The student conduct process is an educational process regulated by the Student Code of Conduct. When student conduct receives an incident form, the student conduct officer reviews it and determines if the College should take further action, per the Washington State Code 495A.
Notification Letter
The initiation of a conduct process begins with a letter sent to you, the student who is alleged to have violated a policy within the Student Code of Conduct. This letter is usually sent to your official Bates email account or to the preferred email in the student record. The letter describes the factual allegations, sections of the Code that you may have violated, and the time and date of your meeting with Student Conduct.
Conduct Meeting
At your meeting, the student conduct officer reviews and discusses the allegations shared from an incident form or Campus Safety report. You have the opportunity to respond and explain what happened. The conduct officer uses this information to decide if you violated the Student Conduct Code. If you choose not to attend the meeting, the student conduct officer will make a decision and take action based on the available information.
For more information, refer to the Student Handbook and Conduct website.
Written Decision and Disciplinary Action
Within 10 days of your meeting, the student conduct officer sends you a written decision. Your written decision outlines the decision (usually responsible or not responsible), information about the incident, and any disciplinary sanction imposed. The student conduct officer can also decide to refer the matter to the Student Conduct Committee.
A sanction is a consequence for a behavior that is in violation of the Student Conduct Code. The Student Conduct Code describes possible sanctions.
They include, but are not limited to, written reprimand, disciplinary probation, disciplinary suspension, dismissal and “not in good standing” status. Sanctions can also be combined with conditions such as education projects, restitution, loss of privileges, no contact directive, no trespass, and professional evaluation.
Appeal Process
A student can appeal a conduct action by filing a written notice of appeal with the conduct review officer within 21 days of the written decision. Your appeal should include a statement on why you are appealing the decision. More information about the appeal process is found in the Student Code of Conduct.