Offenses That May Lead to Suspension or Expulsion:
The most serious violation of the Code of Conduct must be dealt with in the most severe manner. These offenses reflect a reckless disregard of accepted standards of conduct and a lack of concern for the wellbeing of the Manhattanville Community. These incidents are immediately referred to the Director of Residents Life, the Dean of Students, SOE Associate Dean or Dean of MSB. Sanctions for these offenses may result in sanctions as serious as suspension or expulsion from the College. Incidents the college deems as serious in nature and that could lead to suspension or expulsion on a first offense may include, but are not limited to:
- False Alarms and Misuse of Fire Equipment
- Sale or distribution of controlled substances. Any student found selling, admitting to selling currently or in the past or distributing any form of illegal drugs, controlled substances, drug paraphernalia or is deemed there is an intent to sell
- Fireworks, Weapons, Dangerous Objects, Hazardous Chemicals, Setting a Fire and Explosives
- Harassment (including stalking or repeated telephone calls or e-mails).
- Hate or Bias related conduct
- Threat of Physical Assault, Acts of Physical Assault and/or Endangering Conduct
- Unauthorized Entry
- Violations of Criminal Law
- Theft
- Endangering the Health and Safety of children
- Behavior in a Grossly Unprofessional Manner
Appeals Process
A student has 48 hours from receipt of the letter to appeal the decision to the appropriate appeal officer below in writing.
- the Dean of Students, for those conduct cases heard by Office of Residence Life staff,
- the Vice President for Student Affairs for cases heard by the Dean of Students or the Dean of Graduate MSB
- the SOE Academic Standards Committee for actions taken by the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs
- the Dean of the School of Education for actions taken by the SOE Academic Standards Committee.
Once an appeal is submitted the appeals officer will determine if a face to face meeting is warranted. An appellate decision for this purpose is defined as having the power to review the conduct findings of another conduct officer. Appellate decisions of the Dean of Students, Dean of Graduate MSB, Dean of the School of Education or Vice President for Student Affairs are final and not appealable and will be rendered after receiving the appeal.
Failure to schedule and/or attend the hearing without prior consent from the Conduct Officer will result in:
- The forfeiture of the student ability to present information on his/her behalf.
- Sanctions being issued to the student without the benefit of his/her input.
Contents of the Appeal
A student has 48 hours from receipt of the letter to appeal the decision to the appeal officer in writing. Appeals must be submitted by the student, not a parent/guardian, friend, family member, or legal counsel/attorney. The following are grounds for an appeal:
- The conduct process was not in accord with the rules and regulations governing the College’s conduct process, and this deprivation materially affected the decision or
- The finding(s) of the violation(s) is contradicted by new evidence that was not available at the time of the conduct meeting.
On appeal, sanctions can be increased or decreased. If an appeal is heard, the following actions may be taken:
- Possible modification of the sanction, including increasing the penalty.
- Ordering a reconsideration by the original conduct officer or designee based on:
- Alleged new evidence – only if the new evidence is of such a nature as to be reasonably likely to change the outcome of the original investigation and was unavailable at the time of the original investigation.
- Alleged defect in procedure – only if the defect in the original investigation is sufficiently substantial to be reasonably likely to change the outcome.
- Ordering dismissal of the case where false evidence was presented.