Student Organization Conduct Committee
Procedure Manual
Section I
Section II:
Section III:
Section IV:
Section V:
Section VI:
Introduction
Definitions
Authority
Polices and Rules
Student Organization Discipline Process
Record Keeping
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Section I:
Introduction
The Office of Student Activities is committed to the co-curricular learning, development, and
engagement of students by providing involvement opportunities and resources, advising
individual students and student organizations, promoting active and responsible citizenship, and
developing collaborative community partnerships.
Results from the Student Engagement Pulse Survey (spring 2006) indicate that 70% of Penn
State students are actively involved in or helping to lead a student organization. The Student
Organization Discipline Process exists in part so that students’ experiences in those
organizations are meaningful and productive.
The Student Organization Discipline Process is in place to educate organizations about the
responsibilities of having official University recognition, to hold organizations accountable for
violations of University Policy, and to protect the rights of recognized student organizations.
The process outlined in this document covers all student organizations except
fraternities/sororities which have their own discipline processes. Religious clubs and
organizations are covered under this process and have an additional policy manual by which
they must abide, which can be found on the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development
website (http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/spiritual/). Clubs Sports are covered under this process and
have an additional policy manual by which they must abide, which can be found on the Club
Sports website (http://www.athletics.psu.edu/recreation/officermanual.asp). The process covers
behavior that represent violations of law, violations of University policies, and violations of
established protocols and procedures related to student organizations.
As stated in Policies and Rules for Student Organizations (Policies and Rules): “All recognized
student organizations will be held responsible by the University for abiding by federal, state, and
local laws, as well as all University regulations. Membership in student organizations entails a
set of responsibilities for all students. When acting on behalf of a student organization, a
student is responsible for his/her conduct both individually and collectively. The Office of
Student Activities communicates with the Office of Student Conduct which addresses individual
violations of policies.
The process is managed jointly by the Office of Student Activities and the Student Organization
Conduct Committee. Students will have a decision-making role throughout this process.
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Section II:
Definitions
A. The “Student Organization Conduct Committee (SOCC)” is responsible for facilitating the
Student Organization misconduct process. The SOCC composition and process is defined
within the document.
B. The term “SOCC Student Chairperson” is the student who is responsible for reviewing the
alleged violation(s) with the SOCC advisor and facilitating the Disciplinary Conference.
C. The term “SOCC Advisor” is a Student Affairs staff member who is authorized by the
Senior Director of Union and Student Activities to meet with student groups regarding
alleged violations of Policies and Rules, to recommend charges and sanctions, to serve as
University presenter in Hearings, and to monitor and mandate the completion of assigned
sanctions.
D. The term “Conduct Justices” refers to the students selected to serve as Hearing Board
members.
E. The term “Facilitator” is the person who leads the Hearing. The facilitator will be a staff
representative from the SOCC.
F. The term “Staff representatives” refers to staff within Student Affairs who are selected as
members of the Hearing Board. Staff members will rotate the role of Facilitator for
Hearings. Staff members may self-nominate or be nominated. Staff representatives will be
chosen for Hearings based on availability and need.
G. The term “Hearing Board” is defined as a specific group of faculty, staff and students
authorized by the Senior Director of Union and Student Activities to determine, through a
Hearing, whether a student has violated policy and to assign sanctions in response to
violation(s):
1. Minor Hearing Board: A case is considered minor if the recommended
sanction is probation or less and could include any loss of privileges.
Hearings in such cases will include three conduct justices and the
Facilitator of the Hearing (non-voting).
2. A case is considered major if the recommended sanction is suspension
or loss of recognition. Hearings in such cases will include three conduct
justices and three Student Affairs members, one of whom will serve as
the Facilitator (non-voting).
