Student Disciplinary Policy and Procedure

Policy:
SGTC reserves the right to maintain a safe and orderly educational environment for Students and staff. Therefore, when, in the judgment of college officials, a Student’s conduct disrupts or threatens to disrupt the college community, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken to restore and protect the atmosphere of collegiality and mutual respect on campus. This procedure is intended to provide an orderly protocol for handling Student disciplinary cases in accordance with the principles of due process and justice.

Definitions:

• Business Days: weekdays that the college administrative offices are open.
• Continuing Relationship: any person who has been enrolled as a student and may enroll in the future as a Student at the Technical College.
• Judicial Advisor: Unless otherwise noted, the “Judicial Advisor” of the Technical College may be the Student Disciplinary Officer, or his designee.
• Member of the Technical College Community: any person who is a Student, Faculty Member, Technical College Official or any other person/s involved with the Technical College community or employed by the Technical College.
• Policy: the written regulations of the Technical College as found in, but not limited to, the Student Code of Conduct, Students Handbook(s), Residence Hall Handbook(s), Technical College Catalog(s), the Technical College Policy Manual, and the Policy Manual approved by the State Board for the Technical College System of Georgia.
• Student: all persons taking courses at the college full-time, part-time, dual enrollment, joint enrollment, non-credit and credit. Persons who are not officially enrolled for a particular term but who have a continuing relationship with the college are considered “Students.”
• Student Disciplinary Officer: If disciplinary action is academic in nature, the Office of Academic Affairs administers this procedure. If disciplinary action is non-academic in nature, the Director of Campus Safety & Dorms administers this procedure. If disciplinary action is relating to the Crisp County Center, the Vice President, or designee, of that Center administers this procedure.

Procedure:
Filing a Complaint
Any member of the Technical College Community may file a complaint with the appropriate Student Disciplinary Officer against any student for a violation of the Student Code of Conduct. The individual(s) initiating the action must complete a written statement of the incident and forward it directly to the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee. The form is available in the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.

Investigation and Decision

• Within five business days after the Complaint is filed, the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee shall complete a preliminary investigation of the incident, and schedule a meeting with the Student against whom the Complaint was filed in order to discuss the incident and the allegations. In the event that additional time is necessary, the Student will be notified. After discussing the Complaint with the Student, the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee shall determine whether the student committed the alleged conduct, and whether the alleged conduct constitutes a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
• The Student shall have 5 business days from the date contacted by the Student Disciplinary Officer to schedule the meeting. This initial meeting may only be rescheduled one time. If the Student fails to respond to the Student Disciplinary Officer within 5 business days to schedule the meeting, reschedules the meeting more than once, or fails to appear at the meeting, the Student Disciplinary Officer will consider the available evidence without Student input and make a determination
• In the event that a Complaint alleges violations of the Student Code of Conduct by more than one Student, each Student’s disciplinary proceeding, as well as any appeals relating to that proceeding, shall be conducted individually.
• If the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee determines that the Student has violated the Student Code of Conduct, he/she shall impose one or more disciplinary sanctions consistent with those described below. If the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee determines that the alleged conduct did not occur, or that the conduct was not a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, he/she shall not impose any disciplinary sanctions on the student and the investigation shall be closed.
• After a determination that a Student has violated the Student Code of Conduct, the Vice President for Student Affairs or the technical college president’s designee may impose, without referral to the Hearing Body, one or more of the following sanctions. Notification shall be sent to the student and the person(s) who initially filed the complaint.

