University Discipline
The Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline
(Undergraduate)
Powers
The Committee on Discipline, comprising students, faculty
members, and administrators, is responsible for the
administration of the stated rules and regulations governing
undergraduate conduct, for assessing reported violations,
and, when necessary, for assigning and recommending
appropriate penalties.
Membership
The committee consists of five student members selected
by the Undergraduate Student Government, four elected
members of the faculty, an Associate or Assistant Dean of
the College, the Vice President for Campus Life, who sits
with the committee without vote, the Dean of Undergraduate
Students, who serves as chair and votes only in the event of
a tie as set forth below, and an Associate or Assistant Dean
of Undergraduate Students who serves as secretary without
vote. A quorum consists of at least three student members
and at least two faculty members. Either the Vice President
for Campus Life or the Associate Dean of the College shall
have the duties and powers of the Dean of Undergraduate
Students in his or her absence.
General Procedures
If a student is alleged to have committed a minor
infraction for which precedents are available and for which
the penalty will not interrupt the student's academic
career, he or she is first asked to meet with the
appropriate Director of Studies (if the student lives in a
residential college) or with the Associate Dean of
Undergraduate Students (if the student lives in one of the
upperclass dormitories or off campus). The Associate Dean or
the Director of Studies will investigate all complaints
promptly. The facts of the case are discussed and the
student is given ample time and opportunity to present his
or her account of the incident in question. If the student
lives in a residential college, the Director of Studies
brings the case forward (with a recommendation for action)
to the Residential College Disciplinary Board, composed of
the five Directors of Studies, and the Associate Dean of
Undergraduate Students. The Residential College Disciplinary
Board determines the appropriate action, up to and including
disciplinary probation. If the student lives in an
upperclass dormitory or off campus, the Associate Dean of
Undergraduate Students takes the appropriate action (up to
and including disciplinary probation). Other deans in the
Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students may assist the
Associate Dean in the investigation and resolution of any
case.
A student has the right to appeal to the Dean of
Undergraduate Students any disciplinary decision of an
Associate Dean or any decision by the Residential College
Disciplinary Board (RCDB). The purpose of the appeal is to
seek a review of a decision or penalty on the grounds that
(1) there exists substantial relevant information that was
not presented, and reasonably could not have been presented,
to the dean or the RCDB, or (2) the imposed penalty does not
fall within the range of penalties imposed for similar
misconduct. The purpose of such an appeal is not to initiate
a review of substantive issues of fact, or a new
determination of whether a violation of rules has occurred.
The deadline for filing such an appeal is one week from the
date of the original decision. The decision of the Dean of
Undergraduate Students shall be final.
All alleged academic infractions and any other
potentially serious infraction for which the penalty might
interrupt the student's academic career are normally
referred directly to the Committee on Discipline. Other
cases, judged to be minor, but for which no clear precedent
exists, are also normally referred to the committee. In all
cases referred to the committee, the student involved is
informed in writing of the reason for being summoned and of
the specific day and time when the student is to appear
before the committee. The student may obtain from the Office
of the Dean of Undergraduate Students reports of the alleged
misconduct and the names of the members of the committee.
Matters shall be presented to the committee with all
reasonable promptness. Where a matter is first presented to
the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students within one
week of the end of an academic term, it may be held for
consideration in the following term.
In exceptional circumstances involving infractions
described in the preceding paragraph, a student may request
a hearing by the Dean of Undergraduate Students, waiving the
right to a hearing by the Committee on Discipline. If the
Dean agrees to hear the case, the student retains the right
to appeal the decision to the Dean of the College.
Disciplinary cases involving allegations of sexual
harassment or assault by a student (undergraduate or
graduate) that are not resolved by the Associate Dean of
Undergraduate Students, the Associate Dean of the Graduate
School, or the Residential College Disciplinary Board will
be adjudicated by a designated subcommittee of the Committee
on Discipline, which will make recommendations concerning
its findings and, if necessary, a penalty, to the Dean of
Undergraduate Students or to the Dean of the Graduate
School. A more detailed description of these procedures is
available in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate
Students and in the Office of the Dean of the Graduate
School. Appeals of the decision of the respective Deans will
follow the normal procedures governing the review of
disciplinary decisions for undergraduate and graduate
students.
Pending action on the charges by the committee or pending
an appeal, the student may remain in residence on campus,
attend classes, and make use of all University facilities,
except for reasons relating to the student's physical or
emotional safety or well-being, or for reasons relating to
the safety of other members of the University community or
of University property. The student should understand that,
if the committee's decision proves adverse, or if an appeal
proves unsuccessful, the decision of the committee will
normally be considered effective as of the date of the
original decision. If the final decision is a dismissal from
the University (i.e., suspension, required withdrawal, or
expulsion), the student will normally not earn credit for
the semester in which the infraction occurred. If he or she
has successfully completed course requirements while
awaiting the final disposition of the matter, obtaining
credit for the semester will be at the discretion of the
Committee. Pending a hearing, or the student's decision
about whether to appeal a dismissal from the University or
the withholding of the degree and while an appeal is in
process, the student's University transcript will bear the
notation: "Status Under Review." Should the student decide
not to appeal a dismissal or the withholding of the degree
or should an appeal not result in an alteration of the
committee's decision to dismiss the student or withhold his
or her degree, the Registrar will record the fact of the
penalty on the student's transcript.
