Educational Sanctions
Educational Sanctions are meant to help students learn from their decisions and reflect on what they want to get out of the University experience. If you are involved with the conduct system it is likely that you'll have the chance to discuss and recommend sanctions that you think are appropriate.
When recommending sanctions, try to think of ones that will:
Be appropriate for the conduct incident and actions of the student.
Be meaningful for the student and/or community.
Below are a number of common Educational Sanctions that have been imposed in the past. Click on the heading for the appropriate situation or scroll down through all of the suggested sanctions:
ACTS OF DISHONESTY/FAILURE TO COMPLY
- Develop and distribute a noise survey to your floor. A staff member should help with developing the questions for the survey.
- Create quiet hours fliers by hand for the entire building.
- Facilitate a discussion with other residents about how noise adversely affects them. Work with a staff member to develop format and questions.
- Do rounds with a RA on a weekend night. Ask everyone who is making too much noise to quiet down.
- Write a newsletter article on when quiet hours take place and why it’s important for residents to obey them.
- Lose privilege of being able to have guests in your room for a certain period of time.
- Take an assertiveness inventory or attend a program on assertiveness to help you better confront guests when they are acting inappropriately.
- Write a letter to your guest about the consequences of his/her actions and how those actions impacted the community and you.
- Talk with a staff member about the incident and what you could have done differently.
- Write a newsletter article about what you’ve learned regarding guests.
- Come up with a “top ten list” of things that every resident should make sure guests know. Publish it in the newsletter or on a bulletin board.
- Research legal issues on bystander responsibility. Discuss a story about someone who went to jail for this.
- Register guests with hall staff for a period of time (per hall staff’s agreement).
- Create cards with UNH rules that can be handed out to guests when they arrive.
- Organize a ping-pong, foosball, or pool tourney (games/sports that are played indoors).
- Organize and captain an intramural team for your floor or building.
- Run an ultimate frisbee or wiffleball floor social.
- If damage was caused, fire alarm set off, or there was anything else that inconvenienced/endangered residents, write an apology letter to floor/hall.
- Write apology letter to someone that was disturbed by your actions.
- Talk to someone at the Durham Fire Department about what would happen if a sprinkler was set off from something hitting it.
- Come up with a list of things to do for people to stay active in the wintertime.
- Imagine that the violation caused a fire in the dorm that hurt or killed someone. Write a letter to the family of that person explaining what happened.
- Contact a fire department and ask to tour a building that caught fire. Talk with the fire official about the fire (was anyone hurt, how quickly it caused the damage, etc).
- Research fires that have occurred on other campuses.
- Invite a firefighter to lunch and interview that person about his/her experiences. (Contact the Durham Fire Department at 868-5531 to set up).
- Watch a fire safety video (one is available in the Residential Life Office).
- Calculate the cost to replace all your personal property if there was a fire in your building. Calculate what it would cost to replace roommate/floormate’s belongings too.
- Develop posters on what the fire safety policies are.
- Talk with fire safety inspectors about the infractions they see most often. Develop a campaign to encourage students to do a better job keeping their rooms safe. Contact Stephen Luber in housing at 862-2120 to coordinate this).
ACTS OF DISHONESTY/FAILURE TO COMPLY
- Write letter to your parents explaining your dishonesty and how it impacted you. (Might be good for Complainant or Conduct Office to mail to make sure it’s sent).
- Write an apology letter to the people affected by your actions.
- Attend an anger management session through Health Education.
- Shadow a staff member on rounds. Talk with residents about infractions like noise and hall sports to get a better understanding of what staff deal with.
- Keep track of all the lies you say in a week. Discuss what you hoped to accomplish with lying and whether it worked.
- Write an action plan to rebuild trust with staff members & peers.
- Reflect on how your actions during the incident fit who you are/who you want to be.
- Reflect on when you think lying is not ok to do in you life. Come up with a set of ethical or honesty standards. Meet with someone to discuss these standards.
- Attend an ethics workshop if available. Contact the Office of Conduct and Mediation.
- Research public figures whose lives were negatively impacted by lying.
- Make a case to staff members why they should trust you in the future. Have the staff decide if the student made a good case.
- Talk to a Police officer about what the consequences of lying would be in a criminal case rather than a UNH conduct case.
- Write a “code of conduct” on honesty issues. Discuss how UNH should respond to dishonesty and what appropriate sanctions would be.
- Reflect on a time when you were lied to, how it felt, and how much you trusted the person who lied after this happened?
- If student failed to produce an ID for staff, create a bulletin board based on the statement on the back of the UNH ID card.
- Work with the housekeeping staff to help clean the hall first thing in the morning. Contact your Area Housekeeping Supervisor to coordinate.
- Interview a housekeeper about the kinds of things they’ve had to clean up in the past. Ask how it makes them feel when students are especially messy or intentionally leave disgusting things to be cleaned up.
- Write an apology letter to housekeeping staff discussing what you did, why you did it, and what you’ve learned from the experience.
- If damaged something in anger, attend an Anger Management Session. Contact the Health Education Office at 862-3823 to schedule.
- Research costs associated with student-caused damage. Contact UNH Housing at 862-2120 for research information.
- Conduct an inventory of lounge furniture throughout the building noting damaged and missing items. Find out how much it will cost to repair or replace items.
- Develop a list of ideas that could be utilized to decrease the amount of vandalism/trash in the hall for posting on floors or in the newsletter.