H. The term “Student Organization Advisor” is the advisor that the organization has on file
with the Office of Student Activities and who is listed on eStudentUnion
(studentaffairs.psu.edu/esu). The Student Organization Advisor can be one of the three
individuals representing the organization during a Disciplinary Conference and/or a
Hearing. The Student Organization Advisor may also serve as a witness during a Hearing.
I.
The term “complainant” is defined as any person alleging that they were adversely affected
by a student who participated in a violation of the Code of Conduct. Additional procedures
exist for complainants of crimes of violence and/or Title IX violations as outlined through
the Office of Student Conduct, (http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/conduct/studentrights.shtml).
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J. The term “respondent organization” is defined as a student organization that allegedly
violated University Policy.
K. The term “Respondent Advisor or Complainant Advisor” refers to any University
community member selected to assist the respondent or complainant through the student
organization disciplinary process. The University community member must be a regular
staff member, faculty member or student of the University. As used in this definition, the
words “regular” shall have the same meaning as defined in Human Resources Policies HR05 (http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hr05.html). These advisors may not be family
members. The advisor has no formal role in either the Disciplinary Conference or Hearing.
The advisor can assist the organization in the preparation and presentation of information
relevant to the case, accompany the organization to a Hearing, and advise the organization
in the preparation of any appeal. The advisor is not a legal representative, as SOCC
proceedings are not legal proceedings. This advisor does not count in the number of student
organization representatives allowed to be a part of the disciplinary process.
L. The term “advocate” refers to an individual who is approved by the Senior Director, Office
of Student Conduct, or designee to provide emotional support to a complainant in a Hearing
involving a Title IX behavior (http://guru.psu.edu/policies/AD85.html), and is typically a
person who has participated in formal advocate training (e.g., training offered by the
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic
Violence or the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, or
equivalent). Advocates may not be family members.
M. The term “Appeal Officer” refers to the Senior Director of Union and Student Activities or
the Vice President for Student Affairs who is the University staff member authorized to
conduct organizational appeals. The decision made by the appeal officer is final.
N. The term “Sanction Review Officer” refers to the Senior Director of Union and Student
Activities or the Vice President for Student Affairs who is the University staff member
authorized to conduct organizational sanction reviews. The decision made by the sanction
review officer is final.
O. The term “impact statement” refers to a document the student organization may submit as
part of the Hearing packet outlining how the Hearing results may impact individuals or the
student organization as a whole. The Hearing board members will review the impact
statement should the respondent organization be found responsible for a violation.
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Section III:
Authority
A. Student Organization Conduct Committee
1. The SOCC Advisor and the SOCC Student Chairperson review the incident reports
of alleged organizational misconduct to determine whether potential violations
exist. If there is reasonable information to believe a violation occurred and the case
is to proceed.
2. The SOCC Advisor and the SOCC Student Chairperson may conduct a limited
investigation to determine if charges are appropriate. If the acquired information
reasonably supports a policy violation, the SOCC Advisor and the SOCC Student
Chairperson may recommend charges and sanctions to the respondent organization.
If the acquired information does not reasonably support charges, then the case will
be closed without charges. All charges shall be presented to the respondent
organization in written form. The SOCC Advisor and the SOCC Student
Chairperson are responsible for the adherence to assigned sanctions.
B. Hearing Board
1. Decisions made by a Hearing Board are final pending the normal review and appeal
process.
C. Senior Director of Union and Student Activities
1. On rare occasions, the SOCC may become aware of an organization whose
continued participation within the University community may pose an immediate
threat to the students or others or may pose an imminent threat of disruption to
normal campus operations. If the Senior Associate Director of Union and Student
Activities reasonably believes that such a threat is posed, an interim suspension may
be assigned.
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Section IV:
Policies and Rules
Incidents can be referred for behavior that occurs both on and off campus (see
(http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/conduct/policies/offcampus.shtml).
A. Jurisdiction
1. Polices and Rules shall apply to any event, activity, meetings, or functions planned or
hosted by recognized student organizations, on or off-campus.
