Mrs. Maro Mitchell Bentley Program Coordinator Student Conduct and Community Standards July 2012 UNDERSTANDING A “BIT” OF THE PROCESS: THE NEW STUDENT CONDUCT AND COMMUNITY STANDARDS PROGRAM

 Program Mission and Values  Pieces to the Program  Program Processes (Conduct vs. BIT)  Suggested Strategies for Dealing with Disruptive Student Behavior  How to Report Disruptive Behavior and other Conduct Code Violations  Questions and Answers OVERVIEW

 Mission: To assist in maintaining a civil campus environment through the use of proactive, creative and timely student development strategies and disciplinary action for the purpose of valuing the lifelong learning of our students.  Values: Civility, Respect, Fairness, Safety and Partnerships  Office Location: Largo Student Center 241 x0887 PROGRAM MISSION AND VALUES

 Prevention  Meetings with key administrators across campus  Faculty/ Staff workshops  Student programming/ education  Response  Disciplinary  Student meetings/ conferences (Informal)  Student Hearings (Formal)  Campus Wide Safety  Behavioral Intervention Team (Formal) PIECES TO THE PROGRAM

Conduct Process (Social Development First)  Incident occurs  Incident is documented and reported  Investigation takes place  Looking for possibility of violation  Safety concerns  Student is notified  PGCC  Sometimes by phone  Case adjudication  If possible violation exists  Hearing disposition  Responsible or Not Responsible BIT Process (Safety First)  Incident occurs  Incident is documented and reported  Investigation takes place  Noted signs of safety risk or other mitigating factors  BIT QRT convened for threat assessment and response  Student notified of BIT response  By all modes of communication  Campus administrators are notified of BIT response PROGRAM PROCESS: CONDUCT VS. BIT

The term applies to behavior that persistently or grossly interferes with academic and administrative activities at the college. Such behavior hampers the ability of the other students to learn and of instructors to teach. Extreme forms of the behavior may even threaten the physical safety of students and staff. DEFINITION OF DISRUPTIVE STUDENT BEHAVIOR

 Include course and behavior expectations in your syllabi. Discuss these expectations on the first day of class.  Serve as role models and exhibit the type of behavior that you expect.  Establish an environment that opposing views can be expressed in a respectful manner.  Students may note some concerns that they have about the classroom environment –this must be okay and taken seriously  It must be okay that these concerns are discussed with you as some concerns may be about YOU!  Set the tone of what is okay for class during the first week. DEALING WITH DISRUPTIVE STUDENTS: PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Mild Disruptions Annoyances Eating in class Texting in class Whispering Coming late/ leaving early Repeatedly telling a student to wear the safety goggles for lab Recommended Faculty Response: Educational conversation with the students. *Never make idle threats Moderate Disruptions Failing to comply Cursing/ inappropriate comments Repeated “mild disruptions” ***Cheating***  Recommended Faculty Response: Incident Report to Student Conduct Office, Note who the student(s) is/are and speak to him/her after class in private.  Ask the student to step out of the room to address the behavior.  Ask the student(s) to leave the room for that class period.  Communicate concern to Chairperson DEALING WITH DISRUPTIVE STUDENTS: RESPONSE STRATEGIES

Severe Disruptions  Arguing in class/ hallways  Fighting  Verbal threats  Drugs/ alcohol  Weapons Recommended Faculty Response: Incident report to Student Conduct Office and immediate communication with Chairperson and Campus Police DEALING WITH DISRUPTIVE STUDENTS

 Faculty members are responsible for ensuring awareness of academic dishonesty codes at the beginning of every semester  Faculty members must gather any and all data that support the allegation of plagiarism/ cheating within a reasonable amount of time  Faculty members shall then confer with the student to discuss the alleged infraction  The student(s) must be given the opportunity to admit to or deny allegations  The Faculty member must then submit the charge form with all evidence and supporting documentation to the Office of the Vice President for Student Services if the incident occurred more than once ACADEMIC INTEGRITY DISRUPTIONS

 Assign a “zero” on the assignment if first offense and  Confer with the student about the problem  Inform the student of this in writing as a warning if the evidence supports the charge or if the student admits to it  Determine if you want to give the student another assignment  Written warning to the student if there is not sufficient evidence and/or the student does not admit to the charge  Do not assign an F grade  submit a copy of the warning to the VPSS  Two or more offenses in the same class constitutes an F for the class with a referral to the Student Conduct and Community Standards office  Students do have the right to appeal the outcome and the original decision could change  All of this should be explained on the first day to ensure understanding ACADEMIC INTEGRITY FACULTY RESPONSES

 The law does not expressly prohibit a college from disciplining a student for misconduct, even when the misconduct is directly related to a physical or mental disability.  A student with a disability is not exempt from the college’s expectations of behavior and the guidelines in the Student Code of Conduct.  It is important to focus on the behavior not the disability. DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR AND DISABILITY

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), often referred to as the Buckley Amendment, is a pervasive piece of legislation that governs matters of student privacy. Under FERPA, the college is only permitted to release “directory information” about a student with two exceptions:  present with a physical danger to self and other persons.  college staff require such information in order to carry out their professional duties safely and satisfactorily. The lesser the offense the less I can share! DISCLOSURE

Location of Incidents  40% in Bladen Hall  40% in Largo Student Center  Accokeek and Marlboro Halls most frequent academic integrity reports Violation Type  Warning is most often applied  Counseling  Probation INTERESTING STATISTICS

Referrals : 395 cases : 252 cases : 122 cases *This trend is expected to continue* Student Completions  Approximately 70% of our referred students are not completing sanctions  **This is the most important statistic** INTERESTING STATISTICS

 Names COMMITTEE ON STUDENT CONDUCT

 Campus Police Sgt. Calvin Moody  Campus Police Sgt. William Wells  Chief of Campus Police, Larry Walker  Coordinator of Counseling Services, Dr. Saundra Lynch Ervin (vice-chair)  Counselor, Beth Adkins  Dean of Social Sciences and Business, John Rosicky  Dean of College Life Services, Malverse Nicholson, Jr.  Dean of Student Development Services, Dr. Scheherazade Forman  Director of Advising & Transfer Services, Dr. Clifford Collins  Director of Community Education (WDCE), Yvette Snowden  Manager of the Health Education Center, Pamela Thomas  Program Director of Disability Support Services, Thomas Mays  Program Coordinator, Student Conduct and Community Standards, Maro Bentley  Senior Academic Administrator to the VP for Academic Affairs, Mara Doss BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION TEAM MEMBERS

? CLOSING COMMENTS/ QUESTIONS

Mrs. Maro Bentley, MA Program Coordinator, Student Conduct and Community Standards Largo Student Center CONTACTING STUDENT CONDUCT AND COMMUNITY STANDARDS