Understanding Students' Rights
Once a student is admitted to Harper, they are entitled to pursue the educational
opportunities that Harper offers and is also entitled to the procedural protections
that Harper provides to students. Some of those protections include:
- If a student meets the pre-requirements and enrolls in a course pursuant to college
procedures, they can attend the course.
- If charged with violating the Student Code of Conduct, a student has the right to
know what they are accused of violating and has the opportunity to respond to that
complaint.
- To review information contained in their education record, as described in the campus
FERPA policy.
This means that it is important that you educate yourself on the procedures of the
College, and that you don't act outside of them. Your department chair and dean, Harper
Police, the Student Conduct Officer, and the Dean of Students can assist you if you
have questions about college procedures pertaining to student behavior. Some key points
include:
- If you need to ask a student to leave class due to disruptive behavior, it should
only be for that specific class period and there shouldn't be an academic penalty
imposed. If there is work or a quiz missed, you should consult with your Dean as to
whether or not you should allow the student to make it up.
- If you have filed an academic dishonesty referral, it is important to remember that
the student may decide to challenge your decision.
- This means you shouldn't dissuade the student from finishing the rest of the course
in case your decision is overturned by the Department Chair, Dean, or Provost.
- Students can't be removed from class permanently unless a formal campus process occurs,
such as the Student Conduct Process or the process documented in handbooks and distributed
to students by special-admit programs.
- In certain situations, students may still be intermittingly prohibited from attending
class while a campus conduct process occurs — this means you would need to report
the incident to police and/or file a formal student conduct complaint. Both HCPD and
the Student Conduct Officer can offer you suggestions for managing the situation if
it does not appear to rise to the level of needing to remove the student from class.
