A. Authority
The Office of Student Conduct is responsible for coordination of the University’s honor system. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Promoting awareness of the Elon honor code and related policies;
- Maintaining official University records for all violations (social and academic) of the code of conduct;
- Providing a prompt, fair and impartial process (from preliminary inquiry through final resolution);
- Notifying parents/guardians when students are found responsible for certain violations (See Section 7 – SANCTIONS – for further information);
- Training and advising members of the University’s Honor Board and appeal boards;
- Training and supervision of administrative hearing officers;
- Conducting periodic meetings with campus and local law enforcement agencies; and
- Periodic review and update of Elon’s honor system and violations of community standards.
B. Gatekeeping
No complaint will be forwarded for a hearing unless there is reasonable cause to believe a policy has been violated. The associate dean of students for leadership and honor code (or designee) will assume responsibility for the preliminary investigation of an allegation of misconduct to determine whether charges related code of conduct violations shall be applied on a case by case basis.
University action does not preclude the possibility of civil or criminal charges being placed against an individual nor does the filing of civil or criminal charges preclude action by the university.
C. Educational Conversation or Other Options
While an incident may involve behaviors that do not reflect the values of the honor code, they may not necessarily violate the code of conduct. In those cases, the assistant dean of students for student health and wellness/honor code and/or director of Student Conduct have the discretion to refer a complaint/report for an educational conversation or another appropriate resolution method.
D. Board Hearings
The director of Student Conduct (or designee) will be responsible for assembling the board hearing panels according to the guidelines listed below. (Note: See section 3.F. for separate Process for Policies Related to Sexual Misconduct and Relationship Violence.) For each complaint, a panel will be chosen from the available pool. The assistant provost for communications and operations and assistant dean of students for student health & wellness and honor code (or their designees) are non-voting members of the boards, act as conveners for the hearings, and assure that University procedures are followed throughout the hearing. A non-voting chair of the panel will be appointed to lead the hearing. (When necessary or appropriate, the convener may also serve as the chair.) Due to the number of individuals involved in the process, the timeline for scheduling a board hearing may be longer than for an administrative hearing, but will typically be completed within 60 days from notice of the complaint.
Honor Board: The Honor Board hears all academic policy violation cases for which the student denies responsibility. It may also hear social policy cases referred by the Office of Student Conduct that involve gross violation(s) of community standards. A quorum is three students, one faculty member and one student life administrator. The full Honor Board consists of a minimum of twelve students (elected by the student body or administratively appointed by the SGA President), seven faculty (three appointed by the Academic Council and four appointed by the provost/vice president for academic affairs), and five student life administrators (appointed by the vice president of student life). These members are trained annually by the assistant dean of students for student health & wellness and honor code and/or the director of Student Conduct.
Organizational Honor Board: For cases involving registered student organizations, student members of the Honor Board serve on a five-person hearing panel and make recommendations related to responsibility and sanctions (when appropriate) to the assistant dean of students for student health & wellness and honor code, who makes the final decision.
Appeal Boards (See Section 6.I. for information on appeals and appeal boards.)
E. Administrative Hearing Officers
Administrative hearing officers include the assistant dean of students, the director and assistant director of Student Conduct, and additional university staff members recommended by the assistant dean of students and appointed by the vice president of student life and dean of students. They are typically drawn from the assistant directors in the residential neighborhoods, trained on an annual basis, and meet regularly throughout the academic year for continuing education. (In cases involving sexual misconduct or relationship violence, an investigation team serves in the capacity of a hearing officer.)
F. Contacts
Dr. Paul Miller, Assistant Provost for Communications and Operations; millerp@elon.edu
For questions or concerns related to social policies or general questions regarding the honor system:
Ms. Whitney Gregory, Assistant Dean of Students for Student Health & Wellness and Honor Code; wgregory@elon.edu