Last updated: April 1, 2005 @ 09:39AM

Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures in Non-Academic Matters

I.  Definitions
1.  The term "University" means Brock University.
2.  The term "student" includes all persons taking one or more courses at the University, both full-time and part-time, pursuing intensive English language program, undergraduate, graduate or professional studies.
3.  The term "University official" means any person employed by the University or by the Students' Union performing assigned administrative or professional duties.
4.  The term "member of the University community" includes any person who is a student, faculty member, staff member, University official or any person employed by the University.
5.  The term "University premises" includes all land, buildings, facilities, roadways, and other property in the possession of or owned, used, or controlled by the University.
6.  The term "Discipline Panel" includes any person or persons authorized by the Associate Vice-President, Student Services to determine whether a student has violated the Code of Student Conduct and to impose sanctions.
7.  The position of Student Conduct and Activities Officer is a University official authorized by the Associate Vice-President, Student Services to determine whether a student has violated the Code of Student Conduct and to impose sanctions. The Associate Vice-President, Student Services may authorize the Discipline Officer to serve simultaneously as the Discipline Officer and as the sole member, or one of the members of the Discipline Panel.
8.  The term "shall" is used in the imperative sense.
9.  The term "may" is used in the permissive sense.
10.  The term "Associate Vice-President, Student Services" is that person designated by the University President to be responsible for the administration of the Code of Student Conduct.
11.  The term "policy" is defined as the written regulations of the University as found in, but not limited to, the Code of Student Conduct, Residence Handbook and Graduate/Undergraduate calendars.

II.  University Jurisdiction

Brock endeavours to provide a working and learning environment of the highest quality, supportive of scholarship and research and free from stereotyping, harassment and discrimination. We believe that the members of the University community must lead the way toward becoming a humane and just society - where interpersonal interactions are based on honesty and integrity, where race, ancestry, place of origin, citizenship, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or disability make no difference, where respect for individual worth prevails, and where violence is not tolerated in any form. This Code of Conduct and statement of disciplinary procedures seek[s] to support the above principles by outlining student responsibilities, rights and privileges; by detailing specific behaviours that are unacceptable, and by describing the disciplinary procedures for dealing with infractions of the Code. Brock University is a community that exercises jurisdiction and authority on campus as far as it is necessary to ensure the safe and orderly operation of the University.

III.  Student Responsibilities, Rights and Privileges

Students may think, speak, write, create, study, learn, pursue social, cultural and other interests and associate together for these purposes subject to the principles of mutual respect for the dignity, worth and rights of others as outlined by the Ontario Human Rights Code. All members of the University community, as members of society at large, are responsible to abide by federal, provincial and municipal laws in addition to University regulations. Every student has the right to a hearing by an impartial tribunal of any disciplinary charges brought against him or her under University regulations. Every student who is charged with a disciplinary offense has a right to present a defense. In particular, every student has a right:
·   to be promptly informed in writing of the nature of the charge;
·   to refuse to answer incriminating questions;
·   to present and examine witnesses, and to cross-examine witnesses present who testify against him or her;
·   to be accompanied by an adviser and/or support person from the Brock community as outlined in the relevant panel's policies and procedures.
The University upholds and will take reasonable steps to ensure students of the following privileges:
1.  Participation in University and Student Government
  Students may participate in formulation and application of institutional policy affecting academic, extra-curricular and student union affairs.
2.  Freedom of Discussion
  Traditional privileges of a university of freedom of inquiry and freedom of expression can be assured only if all members of the community share the responsibility of granting these freedoms to others and accept the obligation for a standard of behaviour which respects the rights of others.
3.  Assembly
  Peaceful assemblies, demonstrations and lawful picketing are allowed within established laws to the extent that they do not interfere with the rights and privileges of others or with the normal functions of the University.
4.  Fairness
  Consistency and fairness are ensured by the procedures outlined in sections IV, V, VI and VII below.
5.  Confidentiality
  Confidentiality of University records relating to each student is protected. For further details refer to the following published statements: Student Record Policy (Office of the Registrar), Confidentiality in Counseling, Confidentiality and Security of Library Records.
6.  Safety
  The University is committed to promoting safe conditions of living, learning and studying.
7.  Access to Facilities and Services
  Access to buildings and facilities is governed by regulations which are necessary for the safety and security of students. The University accepts the obligation to provide adequate access to persons with physical disabilities.
8.  Access to Licensed Facilities and Events
  Access to campus events where alcohol is served is subject to restrictions for persons under 19 years of age. Students who are of age must make responsible choices regarding the use of alcohol in order to maintain their privilege to attend such events.