Conduct of Hearings
The student may be accompanied at the committee hearing
by an adviser, who must be a current member of the resident
University community, and who may participate in the same
manner as the student in the hearing. At the hearing any
person with information about the matter before the
committee may be requested to appear by the student, the
Dean of Undergraduate Students, or the committee, subject to
reasonable limits agreed on by the committee. A reasonable
number of persons, all of whom normally must be current
members of the resident University community, and whose only
role is to provide information about the character and
qualities of the student, may be permitted to appear at the
hearing. The student has an opportunity to explain the
circumstances from his or her point of view and may also
question individuals who have provided information and may
in turn be questioned by the committee members. After such
questioning the student is given further opportunity to
speak and is then excused while the committee deliberates
and arrives at a decision by individual vote. In order to
determine that a student has violated a University rule, a
majority of the voting committee members present must
conclude that the evidence presented constitutes a clear and
persuasive case in support of the charges against the
student. If the student is found to have misled the
committee during the hearing, the committee may take that
fact into account in reaching a conclusion and assigning a
penalty.
The chair or the secretary of the committee informs the
student promptly of the decision. If a penalty is imposed,
special effort is made in this discussion to ensure that the
student fully understands why the penalty was imposed and
its nature and consequences. The student has the right to
receive a copy of the summary report of the proceedings upon
request.
There may be some occasions in which, because of external
legal proceedings, the student believes that there are
compelling reasons for refusing to speak or to answer
questions. In the event that (1) legal proceedingsincluding
but not limited to arrest, summons, and indictmenthave been
instituted or are anticipated against a student in state or
federal courts as a result of his or her alleged involvement
in the matters that the committee is investigating and (2)
the alleged misconduct is more serious than a disorderly
person offense, the student will be granted permission not
to speak or to answer questions without prejudicing the
committee's decision. In the case of other external
proceedings, the committee will consider the student's
reasons for declining to speak within the full context of
its knowledge of the case before it, and if it deems these
reasons legitimate it will excuse the student from giving
information without prejudice to its disposition of the
case. In instances as set forth above, when a student has
chosen not to speak, and when the committee does not have
enough information to come to a conclusion, at the
discretion of the Dean the hearing may be postponed until
more complete information is available. In such instances
the Dean normally will suspend the student, pending
disposition of the legal proceedings and recommencement of
the hearing. Such suspension should be without prejudice.
The committee must explain to the student the risks either
of speaking freely or of not speaking at all.
If the voting members are evenly divided on a particular
case, the case must be reconsidered at the next meeting of
the committee. If at the second meeting at which the case is
considered the regular voting members are still evenly
divided, the Dean of Undergraduate Students votes to break
the tie.
Appeals
A student has the right to appeal questions of procedural
unfairness only to the Judicial Committee of the Council of
the Princeton University Community, in accordance with the
appeal procedures defined by the Judicial Committee. (See
page 33.)
A student may appeal to the Dean of the College, seeking
a review of a decision or penalty on the grounds that (1)
there exists substantial relevant information that was not
presented, and reasonably could not have been presented, to
the Committee on Discipline, or (2) the imposed penalty does
not fall within the range of penalties imposed for similar
misconduct. The purpose of such an appeal is not to initiate
a review of substantive issues of fact, or a new
determination of whether a violation of rules has occurred.
If the Dean concludes after such a review that an additional
hearing is warranted, the original hearing body will
normally perform these functions. Also, if the Dean
determines that a penalty of the Committee on Discipline (or
the Dean of Undergraduate Students) should be altered, the
Dean will make a recommendation to the President, describing
the reasons for the proposed modification, and the President
will decide whether or not to implement the
recommendation.
The deadline for filing either such appeal is one week
from the date of decision by the Committee on
Discipline.
Records of Proceedings
Confidential records of all proceedings of the Committee
and of the actions of the Residential College Disciplinary
Board and the Deans are maintained in the offices of the
Associate Dean. The use of these documents is restricted
according to the rules and procedures concerning the
confidential nature of student records.
Disciplinary procedures normally involve only the student
and the University. Generally, the student's family is not
informed while disciplinary procedures are under way. When,
however, in the judgment of the University the welfare of
the student or the community warrants communication, family
members may be contacted during the disciplinary process.
All disciplinary decisions resulting in serious penalties
(especially, but not exclusively, withholding of degree,
suspension, required withdrawal, and expulsion) will be
communicated to the student's family or other legal
guardian, unless the student has before the commencement of
the term in question filed a statement certifying that he or
she is not financially dependent as defined by the federal
income tax laws.
Penalties
Penalties that may be applied by all University
disciplinary bodies are set forth in the section on General
Conduct, under "University Regulations," pages 1-4.
Grievance Procedures
Information concerning grievance procedures is available
on pages 19-21.
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