Student Bill of Rights
This Student Bill of Rights was adopted and approved by the Faculty Assembly in August 1974. It was endorsed by various committees on campus and portions of this document are found in other current policies on the Culver-Stockton College campus.
Preamble
Culver-Stockton College exists for the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of the student and the general well-being of society. Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals. As members of the academic community, students are encouraged to develop the capacity for critical judgment and to engage in a sustained and independent search for truth. Procedures for achieving these purposes may vary at times, but these standards of academic freedom of students are essential to the student way of life at Culver-Stockton College.
I. Freedom of Access to Higher Education
The admission policies of Culver-Stockton College are a matter of institutional choice. The requirements and procedures for admission are outlined in the College Catalog. Under no circumstance is a student barred from admission to Culver-Stockton College on the basis of race, national origin, sex, or religious affiliation. Thus, within the limits of our facilities, we are open to all students who are qualified according to our admission standards. The facilities and services at Culver-Stockton College are open to all enrolled students, and at certain times this right carries over to the community at large.
II. In the Classroom
Students should have protection against prejudiced or capricious academic evaluation by the following procedure:
For resolving grievances informally, the professor involved, the division chairman, and the academic dean must be informed. They will receive a full description in writing and/or conversation, giving them the opportunity to request additional information about such allegations.
If the dean finds that the allegations merit further consideration, he will, with the professor’s division chair, informally resolve the situation taking such action as he may deem appropriate, and shall report in writing to all parties involved.
At the same time, the students are responsible for maintaining standards of academic performance established for each course in which they are enrolled.
III. Student Records
Culver-Stockton College has a carefully considered policy as to the information which should be part of a student’s permanent educational record and as to the conditions of its disclosure. To prevent improper disclosure, academic and disciplinary records are separate, and the conditions of access to each are set forth in an explicit policy statement. Transcripts of academic records contain only information about academic status.
Information from disciplinary or counseling files is not available to unauthorized persons on campus or to any person off campus without the written consent of the individual except under legal compulsion or in cases where the safety of persons or property is involved. No records are kept that reflect political activities or beliefs of the student. Provisions are made for periodic routine destruction of non-current disciplinary records. Administrative staff and faculty members will respect confidential information about students that they acquire in the course of their work.
IV. Student Life
In student life, certain standards must be maintained if the freedom of students is to be preserved.
A. Freedom of Association
Students bring to the campus a variety of interests previously acquired and develop many new interests as members of the Culver-Stockton College community. They are free to organize and join associations to promote these common interests.
The membership policies and actions of a student organization are determined by a vote of those persons who hold a bona fide membership in our college. Affiliation with an extramural organization does not itself disqualify a student organization from institutional recognition.
All recognized campus organizations must have a faculty advisor of their own choice. Campus advisors may advise organizations in the exercise of responsibility, but will not have the authority to control the policy of their respective organization.
Student organizations are required to submit a statement of purpose, criteria for membership, rules of procedures, and a current list of officers. Campus organizations, including those affiliated with an extramural organization, are open to all students without respect to race, creed, or national origin, except for religious qualifications which may be required by organizations whose aims are primarily sectarian.
B. Freedom of Inquiry and Expression
Students and student organizations are free to examine and discuss all questions of interest to them and to express opinions publicly and privately. They are free to support causes by orderly means which do not interrupt the operation of Culver-Stockton College. At the same time it is clear to the academic and larger community that their public expression of policies speak for the organization itself.
Students are allowed to invite and hear any person of their choosing. Those routine procedures required by Culver-Stockton College before a guest speaker is invited to appear on campus are designed only to ensure that there is orderly scheduling of facilities and adequate preparation for the event. Culver-Stockton College’s control of campus facilities is not used as a device of censorship. It is clear to the academic and larger community that sponsorship of guest speakers does not necessarily imply approval or endorsement of the views expressed, either by the sponsoring group or Culver-Stockton College.
C. Student Participation in Institutional Government
As constituents of the academic community, students are free, individually or collectively, to express their views on issues of institutional policy and on matters of general interest to the student body. The student body has a clearly defined means to participate in the formulation and application of institutional policy affecting academic and student affairs. The role of the Student Government Association is carefully outlined, and the actions of the Student Government Association within the areas of its jurisdiction are reviewed only through orderly and prescribed procedures.
D. Student Publications
Student publications and the student press are a valuable aid in establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible discussion and intellectual exploration on the campus. They are a means of bringing student concerns to the attention of the faculty and institutional authorities and of formulating student opinion on various issues on the campus and the world at large.
Student publications at Culver-Stockton College are financially supported by the college. The institution recognizes the principles of editorial freedom, but may find it necessary to limit this right in extreme cases because of legal responsibility.
V. Off-Campus Freedom of Students
A. Exercise of Rights of Citizenship
Culver-Stockton College students are both citizens and members of the academic community. As citizens, they do enjoy the same freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and right of petition that other citizens enjoy and, as members of the academic community, they are subject to the obligations which accrue to them by virtue of this membership.
Faculty members and administrative officials ensure that institutional powers are not employed to inhibit such intellectual and personal development of students as is often promoted by their exercise of rights of citizenship both on and off campus.
