Disciplinary Policy and Procedures

Through the admissions process, students entering the College of Arts & Sciences at Bethel University agree to live by all Bethel University community commitments. When a behavioral violation of any one of these commitments occurs, the procedures outlined below will be followed. The procedures may be accelerated at the discretion of the student life staff. Learn more about the Non-Disciplinary Policy.

Confrontation and Referral Procedure
Personal confrontation will occur with the appropriate student life staff member. A summary report is written and filed in the Office of Student Life.
Disciplinary Action
Disciplinary action is determined by the student life staff. Disciplinary actions include, but are not limited to:
- fines
- community service
- behavioral warning
- behavioral contract
- behavioral probation
- behavioral suspension
- educational response
- parental notification
- suspensions from co-curricular activities
- a chemical dependency assessment
- restitution/reconciliation
- withdrawal of the privilege to continue enrollment after the present term concludes
- immediate dismissal
- expulsion
Compliance
Students are expected to comply with the requests, sanctions, and expectations resulting from the disciplinary and non-disciplinary processes. Failure to comply may result in further consequences, including dismissal. In addition, failure to respond to a request for a meeting with student life staff may result in a disciplinary response up to and including dismissal from the university.
Disciplinary Standings
The following disciplinary standings will be assigned at the discretion of the designated student life staff member. A student’s specific behavior will determine the disciplinary level from which consequences are considered. The levels are not consecutive, but provide parameters to determine the seriousness of a behavior and an appropriate consequence (e.g., a behavioral violation may warrant a level III or IV response even if the student has had no prior violations). Disciplinary levels can be found below.
Notification of Parents
It is the policy of the Office of Student Life to notify parents regarding the use of alcohol or illegal drugs. If a student is placed on behavioral probation, suspended, or dismissed for other reasons, parents are likely to be notified unless unusual circumstances exist. Students are encouraged to share information regarding any disciplinary sanctions with their parents. Official notification of parents is at the discretion of the student life staff. This policy applies to all students up to 24 years of age.
Notification of Faculty
It is the policy of the Office of Student Life to notify faculty regarding the suspension of a student or other serious disciplinary actions that may impact a student’s attendance in class. Faculty will be informed of the length and specific dates of the suspension and encouraged to contact the Office of Student Life regarding questions related to the disciplinary process. Faculty may, at their discretion, determine whether or not to accommodate a student for work missed during a suspension.
Procedure for Appeal
Proper regard for the student’s rights and appropriate procedure is given to anyone involved in a disciplinary action. The student is informed, verbally or in writing, of the nature of the conduct violation in question, the disciplinary response that will be made, and the student’s right to appeal that response to the vice president for student life. The vice president will consider appeals if:

1. New information or evidence, not available or not considered in the disciplinary process earlier, suggests that the student did not commit the acts in question.
2. The disciplinary response taken by the Office of Student Life is not in keeping with the level of behavioral violation as stated in Bethel’s disciplinary policies in the College of Arts & Sciences Student Handbook.
3. Disciplinary procedures were not followed as outlined in the College of Arts & Sciences Student Handbook.

If a student chooses to exercise his or her right of appeal, he or she will submit, in writing, no later than 4:30 p.m. the day following notification of the university’s disciplinary response, a letter to the vice president for student life stating his or her desire to appeal the decision and outlining the reason for appeal. The vice president for student life may consider the appeal or elect to defer judgment to the Student Development Faculty Policy Committee. If the vice president elects to hear the appeal and then denies it, the student will be informed of his or her right to request a hearing before the Student Development Faculty Policy Committee. If the student elects to request a hearing before that committee, he or she must inform the Office of Student Life, in writing, of their desire for an appeal hearing, identifying the basis for appeal from those listed above.

If a hearing is granted by the Student Development Faculty Policy Committee, the student is given the opportunity to appear before the committee to testify, present evidence and witnesses, to rebut inferences, and to be assisted in his or her defense by a faculty advocate who will be provided, upon request, through the vice president for student life. A detailed transcript of the hearing is kept, with every assurance of privacy and confidentiality in the proceedings. The committee recommends to the provost whether to uphold, modify, or rescind the disciplinary response and notifies the student immediately and in writing of its recommendation. The provost, after reviewing all records on the case, including the committee’s recommendation, will make a final decision concerning the student’s appeal. Pending committee action and the provost’s final decision, the student may stay enrolled in classes and in on-campus housing, except for reasons relating to the student’s or the community’s safety or physical and emotional well-being as determined by the dean of students.
Student Advocates
Three or more faculty members volunteer to serve each year as student advocates. In that role they make themselves available to students involved in disciplinary processes. As student advocates, they help students understand the options available and the appeals process itself. They may help students prepare for a hearing and offer guidance and support. The student life staff encourages students who are in the midst of an appeals process to access the services of the faculty student advocates. While an appeal is in process, the student life staff is limited in the amount of communication and support they can offer to the student who is appealing a decision of their office. Information about faculty student advocates is available from the Office of Student Life.

