Student Conduct Policies & Procedures

A member of the Thayer community (eg. faculty, student, or staff), who suspects that a Thayer student may have violated the Conduct Code, should observe the following recommendations and guidelines for action:

1. Strongly consider discussing the suspected violation with the student(s) in order to determine that there has been no misunderstanding about what occurred.
2. If, after consultation, the community member believes that the suspicion is valid, they should immediately inform Thayer's Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs (Senior Associate Dean).

Thayer Community members can always conduct concerns directly to the Senior Associate Dean or Dartmouth Safety and Security.

After a possible violation of the Conduct Code has been reported to the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs, the Senior Associate Dean will gather information sufficient to conduct an initial assessment of the report. This preliminary fact-gathering may include, for example, coordination with the Dartmouth Department of Safety & Security and a meeting with the reporting individual. The initial assessment is intended to determine whether the allegations, if true, would constitute a violation of the Conduct Code. If they would, the Senior Associate Dean in consultation with other Thayer administrators, as necessary, will determine whether the matter will be resolved by the Senior Associate Dean or referred to a committee for hearing.

If the matter is proceeding at Thayer, the Senior Associate Dean, or their designee, will alert the student against whom allegations have been made. The Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs will typically also meet with the student to discuss the allegations, explain the disciplinary process, and answer any questions.

If necessary, the Senior Associate Dean may request support from the Dartmouth Department of Safety and Security or the Dartmouth Director of Investigative Services to conduct an investigation. This investigation may include an interview with the relevant parties or witnesses.

After the investigation, if any, or after the meeting between the Senior Associate Dean and the accused student, the following process applies.

1. The student will be notified in writing of the allegations against them, including a concise statement of the alleged facts which constitute the alleged violation.
2. The student will have 5 business days to respond to the allegations in writing.
3. A student may choose to admit to the charges as stated in the written notification. In such cases, the Senior Associate Dean will determine the appropriate penalty.
4. If the student does not admit to the charges as stated, The Senior Associate Dean will refer the matter to a hearing committee to review the case.
5. If denying the charges as stated, the student may include in their written response background evidence to be provided to the committee and may suggest witnesses for the hearing related to the issue may be provided to the committee prior to the hearing. The hearing committee will consist of two Thayer faculty members and the Senior Associate Dean, each of whom will be trained on the applicable procedures and standard of review. The Senior Associate Dean will notify the student of the members of the committee, and the student will then have 2 calendar days to request that a member of the committee not participate in the hearing due to a potential conflict of interest; any request must be supported with an explanation and any relevant documentation. The Senior Associate Dean will review and make a final determination on any such request. Thayer is a small community; accordingly, knowledge of or acquaintance with the student and/ or witnesses in a hearing, awareness of a case, participation in campus issues related to the subject matter of a case, participation as a consequence of one's official role in events surrounding a case, and/ or participation in the disciplinary process prior to the hearing of the case shall not automatically be grounds for disqualification.
6. The Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs will oversee the hearing committee proceedings to ensure consistency with the process and be a resource for the student and committee members.
7. A student may choose an advisor, who must be a current Dartmouth faculty, staff, or student, to advise them at the hearing. The advisor's role is to assist the student in reviewing and understanding the procedures related to a hearing. For this reason, many students request one of their department's faculty or staff members familiar with the disciplinary system to serve as their advisor. The role of the advisor is to provide support to the student; they are not a participant in meetings, interviews, or the hearing. The advisor may not speak for the student during meetings/ proceedings and is not permitted to direct questions to the committee or any hearing witnesses. The advisor can assist with the review and preparation of materials, although authorship of statements must be the student’s alone.
8. The student may elect to have a private hearing or an open hearing. The Senior Associate Dean may limit the number of persons at an open hearing, and may, if a disturbance occurs, order the hearing to be conducted in private. In cases where the need to protect privacy is, in the judgment of the Senior Associate Dean, important, the Senior Associate Dean may close the hearing over the objection of the charged student(s).
9. A student may refuse to make any statement at the hearing. Such refusal shall not be considered as evidence against the student.
10. The student shall have the right to hear and question any witnesses and to examine all other evidence introduced at the hearing. The student has the right to testify and present evidence and witnesses on his/ her own behalf. The Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs will serve as the conduit for all questions during the hearing (questions are submitted to the Associate Dean, and they will ask the questions).
11. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply. The Senior Associate Dean may consider any testimony or evidence unduly repetitious or immaterial, or to have been improperly obtained.
12. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing committee meets privately to deliberate. The hearing committee may not consider any facts not presented during the investigation or hearing. The hearing committee determines by a majority vote whether the student is responsible for the alleged Conduct Code violation. In making this determination, the hearing committee applies the preponderance of the evidence (“more likely than not”) standard. This means that for a finding of responsibility to be made, a majority of the hearing committee members must conclude that it was more likely than not that a violation occurred.
13. The student will be informed, in writing, of the hearing committee's decision within a reasonable time (no more than one week after the hearing).
14. If the results of the disciplinary hearing are to become a part of a student's record, either temporarily or permanently, notice shall be given to the student concerned.
15. For cases where the outcome has not been determined prior to the last day of classes, Dartmouth may place an administrative hold on the student's transcript, make a transcript notification, or defer or withhold the award of the student's degree.