B. Policies and Rules
1. University Space or Equipment Violation
Utilizing University space or equipment for purposes other than it was originally
intended or specified, damage of University property, etc. In most cases, an agreement
for space usage has been signed by a representative of the organization.
2. Organization policy or procedure violation
Violation of a policy specified by the University or the Office of Student Activities
specifically intended to govern student organizations. Policies and Rules governing
student organizations are published yearly and can be accessed at the following web
address: http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/studentorgs/
3. University Policy Violation
The University identifies unacceptable student behavior in a document called the Code
of Conduct. The complete code of conduct can be found at
http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/conduct/codeofconduct/ . Individual behavior is managed
through the Office of Student Conduct. A student organization may be found
responsible for one or more violations of the code.
4. Federal, State, or Local Law Violation
Violations of any federal, state, or local law. When it is established that a student
organization has violated federal, state, or local law, the student organization may be
charged for a code violation under the Violation of Law category.
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Section V:
SOCC Disciplinary Procedures
A. Reports, Disciplinary Conferences, Advisors and Charges
1. Anyone may file a report alleging that a student organization violated a policy. A
report should be submitted as soon as possible after the event takes place and will
be directed to the SOCC Advisor who will inform the SOCC chairperson.
2. The SOCC Student Chairperson notifies the student organization president and
advisor (if applicable) that an incident report has been submitted alleging that the
organization committed a policy violation and will schedule a Disciplinary
Conference.
3. The SOCC Advisor and the SOCC Student Chairperson will meet with the
respondent organization in a Disciplinary Conference. The Disciplinary Conference
is an informal, non-adversarial, closed meeting to explain the discipline process to
the student organization representative(s), gather information about the alleged
incident from the student organization, discuss the incident, and to determine what,
if any, steps need to be taken.
4. The respondent organization may be represented by no more than three active
student members from the student organization, along with a Respondent Advisor,
if desired.
5. If an organization fails to appear for a scheduled Disciplinary Conference, the
SOCC may proceed without the student organization representative(s) present.
6. If, after the Disciplinary Conference, the SOCC Advisor and SOCC Student
Chairperson have reasonable information to support a charge and sanction, they will
notify the organization of the recommended charge(s) and sanctions.
7. If an organization accepts the recommended charge(s) and sanctions, charges and
sanctions are implemented, relevant information about the charge(s)/sanctions is
placed in the organization’s file, and appropriate offices/individuals are notified,
and the case is closed.
8. If no charge(s) or sanctions are issued, the case is closed and appropriate
information is placed in the organization’s file. A letter will be sent to the President
and Student Organization Advisor (if applicable) from the SOCC explaining the
outcome of the Disciplinary Conference.
9. If the respondent organization contests the charge(s), a Hearing will be scheduled
(see section G).
10. If the respondent organization accepts the charge(s), but contests the sanction(s),
and the sanctions include suspension or loss of recognition, the matter will be
referred to the Sanction Review Officer (see section I).
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B. Respondent Organization’s Rights
1. Student organizations have the right to view all documents related to an alleged
policy violation that the University possesses.
2. Student organizations have the right to choose who from their organizations will
represent them throughout this process.
3. Student organizations have the right to present relevant information about the
alleged policy violation(s).
4. Student organizations have the right to bring a Respondent Advisor to either a
Disciplinary Conference or a Hearing. If criminal charges are pending, the
student organization also may have an attorney present. The attorney is limited
to advising the respondent organization about answering questions that may be
self-incriminating. The attorney may not question any individual, raise
objections or otherwise participate in the Hearing.
5. Student organizations have the right to choose to not participate in a
Disciplinary Conference or Hearing. However, a Disciplinary Conference or
Hearing can proceed without an organization’s participation.
6. Student organizations may request a sanction review for sanctions that include
suspension or loss of recognition after a Disciplinary Conference, or may appeal
Hearing decisions within the student organization discipline process (see section
I).