Disciplinary Sanctions

• Restitution—A Student who has committed an offense against property may be required to reimburse the Technical College or other owner for damage to or misappropriation of such property. Any such payment in restitution shall be limited to the actual cost of repair or replacement.
• Reprimand— A written reprimand may be given to any Student. Such a reprimand does not restrict the Student in any way, but it signifies to the Student that he/she is in effect being given another chance to conduct himself/herself as a proper Member of the Technical College Community, and that any further violation may result in more serious sanctions.
• Restriction— A restriction upon a Student’s privileges for a period of time may be imposed. This restriction may include but is not limited to denial of the right to represent the Technical College in any way, denial of use of facilities, alteration or revocation of parking privileges, or restrictions from participating in extracurricular activities.
• Disciplinary Probation— Continued enrollment of a Student on probation may be conditioned upon adherence to specified terms. Any Student placed on probation will be notified of the terms and length of probation in writing. Any conduct determined after due process to be in violation of these terms while on probation may result in the imposition of more serious disciplinary sanctions, as specified by the terms of probation.
• Failing or lowered grade— In cases of academic misconduct, the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee will make a recommendation to the Vice President for Academic Affairs or his/her designee who may authorize the instructor to award a failing or lowered grade in the course, a loss of credit on the assignment or examination, and may impose other additional sanctions including suspension or dismissal from the Technical College. After a determination that a student has violated the Student Code of Conduct, the Vice President for Student Affairs or the technical college president’s designee may recommend the imposition of one of the following sanctions if appropriate. The Vice President for Student Affairs’ recommendation will be forwarded to the Hearing Body, which may impose one or more of the following sanctions, as well as those described in section above, following a hearing. A copy of the written recommendation shall be provided to the student and the person filling the complaint.
• Disciplinary Suspension— If a Student is suspended, he/she is separated from the Technical College for a stated period of time. Conditions of reinstatement, if any, must be stated in the notice of suspension.
• Disciplinary Expulsion— Removal and exclusion from the Technical College, Technical College controlled facilities, programs, events, and activities. A record of the reason for the Student’s dismissal is maintained by the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee. Students who have been dismissed from the Technical College for any reason may apply in writing for reinstatement twelve (12) months following the expulsion. If approval for reinstatement is granted, the Student will be placed on disciplinary probation for a specified term. The probationary status may be removed at the end of the specified term at the discretion of the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee.
• Interim Disciplinary Suspension— As a general rule, the status of a Student accused of violations of the Student Code of Conduct should not be altered until a final determination is made regarding the charges against him/her. However, interim suspension may be imposed upon a finding by the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee that the continued presence of the accused student on campus constitutes a potential or immediate threat to the safety and well-being of the accused student or any other member of the Technical College Community or its guests, or that the continued presence of the Student on campus creates a risk of substantial disruption of classroom or other Technical College-related activities. If an interim disciplinary suspension is imposed, the matter must be referred as soon as possible to the Hearing Body. The student need not request an appeal.
• System-Wide Expulsion— Where a student has been expelled or suspended three times from the same or different colleges in the Technical College System of Georgia in the past seven years, the student may not be permitted to register at any college in the Technical College System of Georgia for a period of ten years after the most recent expulsion/suspension.

Violation of Federal, State, or Local Law

• If a Student is convicted or pleads Nolo Contendere to an off-campus violation of federal, state, or local law, but not with any other violation of the Student Code of Conduct, disciplinary action may be taken and sanctions imposed for misconduct that is detrimental to the Technical College’s vital interests and stated mission and purpose.
• Disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against a Student charged with violation of a law that is also a violation of the Student Code of Conduct if both violations result from the same factual situation, without regard to criminal arrest and/or prosecution. Proceedings under this Student Code of Conduct may be carried out prior to, simultaneously with, or following criminal proceedings.
• When a Student is charged by federal, state, or local authorities with a violation of law, the Technical College will not request or agree to special consideration for that individual because of his/her status as a Student. The Technical College will cooperate fully with law enforcement and other agencies in the enforcement of criminal law on campus and in the conditions imposed by criminal courts for the rehabilitation of student violators. Individual Students, acting in their personal capacities, remain free to interact with governmental representatives as they deem appropriate.

Conditions of Disciplinary Suspension and Expulsion

• A Student who has been suspended or expelled from the Technical College shall be denied all privileges afforded a Student and shall be required to vacate Technical College Premises at a time determined by the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee.
• In addition, after vacating the Technical College Premises, a suspended or expelled Student may not enter upon the Technical College Premises at any time, for any purpose, in the absence of written permission from the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee. A suspended or expelled student must contact the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee for permission to enter the Technical College Premises for a limited, specified purpose.
• If the student seeks to submit a signed Disciplinary Sanction Appeal/Grievance, the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee must accept the Form by mail or fax if he/she refuses the Student’s request to enter the Technical College Premises for that specified purpose.
• A scheduled appeal hearing before the Vice President or his designee shall be understood as expressed permission from the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee for a student to enter the Technical College Premises for the duration of that hearing.

Hearing/Appeals Procedure
A student who wishes to appeal or file a grievance of the disciplinary decision by the Student Disciplinary Officer or his/her designee must file a written notice of appeal/grievance following the Grievance/Appeal Procedure located in the SGTC Student Catalog/Handbook.