16. Requests for review may be made only on the basis of either or both of the following grounds:

    1. procedural error which has materially prejudiced the student's case;
    2. newly discovered information which, had it been available at the time of the hearing, would likely have affected the outcome either with regard to a finding of responsibility or with regard to the sanction imposed (if the information was not reasonably available to the student at the time of the proceeding).
        

    A request for review must be in writing and must set forth in reasonable detail the grounds for review, and must have attached to it any materials the student wishes to have considered in his or her request. The request, with all accompanying materials, must be submitted by the student to the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs within seven (7) calendar days of the date the decision is written.

17. The Dean of Thayer, or their designee, will serve as the Review Officer. The Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs will send the request for review to the Review Officer, who will decide the review within five (5) business days of their receipt of the materials. The Review Officer has the sole discretion to determine whether these grounds for review have been met. Following review, (1) the original decision, including the sanction, may be upheld; (2) the imposed sanction may be adjusted as the Review Officer deems appropriate; (3) or the matter may be referred for further investigation or further consideration by the hearing committee. The determination of the Review Officer is final and not subject to further review.
18. Decisions by the Senior Associate Dean or Dean may be revealed to authorized College personnel, to the charged student, and, in appropriate circumstances, to the charged student's parents or guardian and the victim/ complainant. In cases where the outcome will affect the visa status of an international student, the Dartmouth Office of Visa and Immigration will be notified by the Thayer Registrar, and the student must comply with any change in federal immigration status that occurs.
19. The Senior Associate Dean or Dean hearing a case may choose to comment publicly, in writing or otherwise, regarding the decision reached if, in the judgment of the Senior Associate Dean, the best interests of the community would be served by such disclosure. If possible and appropriate, the anonymity of the student(s) involved will be protected.

Any Thayer student group wishing to host a Thayer-sponsored event, at which they would like to serve alcohol, must submit an email request to the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Holly Wilkinson, at least two weeks prior to the event. This email should include a detailed outline for the event including:

• purpose
• desired location
• approximate number of attendees and their Dartmouth affiliation
• quantity and type of alcohol
• plans for ensuring that unauthorized and underage students are not served alcohol
• names of hosts, sober monitors, and servers

Undergraduate students should not be invited to or allowed to attend Thayer events with alcohol. The Associate Dean will not approve hard alcohol (over 30 proof) to be served at any Thayer event, and hard alcohol shall not be consumed on the premises.

The Associate Dean will communicate event approval and/ or ask additional questions/ request modification through email. Your event is not approved until this communication occurs.

In addition to reviewing and abiding by this policy, Thayer event hosts, sober monitors, and servers are required to obtain a Certificate of Achievement in Total Education in Alcohol Management (TEAM) from the State of New Hampshire. This training can be completed online as follows:

1. Create a new account:
   • Select your own username and password
   • Licensee Number: Dartmouth
   • Business Name: Dartmouth
2. Click "Total Education in Alcohol Management (TEAM)," and then click "State of New Hampshire Online Learning Portal."
3. Complete all four sections of the TEAM E-Module and then the TEAM Exam
4. Print or download the TEAM certificate and email it to the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Holly Wilkinson to be kept on file.

Note: Hosts can also double as sober monitors and/ or servers.

• Assume overall responsibility for security, safety, and compliance of the event.
• Ensure the room setup is appropriate for the event.
• Ensure the room capacity is not exceeded for fire safety.
• Ensure adequate coverage by sober monitors/ servers.
• Ensure soft drinks and snacks are available.
• Ensure alcohol quantity is appropriate for expected turnout.
• It is a privilege and not a right for students to use Thayer facilities for events and small gatherings. Please respect the facilities by leaving the space utilized in the condition it was found.
• After the event, any remaining alcohol should be put in a secure location (locked).
• In the unlikely event that there is an incident that requires custodial or other maintenance attention, please contact both Jon Stark, Thayer’s Director of Facilities and Safety, and Holly Wilkinson, Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs.
• Contact Dartmouth’s Department of Safety and Security in the event of health and safety concerns at +1 (603) 646-4000.

• Any event having alcohol must have one or more sober monitors. There must be one sober monitor for every 50 students.
• Sober monitors must stay sober and remain at the event for its entire duration.
• Do not admit intoxicated individuals to the event.
• Ensure that no one leaves the event with alcohol.
• Contact the Department of Safety and Security in the event of health and safety concerns at +1 (603) 646-4000.

• Servers must meet all requirements for sober monitors.
• Check ID’s. Ensure that only legal age students are served and that no one who is intoxicated is served.
• At large events, in an open space such as the Atrium, students may not serve themselves individual bottles, glasses, or cups of alcoholic beverage. If there is an approved keg at an event a sober monitor must either serve or attend the keg.
• Ensure one serving of alcohol (eg. 12 oz beer) is dispensed to one individual at a time.
• Be aware of and do not exceed the max number of servings per hour as specified in TEAM training. Err on the low side when serving.

Student health and safety are the primary concerns of Thayer and Dartmouth. Students are expected to contact the Department of Safety and Security by calling +1 (603) 646-4000 when they believe that assistance for an intoxicated/ impaired student is needed. In case of a medical emergency, contact 911 for assistance by local police, fire safety or medical professionals.

Students and/ or organizations that seek assistance from these sources, the individual assisted, and others involved will not be subject to Thayer or Dartmouth disciplinary action with respect to the alcohol policy.