- Pay appropriate restitution for any damages caused.
- Clean up cigarette butts outside the hall for a certain period of time.
- Make signs by hand for all the common areas asking people to keep them cleaner.
- Coordinate some kind of floor competition where the floor with the least amount of trash or damages is recognized each month.
- Maintain all the bulletin boards and postings on your floor for a certain period of time. Anytime something is torn down or damaged you need to repair it.
- Write an apology letter to the person whose things you took. Explain why you did it and what you’ve learned from the incident.
- Attend Choices, a weekend long program where students explore the decision making process and develop strategies to be more successful at UNH. Contact the Office of Conduct and Mediation to Register.
- Attend the Alcohol or Drug Education Class through the Health Education Office.
- Attend a set number of non-alcohol events on campus or in the hall.
- Write an apology letter or newsletter article to the hall explaining what you learned from the incident.
- Plan and facilitate a non-alcoholic event for the floor or hall.
- Interview an Engelhardt resident (recommended by that hall director) who ascribes to the substance free lifestyle. Discuss why they chose to be substance free.
- Interview 5 residents in your residence hall who don’t drink.
- Talk with a number of first year students about the incident and the conduct process. Educate them about the realities of what happens when you get caught hosting or possessing alcohol.
- Get involved in the hall’s community service partnership or help coordinate a community service project.
- Interview a resident who was evicted from housing and discuss what that experience has been like for that student.
- Do a reality check program with the floor or hall. Gather information from other residents then do a bulletin board, newsletter article or discussion with the floor.
- Write a letter to your family about the incident. Reflect on how it could have been worse and what you will do to make better choices in the future.
- Research Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous programs and reflect on how attending a program could be helpful.
- Attend a party or other event where people may be drinking but don’t consume any alcohol. Discuss how the experience was different and the impact it had on you socially.
- Have a conversation with a student or community member who is dealing with drug abuse/alcoholism. Learn about ways they have overcome it or still struggle with it.
- Make a list of both positive and negative things that have happened related to your use of alcohol or drugs.
- Research biological effects and the tolerance curve of substance abuse.
- Brainstorm all the ways that excessive drinking has impacted others you know.
- Add up how much money it costs for you to maintain your level of drinking/drug use. Come up with different ways that money could have been used.
- Research the cost of going to the hospital for alcohol poisoning or getting arrested for excessive consumption, drunk driving, or causing damage while drunk.
- Talk to Associate Dean or Professor about how choices are impacting your academics. Discuss how students in the past who’ve made similar choices have done.
- Go to Durham District Court and observe a set number of alcohol cases.
- Research deaths & injuries caused at other colleges from excessive alcohol use.
- If a student athlete, tell coach about the incident and have a discussion about making better decisions.
- Watch a movie that depicts someone who endangers self through substance abuse (e.g. St. Elmo’s Fire, Clean and Sober, Leaving Las Vegas).
- Talk to a family member who abused alcohol/drugs. Discuss how that impacted family relationships and that person’s life.
- Organize a Beer Goggles or Mocktails program. Hand out facts to participants about alcohol abuse. Contact UNH PD at to coordinate this program.
Including threats, intimidation, coercion, harassment & sexual misconduct.
- Read articles or books about physical assault & violence. Many are available in the Residential Life Office, Health Education Office (862-3823), and SHARPP (862-3494).
- Write a letter of apology to persons affected.
- Have a conversation with a University counselor about the decisions you made and actions you took. (Note: you can’t mandate students to formal counseling).
- Talk with UNH Police about what’s considered assault and battery as well as consequences for being criminally charged with it.
- Reflect on ways you could have handled the situation differently and handle similar situations in the future.
- Attend an Anger Management Session (Coordinate through The Health Education Office at 862-3823).
- Meet with someone in the Office of Conduct and Mediation about conflict resolution.
- Participate in an appropriate event through the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
- Interview a UNH staff or faculty member official and discuss the incident.
- Attend a SHARPP program or event appropriate for the situation.
- Read the book “I Never Called It Rape” by Robin Warshaw.
- Be banned from personal contact with person involved for a set period of time.
Sanctions that could fit a variety of violations.
- Take part in training sessions offered through the Leadership Center (862-4764).
- Coordinate a program with the hall’s community service partnership.
- Wash trays or dishes at the dining hall.
- Inventory common area furniture, then come up with a system to spot check whether furniture is missing.
- Get a copy of your application to UNH from the admissions office. Reread what you wrote and reflect on how it compares to where you are now.
- Meet with your coach and discuss the incident.
- Meet with a Residence Hall Director or other staff member on a weekly basis to talk about choices you’re making at UNH.
- Develop a personal mission/vision of what you want your life to be like and what you’d like to accomplish. Set concrete goals to meet this.
- Create a mock resume - how would you want it to look your senior year.
- Create your own story - read boards and reflect on them.
- Make a list of 1 year, 5 year, and 10 year goals.
- Research stories of student deaths/serious injuries.
- Meet with a staff or faculty member to discuss behaviors.
- Meet with students who are active leaders on campus. Discuss what they get out of the leadership experience and how it will be beneficial in the future.
- Do a ride along with the UNH PD.
- Organize or participate in a fundraiser for a community organization.
- Attend a mediation workshop through the Office of Conduct & Mediation (862-3377).