It’s all about living and learning together. . .
Students at the University of Mary Washington are entitled to a community that is conducive to their safety, personal growth, and academic success. By providing expectations for responsible conduct, and by having a student conduct system that responds when community standards may have been violated, the University seeks to maintain a balance between the rights of individual community members and the rights of the community as a whole.
The student conduct system includes the Director of Student Conduct and Responsibility, professional members of the Residence Life staff, the Director of Transfer and Off-Campus Student Services, and the Student Conduct Review Board. (The Honor Council is a separate entity, and is not a part of the student conduct system.)
PHILOSOPHY:
Office of Student Conduct and Responsibility (OSCAR)
The University’s student conduct system seeks to balance the needs of individual students and the needs of the surrounding community. Education is the system’s primary goal — specifically, assisting students to develop a sense of ethics and responsibility to themselves, to each other, and to the communities in which they study, work, and live. Furthermore, when students conduct themselves in a manner that is inconsistent with the standards of the University, it also is a goal of the student conduct system to educate them about the consequences of their conduct, and to provide them with the tools to make decisions that are consistent with responsibility both to themselves and to their community.
The “Statement of Community Values” provides a template for standards promoting a campus environment that is safe, comfortable, and supportive of the University’s mission. Some conduct cannot be tolerated as it threatens the basic safety and well-being of others in the University community. Other conduct, while less serious, has an adverse impact on the University’s educational mission. Policies and conduct standards have been carefully developed to minimize the risk of harm to all members of the University community, and to maximize the ability of students to achieve excellence in all areas. In addition, local, state and federal laws have been considered in developing the University’s rules, regulations, and student conduct policies. The Code of Conduct lists expectations UMW has of all its students. However, an academic community should provide many opportunities for self-government. To this end, authority has been given to students through organizations such as the Student Government Association, the Student Senate, and the Student Conduct Review Board (SCRB).
The University’s student conduct system and the Code of Conduct are administered by the Office of Student Conduct and Responsibility. The Office maintains oversight over administrative hearings and the Student Conduct Review Board (SCRB)
Because student behavior, character development, and ethics go hand in hand, the Office of Student Conduct and Responsibility supports programs that raise students’ awareness of ethical issues – from individual and community-related to global – that are present in contemporary society. It also assists students to resolve conflicts that may arise by using alternatives to the student conduct process.