When a student is charged with a Student Code violation it can be a challenging experience for both parent and student. We hope that parents will be supportive and assist students in navigating their way through the conduct process. We will do our best to work with parents to answer questions and make sure students are treated fairly and consistently. Below is some information for parents regarding the conduct system. If you have further questions, feel free to contact our office.
Tips to help your student avoid going through the conduct system.
One of the best ways to make sure a student has a positive UNH experience is to help them avoid going through the conduct system in the first place. Below are some ways parents can be proactive to help their students avoid having a conduct record.
- Discuss the Student Code and make sure your student understands what the expectations are at UNH.
- UNH does impose eviction as a sanction for several types of incidents. Discuss what could get someone evicted and how being evicted could impact your student’s college experience as well as the financial burden it could cause for your family.
- Talk about ways for students to have fun without relying so much on the party scene. There is plenty to do in the Seacoast area as well as within a few hours of UNH.
- Encourage students to get involved in student organizations or other opportunities. Typically getting involved is cheaper than partying every weekend. Plus it’s a great way for students to form long-lasting friendships based on more than partying.
- Talk about the differences between living at home and living in a residence hall with several other people and how everyone needs to be respectful of each other. Living with a roommate(s) is also new for many students.
Ways to support your student if they are going through the conduct system.
If your student has been charged with a Student Code violation there are several things parents can do to supportive of their student.
- Talk with your student about the incident and what their perspective is. Discuss what the possible consequences could be as well as what they could have done differently during the incident. Realize that students may minimize the seriousness of an incident or their level of involvement. Sometimes it may take a little prodding to get the whole truth.
- Encourage your student to ask questions and take advantage of available resources. For more serious cases, students can request a student advisor to help them prepare for a conduct hearing. Theirs is also information given to them in their initial conduct meeting as well as on this website.
- If your student doesn’t understand something after reading through the conduct information and talking to their student advisor, encourage them to contact our office for more information.
- Should you get involved with the case? There’s not clear cut advice about whether a parent should get involved in the matter. Some parents prefer to assist their student by getting involved and talking to staff in the Community Standards office while others see this as something the student should handle on their own. Some things to weigh when deciding whether you should contact our office to discuss the incident:
- What are the possible consequences? Is the student facing eviction, suspension, or dismissal from the university?
- Does your student have the skills to ask questions and make sure they understand the conduct process? Are they going to be able to clearly articulate their point of view in a conduct hearing?
- Do you feel that your student is being treated unfairly or inconsistently in some way? Are there other concerns about the conduct process you'd like to discuss with someone?
- If you decide to get directly involved with the case and want to contact our office, please understand that we can only speak about the specifics of the case if your student has completed a Release of Information Form and submitted it to our office. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Without a signed release, by law, we can only answer general questions about the conduct process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are common questions parents often have about the conduct system. If you have questions or concerns not addressed here, please contact Community Standards.
Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the Conduct Process Terminology as well.
- Not always.
- A Standard Parent Letter will be sent when a financially depended student is charged with a violation of the university alcohol or drug policies. This is because parental notifications for drug and alcohol charges are specifically exempted from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). For any other conduct violations, it is up to the student to notify parents about what is happening.
- Financially independent students who wish to prevent having a letter sent are responsible for contacting Community Standards and providing written documentation verifying their financial status.
- Contact our office at (603) 862-3377 if you have questions about the conduct process. However, due to FERPA confidentiality laws, any student over 18 years of age must complete and submit a Release of Information Form to the Community Standards office in order for staff to be able to discuss the specifics of the case with anyone other than the student. Without a signed Release, Community Standards staff may still answer general questions about the conduct process.
- The parental role is limited in the actual conduct process. Before coming to campus, we strongly recommend that all parents talk with their students about the expectations set by the university.
- If your student is charged through the conduct process, encourage them to make sure they understand the process and ask questions if they're unsure of anything.
- We allow parents to be present in the waiting area to support their student during recesses, but we do not allow parents into the hearing itself.
- This is typically a challenging process so we limit witnesses to people who can provide direct information pertinent to the case or volunteers and staff observing a hearing for training purposes.
