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Student Disciplinary Procedures

Application of Law; Double Punishment

The laws of the United States; the laws of Virginia; the ordinances of the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach; and Virginia Community College System regulations are fully applicable on all TCC the campuses. These laws and regulations were not written by the college and cannot be altered or suspended by college officials.

A single act may simultaneously violate a federal law, a state law, a county ordinance, a city ordinance, and a college regulation. Judgment and punishment by one governmental agency for a violation of its laws and a second judgment and punishment by a different governmental agency for a violation of its laws, even though based on the same act, do not constitute double jeopardy.

Application of College Regulations

Tidewater Community College, in common with other educational institutions, has for its orderly and effective conduct, special regulations in addition to the laws of the land. Developed by the college and approved by the Tidewater Community College Board and Student Government Association, these regulations supplement, but do not supersede, higher laws and regulations. Regulations in addition to those published in this Handbook may originate with the Student Government Association, the faculty, and/or the administration.

Concurrent Criminal Prosecution and College Discipline

The policy of the college in cases of violation of federal, state, county, or city laws is to state the facts to the appropriate, duly constituted authorities and to press neither for, nor interfere with, investigation, trial and punishment. Separate action by the college for violation of college rules will be conducted without reference to the action of other authorities.

Interim Removal from Class, Laboratory, or Instructional Facility

A faculty member or appropriate staff/administrative personnel may temporarily bar a student from attending class or using an instructional facility, where conduct may violate college conduct rules. Immediate referral of the student to the Dean of Student Life and Conduct shall occur.

Interim Suspension: Clear and Present Danger

When a student’s conduct poses a clear, present, and immediate threat of harm to self, others, or to college property, the college reserves the right to effect an interim suspension of the student. The college will move forward with the conduct process on the matter within a reasonable period of time.
 

CONDUCT RECORDS/ TRANSCRIPT NOTATIONS/HOLDS

Conduct Records 

Students may request their conduct records by reaching out via email to the Coordinator of Student Conduct and requesting such. Within five business days, excluding weekends and holidays, the student or alumni requesting their record will be contacted. 

Holds

A conduct hold may be placed on a student account for the below outlined reasons. A conduct hold prevents a student from accessing their official transcript and from registering for classes at TCC. 

  • Suspension – If a student is suspended from TCC, a hold will be placed on their account until the end of the suspension period and/or assigned outcomes are complete. When a student is suspended and wishes to register for classes occurring after their suspension period, they may reach out to the Coordinator for Student Conduct to request a temporary hold lift for the purposes of registering for classes that will occur after their suspension period has ended. 
  • Dismissal – If a student is dismissed from TCC, a hold will be placed on their account indefinitely. 
  • Overdue Outcome – If a student does not complete an assigned case outcome by the provided date listed in their decision letter, a hold may be placed on their account until the outcome is completed. 
  • Involvement in a conduct case – If a student is involved in a conduct case as an alleged student and is not responsive to meet for the conduct meeting, a hold may be placed on the student’s account until they respond to the Coordinator of Student Conduct. 

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

Students may request a reasonable accommodation to participate in the Student Conduct Process by requesting such from Student Conduct. Student Conduct will work with the Office of Educational Accessibility to determine what accommodations will be provided. 

A student who cannot effectively communicate in the English language may seek a reasonable accommodation from the Dean of Student Life and Conduct to allow an advisor or interpreter to present or translate the proceedings.

MINORS

In the best professional judgment of the Coordinator of Student Conduct the parent or guardian of a minor may be informed of any conduct process the student may be involved with, consistent with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

GLOSSARY OF TERMS 

Advisor – Any one person designated by the alleged student to support them through the conduct process. This person can include, but is not limited to a parent, friend, TCC faculty or staff member, or attorney. 

Alleged – A student who has been accused of violating the TCC Code. 

Appeal – If a student is found responsible for violating the TCC Code they may request an appeal, meaning the case will be reviewed with the opportunity of a different outcome possible. 

Charge – Listed in the Notice of Incident, these are the alleged TCC code violations and what the alleged student will respond to during the conduct meeting and be found responsible or not responsible for. 

Conduct Committee – This is a group composed of one faculty member, one student member, and one staff member who are trained in the conduct process. The Conduct Committee can be convened by the Dean of Student Life and Conduct or designee to hear a requested appeal.

Decision Letter – A letter sent to the alleged student stating whether they have been found responsible or not responsible for alleged TCC Code violations. This letter is sent to a student’s TCC email account.

Disciplinary Probation – Assigned for a specific period of time, this status outcome is assigned for minor to moderate TCC Code violations and may bar a student from participating in certain college activities. This becomes part of a student’s conduct record.

