Residential Life & Housing

Minimum Sanction Guidelines

The Minimum Sanction Guidelines were created and have been instituted in order to ensure fairness to and consistency among all residential students – no matter where you live.  The Minimum Sanction Guidelines are based on the most commonly violated rules and regulations of the Terms and Conditions of Residence Hall Living, contained in the Housing Contact that students sign. The Terms & Conditions are available in the Student Handbook and online.

Residential Life & Housing strongly believes in the creation and maintenance of a positive residence hall community.  The idea of “sanctions” for violation of residence hall rules and regulations is one way that our department communicates to students that there is an impact on the entire community when their actions are inappropriate.  No member of a residential community exists in a vacuum.  Our actions impact more than just ourselves and this is one avenue that we use to demonstrate the importance of the community living experience.

The minimum sanctions are the “minimum” response any residential student would receive from a Residential Life Staff Member in response to a policy violation.  For example, if you are responsible for having candles in your room (Category D Violation), the minimal response to your actions would be for the staff member to confiscate your candle(s). You would then correspond with your AD and receive a Letter of Warning and/or $100 fine.  If you are found responsible for a second violation, the minimal response from Residential Life is noted under the “2nd Violation” column.

Please note: for any policy violation that involves an illegal item or substance, the item or substance in question will ALWAYS be removed by the Residential Life Staff.

Please contact a Residential Life Staff Member if you have any questions or need any clarification.  We look forward to your participation in our positive and productive community this year!


Category
1st Violation
2nd Violation
3rd Violation

Category A
  1. Correspondence w/AD
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Letter of Warning
  3. Educational Project
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Residence Hall Probation
  3. Loss of Privileges and Room Selection Status

Category B
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Verbal warning
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Apology to neighbors/floor
  3. Letter of Warning
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Residence Hall Probation

Category C
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Letter of Warning
  3. Apology
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Residence Hall Probation
  3. Educational Project
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Loss of Room Selection Status
  3. Extended probation

Category D
  1. Meeting or correspondence w/AD
  2. Letter of Warning and/or $100 fine
  1. Meeting w/AD and $200 fine
  2. Residence Hall Probation
  3. Educational Project
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. $500 Fine
  3. Loss of Room Selection Status

Category E
  1. Disposal /removal of substance and/or paraphernalia
  2. Meeting w/AD
  3. Meeting w/ASAP
  4. Educational Project
  5. Residence Hall Probation [drugs]
  6. Letter of Warning and/or $100 fine
  1. Disposal /removal of substance and/or paraphernalia
  2. Meeting w/AD and $200 fine
  3. Meeting w/ASAP [regardless of age]
  4. Residence Hall Probation [alcohol violations]
  5. Extended probation and Loss of Room Selection Status [drug violations]
  1. Disposal /removal of substance and/or paraphernalia
  2. Meeting w/Director and $500 fine            
  3. Meeting w/ASAP [regardless of age]
  4. Loss of Room Selection Status
  5. Parent Notification
  6. Separation from the residence halls [drugs]

 Category F
  1. Meeting w/AD
  2. Letter of Warning and $100 fine
  3. Educational project
  1. Meeting w/AD and $200 fine
  2. Residence Hall Probation
  3. Loss of Room Selection Status
  1. Meeting w/Director
  2. $500 fine
  3. Parent Notification
  4. Separation From the Residence Halls

Please Note: if a student fails to follow-up with a project or a meeting, the minimum response will be the loss of Room Selection status.

The page numbers in backets after each violation indicates where this information can be found in the Student Handbook.

Category A:

  • Failure to show ID [pg. 96]
  • Soliciting [pg. 93]
  • Minors in the residence halls and/or babysitting in the halls [pg. 92 and 88]
  • Misuse of common areas [pg. 88]
  • Cinder blocks [pg. 89]
  • Removal of dining services property from its rightful place [pg. 90]
  • Improper posting [pg. 85]

Category B:

  • Disruptive behavior [pg. 91]
  • Quiet and courtesy hours [pg. 93]
  • Pets [pg. 90]
  • Group gathering policy [pg. 92]
  • Guest policy [pg. 91]

Category C:

  • Bias incidents [pg. 75]
  • Harassment [pg. 74]

Category D:

  • Smoking (tobacco) [pg. 90]
  • Unapproved decorations [pg. 89]
  • Unapproved electrical appliances [pg. 89]
  • Obstruction [pg. 90]
  • Removal of college furniture [pg. 89]
  • Duplication of residence hall keys [pg. 90]
  • Burning of incense [pg. 88]
  • Violation of community safety guidelines [pg. 88]
  • Removal of window stoppers or placement of items in window or on window sill [pg. 90]

Category E:

  • Alcohol [pg. 87]
  • Drugs or drug paraphernalia [pg. 87]

Category F:

  • Tampering with fire and/or life safety equipment or elevators [pg. 91]
  • Failure to evacuate during a fire alarm [pg. 90]
  • Possession and/or use of guns, explosives, intentionally flammable items [pg. 89]
  • Assault [pg. 74]
  • Accessing any residence hall roof [pg. 90]

Terminology

  • AD – Associate Director [supervisor to all Graduate Hall Directors and Resident Assistants]
  • Apology – Any student may be required to provide an apology to another student or to the community for her actions and the impact they had on the other individual(s).  The appropriate AD will determine if the apology is to be provided in person or in writing.
  • Educational Project – These are projects or programs that promote the education and/or awareness of the student through experiences aiding in personal growth; in gaining an understanding of the community; in contributing to the College community; and/or contributing to the larger community outside of the College.  This may be anything from creating posters to reminding students about quiet hours, to assisting an RA with a program on a topic related to the student’s violation.  An educational project is designed to have the student take responsibility for the completion of a task or project related to the policy that she violated.  The goal is for the student to be involved in giving back to the community in some form and also viewing her policy violation from a different perspective.
  • Fine – Fines are penalty fees payable to the College, and are often imposed in addition to other conduct sanctions.
  • Loss of Room Selection Status – this will place the student on the guaranteed wait list for room selection for the following academic year.  This student will not be permitted to sign up with a group or participate in the lottery – she will be assigned a space after all other students have selected.
  • Loss of Privileges – this sanction may be used when certain residential privileges have been misused or abused. The loss of privileges is for a set period of time – typically in increments of months, a semester or even full academic year.  The student will be given the date range by the Associate Director.  Loss of Privileges may include (but is not limited to) loss of guest privileges, loss of group gathering privileges, etc.
  • Meeting w/AD – the student(s) involved in the situation will be required to meet with their AD to discuss the situation and any follow-up actions.
  • Meeting w/Director –  meeting with the Director of Residential Life.
  • Parent Notification – Since the Residential Life staff view students as adults, parents and/or guardians are not notified by the staff of every student transgression.  However, the staff will generally attempt to inform a parent or legal guardian when a student is found in violation of a life-threatening policy more than once.  This would include, but is not limited to alcohol and drug violations, or violations of life safety policies.  In addition, parents would be informed if a student has violated several policies on different occasions, and the efforts of the Residential Life staff have been unsuccessful in re-directing the student’s behavior.  NOTE:  The College will inform parents immediately if a student’s life is in danger or if the student has placed the lives of other community members in danger.
  • Residence Hall Probation – Probation is the strongest warning issued from the department indicating to a student that this was a serious violation (or culmination of violations) and that further policy violations may likely result in separation from the residence halls.  Probation includes a period of review and observation during which the student must demonstrate the ability to comply with College rules, regulations, and/or other conditions which may be imposed during this period. 
  • Separation from College Housing – a student may be required to leave College housing for violation of certain college regulations, or as the result of a culmination of violations.  Such separation does not become part of the student’s college transcript.  Separation from housing may be for any specified period, but usually for a minimum of one semester.  Parents are informed of this consequence.
  • Verbal Warning – upon meeting with the appropriate AD, a verbal warning may be issued to a student when the violation is not serious enough to warrant a written warning.  The verbal warning is intended to notify the student that their behavior is not appropriate and to encourage the student to become more aware of the policies and guidelines of residential living.
  • Written Warning – letter written following a meeting with the AD that serves as a stern warning to the student that her behavior in this situation is inappropriate and will not be tolerated in the residence hall community.  The nature and circumstances of the conduct does not warrant more severe disciplinary action, but this warning will be a matter of record in the Residential Life Office for future reference.  Other conditions may be imposed with a letter of warning including (but not limited to) restitution, a fine, mandatory counseling, or educational project.  A Letter of Warning is a strong notice to students to take the initiative to inform themselves of all residence hall policies, since additional violations place the student at risk for more stringent sanctions.