- Students may have an attorney present if there are also likely criminal charges pending as a result of the incident in question.
- An attorney may not actively participate in the formal hearing.
- The attorney can advise the respondent to not answer certain questions and may request a recess to speak with the respondent.
- Students participating in a formal hearing will be assigned a volunteer advisor to help them prepare.
- The advisor's role is mainly to answer questions and explain the conduct process.
- Their role is not to serve as a representative or advocate for the student being charged.
- The student can also contact Community Standards directly and speak with a professional staff member if they have questions not answered by the advisor.
- For less serious cases such as noise violations or minor alcohol violations, the decision is made by the residence hall or apartment staff informally.
- For more serious cases where eviction from housing or suspension from UNH is a possible outcome, the decision is made in a formal hearing by a volunteer hearing officer or hearing board.
- If a student is found to be responsible for violation of the Student Code, disciplinary sanctions will be imposed.
- The severity of the sanctions will depend on several factors in the conduct case. Several factors go into determining conduct sanctions for each student. The seriousness of the incident, mitigating or aggravating factors, and prior misconduct are all factored into the decision.
- Sanctions range from a written warning to dismissal from the university. You may get an idea of what sanctions your student is facing from the Sanction Guidelines.
- In order to consider imposing a maximum sanction such as Eviction from housing, at least one of eight specific factors cited in the Student Code must be present. (Student Code, Article IV, Section E.6.c.i)
- Although not a comprehensive list some of the more common charges that may lead to eviction include:
- Rules 3a-g. Conduct which results in Physical Injury; Threatening or endangering the health or safety of others; Harassment; Stalking; Relationship Abuse.
- Rule 6. Theft
- Rule 7. Damage to property
- Rules 13a-f. Violation of the UNH Drug Policy
- Rule 14g2. Hosting a gathering where prohibited drinking has occurred/common sources.
- Rule 16. Illegal or unauthorized possession, or use of firearms, explosives, fireworks, other weapons, or dangerous chemicals.
- Remember that although a charge may not be listed above, if an incident is serious enough and/or causes enough of an impact to the community, a student may be removed from housing. Consult the Sanction Guidelines for information on typical sanctions
- Disciplinary Probation is a serious warning and reminder that further conduct could lead to more serious sanctions such as eviction from housing, suspension from the university, or in rare cases, dismissal from the university. Probation can affect a student's ability to participate in some campus activities (i.e. study abroad) and some merit-based scholarships.
- Once a case has been decided, a student is given five calendar days (including weekend days) to move out of university housing.
- If the student decides to appeal the decision, this deadline will be held until the appeal decision has been rendered.
- If the appeal is denied, a new deadline will be imposed five days from the date the appeal decision is sent out.
- It is in the student's best interest to start looking for campus housing even if appealing the decision.
- For resources, please visit Recently Evicted Students.
- Normally eviction is imposed for two semesters (the remainder of the current semester and the following one).
- In more egregious incidents a longer duration eviction or permanent expulsion from housing may be imposed.
- As the end of the eviction time approaches a student may reapply for university housing. However, readmissions to housing is not guaranteed and based on space available by the UNH Housing Office.
- During the duration of the eviction, students may visit friends still living in university housing unless the student is specifically banned from entry by the hearing panel.
- In many cases, an appeal is available if the student disagrees with some part of the hearing decision.
- When the hearing decision is sent out, an appeal petition will be provided if an appeal is possible.
- It depends on the seriousness of the conduct violation and how much emphasis the other institution places on misconduct.
- Major alcohol or drug violations will typically have more of an impact than a single noise violation.
- Staff are available to talk with students about their particular case and how seriously other institutions may view it.
- Yes.
- In most cases, records are automatically expunged after three years from the date of the incident.
- For more serious cases that lead to suspension from the university, records are retained for five years.
- Dismissals from the university are kept indefinitely.
- Yes. According to the Student Code (Article II Section 1): University jurisdiction and discipline shall apply to conduct which occurs on University premises or off-campus behavior that adversely affects a member of the University Community and/or the pursuit of the University’s objectives.