Dismissal – This outcome is a permanent separation of student from the college and is assigned to the most serious conduct cases. Dismissal becomes a part of a student’s conduct record.

Due Process – A promise for a fair conduct process where all conduct procedures outlined by TCC are followed and student rights are respected. Due process rights can be found outlined in the TCC Code. 

Evidence – Available information about a conduct case that is used to determine a case outcome. 

Notice of Incident – Official letter sent to a student who is alleged to have violated the TCC Code. This letter is sent to a student’s TCC email account. 

Official Warning – This is the lowest status outcome for minor TCC Code violations. Official warnings become part of a student’s conduct record.  

Outcome – If a student is found responsible for violating the TCC Code, outcomes are the disciplinary actions assigned to the case and outlined in the decision letter. Any outcome assigned applies to TCC as a whole college and is not campus specific, unless stated in the decision letter. 

Preponderance of the Evidence – The evidentiary standard used to determine if a violation of the TCC Code was violated or not. This standard means “more likely than not”. 

Student – Someone who is currently enrolled at TCC, meaning they are registered for classes. 

Summary Letter – A letter sent to the alleged student after the conduct meeting has occurred, summarizing key points from the meeting. This letter is sent to a student’s TCC email account.

Suspension – This outcome means a student is not permitted to take classes at TCC for a specific period of time. Suspension is assigned to serious conduct cases. Suspension becomes a part of a student’s conduct record. 

Witness – Any person(s) who directly witnessed the incident the conduct case is about or had direct involvement in the incident.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

1. Incident Report is Submitted  
Reports of incidents can be submitted either via email to the Dean or Student Life, Coordinator for Student Conduct, or submitted via the Incident Reporting Form. Any member of the college community may submit a report including faculty, staff, students, and community members. 

2. Review of the Report 
Once a report is received, the Dean of Student Life and Conduct or Coordinator for Student Conduct will review the report. If the report provides reasonable information that TCC Code expectations were violated, a Notice of Incident will be sent to the alleged student, or students, if more than one person is involved. 

If no code violations are present, the person who submitted the report may be contacted to direct them to applicable processes or to talk through an informal resolution process. If more information is needed to determine if the code was violated, the person who submitted the report, or other applicable parties, may be contacted. 

3. Notice of Incident 
If a possible code violation is present in the report, or after gathering more information, the alleged student will be sent a Notice of Incident letter via their TCC email account. The letter will state the possible code violations, and the next steps to move forward with the conduct process. 

4. Investigation 

As part of the investigation of the case, the Dean of Student Life and Conduct, Coordinator of Student Conduct, or designee, will meet with the alleged student for a conduct meeting. The conduct meeting is the alleged student’s opportunity to share their perspective on the incident and provide any relevant evidence. The alleged student may choose not to speak in the conduct meeting, but they must participate in the conduct process or an additional charge of Failure to Comply may be assigned to the student. After the conduct meeting, the staff member who met with the student will send the key points from the meeting to the alleged student to their TCC email account. 

If a student does not respond to their Notice of Incident, the case could be heard in absentia, meaning without the student, or a hold may be placed on the student’s account. If a case is heard in absentia or the student chooses not to speak during the conduct meeting, a decision will be made based on the available information and without the alleged student’s perspective. 

If the case involves witnesses, the Dean or Student Life, Coordinator for Student Conduct, or designee, will meet with witnesses either before or after meeting with the alleged student, based on the availability of parties. This helps provide a timely case resolution for the alleged student. Witnesses may elect to submit statements rather than meet.

Any other relevant case details or evidence will be reviewed as part of the investigation. This could include, but is not limited to, video footage and submitted messages or other forms of written communication. 

5. Case Decision 

After completing the investigation, the Dean of Student Life and Conduct or Coordinator of Student Conduct, or designee, will make a case decision based on available evidence and case information. The alleged student will be sent a case decision letter to their TCC email account. The decision letter will outline if the student has been found responsible for any charges outlined in their Notice of Incident letter, or if the student has been found not responsible. 

If the student has been found responsible, the decision letter will outline any outcomes assigned to the case. Outcomes can include status levels such as Official Warning, Disciplinary Probation, Suspension, or Dismissal. Outcomes can also be educational and include, but are not limited to, reflection exercise, restitution (repayment of damages), attending a workshop, or participation in an online module. The decision letter will become part of the student’s conduct record. If the student is found not responsible, no outcomes shall apply and no further action is needed by the student. Depending on the case type, the person who submitted the incident report, or other necessary parties may be notified of the case outcome where appropriate.

