What is the process like?

Citizenship Education Hearings are not like what you see on Law and Order.  The meetings are informal-no need to dress up or bring a lawyer.  For first time offenses, you will likely meet with the Community Director of your Residence Hall (if you live on campus) to discuss your incident.  If you've been through the process before, you might meet with the CD or a Citizenship Education Hearing Board, which is a group of 3-5 trained individuals who represent the faculty, staff and student bodies.

How is it different from the court system?

Will my parents find out?

Typically, we notify parents of underage students (under the age of 21) for a second time alcohol incident or a first time drug-related incident.  Under normal circumstances, parents of students over the age of 21 are not notified.

Notification takes place by certified mail, and you will likely be given the opportunity to see the letter before it is sent.  We strongly encourage you to discuss your incident with your parent(s) or guardian(s) before they receive this letter.

For more specific information, please see the official Parent Notification Policy.

What will happen to me?

Each situation is different, and sanctions can vary from student to student.  For more information on the types of sanctions that are possible, please click here.

Will I be told ahead of time if there's a chance I could be suspended or expelled?

If the Citizenship Education Coordinator feels that your offense may warrant suspension or expulsion, she will alert you to this prior to your Citizenship Education Hearing.

How do I prepare for the Citizenship Education judicial meeting?

Make sure that you know the date, time, and location of your hearing.  This information will usually be relayed to you verbally-via phone or in person-as well as in writing-in either your campus mailbox or through your campus email address.

Will I get the same sanctions as someone who broke the same policy?

Not necessarily.  Because all individual situations are unique, we may give different sanctions for different students.  Some sanctions will almost always remain the same case to case (as mandated by the University and state systems) but others may change slightly due to your individual situation.

What are some options of sanctions that I could receive?

Please review the Citizenship Education Process page and click on section (V) - Citizenship Education Process.  The sanctions are listed there.

What are my rights?

How do I appeal?

Appeals need to be made in writing to the Dean of Students within 5 school days of the Citizenship Education Hearing decision.  For more information on appealing, please review the Citizenship Education Process page and click on the Appeals section.