Conduct Process

While reports of misconduct result in a number of different outcomes, all reports go through the same process within the Office of Student Conduct. Follow the steps below to see the lifeline of an incident.

  1. Incident Occurs

  2. Incident Report is Written : Usually by a staff member, though anyone can submit an incident report; to do so, contact Campus Public Safety (on-call 24-hours per day: 503.352.2230 in Forest Grove, 503.352.7207 in Hillsboro, or cps@pacificu.edu) or email studentconduct@pacificu.edu (montitored during business hours only). Note: always report emergencies immediately to 911.

  3. Incident Report Referred : The Conduct Review Committee (CRC), under advisement by the Conduct Advisor, reads the report and decides how the incident will be handled.

  4. Three ways the Incident Report can be assigned :

 

No Hearing Assigned : Official conduct process ends here. Certain situations may result in a follow-up discussion with student(s) and a staff or a letter being sent to the student to give notice about a policy. 

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Conduct Resolution Meetings

A Conduct Resolution Meeting is a discussion between the student(s) and a Student Conduct Officer to address behaviors which may have violated a University policy. This option will be used at the discretion of the Conduct Review Committee and as scheduling allows. These meetings give students the opportunity to take responsibility for any policy violations. Additionally, the purpose of this meeting is:

  • to address behavior which allegedly violated the Code of Conduct and help a student understand how their actions can affect the community and their educational goals,
  • to increase a student’s understanding of personal and community responsibility,
  • and to connect with students and refer them to appropriate resources if needed.

The process of a Conduct Resolution Meeting is as follows:

  1. Student receives invitation to the Conduct Resolution Meeting.
  2. Conduct Resolution Meeting Occurs : The student and Student Conduct Officer discuss the incident. The student is given the opportunity to consider how their behavior relates to University policies and to take responsibility for any policy violation(s). The student and Conduct Officer must reach agreement upon which violations, if any, the student is responsible for having violated. They will use a preponderance of evidence in making this decision.
  3. If the student and Student Conduct Officer come to a joint agreement that one or more policy violations have occurred, they discuss sanction possibilities.
    1. If the Conduct Officer and student come to a joint agreement upon appropriate sanctions, the matter is considered final.
    2. If the Student Conduct Officer and student cannot come to an agreement about sanctions, the student will be referred to a Student Conduct Board for sanctioning. (See "Conduct Hearing Occurs" for more information about this process).
  4. If the student and Student Conduct Officer cannot reach a joint agreement regarding the student's responsibility in the matter, the student is referred on to a hearing with the Student Conduct Board (see "Conduct Hearing Occurs" below).
  5. If a student does not attend the Conduct Resolution Meeting for which they've been called, then the matter will be referred to a Conduct Hearing (see "Conduct Hearing Occurs" below).

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Student Conduct Board Hearing : Official conduct hearing with a Student Conduct Board. Student(s) called to the hearing receive email notification detailing the proposed policy violations, and the date and location of the scheduled hearing. Hearings involve two steps: (1) to determine if the student is in violation of each policy and (2), if he or she is in violation of any policy, to assign appropriate sanctions.

Conduct Hearing Occurs : Incident Report is reviewed and the Student Conduct Board renders a decision about whether a policy violation occurred if the alleged violator is present or not. Note: A student may be found in violation of one policy, but not of another in regards to an incident.

  • Not in Violation : Official conduct process ends here. Student will not be assigned any sanctions to complete.
  • In Violation : Student Conduct Board decides upon which sanction(s) to assign. Student must complete assigned sanctions by specified deadline. If they fail to do so, a class registration hold and/or further conduct action will result.
    • Student Completes Sanction(s) or Sanction Does Not Require Student Action : Official conduct process ends here.
    • Student Does Not Complete Sanction(s) : A class registration hold and/or further conduct action will result until sanctions are satisfactorily completed. Note: other disciplinary measures may still be applied, as specified in the sanction.
    • Student Appeals Decision and/or Sanction: For information about the appeal process, click here to read the Appeals section in the Student Code of Conduct.

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