Student conduct process overview

• A community staff member (usually an Community Assistant,  Campus Living Community Coordinator or Graduate Campus Living Community Coordinator) gathers information about the incident that happened and writes a report about it
• Any students who were present or potentially involved in the incident are included in the report

• A professional staff member reviews the report and requests any additional information needed
• The staff member also adds to the report any possible policy violations that may apply to the incident

• A student may receive a letter of warning if the situation of concern was relatively minor and does not require active follow-up (for example, a first-time noise policy violation)
• The warning letter means that if a second incident occurs, the student will need to have a conduct hearing and more structured follow-up steps may be assigned
• The student can request to have a conduct hearing if they receive a letter of warning, but are not required to do so

• Campus Living staff occasionally write informational reports about facilities issues or student concerns
• These informational reports may be referred to later if an issue continues, but do not require any follow-up action at the time

• A student may have a conduct hearing scheduled with the Office of the Dean of Students if:
  • The student is an NAU student, but not a resident in a campus living community
  • The incident was severe and may result in suspension or expulsion from NAU
• For more information about the Office of the Dean of Students conduct process please visit the student life rights and responsibilities page.

• The student is a resident in a campus living community and will meet with a Campus Living staff member to discuss the issue.
• The student will receive an email with information about the date/time of the conduct hearing, as well as a list of the possible policy violations
  

• After a conduct hearing, the Campus Living staff member may decide that the student did not violate any policies
• The student will receive an email letter containing this information and will not need to take any further action

• After a conduct hearing, the Campus Living staff member may decide that the student did violate a policy or policies
• A student found responsible for a policy violation will be assigned sanctions
  • A sanction may relate to the student’s status as a resident in a campus living community or as a student at NAU
  • A sanction may require follow-up action on the part of the student
• For more information about possible sanctions, refer to: Sanctions

• A student who is assigned sanctions will also be assigned a deadline to complete any sanctions that require action
• If all sanctions are completed by the assigned deadline, the conduct process is finished and no further action is needed
• Students with questions or concerns about completing a sanction should be in touch with the Campus Living staff member from their hearing in a timely manner

• A student who does not complete a sanction may need to attend another conduct meeting or may be assigned additional sanctions
• A student who does not complete sanctions related to alcohol or drug policy violations, may have a hold placed on their student account until the sanction is completed

A resident has the right to appeal a housing conduct decision resulting in contract termination. All appeals of Campus Living decisions are made online. To appeal, the resident selects the “Appeals Link” in their official sanctions letter. The resident has 48 hours (2 business days) from the notice of sanction to appeal. The online appeal must specify in detail the grounds on which the appeal is based. The grounds are outlined in this section. This is the only opportunity for appeal.

In the event that any technical problems prevent online appeal submission, the resident is responsible for submitting a written appeal to Campus Living within in that 48-hour (2 business days) window for an appeal. The resident can bring a hard copy of their appeal statement to North Hall or email the appeal statement to campus.living@nau.edu in the event of technical difficulty.

After submitting an appeal, the resident will be contacted to arrange an appeals meeting with a member of the Campus Living senior staff. The resident may present documents and to bring witnesses to present statements to the person hearing the appeal. The proceedings are designed to be informal in nature, and no formal rules of evidence or procedure shall apply.

• When a student appeals a sanction of contract termination/eviction, they will have the opportunity to meet with a Campus Living senior staff member to discuss the appeal
• There are three possible outcomes from the appeals process:
  • The Campus Living senior staff member may decide to uphold the original decision and sanction, which means the student is still evicted from housing
  • The Campus Living senior staff member may decide to uphold the original decision and add additional sanctions
  • The Campus Living senior staff member may decide to overturn the original decision and sanction, which means the student is not evicted from housing and may continue to live on campus

The written decision will include the following:

1. The decision as to whether or not the resident was found responsible for any violation
2. Statement of the policies the resident was found to have violated
3. Any sanctions (follow-up steps) assigned to the resident

This decision is final, unless the resident has been evicted; in the case of eviction (or contract termination), the resident has the right to one (1) appeal.

A decision or judgment may be appealed on the following grounds:

1. To determine whether the original hearing was conducted according to the procedures described in the Student Code of Conduct and Standards of Residence (and summarized in the “Student Rights and Responsibilities” section on this page).
2. To examine new information that was not known or available at the time of the original hearing sufficient to alter the original decision.
3. To determine whether the decision was based on a preponderance of evidence (or “more likely than not”) standard; that is, whether the information presented was sufficient to establish that a violation of the Student Code of Conduct occurred.
4. To determine whether the sanction(s) imposed were appropriate to the respondent’s present violation(s) of the Student Code of Conduct and to any previous student conduct history.