responsibility.)
- Mitigating/aggravating circumstances surrounding the incident – What were the special circumstances surrounding the situation? To mitigate = reasons the sanction should be lessened. To aggravate = reasons the sanction should be more severe.
- Motivation for the behavior – Why did the student engage in the behavior? Was there malicious intent?
- Developmental and educational impact for the individual and community – What message does this send to the community and the student? What can the sanction teach a student? How can the sanction help a student develop as a community member and individual?