IV.  Non-Academic Misconduct

Recognizing that an exhaustive list of all possible misconduct cannot be provided, the following list is offered as a guide. Any of the following activities constitutes an offense under the Code and is subject to disciplinary procedures and sanctions outlined in sections V and VI below. Furthermore, the activity may be subject to criminal prosecution notwithstanding and in addition to this Code.
1.  Disruptions
  No student shall:
·   by action, words, written material, or by any other means, obstruct University activities or services. University activities and services include but are not limited to teaching, research, studying, student events, administration, meetings and public service.
2.  Verbal/Physical Abuses, Threatening Behaviour and Dangerous Activity
  No student shall:
·   verbally threaten any member of the University community;
·   physically abuse, threaten or cause any other member of the university community to fear physical abuse;
·   create a condition which endangers or threatens the health or safety of themselves or others.
3.  Inciting Violence
  No student shall:
·   on University property, individually or with a group and in connection with a demonstration including picketing or a rally;
·   use words which threaten violence or physical abuse to any group or individual;
·   use words in a situation of clear and imminent danger which incite others to behaviour which violates any article of this Section.
4.  Harassment
  No student shall:
·   harass another person. Harassment is defined as any unwanted behaviour (physical, verbal, written or otherwise) directed at an individual or group by another individual or group who know(s) or ought reasonably to know that this behaviour is unwanted (see also the University Policy on Harassment and Discrimination).
5.  Unauthorized Entry and/or Presence
  No student shall:
·   enter or remain in any University facility, room or office without proper authority. Facilities include but are not limited to the following: the Student Centre, parking lots, athletic fields, campus buildings, campus areas, off-campus residences and teaching sites. Campus Security may charge students who violate this provision with trespass under the Trespass to Property Act.
6.  Damage and Destruction of Property
  No student shall:
·   misappropriate, destroy or otherwise damage University property;
·   misappropriate, destroy or otherwise damage any property not the person's own on University property;
·   deface the inside or outside of any building or property of the University;
·   possess food or drink in any of Brock's performance spaces
7.  Unauthorized Use of Facilities, Equipment, Materials or Services
  No student shall:
·   use any facility, equipment, material or service contrary to express instruction or without proper authority;
·   obtain any University equipment, material or service by fraudulent means or by providing false information.
8.  Misuse of University Supplies or Documents
  No student shall:
·   without proper authority, make, alter, use, receive or possess University supplies or documents. University supplies and documents include but are not limited to equipment, keys, records and permits.
9.  Misuse of Library or Computer Resources
  No student shall:
·   remove books or other library material from the university libraries without proper authorization;
·   mutilate or deface library books or material;
·   purposefully misplace library books or material or in any way deprive others of access to library resources;
·   abuse any University computer or computer related facility or software, alter or remove computer files or software without proper authorization, purposefully misplace them, or deprive others of access to computer resources;
·   use computer equipment on campus to download, distribute or send sexually explicit materials.
10.  Identification
  No student shall:
·   refuse to identify himself or herself upon request by University officials acting in the course of their duties.
·   be in possession, or distribute false Identification or altered identification.
11.  Aiding and Abetting
  No student shall:
·   aid or abet another person in the commission of any infraction of the Code. Students who assist in misconduct will be equally liable.
12.  False Charges
  No student shall:
·   knowingly bring a false charge against any member of the University community.
13.  Misconduct Related to the Use of Alcohol/Drugs
  No student shall:
·   be intoxicated on University premises;
·   be in possession of or consume alcoholic beverages at an event on University premises designated as a "dry" event;
·   be in possession of, furnish to anyone, consume, or be in the company of those who are consuming or furnishing illegal drugs;
·   be in possession of, or consume alcoholic beverages, except when properly in attendance at a campus pub or event
·   be in possession or consume alcohol anywhere on University premises if under the age of 19 years;
·   be in the company of anyone under the age of 19 who is found to be either in possession or consuming alcohol
·   furnish alcoholic beverages to any person under the age of 19;
·   invite, sign in, or admit as his/her guest a non-student of Brock except as s/he assumes full responsibility for the guest's behaviour as it relates to the Code of Student Conduct.
·   violate the University alcohol policy
·   Note: Intoxication is never grounds for leniency. Rather, excessive drinking and/or use of drugs is subject to sanctioning, notwithstanding and in addition to sanctions imposed for misconduct associated with drinking.
14.  Hazing
  No student shall:
·   engage in hazing which is defined as an act which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student, for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in, a group or organization.
15.  Theft, Illegal or Unauthorized Possession
  No student shall:
·   possess University property or the property of any member of the University community without the permission of the rightful owner;
·   use, possess, or distribute alcoholic beverages except as expressly permitted by law and by the University regulations;
·   possess illegally or without authorization firearms, explosives, other weapons or dangerous chemicals on University premises.
16.  Parking
  No student shall:
·   sell, transfer, or acquire a parking pass without the consent of Parking Services
·   alter a parking pass from its original state or be in possession of an altered parking pass
·   make and/or distribute false parking passes
17.  Failure to comply
  No student shall:
·   fail to comply with directions of University Officials, Campus Security, or other law enforcement officers acting in performance of their duties;
·   fail to comply with published University policies, rules or regulations.
18.  Abuse of the Disciplinary System
  No student shall:
·   falsify, distort, or otherwise misrepresent information before the Discipline Panel;
·   disrupt or interfere with the orderly conduct of the disciplinary hearing;
·   knowingly falsify an incident report on another student;
·   attempt to discourage an individual's proper participation in, or use of the disciplinary system;
·   attempt to influence the impartiality of a member of the Discipline Panel prior to, and/or during the disciplinary proceeding;
·   harass (verbally or physically) and/or intimidate a member of a Discipline Panel prior to, during, and/or after a disciplinary proceeding;
·   influence or attempt to influence another person to commit an abuse of the discipline system.

