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Student Code of Conduct

This Student Code of Conduct documents the standard of conduct by which students and organizations are expected to abide.

Students and organizations shall be held accountable for compliance with the Code’s provisions. By affiliation with the College, a student or organization does not escape the responsibility of local, state, or federal laws and regulations. The College is committed to maintaining an environment that contributes to its educational mission as well as to the safety, health, and well-being of all students and other persons at all ESCC locations.

Common courtesy and cooperation are expected of all students. Interference, injury, and the intentional attempt to injure or interfere with the personal or property rights of any person—whether a student, visitor, faculty, or staff member—or of the College itself, are strictly prohibited.

Students are expected to possess all text(s), tools, safety items, and personal items necessary to fully and effectively participate in a given class.

An instructor has the obligation to maintain order in the classroom in order to preserve the integrity of the learning environment. If the behavior of a student disturbs or otherwise interferes with instruction, then the student will be asked to leave the class. The student may be allowed to return to the next class meeting after consultation with the instructor and a third party. The third party may be another faculty member from the division, the division chairperson, or the Dean of Instruction. The instructor may have a consultation with the department chairperson and the Dean of Students (see XVIII. Disciplinary Procedures) to determine if the student should appear before the College Disciplinary Committee.

Application

The Student Code of Conduct applies to individual students as well as formal and informal student groups while on campus, as well as those involved in College-related activities or who are functioning as official representatives of the institution while both on and off campus.

Prohibited Conduct

Any student found to have committed one or more of the following acts of prohibited conduct will be subject to sanctions:

  • forgery, alteration, or misuse of College documents, records, or identification,
  • issuance of worthless checks made payable to the College,
  • failure to comply with the authority of the College’s officials acting within the capacity and performance of their positions,
  • violation of the College’s written rules, policies, and regulations,
  • obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, other ESCC activities, or other activities of ESCC students, employees, organizations, or clubs on the College’s premises,
  • destruction, damage, or misuse of College public or private property (the student organization is responsible for any damage to College property),
  • conduct in violation of federal or state statutes or local ordinances which threaten the health and/or safety of the College’s community or adversely affects the educational environment of the College,
  • conviction of any misdemeanor or felony which adversely affects the educational environment of the College (subject to Disciplinary Committee hearing),
  • obtaining the College’s services by false pretenses, including but not limited to misappropriation or conversion of the College’s funds, supplies, equipment, labor, material, space, facilities, or services,
  • hazing (any mental or physical requirement or obligation placed upon a person by a member of any organization or by an individual or by a group which could cause discomfort, embarrassment, pain, or injury or which violates any legal statute of the College’s rules, regulations, or policies) which creates a situation which results in or might result in mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule, including servitude (often called “personal favors”),
  • lewd, obscene, licentious, or indecent conduct or the verbal or written threat of such action against another,
  • lewd, obscene, licentious, indecent, or inappropriate dress,
  • lewd, obscene, licentious, or indecent language,
  • harassment, intimidation, bribery, physical assault, or any other means implied or explicit to influence a member of a judicial body named in the Code, including witnesses, faculty members, staff members, and students—before, during, or after a hearing—(organizations shall be responsible for the actions of their members, alumni, advisors, etc.),
  • possession, while on ESCC-owned or controlled property, of firearms, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, or other dangerous instrumentalities; exception—law enforcement officers legally authorized to carry such weapons and officially enrolled in classes or acting in the performance of duties or an instructional program requiring firearms equipment,
  • possession, sale, and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages or non-prescribed, controlled drugs on any College property or at a student or ESCC-sponsored function,
  • being under the influence of alcoholic beverages or non-prescribed, controlled drugs on any College property or at a student or ESCC-sponsored function,
  • unauthorized manufacture, sale, delivery, or possession of any drug or drug paraphernalia defined as illegal under local, state, or federal law,
  • theft, accessory to theft, and/or possession of stolen property,
  • filing a false report or knowingly making a false statement about or interfering with the investigation of any situation described in this Code,
  • physical or verbal abuse, threat of violence, intimidation, and physical or mental harassment,
  • trespassing or unauthorized entry,
  • entering false alarms or tampering with fire extinguishers, alarms, or other equipment,
  • publishing, aiding in publishing, circulating, or aiding in circulating anonymous or unauthorized publications or petitions,
  • any form of gambling,
  • any disruptive or disorderly conduct which interferes with the rights and opportunities of those who attend the College to utilize and enjoy educational facilities or activities.
  • unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including, but not limited to, unauthorized peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing (through such software as LimeWire, bearshare, KaZaA, etc.) may subject students to civil and criminal liabilities. A summary of the penalties for violating Federal copyright laws may be obtained from the Dean of Students. Disciplinary actions for violation of copyright laws will be governed by the Disciplinary Procedures outlined in the College Catalog and Student Handbook and Procedure 5-11: Reporting and Responding to Copyright Infringement Allegations for ESCC Policy 518: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Policy.
  • implied or explicit assault, harassment, intimidation, bribery, or other threatening actions toward any individual, and
  • misuse of the College’s name and/or logo spoken directly or represented visually or audibly in the form of any printed material or electronic media including any and all venues on the Internet.

