Below is a basic overview and definitions related to the process applied when a student is documented in an Incident Report.  

The Student Conduct Process

University of Southern Maine Conduct Process:

  1. Complaint filed (for example an incident report or police report).
  2. Notification letter sent via email to maine.edu gmail account to the accused student detailing the charges and the date, time, and location of their conduct meetings or administrative hearing. 
  3. Individual hearings or meetings take place between the student and an administrator along with any advisor the student wishes to bring to the meetings.
  4. Outcomes of any hearings, mediations, or informal resolutions emailed to a student’s maine.edu (gmail) account.
  5. If suspended or dismissed the student will have 7 calendar days to request a Right of Review Hearing.

Administrators Involved in the Conduct Process:

Conduct Officer:
The Conduct Officers hears cases that could have been heard by any of the people below and all remaining alleged violations of the Student Conduct Code.

Resident Directors (RDs):
RDs adjudicate many of the violations that occur inside the residence halls. In order to resolve a violation with a charged student, the student must voluntarily admit violating policy and voluntarily accept an agreed upon sanction(s). If the charged student and the RD cannot come to an agreement on what happened and the appropriate resolution, the case will be adjudicated by a Conduct Officer.

Many cases can be resolved by resolved via informal resolution which requires that the accused student accept responsibility and voluntarily agree to the sanctions. If a case can not be resolved informally then the case will be sent through the Administrative Conduct Process.

The Student Conduct Code is a University of Maine System document that outlines University policies and provides students guidelines for appropriate behavior on campus. The Code is a contract between the student and the University and it applies on and off campus.

When a Residential Life Staff member and/or the USM Campus Police address problem behavior that may or may not violate University policy, they are required to document the interaction. This report is shared with the Residential Life and Community Standards offices. Depending upon the violation and the student’s conduct history, a Resident Director (RD) or a Conduct Officer (Officer) will send a notice of a meeting to the students listed on the incident report to the student’s University email address.

Appropriate disciplinary and educational sanctions are imposed according to the nature of the violation. Students are held accountable and sanctions are imposed with the goal of changing behavior. Sanctions range from an Official Warning through Dismissal from the University of Maine System. While the majority of student conduct cases do not warrant suspension or expulsion, these sanctions are imposed for serious violations of the Code and/or for repeated violators.

Usually we prefer to speak directly with students first unless it is an emergency. Most of the time students will take the initiative to inform any family members of issues they encounter and ask for advice.

  1.   Online or in-person educational sessions
  2.   Housing contract action (warning, probation, deferred termination, or termination)
  3.   University-wide action (warning, probation, deferred suspension, suspension, deferred dismissal, and dismissal)
  4.   Alcohol/drug strike(s) (only when the violation is substance related)
  5.   Educational assignments (including things like community restitution, research and reflection papers, and counseling)
  6.   Restitution (for damages)
  7.   Loss of Privileges