V.  Non-Academic Misconduct Sanctions
1.  Temporary Suspension and Trespass Sanctions
  The University reserves the right to intervene in disciplinary situations where student[s'] behaviour affects others' use and enjoyment of University privileges and facilities. Pending convening of a Discipline Panel hearing, the Associate Vice-President, Student Services or the Vice-President, Academic may apply a temporary university-wide trespass/suspension sanction and the Director of Residence Services may apply a temporary residence trespass sanction, in the appropriate circumstances. These circumstances include those where they determine there are reasonable grounds to believe that the safety of other people is endangered, that there is a high potential of physical danger posed by the student's continued presence, that damage to University property is likely, or that the continued presence of the student would be disruptive. Upon imposition of such temporary sanction, the student will be excluded from residence or campus effective immediately, for as long as reasonably required by the nature of the danger. A formal discipline hearing will normally be held within 10 working days of notice to the student of this decision, during which time the student may only enter the residence and/or campus under escort where he or she has received proper notice of a meeting to be held regarding discipline.
2.  Criminal Offenses
  Criminal offenses committed on the University campus against persons or property and reported to Brock University Campus Security will be dealt with according to the law. When a student is involved, Campus Security will notify the Associate Vice-President, Student Services. The Associate Vice-President, Student Services will determine if the matter may be independently subject to University discipline under this Code, notwithstanding and in addition to criminal prosecution or civil actions.
3.  Residence Offense Sanctions
  Sanctions for residence offenses are defined under the Residence Agreement and Rules and Regulations of Residence.
4.  Minor Offense Sanctions
  Minor misconduct is dealt with in the area or department where it occurs. The officer of the University in whose jurisdiction an incident occurs may apply the following minor sanctions if, after hearing the student's response to the allegation, he or she is satisfied that minor misconduct occurred:
·   a period of service to the University or the Students' Union to a maximum of 3 hours (by the Chief of Campus Security or the BUSU Business Manager);
·   exclusion from a class for the class period in which the misconduct occurs (by the instructor);
·   exclusion from other University facilities for a maximum of 48 hours (by the Director of the facility);
·   exclusion from access to campus computing resources for a maximum of one week (by the Systems services Department's Systems Administrators);
·   exclusion from the Student Centre Pub and/or liquor service events for an indefinite period of time (by the BUSU Business Manager, the Student Centre Pub Manager, or the Director of Residence and Food Services);
·   payment for damages of $100 or less (by the Director of the facility, the BUSU Business Manager, or the Circulation Librarian).
5.  Other Offense Sanctions
  The University Discipline Panel may apply any one or any combination of the following sanctions:
·   a letter of reprimand;
·   a period of probation during which further incidents will be subject to automatic sanctions;
·   restitution for damages;
·   a verbal and/or written apology;
·   fines not to exceed $500;
·   removal of privileges for use of licensed facilities on campus;
·   a period of service to the University or the Student Union not to exceed 21 hours
·   completion of an educational program or project;
·   suspension from extra-curricular activities of the University community for a specified period of time not to exceed one year.
6.  The University Discipline Panel may recommend to the Associate Vice-President, Student Services the following sanctions:
·   exclusion from facilities of the University (in whole or in part) for a specified period of time not to exceed one year;
·   suspension from the University
·   expulsion from the University
6.  The Associate Vice-President, Student Services may uphold the recommendation and apply the sanction to the student, or apply a lesser sanction. In unusual circumstances, where the University Discipline Panel decides on a sanction which is not listed above, the Panel may recommend an exceptional sanction to be considered by the Associate Vice-President, Student Services.

