Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3342 - Kent State University › Chapter 3342-4 - University Policies › Section 3342-4-02.101 - Operational definitions and information regarding regulations for student behavior and administration of student conduct

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A)
			 Definitions.
(1) Accusation - formal
			 allegation of specific conduct violation(s).
(2) Adjudication - the process by which the
			 university conducts disciplinary meetings, hearings, or other actions, bringing
			 matters to resolution.
(3)
			 Administrative conversation - informal discussion with the director of student
			 conduct (or designee) that is educational and informative in nature, and shall
			 not result in binding decisions. An administrative conversation is considered a
			 reasonable request.
(4)
			 Administrative hearing - a student conduct process involving one Kent state
			 university  hearing officer. An
			 accused student(s), an accused student organization(s), and complainant(s), a
			 witness(es), and investigator(s), and conduct advisor(s), and support person(s)
			 may participate for the puprose of rendering a determination of responsibility
			 and sanctioning (if applicable); see rule
			 3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative
			 Code.
(5) Appeal - the method by
			 which due process and/or a decision can be challenged; all appeals must be
			 submitted in writing to the office of student conduct, and may only be
			 considered if it is in accordance with the code of student conduct
			 procedures.
(6) Complaint - written
			 or electronic statement or report provided from any person to the office of
			 student conduct; not all complaints result in incident reports or adjudication
			 through the student conduct process.
(7) Complainant - a person, persons,
			 unit/office, or student organization who submits
			 a report alleging that a student or student organization violated university
			 rules, regulations, or policies.
(8) Code of student conduct - document that
			 contains and explains university rules, regulations, policies, and procedures
			 for addressing student and student organization behavior.
(9) Conduct advisor - any person who advises
			 a student or student organization regarding university policies or procedures.
			 A student may have one person serving as a conduct advisor. A conduct advisor
			 may participate in the questioning part of a hearing. If an accommodation is
			 required for a rspondent or complainant, a person such as an interpreter, sign
			 language communicator, or physcial needs assistant may attend a hearing and
			 will not be counted as a conduct adviser.
(10) Conflict of interest - bias for or
			 against any party in the student conduct process.
(11) Consent - an action defined as the
			 voluntary, unambiguous and uncoerced agreement to participate in an act, the
			 nature and full extent of which is understood by all parties. Silence or lack
			 of resistance cannot be the sole factor in determining consent. Consent may be
			 given verbally or nonverbally. All parties are responsible for confirming that
			 their counterpart's consent is maintained throughout the act and is present
			 before engaging in a new act. A person may be incapable of giving consent due
			 to physical incapacitation, physical or mental disability, threat, coercion,
			 the influence of drugs, or age.
(a) Coercion
			 - when an individual unreasonably pressures another to engage in sexual
			 activity, despite responses that the conduct is unwelcome or unwanted. Coercion
			 includes elements of pressure, duress, cajoling, and compulsion. The pressure
			 to participate may also be considered unreasonable when the pressuring
			 individual is in a position of influence or authority over the other
			 individual.
(b) Incapacitation - a
			 state where a person lacks the capacity to reasonably appreciate the nature or
			 extent of the situation because of their physical or mental status,
			 developmental disability, or alcohol or drug use.
(12) Deliberation - private meeting by a
			 student conduct hearing officer/panel/ administrative hearing officer to render
			 a determination of responsibility and sanctioning (if applicable). A student
			 conduct convener may be present during deliberation.
(13) Director of student conduct - staff
			 member assigned with overseeing the office of student conduct. At regional
			 campuses, this may be referred to by a different title, such as "student
			 conduct coordinator."
(14)
			 Disciplinary probation - sanction specifying a period of time during which a
			 student or student organization who has been found responsible for any
			 violation may
			 be subject to immediate disciplinary suspension and/or dismissal in the
			 event of a subsequent violation.
(15) Disciplinary suspension - sanction of
			 involuntary separation of a student or student organization from the university
			 for a specific period of time (a student may be
			 assigned persona non grata status effective the date of suspension).
(16) Disciplinary dismissal - sanction of
			 involuntary separation of a student or loss of university-recognized student
			 organization status from the university indefinitely (a student
			 may be assigned persona non grata status
			 effective the date of dismissal).
(17) Disciplinary record - the record of a
			 student conduct process and its findings; all disciplinary records are
			 considered educational records based on the Family Educational Rights and
			 Privacy Act (FERPA).
(18) Hearing officer -
			 any Kent state university faculty, staff, or student who has been appointed to
			 a student conduct decision-making role by the director of student conduct and
			 has been trained through the office of student conduct.
