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 respondent 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 senior vice president for
			 student life (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 nt 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.