C. Complainant Rights
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To be assisted by a Complainant Advisor, if chosen
To be assisted by an Advocate, if chosen
To be informed of the final outcome of the case
To appeal the outcome of the SOCC Hearing Board (see section I)
Additional procedures exist for complainants of crimes of violence and/or Title
IX violations as outlined through the Office of Student Conduct
(http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/conduct/studentrights.shtml).
D. Group Responsibility versus Individual Responsibility
1. The determination regarding whether an alleged policy violation was conducted
by an organization and/or an individual will be made on a case-by-case basis.
2. An individual acting on behalf of an organization may be referred to the Office
of Student Conduct and through the criminal justice system at the same time the
student organization is going through the Student Organization Discipline
Process.
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E. Hearing
1. If the organization contests the charge(s) issued in a Disciplinary Conference, a
Hearing will be scheduled.
2. There are two types of Hearing Boards: minor or major (see definitions).
3. The respondent will be given a five business days notice of the hearing date,
unless the student organization waives the five day notice.
4. The determination shall be made on the basis of whether it is more likely than
not that the respondent organization violated the charge(s).
5. Hearings will be closed unless the student organization specifically requests that
the Hearing be open to the public and the Senior Director of Union and Student
Activities approves.
6. The respondent organization and their advisor will be allowed to attend the
entire portion of the Hearing at which information is presented (excluding
deliberations).
7. The respondent will be allowed to ask questions of all witnesses.
a. All witnesses requested to attend the Hearing will be considered University
witnesses. The witness list will be created by the SOCC Advisor and will
include names provided by the respondent organization, complainant (if
applicable) and others who may have been involved with the case. Prior to
the Hearing, it is important that the SOCC Advisor have an understanding
of the role of each witness in the case. To assist this process, those who
have not met with the SOCC Advisor will be requested to provide a brief
statement outlining the relevant information they will share at least two
business days in advance of the Hearing.
b. All witnesses will be available for questioning by the respondent
organization, their advisor, the SOCC Advisor, and members of the Hearing
board.
i. The testimony of unknown or unidentified witnesses shall not be
admissible.
ii. The SOCC Advisor or Facilitator may exclude witnesses if they are
deemed duplicative, irrelevant or inappropriate.
8. Pertinent records, exhibits and written statements may be accepted as
information for consideration by the Hearing board at the discretion of the
Facilitator.
9. Formal rules of process, procedure, and/or technical rules of evidence, such as
those applied in criminal or civil court, are not used in the Hearing.
10. After the portion of the Hearing concludes in which all pertinent information
has been received, the Hearing Board shall determine whether the respondent
has violated each section of Policies and Rules with which the respondent
organization is charged.
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11. The respondent organization may submit an impact statement that the Hearing
Board will review should the respondent organization be found responsible of
violating Policies and Rules. Other documentation relative to sanctioning,
including prior history, may also be submitted at that time.
12. The written outcome of the Hearing will be completed by the Facilitator and
submitted to the SOCC Advisor within five business days of the Hearing. The
SOCC advisor will notify the student organization. The Hearing Board decision
will go into effect immediately regardless of appeal status.
13. If a respondent organization, with notice, does not appear before a Hearing
board, the Hearing will take place in their absence, and all available evidence
will be presented to and reviewed by board. The organization will be informed
of the recommendation, and has the right to appeal within five business days.
F. Sanctions
Sanctions can be assigned if a student organization is found to be responsible for a policy
violation. Sanctions can impact an organization’s status as an organization and/or its ability to
conduct its operations. Sanctions can require a student organization to participate in one or a
series of educational activities. The SOCC or Hearing Board can assign one or a combination of
sanctions. Descriptions of the sanctions are as follows.
Warning: A warning is a letter acknowledging that a policy has been violated. Warnings are
typically assigned for minor, first-time violations that do not have a significant impact on the
organization or the University.
