Citizenship and Integrity, in a Climate of Support and Learning

Marye House

OSCAR supports the Division of Student Affairs‘s mission in promoting student success, learning, and personal wellness. It also supports the University’s overall mission, which is to provide students with a superior education that inspires and enables them to make positive changes in the world. OSCAR also seeks to uphold and promote ASPIRE, UMW’s Statement of Community Values.

OSCAR’s mission is to help UMW students to be forward-looking citizens in their many communities, and to help them to act with integrity. OSCAR does this through education and support. OSCAR supports this mission, and the overarching missions of the Division of Student Affairs and the University as a whole, by upholding a Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines for how UMW students are to conduct themselves, and what conduct they should expect from each other. These guidelines are intended to facilitate all students’ learning and personal growth within the University and beyond.

Student success, ability to learn, and wellness should not be negatively impacted by the conduct of other students, or by their own conduct. Students whose actions are inconsistent with the Code of Conduct are held accountable through a fair and compassionate process in which education is a primary value. OSCAR upholds an environment in which personal growth is facilitated, citizenship is promoted, and sensitivity to others within the community is balanced against each student’s need for personal expression. Related to their conduct, UMW students have both rights and responsibilities, and OSCAR assists students in understanding how those rights and responsibilities benefit all members of the UMW community, including themselves.

It also may assist students in resolving conflicts by using informal alternatives to the conduct process — for example, by having one-on-one conversations with students about conduct issues, or by facilitating dialogue between students or groups when there are disagreements, in hopes of finding common ground and mutual respect.

The Office of Student Conduct and Responsibility (OSCAR) is managed by Dr. Ray Tuttle, Director of Student Conduct and Responsibility. Additionally, professional members of the Residence Life staff, the Assistant Dean of Students, and elected student members of the Student Conduct Review Board (SCRB) are integral to its mission. (The Honor Council and Title IX are separate entities, and are not part of OSCAR, although OSCAR works collaboratively with them when appropriate.)

Raymond Tuttle, Ph.D .
Director
Marye House, 2nd Floor
540/654-1660