GRIEVANCE/APPEAL PROCEDURE FOR STUDENTS

Policy
It is the policy of SGTC to maintain a grievance process available to all students that provides an open and meaningful forum for their complaints, the resolution of these complaints, and is subject to clear guidelines. This procedure does not address complaints related to the unlawful harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation for reporting harassment/discrimination against students. Those complaints are handled by the Unlawful Harassment and Discrimination of Students Procedure.

DEFINITIONS:

• Grievable issues: Issues arising from the application of a policy/procedure to the student’s specific case is always grievable. Specifically grievable are issues related to student advisement, improper disclosure of grades, unfair testing procedures and poor treatment of students; this is a representative list and is not meant to be exhaustive.
• Non-grievable issues: Issues which have a separate process for resolution (i.e. disciplinary sanctions, FERPA, financial aid, academic grades, etc.) are not grievable and a student must take advantage of the process in place.
• Business days: Weekdays that the college administrative offices are open.
• Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA): The staff member in charge of the academic affairs and Institutional Effectiveness division at the college.
• Vice President of Administrative Services (VPA): The staff member in charge of the administrative services division of the college. Ths includes business office, bookstores, financial aid, human resources, and information technology, etc.
• Vice President of Student Affairs (VPSA): The staff member in charge of admissions, registrar’s office, information technology, and student activities, residential facilities, campus life, campus safety, cateria, etc.
• Retaliation: Unfavorable action taken, condition created, or other action taken by a student/employee for the purpose of intimidation directed toward a student because the student initiated a grievance or participated in an investigation of a grievance.
• Grievant: the student who is making the complaint.

PROCEDURE
Informal Complaint Procedure:
Student complaints should be resolved on an informal basis without the filing of a formal grievance.

• A student has 10 business days from the date of the incident being grieved to resolve his complaint informally by approaching his instructor, department chair or any other staff or faculty member directly involved in the grieved incident.
• Where this process does not result in a resolution of the grievance, the student may proceed to the formal grievance procedure.

Formal Complaint Procedure:
Where a student cannot resolve his complaint informally, he may use the formal grievance procedure.

• Within 15 business days of the incident being grieved, the student must file a formal grievance in the office of the division of the college as follows:
  • If the grievance is related to instruction/academic affairs/institutional effectiveness, file the grievance with the office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA), or
  • If the grievance is related to non-academic situations (residential facilities, campus life, campus safety, cafeteria, etc.), file the grievance with the Vice President of Student Affairs (VPSA).
  • If the grievance is related to non-academic situations (business office, bookstores, information technology etc.), file the grievance with the office of the Vice President of Administrative services (VPA).
  • If the grievance us related to non-academic situations (admissions, registrar’s office, etc.), file the grievance with the office of the Vice President of Student Affairs (VPSA).
  • With the following information: Name, Date, Brief description of incident being grieved, Remedy requested, Other written documentation to support position, Signed, and Informal remedy attempted by student and outcome.
• If the grievance is against the VPAA, VPSA, VPA, VPO or VPIA, the student shall file the grievance in the Office of the President.
• The VPAA, VPSA, VPA, VPO or VPIA or his/her designee, will investigate the matter and supply a written response to the student within 15 business days.
• If the grieved incident involves possible unlawful harassment, discrimination or retaliation for reporting unlawful harassment/discrimination, the investigation will be handled pursuant to the Procedure: Unlawful Harassment and Discrimination of Students.
• If the grieved incident is closely related to an incident being processed through the disciplinary procedure, the disciplinary procedure will take precedence and the grievance will not be processed until after the disciplinary procedure has run its course.
• The VPAA, VPSA, VPA, VPO or VPIA or his/her designee, shall be granted an additional 15 business days to investigate the grievance upon notice to the grieving student.

Appeal of Staff Response:
If a student is unsatisfied with the response from the VPAA, VPSA, VPA, VPO, or VPIA the student may appeal the decision to the President of the college. The college staff has no right to appeal.

• A student shall file a written appeal to the President within 5 business days of receiving the response referenced in item 3 above.
• The appeal will be decided based entirely on documents provided by the student and the administration; therefore the student must ensure that he has provided all relevant documents with his appeal.
• At the President of the college’s sole discretion, grievance appeals may be held in one of the following ways:
  • The President may review the information provided by the student and administration and make the final decision; or
  • The President may appoint a cross-functional committee comprised of up to 5 members, including one chair, to make the final decision.
  • The decision of either the President or the cross-functional committee shall be made within 10 business days of receipt by the President of the appeal.
• Whichever process is chosen by the President, the decision of the grievance appeal is final.

Retaliation against a student for filing a grievance is strictly prohibited.