B. Institutional Authority and Civil Penalties
Upon occasion, activities of students may result in the violation of local, state, or federal law. In such cases, institutional officials are prepared to apprise students of sources of legal counsel and may offer assistance. Students who violate the law may incur penalties prescribed by civil authorities. Where Culver-Stockton College’s interests as an academic community are distinctly and clearly involved, the special authority of the institution will be asserted.
The student who incidentally violates Culver-Stockton College’s regulations in the course of his off-campus activity, such as those relating to class attendance, will be subject to no greater penalty than would normally be imposed. Culver-Stockton College’s action will be independent of community pressure.
VI. Procedural Standards in Disciplinary Proceedings
In developing responsible student conduct, disciplinary proceedings play a role substantially secondary to example, counseling, guidance, and admonition. At the same time Culver-Stockton College has a duty and the corollary disciplinary powers to protect its educational purpose through the setting of standards of scholarship and conduct for the students who attend the institution and through the regulation on the use of its facilities. In the exceptional circumstances when the preferred means fail to resolve problems of student conduct, proper procedural safeguards should be observed to protect the student from unfair imposition of serious penalties.
The administration of discipline will guarantee procedural fairness to the accused student. Practices in disciplinary cases may vary in formality with the gravity of the offense and the sanctions which may be applied. They will also take into account the presence or absence of an honor code and the degree to which Culver-Stockton College officials have direct acquaintance with student life in general and the involved student and the circumstances of the case in particular. The jurisdictions of faculty or student judicial bodies, the disciplinary responsibilities of the institutional officials, and the regular disciplinary procedures, including the student’s right to appeal the decision, will be clearly formulated and communicated in advance. Minor penalties will be assessed informally under prescribed procedures.
In all situations procedural fair play requires that the student be informed of the nature of the charge against him, and that he be given a fair opportunity to refute them, that the institution not be arbitrary in its actions, and that there be provision for appeal of a decision. The following are recommended as proper safeguards.
A. Standards of Conduct Expected of Students
Culver-Stockton College has an obligation to clarify those standards of behavior that it considers essential to the education process and its community life. These general behavioral expectations and the resultant specific regulations represent a reasonable regulation of student conduct, but the student is as free as possible from imposed limitations that have no direct relevance to his education. Offenses are clearly defined and interpreted in a manner consistent with the aforementioned principles of relevancy and reasonableness.
Disciplinary proceedings are instituted only for violations of standards of conduct formulated with significant student participation and published in advance through such means as a student handbook or a generally available body of institutional regulations.
B. Investigation of Student Conduct
Except under extreme circumstances, premises occupied by students and the personal possessions of students will not be searched unless proper authorization has been obtained. For premises such as residence halls, an appropriate and responsible authority will be present if such a search is made. The student should be present, if possible, during the search.
Students detected or arrested in the course of serious violations of Culver-Stockton College regulations or infractions of ordinary law will be informed of their rights. No form of harassment will be used by Culver-Stockton College administrative officials to obtain either admissions of guilt or information about conduct of other suspected persons.
C. Status of Student Pending Final Actions
Pending action of the charges, the status of a student should not be altered, or his right to be present on the campus and to attend classes suspended, except for reasons related to his physical or emotional safety and well-being, or for reasons relating to the safety and well-being of students, faculty, or college property.
D. Hearing Committee Procedures
When the misconduct may result in serious penalties, and if the student questions the fairness of disciplinary action taken against him, he will be granted, on written request, the privilege of a hearing before a regularly constituted hearing committee. The following suggested hearing committee procedures satisfy the requirements of "procedural due process" in situations requiring a high degree of formality.
a. The hearing committee may consist of students, faculty, or administration or any combination thereof. No member of the hearing committee who is otherwise interested in the particular case should sit in judgment during the proceeding.
b. The student will be informed, in writing, of the reasons for the proposed disciplinary action with sufficient particularity, and in sufficient time, to insure opportunity to prepare for the hearing.
c. The student appearing before the hearing committee will have the right to be defended by the advisor his choice.
d. The burden of proof will rest upon the officials bringing the charge.
e. The student will be given an opportunity to testify and to present evidence and witnesses. He will have the opportunity to hear and question adverse witnesses. In no case will the committee consider statements against him, unless he has been advised of their content and the names of those who have made them, and unless he has been given an opportunity to rebut unfavorable inferences which might otherwise be drawn.
f. All matters upon which the decision may be based must be introduced into evidence at the proceeding before the hearing committee. The decision should be based solely upon such matter. Improperly acquired evidence will not be admitted.
g. In the absence of a transcript, there will be both a digest and verbatim record, such as tape recording, of the hearing.
h. The decision of the hearing committee will be final, subject to only the student’s right of appeal to the President of the Board of Trustees of Culver-Stockton College.
VII. Enforcement
The primary interpretation of the Bill of Rights will be done by the Student Life Council. All written changes and interpretations shall be matters for approval by the faculty. The faculty, of course, reserves the right to initiate as well as approve any changes in this document. (August 1974)
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