Frequently Asked Questions for Faculty and Staff

Our primary responsibility is to investigate and adjudicate students who are accused of violating the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities (Code). We do this in support of individual development and a safe, effective educational environment. Our jurisdiction includes on-campus conduct and off-campus conduct that adversely affects the university community. We also provide support to the university’s Title IX office, adjudicating complaints of sexual misconduct. Finally, our office has responsibilities in regards to Clery compliance, admissions, academic misconduct, and student organization misconduct.

When the complaint is referred to the Office of Student Conduct, a staff member reviews the complaint, confirms jurisdiction, and invites the accused student to come to a preliminary meeting. At that meeting, the staff member will review with the student the Student Conduct process (PDF) and the specifics of the complaint. The student is given an opportunity to respond to the complaint and provide additional information. When the complaint review is completed, the staff member may charge the student with violations of the Code or dismiss the complaint.

Submit an Incident Report. You will be asked for:

• the student’s name,
• the time, date, and location of the incident, and
• a description of what happened.

Depending on what you report, a staff member will be in touch as soon as possible to review your report with you.

Submit a Person of Concern report. You will be asked for:

• the student’s name,
• the time, date, and location of the incident, and
• a description of what happened.

A number of reports are available at bsu.edu/saysomething.

The typical hold we impose is for incomplete sanctions. Many of the sanctions we impose have deadlines (alcohol education, community services, etc.); students are informed of those deadlines in writing after we meet. When a student does not meet a deadline, we notify them that we have imposed a hold on their ability to conduct registration activities. As with paying their financial services account, the student is responsible for completing the sanction before we remove the hold. Please call us at 765-285-5036 so that we can assist you and still hold the student accountable.

It depends. Student conduct records are educational records protected by FERPA, just like transcripts or course grades. They may be shared with other university officials without the student’s consent if the official has a legitimate educational interest in knowing that information. The official generally has that interest if they need to review the educational record in order to fulfill their professional responsibility. The circumstances in which we share student conduct records without a student’s permission are rare; we encourage students to provide us permission to share with persons they believe can be helpful to them.

Yes, a student being disruptive in a classroom (or an office) is a violation of the Code. For more information, read the University’s full policy on disruption in the learning environment (PDF). If multiple, progressive de-escalation attempts have been made and remain unsuccessful, the instructor has “the authority to instruct the student to temporarily leave” the classroom. The instructor should then consult with the department chair and determine to exercise one of two options, conferencing with the student outside the classroom or reporting the matter to the Office of Student Conduct.

Yes. An advisor or support person of the student’s choosing may accompany them to any and all interviews, appointments, meetings and hearings involved in the assessment, investigation and resolution of the complaint. As a general rule, the advisor may be any person who is not involved as a witness in the complaint. An overlap in these roles should be discussed with the appropriate university staff member and resolved immediately. See our Advisor FAQs for more information.