Our Community Expectations

Dear Students, 

Student Responsibilities and Community Principles

All who work, live, and study at UNH are here by choice; therefore, it is imperative that everyone uphold the highest standards of mutual respect and integrity.

• The 2025-2026 Student Rights, Rules and Responsibilities Handbook is available online. This document is the University’s official compendium for the Student Code of Conduct, cornerstone student policies and expected standards of behavior. The “S.R.R.R.” also serves as the companion document for the Undergraduate Academic Catalog, Graduate Academic Catalog, and Law School Academic Catalog.
• The Student Code of Conduct is the governing document that brings the University and all students who might be affected by policies, obligations, responsibilities, rights, and privileges pertaining therein, into agreement with its standards for acceptable behavior. So long as the student maintains an ongoing educational relationship, the Code’s jurisdiction covers behavior on and off-campus and extends to any education program, curricular and co-curricular activity, in locations, events, and circumstances in which the University exercises substantial control.
• The Office of Community Standards  serves as a central resource to educate students on the rights and responsibilities of community membership and cultivate meaningful opportunities for accountability, reflection and learning. Alexis Piñero-Benson serves as the Director of the OCS and the University’s Chief Student Conduct Officer with responsibilities for overseeing alternative and conflict resolution programs and administering the university-wide conduct system when individuals are accused of engaging in prohibited academic or non-academic conduct.

The community plays an important role in ensuring the safety and security of our members. If you witnessed, have information or have been harmed by a negative experience, please report this issue to Community Standards through our online reporting system, in person at Hitchcock Hall (ground level) or via email at community.standards@unh.edu.

Annually, students, stakeholders and key leadership broadly engage policy owners and provide input and feedback about existing policies that govern our communities. It is only through this democratic mechanism of trust, collaboration and transparency, that we’re able to execute a comprehensive policy review and revision process. Some important policy changes are highlighted below:

• The newly published Campus Access and Facilities Use Policy was developed in response to the President’s Working Group on Free Speech and Expression. The policy establishes clear, viewpoint-neutral procedures for the Durham campus that define who may use which campus spaces, when, and under what conditions.
• The Stop Campus Hazing Act, signed into law in December 2024, requires universities to strengthen hazing prevention, education, and transparency. In response, UNH has updated its Anti-Hazing and Prevention Education Policy to meet federal and state requirements and reaffirm our commitment to hazing prevention.
• UNH has continued to strengthen its Academic Integrity Policy to create a clearer, fairer, and more coordinated process for handling academic misconduct. Recent updates include clarifying definitions, streamlining resolution and appeal procedures, and implementing measures like the “NR” placeholder grade to prevent students from withdrawing from a course to avoid a grade penalty. Procedures for resolving Law School matters of academic and professional misconduct can be found in the Law School Catalog.
• UNH has updated its Leave of Absence Policy for undergraduate students to permit students on an approved leave who are eligible to return to UNH to be able to request prior approval to take courses at other institutions for transfer credit. The maximum leave duration has been shortened from six semesters to four, and health leave rules have been refined: students whose leave begins on or before the five-week drop deadline no longer need to take an extra semester off. Information on the graduate student leave of absence policy is available here .

Additional information about policy changes across the University is available on the Dean of Students website. 

Civil Rights and Equity

The Civil Rights & Equity Office (CREO) is responsible for oversight of the University’s compliance efforts on equal employment opportunity, Title IX, disability laws and regulations, religious accommodations, pregnant & parenting modifications & accommodations, and biases response aimed at creating a welcoming and equitable campus.

The Director of CREO, Bo Zaryckyj, also serves as the University’s Title IX Coordinator and is designated to ensure coordinated institutional compliance with Title IX, a federal civil rights law that prohibits universities from excluding students from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination on the basis of sex under any education program or activity. This year, CREO published updated policies related to discrimination and sexual misconduct. CREO also created a new policy pertaining to Service Animals, Emotional Support Animals, and Service Animals in Training.

Bo also serves as the University’s ADA Coordinator and works to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act that promotes equal access for people with disabilities and protects them from discrimination. He can be contacted via email at bo.zaryckyj@unh.edu or by phone during regular business hours at (603) 862-2930.

Deputy Title IX Coordinators have been designated at our component campuses to assist with the management and implementation of Title IX responsibilities. The Deputy Title IX Coordinator for students enrolled at the UNH College of Professional Studies in Manchester is Lisa Enright, Assistant Dean of Student Success (lisa.enright@unh.edu). The Deputy Title IX Coordinator for students enrolled at the Franklin Pierce School of Law is Lauren Berger, Assistant Dean of Students (lauren.berger@law.unh.edu).

UNH provides a variety of options to report acts of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, bias and hate crimes, or retaliation, so that each person may choose a path for response best suited to their particular situation.  Students who wish to request religious accommodations or pregnancy modifications can do so at the CREO website.

Misuse of Network Connection 

The University provides IT resources to students and members of the University community in accordance with its Acceptable Use Policy . Using those resources is a privilege subject to compliance with that policy and the instructions of IT staff. 

The Higher Education Opportunity Act and Student Consumer Information 

In 2008, the Department of Education enacted the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) which is a public law that mandates disclosure and reporting requirements for colleges and universities participating in federal student financial aid programs under Title IV. The HEOA also requires that institutions explicitly inform students that unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer‐ to‐peer file sharing, may subject you to civil and criminal liabilities. For more information regarding penalties for violations of copyright laws and institutional guidelines, visit our library’s website.

To ensure that UNH successfully meets its obligations, Student Consumer Information is organized categorically and centrally located to promote convenient access to information necessary for consumers to make informed decisions about their education. The information on that website includes the following:

As a community of scholars, our shared goal is to help all students be successful during their time at UNH and beyond. The rules and policies described here are essential to creating the conditions for that success.  Please do not hesitate to contact me at dean.students@unh.edu if you have any questions about the information outlined in this email.  

We wish you the best of luck for a successful and productive academic year!
 
Sincerely, 

Michael Blackman  
Dean of Students 

Alexis Piñero-Benson 
Director, Office of Community Standards