VI.  Student Discipline Procedures
1.  Residence Offense Procedures
  Any breaches of the Residence Agreement or residence rules or regulations will be handled in the first case by the Department of Residences disciplinary procedures and sanctions. In addition to sanctions applied within the Department of Residences, in serious offenses the Director of Residence and Food Services may forward the case to the Student Conduct and Activities Officer for action under the "Other University Offenses" section of this code.
2.  Minor Offense Procedures
  Minor misconduct is dealt with in the area or department where it occurs. The official of the University in whose jurisdiction an incident occurs will notify the Student Conduct and Activities Officer when:
·   satisfactory resolution of minor allegations and sanctions cannot be achieved between the student and the University official;
·   minor infractions repeated by the same student;
·   the University official believes the infraction warrants a sanction greater than the minor offense sanctions listed in Section V.
3.  Students who wish to appeal minor offence decisions should do so with the University official's immediate supervisor.
4.  Other University Offense Procedures
  Notice of an alleged offense, under the Code must be filed with the Student Conduct and Activities Officer by any member of the Brock community within 10 business days of the incident in question. This time period for filing notice of an alleged offense may be extended at the discretion of the Associate Vice President, Student Services or the Student Conduct and Activities Officer. Incident report forms must be completed in full and are available from the Student Conduct and Activities Officer.
The Student Conduct and Activities Officer may:
·   dismiss the matter;
·   interview the student independently and, if satisfied that the offence has been committed, impose any of the offense sanctions listed in Section IV or V;
·   refer the matter to the University Discipline Panel, and arrange for the student to appear at a specified hearing of the Panel, providing the student with a copy of University Discipline Panel Procedures.