6. Appeals

Appeal to the Dean of Student Life and Conduct 

The student has the right to appeal the case decision to the Dean of Student Life and Conduct, or designee, within five business days from the date the decision letter was sent to the student’s TCC email account. To request an appeal, the student must email the Dean or Student Life and Conduct or the Coordinator of Student Conduct requesting an appeal. The Dean of Student Life and Conduct or designee may decide to 1) hear the appeal, or 2) refer the appeal to a Conduct Committee. 

Once a student has formally requested an appeal, outcomes listed in their original decision letter will be dropped as a new decision will determined. Any restrictions may remain in place at the discretion of the Dean of Student Life and Conduct or designee. The appeal decision outcomes can be heightened, lowered, or remain the same as the original case decision. If the student is found responsible, the appeal case decision will become part of the student’s conduct record. If the student is found not responsible, no outcomes shall apply and no further steps are needed from the student. Depending on the case type, the person who submitted the incident report, or other necessary parties may be notified of the case outcome where appropriate.

Dean hears the appeal 

If the Dean or designee decides to hear the appeal, the Dean or designee will review all relevant case information and may request to meet with the alleged student. Once the Dean or designeedecides to hear the case, the alleged student will be notified of this. The Dean or designee will complete their investigation within 10 business days from when they have decided and notified the student they will be hearing the case and will provide the student with a decision letter of their determination.

Conduct Committee hears the appeal 

If the Dean or designee decides to refer the appeal to a Conduct Committee, The Conduct Committee will be charged with hearing the appeal and making a case decision recommendation to the Dean of Student Life and Conduct or designee. The Dean of Student Life and Conduct or designee will consider the recommendation and issue a decision letter to the alleged student.

The Conduct Committee is composed of one staff member, one student, and one faculty member. The staff, student, and faculty member can reside on any of the four campuses. The student member must be currently enrolled in one or more classes at TCC at the time of the Conduct Committee referral. Members of the Conduct Committee will be selected by the Dean of Student Life and Conduct, Coordinator or Student Conduct, or designee, and will be trained. 

The Coordinator of Student Conduct or designee will serve as the committee facilitator but will have a non-voting role in rendering an outcome for the case. The Conduct Committee with review all relevant case information and may request to meet with the alleged student. The committee will complete their investigation within 5 business days from when the committee was convened and within 7 business days from the convening of the committee, the committee will send a case decision recommendation to the Dean of Student Life and Conduct or designee. The committee will make their decision based on a 2/3 vote of committee members. The Dean or designee will review the recommendation and will make a case decision, which will be sent via email to the alleged student within 10 business days of the committee convening.

Convening of the Conduct Committee occurs when the Coordinator of Student Conduct or designee confirms who will serve on the Conduct Committee with each committee member. Once the committee is confirmed, the Coordinator of Student Conduct or designee will email the alleged student of who the Conduct Committee members are. If the alleged student believes a committee member is unfit to serve, the alleged student may email the Coordinator of Student Conduct within 24 hours of the receiving the names of committee members to request a new member of the committee and must demonstrate via written form, why the committee member is unfit to serve on the committee. 

Appeal to Vice President

The student has a final appeal opportunity and may appeal the case decision made by either the Dean of Student Life and Conduct or the Conduct Committee to the Vice President for Student Affairs for conduct cases or to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for academic integrity cases. Grounds to appeal to a Vice President must meet one or more of the outlined criteria and must be demonstrated by the student requesting the appeal in writing. 

  1. Due process/procedural error, meaning an opportunity for the alleged student to share their perspective was not available or the TCC conduct process as outlined was not followed. 
  2. New information is now available that was reasonably not available at the time of the original investigation or during the appeal process. This new information must be so substantial that if known, could have changed the outcome of the case. 
  3. Fundamental unfairness, meaning the case outcome is disproportionate to the Code violation(s). Disagreement on the case outcome does not constitute fundamental unfairness. 

The appeal must be received via email to the Coordinator of Student Conduct within 5 business days from the decision letter from the Dean sent to the student’s TCC email account. The decision from the Vice President is final. 

Once a student has formally requested to appeal the decision sent to the student by the Dean, outcomes listed in their appeal decision letter from the Dean will be dropped as a new decision will determined. Any restrictions may remain in place at the discretion of Dean of Student Life and Conduct or designee. The Vice President will send the final appeal decision letter to the student via email within 10 business days from the appeal request. The appeal decision outcomes can be heightened, lowered, or remain the same from the original appeal decision. If the student is found responsible, the case decision will become part of the student’s conduct record. If the student is found not responsible, no outcomes shall apply and no further steps are needed from the student. Depending on the case type, the person who submitted the incident report, or other necessary parties may be notified of the case outcome where appropriate.