The Student Code of Conduct broadly applies to all students during their time at Mines both on and off campus. The Residence Life Handbook is a set of policies that are about specific issues within the residential communities (like “quiet hours”).  Violations of both the Student Code of Conduct and the Residence Life Handbook are handled by Case Resolution Managers from the Department of Community Standards and Residence Life professional staff.

The Student Code of Conduct can be found here.

The Residence Life Handbook can be found on Residence Life’s website under the Resident Resources dropdown.

In a conduct meeting, the staff member hosting the meeting will take some time to get to know you, share information about the incident report they received, and listen to details of the incident reported from your perspective. This is your opportunity to share your perspective of what happened. The staff member will likely ask you questions about what happened during the incident, and be taking notes during the meeting.  You will also have the opportunity to see the report and other information gathered related to the case. If you want to, you are allowed to bring a support person of your choice to the meeting. That person is only there to observe and cannot participate in the meeting on your behalf.

A support person is someone who sits in the meeting with you to observe, provide you advice, and/or pause to take breaks during the conduct meeting.  A support person is not permitted to speak on your behalf or participate directly in the meeting.  They can be a person of your choosing (i.e. parent, academic advisor, coach, attorney) as long as they are not involved in the case in another capacity, like a witness. Please let your Case Resolution Manager know if you are bringing a support person, at least one business day in advance.  If you choose to have an attorney as your support person, you are responsible for the cost and Mines Legal Counsel may also join the meeting.

A couple of things happen when someone is responsible for policy violations in the Student Code of Conduct.

First, a disciplinary record and status are assigned. Disciplinary statuses range between a warning, disciplinary probation, suspension, and expulsion.

Second, other sanctions may be assigned. Sanctions can include educational workshops and activities, loss of campus privileges, community service, and others. Consult the Student Code of Conduct for a more complete list. Sanctions are chosen to fit the situation, and are designed to prevent recurrence, repair harm, and restore trust within the community.

Many factors are considered in making determinations on what sanctions are assigned as a result of a policy violation. These include different roles or circumstances for students (even students involved in the same incident), and a student’s disciplinary history. Education is our goal, and not all people learn in the same way, so while we are committed to fairness and consistency, we are also committed to examining the role of each student and what will be best for them individually.

Students can appeal some decisions made in the conduct process. An appeal is not appropriate for the simple reason that someone disagrees with the decision. 

There are two groups of people who can appeal decisions:

Responding parties, or people who violated a policy or policies in the Student Code of Conduct, can appeal any decision under certain grounds (reasons) listed in the Student Code of Conduct.

Complainants, or impacted people, directly involved in investigations taking place for the Policy Prohibiting Sexual Misconduct, Discrimination, and Retaliation, can appeal. 

Grounds for an Appeal – The four items listed below are the acceptable grounds for an appeal. These grounds are taken directly from the Student Code of Conduct, and explained a bit more in-depth in each area. 

• New Information: To consider information or other relevant facts sufficient to alter a decision because such information and/or facts were not known to the person appealing at the time of the original administrative conduct meeting. 
  • This should be new information new to the student(s) and staff member(s) involved in the case. 
• Appropriateness of Sanctions: To determine whether the sanctions were appropriate for the violation(s) of the Student Code of Conduct the Responding Party was found responsible to.  
  • If a student believes the sanctions are unreasonable for the situation and/or inappropraite to the situation, this would be a reason to appeal.
• Due Process: To determine whether the conduct process respected the rights of the student involved. This can include how the administrative conduct meeting and process was conducted, if the student was provided a reasonable opportunity to prepare and provide their perspective, and that the prescribed conduct process was followed. Minor process deviations that do not materially affect the outcome are not a basis for requesting an appeal. 
  • Some examples of why a student would appeal for due process: they were not provided an opportunity to share their perspective, a decision was made without their perspective provided, a notice of the conduct process was not provided prior to a meeting, and others.
• Unsupported Decision: To determine whether the decision reached regarding the Responding Party was supported using the preponderance of evidence standard to establish that a violation of the Student Code of Conduct or Residence Life Handbook occurred.  
  • Reminder: A preponderence of evidence is “more likely than not” or “more than a feather.” This is different from a criminal process’s preponderence of evidence. If a student feels like any other Case Resolution Manager would make a different decision of responsibility, this would be a reason to appeal.

Submitting an Appeal Request – Decisions reached by a Case Resolution Manager may be appealed by the Responding Party. The individual may file an appeal by completing a Student Conduct Appeal Request Form and submitting it to the Dean of Students via email to DeanOfStudents@mines.edu by the date stated in the original decision letter. A student is usually provided 7 business days to appeal their final decision.

For information please see the Student Code of Conduct. Additionally, staff in Community Standards can meet with students to discuss their appeal options and rights. 

In cases where a student was suspended for academic misconduct or expelled for violations of the Student Code of Conduct/Residence Life Handbook it is notated on your official Mines transcript. In all other cases where a student is found responsible for a policy violation it becomes a part of a student’s “disciplinary record” and is not lsited on an academic transcript. Student disciplinary records are protected by FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. This means that a disciplinary record cannot be shared with people outside of the University unless a student provides permission. This includes family members, attorneys, future employers, graduate schools, and others. In many cases, employers will provide more information about how to release this information in the job process and paperwork. If students need to make their own request for other people to view their disciplinary record, they can do so through our FERPA website: https://compliance.mines.edu/ferpa/

In a student’s final semester, they can request their disciplinary record be expunged, which transitions a disciplinary record to an administrative archive via this form. This means that the Office of Community Standards will not release the record, unless required by law, if it is expunged. Please note the requests are considered and granted at the discretion of the Director of Community Standards or their designee.

When information is reported to the Office of Community Standards, the information is private, but not confidential. Staff in Community Standards use reported information to conduct investigations in their office, and at times, will need to share the information with other offices, like the Office for Institutional Equity and Title IX. Staff in Community Standards are mandatory reporters, which means they may need to share certain information related to discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, retaliation and stalking, with the Office for Institutional Equity and Title IX. The purpose of reporting is to ensure safety and prevent further harm. 

Additionally, students who are alleged to have violated a Student Code of Conduct violation have the right to view a report about them. Staff in Community Standards can, at times, use anonymous reports and redact reporting student information. Staff can provide additional details and examples on an individual basis when they reach out to reporting students. 

Every student’s disciplinary record is only theirs to access. Students can allow others to access their disciplinary record (like a family member, employer, attorney, and others). For more information about a student’s discipinary record, how to release records to other people, and to learn more about the privacy of student information, please see our FERPA, or Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, website: https://compliance.mines.edu/ferpa/

Mines does offer confidential resources:

• • The Mines Counseling Center & Student Health Center
  • Confidential Resource Advocates: Sareen Lambright Dale, Dyna Arriaga, and Sham Tzegai