Citizenship and Conduct: FAQ

Any member of the University community (including students, staff and faculty) or those associated with the University community may file a complaint or report of misconduct by a student or student organization(s). (See Student Conduct Code Rules or Organization Conduct Code Rules.)

The complaint must be written and the source of the complaint must be identified. The complaint or report of misconduct should be sent to the University Conduct Officer. The complaint should include the date of incident, the location, the name of the accused, and a brief description of the alleged misconduct. Any evidence available should also be submitted with the complaint. If you wish to file a report and if you have any questions about the process, please contact the University Conduct Officer. If you file a report, the Office of Citizenship and Conduct may contact you with further questions about the incident.

Allegations of misconduct are reported to the University Conduct Officer. The University Conduct Officer reviews the allegations and investigates the complaint. The accused student or student organization is notified of an allegation through a notice of charges letter. (See Student Conduct Code Rules or Organization Conduct Code Rules) The student/student organization has a conduct meeting with the University Conduct Officer. The Office of Citizenship and Conduct makes a determination regarding the type of hearing (either an Administrative Hearing or University Conduct Hearing Board). During the hearing, the available evidence will be read and the student/student organization will be asked to discuss their behavior and involvement in the incident (including names of witnesses). If appropriate, further investigation may occur. If the accused student/student organization is found to be responsible for violating the Student Conduct Code, then appropriate sanctions will be applied. The student/student organization may appeal the decision in certain circumstances.

To ensure students’ due process and a fundamentally fair process for student organizations, all meetings will follow the same general outline.

The student/student organization will receive a notice of charges letter that will include the date(s), location(s)and description of the alleged incident/behavior, which policy may have been violated, the date, time and location of the meeting, and how to reschedule the appointment if necessary.

The purpose of the meeting will be described to the student/student organization representatives.

The charges and applicable policy will be reviewed.

All available evidence will be reviewed.

The student/student organization leaders will be asked to discuss their involvement during the incident and the names of others involved.

If necessary, further investigation will occur.

A determination of responsibility will be made and appropriate sanctions will be decided and communicated back to the student/student organization leaders in a decision letter sent via email.

Sanctions – A decision letter will include a description of the sanction(s) assigned if the student/student organization is held responsible for a Conduct Code violation.

You will receive a notice of charges letter that will state the time and location of your conduct meeting with the University Conduct Officer. Then you or your organization will go through the conduct process described above. Sanctions may be applied if you are found to be in violation of the Student Conduct Code. A listing of the possible sanctions may be found in the Student Conduct Code.

Before your scheduled appointment, email the Office of Citizenship and Conduct at occs@truman.edu. They will assist you in setting up a new appointment.

You have the responsibility to be honest and courteous in your interactions with the University Conduct Officer and any member of the University Conduct Hearing Board. The following are considered further violations of the Student Conduct Code proscribed student and student organization conduct – Abuse of University conduct procedures, including but not limited to:

17. Abuse of University conduct procedures, including but not limited to:

17.1 Failure to obey the summons of the University Conduct system or University official.

17.2 Falsification, distortion, or misrepresentation of information to the University Conduct system.

17.3 Disruption or interference with the orderly operation of the University Conduct system.

17.4 Initiation of a conduct proceeding knowingly without cause.

17.5 Attempting to discourage an individual’s proper participation in, or use of, the University Conduct system.

17.6 Attempting or committing an act of retaliation against a person or student organization that has reported a violation of the Student Conduct Code.

17.7 Attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of a conduct hearing board prior to, or during the course of, participation in the University Conduct system;

17.8 Harassment, abuse, or intimidation of a member of a conduct hearing board prior to, during, or after participation in the University Conduct system.

17.9 Failure to comply with the sanction or sanctions imposed under the Student Conduct Code.

17.10 Influencing or attempting to influence another person to commit an abuse of the
University Conduct system.

18. Abuse of University Conduct procedures, including but not limited to:

18.1 Failure to obey the summons of the University Conduct system or University official.

18.2 Falsification, distortion, or misrepresentation of information to the University Conduct system.

18.3 Disruption or interference with the orderly conduct of the University Conduct system.

18.4 Initiation of a conduct proceeding knowingly without cause.

18.5 Attempting to discourage an individual’s proper participation in, or use of, the University Conduct system.

18.6 Attempting or committing an act of retaliation against a person or student organization that has reported a violation of the Student Conduct Code.

18.7 Attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of a judicial hearing body prior to, or during the course of, the University Conduct system.

18.8 Harassment, abuse, or intimidation of a member of a judicial hearing body prior to, during, or after the University Conduct system.

18.9 Failure to comply with the sanction or sanctions imposed under the Student Conduct Code.

18.10 Influencing or attempting to influence another person to commit an abuse of the
University Conduct system.

You may bring an advisor with you to any conference, meeting or hearing. This advisor is not recognized to speak at any time in the conference, meeting or hearing.

University suspension and expulsion are reserved for the most serious violations of the Student Conduct Code. One of these sanctions may be appropriate when your or your organization’s behavior is harmful to a member of the University community (including self or your organization), severely interrupts the educational process, repeats past violations, or if it infringes on the University conduct process.

Failure or refusal to complete your sanctions is a further violation of the Student Conduct Code. A hold will be placed on your academic record and further judicial action and sanctions will be imposed.

Only those decisions to suspend or expel a student may be reviewed.
For further information about the Appeal review process, see 8.120 in the Student Conduct Code.

Your student conduct history is considered a part of your conduct record. Conduct records of students will be kept for a period of no more than seven (7) years after the final disposition of the violation, but may be kept longer due to special circumstances (such as suspension or expulsion where records are kept permanently), as deemed necessary by the Vice President of Student Engagement. Conduct records of student organizations will be kept permanently for historical and archival purposes. Generally, a five-year (5) time frame will be utilized when considering sanctions for a student organization. However, a longer time frame may be considered when evaluating sanctions for serious violations of the Code (e.g., patterns of organizational behavior that include alcohol and drug related misconduct, hazing, life safety issues, etc.).

The outcome of a campus hearing is part of the educational record of the accused student, and is protected from release under a federal law, FERPA. However, Truman State University observes the legal exceptions as follows:

a. Complainants in non-consensual sexual contact/intercourse incidents have an absolute right to be informed of the outcome and sanctions of the hearing and any subsequent appeals, in writing, without condition or limitation.

b. Complainants in sexual exploitation/sexual harassment complaints have a right to be informed of information regarding sanctions that personally identifies and is directly pertinent to them, such as the imposition of a restriction on physical contact between the complainant and the accused student. Otherwise, information on the outcome and
sanction cannot be shared.

c. Truman State University may release publicly the name, nature of the violation and the sanction for any student who is found in violation of a Truman State University policy that is a non-forcible sex offense or a “crime of violence,” including: arson, burglary, robbery, criminal homicide, sex offenses, assault, destruction/damage/vandalism of property and kidnapping/abduction. Truman State University may release this information to the complainant in any of these offenses regardless of the outcome, but complainants are cautioned that FERPA does not permit them to re-release this information to others.

In situations where the victim is not the complainant, the victim will also be notified as explained above.