You can help your student by being supportive while holding him or her accountable to your expectations and the university's. You can also help by supporting necessary interventions, such as alcohol or drug education, anger management, and other forms of education, so that your student can be successful at UWG. Allow and expect the student to set appointments, attend meetings, and fulfill sanctions. It is usually not helpful to the educational development of the student for parents to take over the process for their students. Please ask your student three questions (in this order):

• "Have you read the initial appointment letter for the appointment time and details?"
• "What are you going to do about this?"
• "How can I support you?"

Developmentally, college is a period of experimentation and exploration for students in an environment very different than what you, or they, may be accustomed to. They may be in a period of transition from late adolescence to adulthood, facing many new challenges. They may also be away from home for the first time and dealing with issues of independence in the more unstructured environment of a university. In addition, students are adjusting to the expectations and values of the university, just as they did at home. As students are testing these expectations and values, they may make choices that are inconsistent with their past choices. This exploration is a normal part of the developmental process. However, students must also learn that the choices they make may not be healthy and do have consequences. Engage your student in an open dialogue and be receptive to learn about the friends, behaviors, actions, and choices your student makes when he or she is out of your presence.

The criminal justice system and UWG’s Student Wolf Code are not mutually exclusive. By virtue of being enrolled at UWG, each student is held responsible for upholding the standards of behavior in the university policies for student life, as well as local and state laws. The university conduct process does not constitute "double jeopardy" for situations in which a student is facing concurrent criminal proceedings. The constitutional right regarding double jeopardy is solely a criminal law concept and is not applicable to the university conduct process, nor are most other criminal/civil procedures.

No. The university conduct system will proceed in as timely a manner as possible, even when a student is also involved in a criminal or civil case related to the incident for which he or she is facing university action. Although students may choose to not to answer questions, a violation of university conduct regulations may nevertheless be determined based upon the other information presented. In serious cases that may result in suspension, a student can elect to wait until the criminal case is resolved, but he/she cannot be enrolled as a UWG student in the interim. Furthermore, a decision by the student to withhold participation in the university conduct process may not later be used to appeal the decision of the hearing officer/committee.

No. Since this is not a criminal proceeding, lawyers are not necessary. Since this is an educational process we expect students to speak on their own behalf during a conduct hearing. Both referral agents and charged students, however, may elect to have a single advisor accompany them to the hearing. Advisors are a student's choice and can be faculty/staff members, peers, parents, or lawyers. The role of the advisor is limited to conferring with their student. Advisors may be present at the hearing, but may not participate in the proceedings. The advisor's role is specifically limited to conferring with her or his advisee. Advisors are not permitted to speak on behalf of the student or question any potential witnesses. If you need to request a break in the hearing so that you can confer with your student privately, you may do so.

We expect students to speak on their own behalf during a conduct hearing. Parents are permitted to serve as advisors in a conduct hearing with the permission of the student. Advisors may be present at the hearing, but may not participate in the proceedings. The advisor's role is specifically limited to conferring with her or his advisee.

In most cases, no. For many years, student disciplinary records were considered confidential under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. This legislation, better known as the Buckley Amendment, sealed disciplinary conduct and other types of student records and limited access to the student and those other individuals at the university with a legitimate and compelling need to know. Students with conduct records must sign a consent form before this information can be released to other individuals.

However, under the recent amendments to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974), parents of students under age 21 can be informed if their son or daughter is found responsible for a violation of the alcohol or drug policies. Parents of students under age 21 will be notified in writing if their son or daughter is found responsible for a violation of the alcohol or drug policies. Notification takes place via letter after the case is decided.

It is recommended that students inform their parents of all incidents that result in sanctions. Keeping this type of information from parents can make matters worse if additional violations occur. Records on violations involving student organizations are not confidential and may be released. A student will always be provided copies of the decision letter via e-mail, which can be electronically shared with parents. When they speak with you, it's encouraged that you ask them to send you copies of the information they've been provided.

We believe that students are adults and that if we set our expectations high, most students can and will live up to these standards. Some students make a minor slip-up, and the educational focus of the conduct system allows for that, as long as they are willing to learn from their mistakes. While we encourage open communication between students and their families, we are also guided by federal regulations that limit access to student records. In most instances a waiver must be obtained in our office and signed by the student to allow release of records or discussion of incidents, even with parents.

Preponderance of the evidence is the standard of proof used in conduct hearings. For a student to be found responsible for a violation, the evidence must indicate that it is more likely than not that the violation occurred. This is different from the criminal court system.

Sanctions will follow current case precedent, but individual circumstances are taken into account. Sanctions are designed to alter behavior and to make statements about the university's expectations for student conduct. Even sanctions such as suspension are intended to help students learn from their actions and understand how unacceptable behaviors impact others. Some first-offense violations of university policy may result in suspension or dismissal from the university.

A disciplinary record does not automatically exclude a student from further study, jobs, etc. It does depend on the type or severity of misconduct in which a student is involved. A disciplinary record may lead an admissions office to more closely scrutinize the student's application. Again, we will only release information about a student's disciplinary record as permitted by federal law (see above). If the student authorizes a release of their record, it will be provided to whomever they request. Case records are expunged seven years following the date of resolution.