Disciplinary Levels

Level I
Level I violations are generally first-time policy infractions or situations requiring an initial meeting with an appropriate student life staff member. Some common behaviors that would be considered in this category include, but are not limited to:

Visitation violations
Quiet Hours violations
Tobacco use
Other housing violations
Minor vandalism

Level I educational consequences are determined by a resident director and/or the student life deans after an appropriate student life staff member has met with the student implicated in the policy violation and has determined that:

The student was innocently or naively caught in a behavioral violation.
The student’s attitude evidences a positive and cooperative spirit.
The student has the maturity to monitor his or her own behavior in the future.

The student will be informed of this status through personal contact, a confrontation report, or a written letter of warning. Consequences may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Clean up or repair of affected area
Restitution for damage or loss
Letter of apology to affected person(s)
Assignments as deemed appropriate by student life staff (research paper, journal, etc.)
Written documentation of incident placed in student’s file in the Office of Student Life

Level II
Level II violations are behaviors that result in a second meeting with a student life staff member or any incident determined to be of a more serious nature. Behaviors that would be considered in this category include, but are not limited to:

Second-time violations
Cohabitation violations
Gambling
Intentional vandalism
Uncooperative behavior or attitude, disrespect for staff, or dishonesty

Level II educational consequences are determined by the student life deans after an appropriate student life staff member has met with the student implicated in the policy violation and has determined that a behavioral violation has taken place.

Consequences may include, but are not limited to:

Behavioral contract
Assignments as deemed appropriate by student life staff (research paper, journal, etc.)
Written documentation of incident placed in student’s file in the Office of Student Life
Follow-up sessions with appropriate student life staff member
Restitution for damage or loss
Parental notification if deemed necessary by student life staff

Level III
Level III violations are behaviors that result in a third meeting with a student life staff member or any incident determined to be of a nature that calls for more serious consequences. Some incidents in this category include, but are not limited to:

Any infraction that occurs in violation of an existing Behavioral Contract
Third-time violations
Possession or use of alcohol
Premarital sexual activity
Destruction of college property
Computer crimes
Gambling
Gross violations of community standards

Level III consequences are determined by the student life deans after an appropriate student life staff member has met with the student implicated in the policy violation to give the student an opportunity to be heard, and to determine whether a behavioral violation has taken place.

To remain in school, the student must:

Discontinue the violating behavior
Comply with stipulations as designated by the student life staff: counseling, support group, regular meetings with a staff member

The student will be placed on behavioral probation. Consequences may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Suspension from the campus for up to seven days
Completion of appropriate assignments as determined by student life staff
Completion of an alcohol assessment
Completion of an alcohol educational program
Written documentation of incident placed in student’s file in the Office of Student Life
Restitution for damage or loss
Follow-up sessions with appropriate student life staff member
Coach/advisor notification as determined by student life staff
Parental notification as determined by student life staff
Suspension/resignation from participation in campus activities such as athletics, choir, gospel teams, or campus ministries groups as determined by the supervisor/advisor
Suspension/resignation from participation in student leadership position(s) as determined by the supervisor/advisor
Suspension or removal from college housing

The student will be informed of this status through personal contact and/or written notification from a student life staff member, stating the length and stipulations of his or her probation. Failure to comply with stipulations given by student life staff will result in consequences consistent with Level IV behaviors, placing the student in jeopardy of suspension, dismissal from school, and/or from current or future college housing. Dismissal can be immediate or at the close of a term.

Level IV
Level IV violations are those considered to be some of the most severe infractions of college policy. Some incidents that might be considered Level IV violations include, but are not limited to:

Any violation that occurs while the individual is on behavioral probation
Hosting a party with alcohol or purchasing/supplying alcohol for other Bethel students
Providing alcohol to a minor
Repeated or extensive alcohol use
Possession, use, or distribution of illegal drugs
Possession of weapons on campus
Violations of security and safety standards
Harassment
Hazing
Physical abuse
Violent acts or threats toward individuals or the community
Sexual assault
Criminal activity

Level IV consequences may include suspension for up to 14 days, dismissal or expulsion from the university, and any other sanction determined by the appropriate student life staff.

Level V
Level V violations (e.g., selling of illegal drugs) are behaviors that cannot be tolerated within the community and are likely to result in immediate dismissal or expulsion from school.