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Clark University
Office of
Community Standards

 

Upon receiving a referral of a case for resolution, the OCS, under the right of the Dean of Students, will determine that the matter be referred to an Initial Meeting, Administrative Hearing, Peer Conduct Board, Restorative Practice Meeting, or University Conduct Board, depending on the severity of the case. OCS will notify all involved students to schedule a meeting.

A complaint that involves a possible violation of the Code of Student Conduct will be handled by the Office of Community Standard (OCS) as part of the Dean of Students, except in sexual misconduct cases which will be referred to the deputy Title IX officer. The University reserves the right to refer students to civil or criminal authorities for action rather than resolve the case through the University conduct system. A member of the OCS who receives the report will determine if conduct action is warranted based on a review of all information provided by the complainant. If conduct action is justified, the case will be handled by either the associate dean of students, graduate student, Hearing Officer, or a Board – as outlined below.

After receiving the report, the OCS staff will determine if the report will be processed via a Conduct Meeting or Preliminary Meeting.

According to the Student Conduct Process, Students have two (2) rights:

  1. A right to know in advance what they are being charged with
  2. A time and a place to speak about what happened

Whichever meeting type they are referred to, the student (respondent) alleged to have violated the policy will receive an email letting them know that they need to meet with a staff member. The meeting will be scheduled when students have no classes (Reminder, OCS only has access to student courses and no other responsibilities).

This notification letter will contain the following information:

  • The date and time of the alleged incident
  • The charges being brought against the student
  • The date and time for the meeting
  • Contact information for the meeting officer

The meeting officers are trained professional and graduate student level staff. Currently, the Community Directors in Residential Life & Housing, the Assistant Director of Residential Life & Housing for Residential Education, the Director of Residential Life & Housing, and OCS staff serve as meeting officers.

Due to confidentiality, OCS will not share any incident report physically or electronically with any student. However, all students have the right to read the incident report before their meeting. Please email Office Community Standards at community-standards@clarku.edu to schedule a time to come read your report.

Initial Meeting

During an Initial Meeting, while each meeting officer has their own style, students can expect the following:

  1. Reading the incident report
  2. Ask for the student(s)’ perspective on what happened
  3. Review the charges and why these policies are in place
  4. Ask the student if they accept responsibility for the violation of aforementioned charges
  5. Review potential sanctions
  6. Review the Conduct Review (aka appeals) Process

After the Initial Meeting, the Meeting Officer will evaluate the information gathered via the report and the conduct meeting to determine if the student is responsible to alleged violations. Using the “preponderance of the evidence” criteria, which simply means to prove that something is more likely than not, if the student is found responsible for the allegations, the staff member may, when appropriate, impose appropriate sanction(s). This decision will be emailed to the student. Students may appeal the decision- for further information please see the Conduct Review Process page.

Preliminary Meeting

Preliminary meetings are set up to let a student know where their case is being referred to be heard. Referral options are the Peer Conduct Board- Restorative Practice Meeting, University Conduct Board-Administrative Hearing, Modified University Conduct Board, or Full University Conduct Board.

The reason cases are referred to these meeting/hearing/board is

  • If the severity of the alleged violation and/or the student’s prior conduct history requires a board/hearing/meeting
  • If, during a Conduct Process Review, it is determined by the appeals officer that the case should be reheard via a board/hearing/meeting
  • Due to confidentiality, OCS will not share any incident report physically or electronically with any student. However, all students have the right to read the incident report before their meeting. Please email Office Community Standards at community-standards@clarku.edu to schedule a time to come read your report.

Each preliminary meeting will include the following:

  1. Reading the incident report
  2. Review the charges and why these policies are in place
  3.  Let the student know which process the case is being referred to
  4. Information about the structure of the meeting/hearing/board
  5. The date, time, and location for the meeting/hearing/board
  6. Review the Conduct Review (aka appeals) Process

To learn more about the types of process referrals are made to-  click here: Lower Level and Higher Level Case Referrals