Student Handbook and Code of Conduct 2022-2023

Academic Dishonesty – The term “academic dishonesty” includes, but is not limited to: (1) use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; (2) dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; or (3) the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the College faculty or staff (See College Catalog for additional information).

Advisor – The complainant and the respondent will be entitled to the assistance of an advisor of his or her choice, who is both eligible and available. The advisor may be present for all phases of the process to provide support, counsel, and advice regarding a conduct process. The advisor is not a representative of any party or the College and may not present evidence in the proceedings. In any hearing in which the respondent is a group, the group will be permitted to have only one advisor and must agree among themselves on who the advisor will be.

All-College Student Conduct Board – The term “All-College Student Conduct Board” means persons authorized by the Coordinator of Student Conduct or the Chief Student Affairs Officer to conduct hearings in order to determine whether a student(s) or student group(s) has violated the Student Code of Conduct and to impose sanctions.

Appeals Process – The term “appeals process” refers to a student’s action to appeal the sanction(s) upon the receipt of the All-College Student Conduct Board’s or the Coordinator of Student Conduct’s decision. The respondent student will have five (5) business days to appeal the decision, in writing, to the Chief Student Affairs Officer. Lacking such appeal, the decision is final. Upon receipt of a written appeal, the Chief Student Affairs Officer normally will respond to the student within five (5) working days, indicating his or her decision regarding the appeal.

Chief Student Affairs Officer – Oversees all aspects of Keystone College’s Student Conduct Program to ensure proper handling of alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct. The Associate Vice President of Student Life will make the final decision on any appeal requests, in writing, received after an All-College Student Conduct Board decision or a decision from the Coordinator of Student Conduct.

College – The term “College” means the community of students, faculty, staff, and contractors at Keystone College, as well as its sites, and premises.

College (Sponsored) Activity – The term “College (sponsored) activity” means any activity on or off campus, which is initiated, aided, funded, facilitated and/or supervised by the College.

College Official – The term “College Official” means any person employed by the College to perform assigned teaching, research, administrative, professional, or other responsibilities.

College Premises – The term “College premises” means all lands, buildings, and facilities owned, leased, or operated by the College (See On-campus).

Complainant – The term “complainant” can be any member of the Keystone College community who presents information to the Office of Student Conduct regarding student(s) or student group(s) who may have allegedly violated the Student Code of Conduct. Persons making such referrals are required to provide information pertinent to the situation and may be expected to appear as the complainant before the Coordinator of Student Conduct or the Student Conduct Hearing Board.

Complainant/Witness Statement – The term “complainant/witness statement” means a written statement, completed on the prescribed College form, by a complainant or a witness, describing the particulars of the alleged incident and detailing the impact of the alleged incident on the complainant/witness statement appended to the incident report.

Complaint – The term “complaint” means a written statement, on appropriate College- prescribed forms or media, alleging a violation of the Student Code of Conduct or other published rule applicable to students. Information submitted by other means will be reviewed and may, at the College’s discretion, be acted upon. This does not apply to Title IX violations/complaints, which must be acted upon.

Coordinator of Student Conduct – The person authorized by the Chief Student Affairs Officer to handle procedural issues of student conduct including, but not limited to, administrative meetings with students, organizing Conduct Board hearings, chairing the Conduct Board as a non-voting member and assigning sanctions for various incidents.

Faculty Member – The term “faculty member” means any person employed by the College to conduct classroom activities.

“Found in violation of” – The term “found in violation” means any student(s) who has been found to have violated the Student Code of Conduct.

Incident Report – The term “incident report” means any report of information regarding the time, date, location, persons involved, and specific details (including injuries, witnesses, responding personnel, etc.) of an alleged incident from a College office or official.

Member of the College Community – The term “member of the College community” includes, but is not limited to, any person who is a student, faculty member, staff, College official, contractor, or other person who has a continuing relationship with the campus. A person’s status in a particular situation will be determined by the Chief Student Affairs Officer .

Off-Campus – The term “off-campus” refers to any land, buildings, or facilities not owned, used, leased, or controlled by the College. Off-campus also includes the public Internet.

On-Campus – The term “on-campus” refers to all land, buildings, and facilities owned, used, or controlled by the College, including adjacent streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and property shared with other entities outside of the College.

Organization – The term “organization” means any number of persons who have complied with the formal requirements for College recognition or registration.

Plagiarism – The term “plagiarism” means submitting material that in part or whole is not entirely one’s own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials.

Policy – The term “policy” means the written rules of the College as found in the Student Code of Conduct, the College Catalog, the Student Handbook and any other College sanctioned publication.

Preponderance of Evidence – The term “preponderance of evidence” means evidence, considered as a whole, that a policy violation is more likely than not to have occurred. The standard used in hearing all conduct cases within this Student Code of Conduct is “preponderance of evidence”.

Respondent – The term “respondent” refers to the student(s) or student group(s) who have allegedly violated the Student Code of Conduct.

Sanction – The term “sanction” means the action issued by a conduct body or the Coordinator of Student Conduct as a result of a student being found to be in violation of a College rule or policy. Such action may be educational and/or punitive in nature.

Student – The term “student” means any person who has paid an acceptance fee, or registered for classes, or participated in any course or program in any school, division, or unit of Keystone College, or has otherwise interacted with the College to take instruction. Persons who are not officially enrolled for a particular term, but who have a continuing relationship with the College, may be considered students. Student status lasts until an individual graduates or permanently leaves. The term “student” also includes members of recognized student clubs and organizations.

Student Code of Conduct – The term “Student Code of Conduct” refers to all documents relevant to student behavior and the College’s student conduct procedures. The Student Code of Conduct may be amended by the Chief Student Affairs Officer with written or online notice to the College community.

Zero Tolerance – The term “zero tolerance” means that there is no discretion in bringing a formal complaint for violation of the Student Code of Conduct to the Coordinator of Student Conduct or the All-College Student Conduct Board.