VII.  Student Appeal Procedures
1.  Informal Appeals
  Students who have grounds for believing that they have been treated unfairly or inappropriately in the course of their dealings with an office of the University are encouraged to address their concerns in the first instance directly to the office in question, normally to the senior administrator of the office. Where this does not lead to a satisfactory resolution, students may wish to consult the Ombuds Officer for advice regarding formal avenues of Appeal. Formal appeal procedures are available as outlined below.
2.  Residence Appeals
  The Associate Vice-President (Student Services) will act as the final avenue of appeal for residence cases that have not been referred to the Student Conduct and Activities Officer and the University Discipline Panel.
3.  Appeals from sanctions applied by the University Discipline Panel Eligibility for Appeals
  Either party, appellant or complainant, may appeal the decision of the University Discipline Panel with respect to student non-academic conduct or discipline, under the following circumstances:
·   where evidence emerges which was not available to a party at the time of the original hearing
·   there was clear evidence of bias
·   where the disciplinary procedures were not followed and where the outcome of the case at the original hearing might have been substantially affected thereby
4.  Appeals from sanctions applied by the Associate Vice-President (Student Services)
·   Sanctions applied by the Associate Vice-President (Student Services) to suspend, expel or exclude a student from academic areas of the campus may be appealed to the University Appeal Board through the Office of the Vice-President (Academic).
·   Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Office of the Vice-President (Academic) within 10 working days of the student having received notification of sanctions from the Associate Vice-President (Student Services).
·   The appeal must be signed by the student and include the grounds of the appeal.
·   Within 10 working days of receiving an appeal, the Vice-President (Academic) shall establish a University Appeal Board hearing panel and notify appropriate parties as outlined in the Policies and Procedures of the University Appeal Board.
5.  Appeals from sanctions applied by the University Discipline Panel
·   Students may appeal to the Associate Vice-President (Student Services) any sanctions applied by the University Discipline Panel.
·   Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Office of the Associate Vice-President (Student Services) within 10 working days of the student's University Discipline Panel hearing.
·   The appeal must be signed by the student and include the grounds of the appeal.
·   Within 10 working days of receiving an appeal, the Associate Vice-President (Student Services) shall contact the student. If the grounds identified for the appeal are accepted then a meeting will be established.
·   The Associate Vice-President (Student Services) may uphold the sanctions applied by the University Discipline Panel, or may lessen the sanction.

VIII.  Administration of Non-Academic Conduct Policy
1.  Authority and Amendments
  Amendments to the Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct must be recommended to the Associate Vice-President (Student Services). The Associate Vice-President (Student Services) administers non-academic student conduct policy and procedures, and chairs the University Non-Academic Discipline Advisory Committee. The Committee meets annually, in the spring. The Committee maintains written procedures for the conduct of individual University Discipline Panel hearings and written sanction guidelines, which are reviewed and approved annually by the Associate Vice-President (Student Services).
2.  University Discipline Panel
  The University Discipline Panel hearings will normally be scheduled on a weekly basis to ensure timely attention to non-academic discipline cases. The Chair of the Panel will be a student appointed by the Associate Vice-President (Student Services) from the student members of the Discipline Advisory Committee. All student members of the University Non-Academic Discipline Advisory Committee participate on the attendance roster for Discipline Panel hearings. The Student Conduct and Activities Officer serves as a voting member and senior University adviser on all University Discipline Advisory Panel hearings. The Student Conduct and Activities Officer reports statistics on the numbers of cases, outcomes and sanctions annually to the Associate Vice-President (Student Services).
3.  Student Discipline Records
  Records of charges and sanctions, other than suspension or expulsion, will not be placed in student academic records. Records of all University Discipline Panel decisions, including charges and sanctions, will be maintained as part of the confidential records in the Student Development Centre for a period of up to four years after the student graduates or ceases to be a student.