Educational Workshops: Educational workshops will most likely be assigned for organizations
that violate policies related to University protocols. Examples include, but are not limited to: a
workshop about reserving space, a workshop about ASA procedures, a workshop about how to
appropriately use UPAC funds, and others. Educational workshops may be assigned in
conjunction with or in lieu of another sanction.
Sanctioned Service: Service projects or service hours may be assigned to a student organization
if it is deemed that such an assignment would have the most impact on the organization. The
service will be related to the kind of violation that occurred. Sanctioned service may be
assigned in conjunction with or in lieu of another sanction.
Restitution: Financial restitution could be sanctioned for a number of reasons, including but not
limited to if an organization does damage to its office, a room it reserved, or other University
property.
Probation: Probation is typically assigned when a policy of a more serious nature has been
violated or when minor policies have been violated more than once. Probation is for a specified
period of time and further violations committed by an organization while on probation could
result in even more severe sanctions being assigned.
Loss of privilege: A sanction of loss of privilege means that an organization loses one or more
privileges of being a recognized student organization taken away. This sanction is generally for
a specified period of time. Examples of privileges that can be lost include, but are not limited
to, suspension of Associated Student Activities account, suspension of access to the
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organization’s web space, suspension of the ability to reserve rooms on campus, suspension of
the ability to apply for University Park Allocation Committee funding, suspension of fundraising activities, suspension of access to office space, and others.
Suspension: Suspension means that a student organization is deactivated for a specified period
of time. This sanction is assigned when major violations of policy occur that have a significant
impact on the organization and the University.
Loss of recognition: This sanction is typically assigned in the most serious violations that have
a significant impact on the University, the organization, and for the organization’s members.
This sanction can also be issued when an organization continually violates other policies. A loss
of recognition means that an organization cannot function as an organization for a period of four
years.
Interim Suspension: On rare occasions, the SOCC may become aware of an organization whose
continued participation within the University community may pose an immediate threat to the
students or others or may pose an imminent threat of disruption to normal campus operations. If
the Senior Associate Director of Union and Student Activities reasonably believes that such a
threat is posed, an interim suspension may be assigned.
Notification of an interim suspension will be sent to the student organization president and
advisor (if applicable). The notification will include information regarding the alleged behavior
that provided the rationale for the interim action. Student Organizations who are interimly
suspended will have the opportunity to contest the action (see below).
An interim suspension is the loss of privilege to participate in all University-related activities.
Students wishing to contest an interim suspension action may do so through the Senior Director
of Union and Student Activities at University Park. The organization appeal must be in writing
and include the following information:
i. Name of the Organization
ii. Rationale for the request
iii. Any documentation that supports that the organization would not pose a risk to other
students or the University community
The student organization will be notified of the decision within five business days of receipt of
the request. The Interim Suspension will remain in effect while any review is pending. There
will be no further appeals to this decision. If the Interim Suspension is lifted, other interim
restrictions may be assigned until the outcome of the conduct case.
The interim suspension does not replace the regular conduct process, which shall proceed on the
normal schedule.
G. Sanction Reviews and Appeals
1. Sanction Reviews
a. Sanction reviews may be conducted when a student organization accepts
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b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
responsibility for the charge(s) through a Disciplinary Conference, receives a
sanction that includes suspension or loss of recognition, and would like to have the
sanction reviewed.
When a student organization requests a sanction review, the matter shall be
forwarded to the Sanction Review Officer for review and consideration. The scope
of the sanction review will ordinarily be a review of the written record of the case,
unless otherwise determined by the Sanction Review Officer.
In addition, in cases involving a Title IX violation, the complainant can request a
sanction review in cases where sanctions could have included suspension or loss of
recognition.
The Sanction Review Officer may sustain the sanction(s) assigned; or the Sanction
Review Officer may modify to increase or decrease the sanction(s) assigned when
he/she determines that the sanction(s) recommended was outside the University’s
sanction range for such violations and/or not justified by the nature of the offense.