(19)
			 Hearing panel - a student conduct process involving at least
			 two and no more
			 than three Kent state university faculty, staff, or student hearing
			 officer, and a student conduct convener. An accused student(s), an accused
			 student organization(s), and complainant (s), a witness(es), and
			 investigator(s) and conduct advisors, and support
			 person(s) may participate for the purpose of rendering a determination of
			 responsibility and sanctioning (if applicable); see rule
			 3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative
			 Code.
(20) Incident report -
			 a complaint or information that is reviewed by
			 the office of student conduct and may be adjudicated through the student
			 conduct process.
(21) Interim action -
			 an immediate action determined by the vice president for student affairs (or
			 designee) that may limit a student's or student organization's specific
			 privileges, including but not limited to no contact order(s), restriction from
			 specific facilities or locations, cease and desist mandates, participation in
			 student organization business or activities, suspension of student status, or
			 loss of university-recognized student organization status, etc.; see rule
			 3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative
			 Code.
(22)
									Police/investigator - University police services,
			 other police
									 agency representative, or non-police
			  investigator (including office of compliance / Title IX representative)
			 who may provide information resulting from an investigation.
(23)
			 No contact order -states that a student or student organization may have no
			 direct or indirect contact with another person, student organization, or
			 student organization member (including by another person on behalf of the
			 person to whom the order was issued); prohibited contact includes but is not
			 limited to making a contact by way of personal (verbal or non-verbal),
			 physical, phone, and/or electronic means including social media.
(24)
			 Persona non grata - a student, student organization, or visitor who has been
			 deemed detrimental to the university community and thus is not permitted to be
			 present on Kent state university property or any or specified university
			 locations.
(25) Preponderance of
			 the evidence - the standard in determining if a student or student organization
			 is responsible for a violation; the complainant must show that it is "more
			 likely than not" that the alleged behavior occurred and was in violation of
			 university rules, regulations, or policies.
(26) Recognized
			 student organization - a group of students who go through the process outlined
			 in rule 3342-4-11.201 of the Administrative
			 Code and is registered (officially or as an interest group) referred to in the
			 code of student conduct as "student organization."
(27) Report of finding
			 - written decision that explains the outcome of a student conduct hearing, or
			 other action.
(28) Respondent - a
			 student or student organization that has been accused, informally or through an
			 incident report, of violating university rules, regulations, or
			 policies.
(29) Retaliation. A
			 retaliatory action is any materially adverse action taken against a person
			 because they participated in the process for reporting against a person because
			 they participated in the process for reporting or in an investigation regarding
			 complaints of prohibited conduct accusations. A materially adverse
			 action is one that might deter a reasonable person from participating in the
			 process. It may include, but is not limited to, termination, discipline, and
			 harassment, but does not include petty slights, minor annoyances, or trivial
			 punishment.
(30) Sanction -
			 requirements set forth upon a finding or individual / organizational acceptance
			 of responsibility for a violation of university rules, regulations or policies
			 through the student conduct process.
(31) Sanction hearing
			 - a student conduct process involving an accused student(s) and a hearing
			 officer (and student conduct convener), where the accused student(s) has, prior
			 to this hearing, accepted responsibility for accusations, and the hearing
			 officer renders a sanctioning decision; see paragraph (C)(4)(a) of rule
			 3342-4-02.1 of the Administrative
			 Code.
(32) Student - any
			 person who has applied to or enrolled at the university in any of its courses,
			 programs, campuses, or offerings, including, but not limited to, cooperative
			 programs or offerings with other institutions for whom a record is made at the
			 university by the registrar or which is submitted to the university for
			 admission or transfer credit; see rule
			 3342-1-01 of the Administrative
			 Code.
(33) Student conduct
			 convener - director of student conduct (or designee) responsible for logistics
			 and procedures associated with the student conduct process; the student conduct
			 convener may simultaneously serve as a hearing officer.
(34)
			 Student conduct process - inclusive of all processes for students or student
			 organizations from the time an incident report is referred to student conduct
			 for adjudication through the conclusion of the appeal process in accordance
			 with university policy and this code of student conduct.
(35)
									Support person -
			 a student may have one person serving as a support person. A support person is
			 an individual selected by either a compainant or respondent to provide support
			 to the student through the conduct process. A support person may not
			 participate in questioning. If an accommodation is required for a respondent or
			 complainant, a person such as an interpreter, sign language communicator, or
			 physical needs assistant may attend a hearing and will not be countd as a
			 support person.
(36)
			 University - Kent state university as established in Chapter 3341. of the
			 Revised Code.
(37) Warning -
			 Sanction stipulating that inappropriate behavior, if repeated, may lead to a
			 more severe sanction.
(38) Witness
			 - any person who has direct information regarding an alleged incident; and/or a
			 professional with demonstrated experience (such as a licensed health care
			 professional) in a field directly related to an element relevant to the
			 hearing.