Student Conduct & Community Standards

Student Conduct Philosophy Statement

Sacred Heart University strives and aspires to foster an academic community that promotes the intellectual, personal, social and ethical development of its students. To achieve this, the University expects all members of the educational community to create safe environments conducive for the learning, growth, and success of everyone. The University community is committed to a campus environment that is conducive to academic inquiry, productive campus life, and thoughtful study and discourse. The student conduct program within the Office of Student Conduct is committed to an educational and developmental process that balances the interests of individual students with the interests of the University community in order to educate students through their decision-making.

A community exists on the basis of shared values and principles. At Sacred Heart University, student members of the community are expected to uphold and abide by certain standards of conduct that form the basis of the Code of Student Conduct & Community Standards. These standards are embodied within a set of core values that include integrity, social justice, respect, community and responsibility.

Each member of the University community bears responsibility for their conduct and to assume reasonable responsibility for the behavior of others. When members of the community fail to exemplify these five values by engaging in violation of the rules below, campus conduct proceedings are used to assert and uphold the Code in order to educate students regarding the misconduct.

The student conduct process at the University exists to protect the interests of the community and to challenge those whose behavior is not in accordance with our policies and mission. Sanctions are intended to challenge students’ moral and ethical decision-making and to help them bring their behavior into accord with our community expectations. When a student is unable to conform their behavior to community expectations, the student conduct process may determine that the student should no longer share in the privilege of participating in the University community.

Students should be aware that the student conduct process is quite different from criminal and civil court proceedings. Procedures and rights in student conduct procedures are conducted with fairness to all but do not include the same protections of due process afforded by the courts. Due process, as defined within these procedures, assures (1) written notice and (2) an opportunity for a hearing before an objective decision-maker. No student will be found in violation of University policy without information showing that it is more likely than not that a policy violation occurred and any sanctions will be proportionate to the severity of the violation and to the cumulative conduct history of the student.

The following student rights and responsibilities are granted to all students who have been charged with an alleged violation of the Code of Student Conduct & Community Standards:

Respect

Students have the right to be treated with respect, dignity and compassion by University officials and by all persons involved in the disciplinary process.

Notice

Students have the right to be informed by written notice/electronically mailed of the alleged violation(s) placed against him or her that also indicates the date, time and place of a disciplinary student conduct hearing. Proper written notification shall be defined as delivery of mail to a student’s University mailing address, as reported by the student to the University Registrar or an e-mail message to the student’s established University e-mail account. Students who fail to attend their student conduct meeting after e-mail notification will forfeit their right to request an appeal and the hearing will be heard in their absence. Students shall be held responsible for being cognizant of the contents of mail sent to reported addresses and of e-mail messages sent to their University e-mail account.

Procedures

Students have the right to be informed orally and/or in writing/electronically of the student conduct procedures. The procedures of the student conduct process are provided in their entirety in the Code of Student Conduct found online under University Policies. 

Information

Students have the right to know the nature of the information, hear and respond to all information presented at the time of the conduct meeting and object to information being heard that is unrelated to the incident cited in the report.

Search

Students have the right to know that no residence hall room will be searched during an incident without proper authorization. In the event that the professional staff member on duty deems it necessary to conduct the search immediately, they may do so based on their evaluation of the situation and subsequently notifying, the Dean of Students or designee within 24 hours of their actions explaining their reasons for this decision and of their findings. The object of information sought and the location to be searched will be documented with the student informed if they are present. If they are not present, a search can still take place as outlined previously.

Witness Statements

Students have the right to present witness statements in a conduct meeting. Prior to the student’s conduct hearing, the student must notify the student conduct officer one business day in advance and submit the witness(s) written documentation.

Adviser

Students have the right to be assisted in a student conduct hearing/appeal hearing by one, SHU administrator, faculty member or student of their choice provided that individual is not legal counsel/attorneys, parents/family members. This individual may not address the student conduct officer, but may consult freely with the student. (If at any time the adviser’s participation interferes with the stated hearing procedures, s/he will be dismissed from the hearing.)

Participation

Students have the right to participate in the conduct hearing or remain silent. If a student does remain silent, his/her case will be heard on the information available in order to make a decision on the level of responsibility. 

Determination of Responsibility

Students have the right to have his/her level of responsibility determined based on the "preponderance of information" standard.

Appeal

Students have the right to request an appeal on the finding(s) and/or sanction(s) issued. Any student wishing to appeal must contact the Director of Student Conduct & Community Standards at voight-jauseb@sacredheart.edu or at 203-416-3420 within 24 hours, one business day after the student conduct meeting. Appeals must be submitted through the online form no later than seventy-two (72) hours after the date that sanction(s) are issued. Full details on the appeal process are outlined in the section titled "Appeals and Records Keeping" found in the Code of Student Conduct. The following link is used to submit a request for an appeal: Request for Appeal Form