Office of the Provost

Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook
Chapter 7-- Student Affairs

Code of Conduct

Regents Regulations Governing Conduct

Regents regulations governing the conduct of enrolled students, faculty members, and other employees are designed to protect and insure the normal and necessary activities of FHSU as well as guarantee individual freedom in the pursuit of teaching and learning.

Specifically forbidden are the following:

1. Conduct that unreasonably obstructs teaching, research, and learning. Obstruction of free access to buildings.

2. Damage to institutional property.

3. Injury of institutional personnel or guests.

4. Violation of rules and regulations of residence halls.

5. Use of profane or vulgar language in a threatening or disruptive manner or engaging in rude or challenging behavior on the campus.

6. Any and all overt behavior that exceeds the bounds of free assembly and lawful advocacy. (Reference Kansas Board of Regents: Policies and Procedures Manual 1970, 1986).

See Chapter 1: General Policies (Alcohol and Cereal Malt Beverage Policy).

Student Code of Conduct

As stated in Article VI of the FHSU Bill of Student Rights and Responsibilities (FHSU Student Handbook), the University has a duty to establish the rules and policies that all students are required to follow. Students have a right to expect enforcement of these rules and policies. FHSU also has a right to expect students to abide by them as befits responsible students as members of the learning community.

For the purposes of this code of conduct, a “student” is any person who is enrolled at FHSU for any academic period. A person shall be considered a student subject to this code of conduct when attending any university activity prior to or after an academic term, such as residence hall check-in, new student orientation and fraternity or sorority recruitment.

The following statements constitute the official record of all general conduct policies at FHSU. Students shall abide by these policies and administrators, faculty and staff are expected to enforce them. These policies should be read broadly and are not designed to limit the definitions of prohibited conduct to the examples described. Note that if any infractions of the Student Code of Conduct are found to have an element of malice, the resulting sanctions may be more severe. FHSU reserves the right to make a case-by-case determination as to whether conduct of a serious nature which occurs off of the premises of the University but has an impact on the University community may be addressed under this policy. For more information about procedures regarding the enforcement of this code of conduct, consult the section of the FHSU Student Handbook immediately following entitled “Discipline Procedures.”

Compliance with General Laws

Students, upon registration at FHSU, shall abide by all regulations, federal and state laws and city of Hays ordinances. Enrollment as a student in no way exempts any person from penalty in case of violation of local, state or federal laws. Any disciplinary action taken by the University may be taken independently of any action taken by an off-campus authority.

Vandalism/Damage of Property

Willful, intentional or negligent vandalism or damage to and/or destruction of property is strictly prohibited.

Firearms and Other Deadly Weapons

The unauthorized possession or use of firearms or other deadly weapons of any kind is prohibited. The use or display of any object or instrument in a dangerous or threatening manner is prohibited.

Flammable Materials and Fireworks

The ignition or detonation of an incendiary device which could cause damage by fire, explosion or similar means to persons or property, or possession of anything in the nature of fireworks or explosives is prohibited on any property owned or operated by FHSU unless the student receives express permission to participate in a display or event sanctioned by the University.

Arson

No person shall start a fire that causes or may cause damages or injury on university property without university authorization and willful damage to property (as described in conduct regulation 2 above) will be prosecuted as arson when appropriate.

Fire Alarms and Fire Equipment

Making or causing a false fire alarm or emergency report of any kind is prohibited. No person shall tamper with, damage, disable or misuse fire safety equipment.

Theft or Misappropriation

Theft of any kind, including seizing, receiving or concealing property with knowledge that it has been stolen or reasonably should have known that is stolen, is forbidden. Sale, possession or misappropriation of any property, including FHSU property, without the owner’s permission, is also prohibited. This includes sale of a textbook by any student who does not own the book unless express prior written authorization has been given by the owner.

Disorderly Conduct

Individual or group behavior which disturbs individuals or groups is prohibited. Such conduct includes (but is not limited to) assault, threats to the personal safety of one’s self or others, throwing objects to create a danger, making excessive noise, unwelcome physical contact, hazing and any other type of interference with the normal operations of the University or its activities or any type of conduct that interferes with the ability of those who attend, visit or work at the University to enjoy the benefits of the purposes for which the University exists.

Misuse of University Documents

Forgery, alteration or misuse of any University document or record is forbidden, including furnishing false information or withholding material information from the university.

Fraud or Lying

Lying or fraudulent misrepresentation in or with regard to any transaction with the University, whether oral, written or by other means, is prohibited, including misrepresenting the truth before a hearing of the University or making a false report or statement to any University official.

Student Identification

Using fake identification or falsely identifying oneself is prohibited. This includes furnishing false identification to the University or to any University employee or agent, including campus law enforcement or security officers, acting in good faith and in the performance of their duties.

Official Requests

Students must comply with the reasonable and lawful requests of University officials acting in the performance of their duties. Students shall appear at disciplinary hearings to respond to allegations or testify as a witness when reasonably notified to do so. Failure to appear at a scheduled hearing is a violation of this student code of conduct and will not necessarily prevent the hearing from taking place, nor will it preclude a determination. A failure to properly comply with or complete a sanction or obligation resulting from a disciplinary hearing or adjudication may be considered a violation of an official request and may be treated as an independent violation.

Presence In and Use of University Facilities

Unauthorized entry into, presence in, or use of University facilities, equipment or property, which have not been reserved or accessed through appropriate University procedures, is prohibited.

Misuse of Keys

No person may use or possess any university keys or access codes without proper authorization. No student is allowed under any condition to have a University key duplicated.

Misuse of Telephones

Making or assisting in making annoying or harassing telephone calls, unauthorized use of long distance phone privileges or otherwise misusing or abusing FHSU telephone equipment is prohibited.

Alcoholic Beverages

Students must comply with the published regulation concerning the transport, provision and consumption of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages on campus or University property. (For more details, see “Drug and Alcohol Policies” in the Student Handbook.)

Drugs

The unauthorized possession, use, manufacture, sale or distribution of any counterfeit, illegal, dangerous, “designer” or other controlled drug or other substance is prohibited. (For more details, see “Drug and Alcohol Policies” under Administrative Policies and Procedures.)

Misuse of Computer Equipment

Use of computer equipment and resources, including account numbers, interactive terminals, data storage media, other peripherals, local, state, national and international computer networks, mainframe and microcomputer systems and software for computing activities other than those authorized by the law and the University constitutes misuse and is strictly prohibited.

Note: For further information concerning regulations in effect for use of University computer equipment and accounts, consult the Ethical Use of Computing Resources Policy.

Note: For further information concerning regulations in effect for students living in university Residence Halls, contact the Department of Student Residential Life, Agnew Hall, Room 114, or the Residence Hall Director.

Note: Attempting, abetting or being an accessory to any act prohibited by these Student Code of Conduct Regulations will be considered a violation.

Note: For further information concerning University policies and procedures in effect for sexual harassment, consult the policy in this Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook.

Faculty should note that disorderly conduct (or any other violation of the Student Code of Conduct) will not be tolerated in the classroom. Students engaging in disorderly conduct may be given a warning or may be dismissed from class immediately. In any case the instructor may refer disorderly conduct to the Office of Student Affairs for judicial action (see Student Handbook).

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