Student Discipline Procedure
When there is an alleged violation of the Student Code of Conduct, the procedures outlined below will be followed. Depending on the severity of the inappropriate conduct, Mercy College of Ohio reserves the right to begin the disciplinary process at any of the steps listed below. If deemed necessary at the discretion of the College, the procedures may be adjusted to facilitate a fair and timely resolution in a particular situation.
Faculty and/or staff who are notified of possible student misconduct or who observe a student engaging in inappropriate behavior will discuss the behavior/misconduct with the student privately. A Concern and Complaint form documenting the matter will be forwarded to the Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, for possible investigation.
Step 1: Verbal Warning
If the investigation findings conclude that a verbal warning is warranted, a report using the College Disciplinary Form will be completed and kept in a confidential student disciplinary file in the office of the Vice President of Student Affairs/Dean of Students, or designee.
Step 2: Written Warning
If the student misconduct from Step 1 continues or if there are additional violations of the Student Code of Conduct, the student misconduct will be reported to the Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, using the Concern and Complaint form. In the event of academic misconduct, the matter will be referred to the Program Director and Division Dean. If investigation findings conclude that a written warning is warranted, the Program Director/Division Dean/VPSA or designee will meet with the student and prepare a written warning using the College Disciplinary Form. An action plan that includes present and future consequences of continued inappropriate behavior/misconduct will be written and the student may be referred to additional College personnel (accessibility services, counseling center, and student success center just to name a few). A copy of the written warning and written action plan will be placed in the student’s confidential disciplinary file.
Step 3: Suspension, Dismissal, Expulsion, And Other
Definitions
Temporary Suspension: Students are suspended from all college classes and activities and not permitted to be on College property or assigned clinical sites for the period of time during which an investigation is being conducted or the discipline is occurring.
Suspension: A student can be suspended from all college classes and activities and not permitted to be on College property or assigned clinical sites for a specified period due to an infraction of the Student Code of Conduct.
Dismissal: A student dismissed from a program or the college may be permitted to return to the college through the Readmission Policy to the College for Academic/Non-Academic Dismissal as outlined in the College Catalog.
Non-Academic Dismissal/Grading: If a student is dismissed for non-academic reasons, the student will be dropped or withdrawn from their courses based on the add/drop deadline or withdrawal deadline policy depending on the date of the dismissal, see Academic Calendar (https://mercycollege.edu/academics/academic-calendar) for add/drop deadlines. If the student is dismissed prior to the add/drop deadline, they will be dropped from all courses. If the student is dismissed after the add/drop deadline but during the withdrawal period, they will be withdrawn from all courses and receive a grade of “W”. If the student is dismissed after the withdrawal period, they will be withdrawn from all courses and receives grades of “WP” or “WF” depending upon the student’s grade at the time of the dismissal.
Expulsion: A student expelled from the college is not permitted to return to the college through the readmission process. Disciplinary action may continue for events that occurred prior to a student’s expulsion from the College.
Serious or illegal misconduct will begin at Step 3 of the discipline process. Students who have serious or illegal violations of the misconduct policy will be reported to the Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee using the Concern and Complaint form. Students may be temporarily suspended pending investigation of the alleged serious or illegal misconduct. For illegal misconduct, the College will make a report to the appropriate legal authority.
For those students who have a serious or illegal misconduct violation, the Division Dean or Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, will render a decision based on the findings of his/her investigation. The Division Dean or the Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, will complete and sign the College Disciplinary Form that will be placed in the student’s permanent file. This form will outline the misconduct violation, findings of the investigation, discipline imposed, and written action plan (if applicable). The student will be provided with written notification of the findings, the discipline imposed along with a written action plan (if applicable). Since time for investigations varies, every effort will be made to notify the student within a reasonable timeframe.
Students who have continued inappropriate conduct from Step 2 will progress to Step 3, and such conduct should be reported to the Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, using the Concern and Complaint form. If the matter is academic, it will be referred to the Program Director and Division Dean. The VPSA/designee or Program Director/Division Dean will review the written action plan that was developed in Step 2 and activate the consequences identified as part of that written action plan. The Program Director/Division Dean or Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, will document his/her discussion and activation of consequences on the College Disciplinary Form for those students.
Within ten business days of meeting with the Division Dean or the Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, students will be notified in writing of the discipline to be imposed by the Division Dean or Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee. The College Disciplinary Form will be signed by the Division Dean or Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, and placed in the student’s permanent file.
Appeal of Step 3 Decision: The student may appeal the findings or imposed consequences at Step 3 as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct Appeal Procedure.
Student Code of Conduct Appeals Procedure
The Student Code of Conduct Appeals Procedure is conducted by a committee that hears student code of conduct appeals that progress from Step 3. This committee is appointed by the Vice President of Student Affairs. The committee is a non-biased group of individuals and serves on an ad hoc basis. The committee is comprised of the following five individuals:
- Division Dean from a division outside the student’s program of study.
- Three full-time or part-time faculty members (no adjunct faculty members will be included): one from Health Sciences, one from Nursing, and one from Arts and Sciences.
- One staff member.
The Committee only hears appeals that progress from Step 3 of the disciplinary process. Steps 1 and 2 are not appealable.
Students disputing the findings or discipline issued at Step 3 may secure the Student Code of Conduct Appeals Form from the College website and file the appeal with the Vice President of Student Affairs, or designee, no later than five business days after the student’s receipt of the final decision or written action plan as set forth in the Student Discipline Procedure. If an appeal is not filed in the designated timeframe, the appeal will not be further considered, and the prior decision will stand.
Step 1: Upon receipt of a student appeal that is filed in the designated timeframe, the Vice President of Student Affairs or his/her designee will organize the ad hoc committee of five individuals within five business days. At times, the five business days may have to be extended depending on the circumstances. The Vice President of Student Affairs will inform all parties of the student appeal and the Division Dean from outside the student’s program of study will call and chair the meeting of three faculty members and one staff member (all five members of the committee are voting). The student and any other party who was part of the original disciplinary procedure will attend the meeting to present relevant information.
Step 2: The Dean who serves as chair presides over the meeting where all relevant materials are reviewed, and relevant information is presented by the student and other party.
Step 3: The Dean will provide written notification of the committee’s decision, determined by voting, within five business days to all parties including the committee members. Written notification may extend beyond five business days if circumstances warrant the extension. The decision of the committee will be final and binding.
Step 4: The Dean will place a copy of the signed and dated written decision in the separate appeal file that is maintained in the office of or the Vice President of Student Affairs/Dean of Students.