The Sanction Review Officer will forward a written decision and rationale to the
SOCC Advisor or designee within five business days of receiving the sanction
review request. There are no other opportunities for appeal.
The SOCC Advisor will then share the final outcome with the respondent and, in
Title IX cases or those involving crimes of violence, with both parties.
2. Appeals
a. Cases resulting in sanctions of suspension or loss of recognition after a hearing may
be appealed by the respondent organization within five business days of receiving
official notification of the results of the hearing. Such appeals shall be in writing
and shall be delivered to the Associate Director or his/her designee.
b. The Associate Director will determine if the appeal has merit based on the grounds
for an appeal listed below and will then forwarded to the Appeal Officer.
c. The respondent organization may request an appeal on one or more of the following
grounds:
i. the respondent organization has been deprived of rights and/or stated
procedures were not followed that affected the hearing outcome;
ii. new evidence is presented, that was not available during the time of the original
hearing outcome and is relevant to establishing whether it is more likely than
not that the respondent organization is responsible for misconduct; and/or
iii. the sanction(s) imposed was outside the University’s sanction range for such
violations and/or not justified by the nature of the offense.
d. The complainant may also request an appeal in cases involving a Title IX violation
and those involving a crime of violence when suspension or loss or recognition is
either assigned or was possible in light of the charges assigned.
i. The complainant appeal must be submitted within five days of receiving official
notification of the results of the hearing.
ii. The complainant may only request an appeal on one or more of the following
grounds:
1. stated procedures were not followed that affected the hearing outcome;
2. new evidence is presented, that was not available during the time of the
original hearing outcome, relevant to establishing whether it is more likely
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e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
than not that the respondent is responsible for misconduct; and/or
3. the sanction(s) imposed was outside the University’s sanction range for
such violations and/or not justified by the nature of the offense.
The Appeal Officer will review the case records and any additional information that
may be requested by the Appeal Officer.
If an appeal is granted, the following process will take place:
i. If an appeal is granted on the grounds that the respondent organization has been
deprived of it’s rights and/or stated procedures were not followed that affected
the outcome, the matter will be referred to a new Hearing Board to be reheard.
ii. When an appeal is granted on the grounds that new evidence is presented that
was not available during the time of the original hearing and that is relevant to
establishing whether it is more likely than not that the respondent is responsible
for misconduct, the Appeal Officer shall return the case to the original Hearing
Board to be reheard with the new evidence.
iii. When an appeal is granted on the grounds that the sanction(s) imposed was
(were) outside the University’s sanction ranges for such violations and/or not
justified by the nature of the offense, the Appeal Officer shall modify the
Hearing Board’s original sanction as he/she deems appropriate.
The decisions regarding responsibility and sanctions may be sustained, modified or
reversed.
The Appeals Officer will forward his/her decision and rationale in writing (the
“Appeal Report”) to the SOCC Advisor within five business days of receiving the
appeal request.
A copy of the Appeal Report will be provided to the respondent organization and to
the complainant, if applicable.
If an appeal is denied, no further review will occur.
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Section VII: Record Keeping
A. Organization Disciplinary Records will be managed by the Office of Student Activities. All
records related to student organization conduct will be kept in the student organization’s
official file for a period of four years.
B. The release of records relating to the Student Organization Discipline Process will be
managed by the Associate Director of Union and Student Activities in consultation with
appropriate staff within Student Affairs and the University. Records from Disciplinary
Conferences/Hearings, individual testimony, lists of witnesses, and final outcome will not
be released to the public. There may be times when it is appropriate or necessary to release
the outcome of a particular Disciplinary Conference/Hearing to those both within and
outside of the University. Those kinds of decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
FERPA requires the confidentiality of individual student records.
C. A summary of the student organization disciplinary incidents and outcomes will be
maintained electronically and linked to the Office of Student Conduct internal database.
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