This list is not all-inclusive. Violations of the above will render a student subject to disciplinary action under the procedure which provides for notice and a fair hearing.

Academic Dishonesty

Enterprise State Community College regards academic dishonesty as a serious offense against the integrity of the educational process. In particular, the College recognizes two forms of academic dishonesty as matter for disciplinary action: cheating and plagiarism.

Cheating

In any act of cheating, a student attempts to use dishonest measures to gain an academic advantage over other students and/or be awarded a grade on some basis other than his/her own effort, knowledge, or skill in the subject being evaluated. Common examples of cheating include, but are not limited to, the unauthorized prior possession and/or use of an examination or answer key, use of notes or “crib sheets” during a quiz or examination, the copying of answers from another student, and the copying of computer files. In cases in which a student knowingly allows another student to copy from his/her work, both the student who copies such work and the student who allows the copying to occur are guilty of cheating.

Cheating will be punished by a zero for the assignment on which the cheating occurred and referral of the offending student(s) to the Dean of Instruction. The Dean of Instruction may impose more serious penalties.

Plagiarism

The College distinguishes between two types of plagiarism—blatant and inadvertent. Blatant plagiarism is the act of using the words and/or work of another author and attempting to pass it as one’s own work. Examples of blatant plagiarism include, but are not limited to, a student submitting, under his/her own name, an essay, report, research paper, or some other assignment which has been written in part or in whole by another person. Blatant plagiarism also occurs when there is a pattern of failing to document and punctuate materials from research sources appropriately (as designated by the instructor and the research style that the instructor requires and publishes to his/her students) and/or the consistent failure to document accurately and in proper style any material that is not common knowledge which the student has included in an assignment.

Blatant plagiarism will result in a zero on the assignment, failure in the course, and referral of the case to the Dean of Instruction.

Inadvertent plagiarism involves the unintentional and occasional use of key phrases from a source and the failure to punctuate those key phrases as quotations and/or cite, in the prescribed style, the source of the phrases. It may also involve the occasional absence of documentation for a specific bit of paraphrased and/or summarized information that is not common knowledge. Inadvertent plagiarism may involve an occasional miscitation of a source or page reference for a specific bit of information. Inadvertent plagiarism does not indicate a pattern of deception or carelessness in the documentation of the paper as a whole.

Inadvertent plagiarism will be punished by grade penalties on the assignment. The instructor will publish to his/her students the grade penalties to be imposed in such cases.

Rights of Appeal and Further Due Process

Students who believe they are not guilty of cheating or of plagiarism as defined above may seek remedy by following the grievance procedures as indicated in this publication.