The Manchester Community College Student Conduct Program advances the mission of the college by promoting a learning environment that is conducive to educational achievement and to the integration of intellectual, social, and personal growth of our students. The Dean of Student Affairs’ office is responsible for developing, administering, and assessing the program.
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Manchester Community College strives to make the campus community a place of study and work where students, faculty and staff are treated, and treat one another, with respect and courtesy. MCC views the student judicial process as a learning experience that can result in growth and personal understanding of one’s responsibilities and privileges within both the college community and the surrounding communities.
The Dean of Student Affairs’ office involves students, faculty, and staff in the administration of the Student Conduct Program and informs students of their rights and responsibilities as members of the community through a variety of means, including the Student Handbook. The program promotes adherence to the behavioral standards agreed upon by the campus community and provides an adjudication process that is characterized by integrity, respect, fairness, and individualized learning.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Student Conduct Program and the Dean of Student Affairs’ office is to establish an ethic of care at Manchester Community College through its preventive, behavioral and accountability practices.
Establishment of an “ethic of care” aid in providing a safe, respectful and supportive community where students, parents, faculty and staff will be challenged to develop their critical thinking, values, connectedness to the community, sense of identity, understanding of independence and interdependence and multicultural awareness. An “ethic of care” model for Student Conduct is a holistic approach to engage community members regarding their behaviors and responsibilities, recognizing that concern for self and others in a community of individuals can have a powerful impact. The values, functional practices and programs of the Dean of Student Affairs’ office and the Student Conduct Program support this holistic model and demonstrate an effort to aid in student development and contribute to a positive, successful and respectful learning and working environment throughout the College community.
Learning Outcomes
Our goal in the Student Conduct Program is that the students, through their experience in our process, will grow in the following areas:
- Intellectual Growth: The student will gain a better understanding of the consequences and potential consequences of his/her personal actions and will learn the purposes of institutional policies. He/she will employ critical thinking in problem solving and ultimately obtain a degree or certificate.
- Clarification of Values: The student will learn the effect of their behavior on others. The student will demonstrate ethical development, will comply with institutional policy and commit no further violations of policy. The student will gain understanding of the institutional values reflected in institutional policies. The student will gain a better understanding of the importance of personal integrity. Through our process the student will be asked to scrutinize his/her beliefs, ethics and values. The student will be able to articulate his/her personal ethics and values, will act in congruence with those ethics and values and make decisions that reflect his/her beliefs.
- Social Responsibility: The student will contribute positively to the college community and beyond. The student will understand and participate in relevant governance systems and understand, abide by and participate in the development, maintenance and orderly change of community, social and legal standards or norms.
Authority
The Statement on Student Conduct (referred to as the Student Code of Conduct), and Rights and Responsibilities of Students set forth the philosophical basis for the governing of student conduct at Manchester Community College and specify certain regulations agreed upon by students, faculty, administrative officers, and the board of trustees for the general welfare of the community. They also delineate areas of responsibility for the students. In all matters of personal conduct, whether in academic work or social life, students are expected to be responsible members of the College community and to contribute to the best development of other students and the College as a whole.
Faculty and administrators involved in the disciplinary process are expected to abide by the standards articulated in the Policy on Student Conduct. Students who fail to conform to the established standards of student conduct are subject to one or more of the disciplinary sanctions/penalties listed in the Student Code of Conduct. A disciplinary sanction/penalty may not be imposed upon a student for engaging in prohibited conduct unless the student has been offered an opportunity for a hearing that conforms to certain minimal procedural due process standards. Student Conduct Policies have been drafted to establish disciplinary hearing procedures that conform to procedural due process requirements.
The Statement on Student Code of Conduct and Rights and Responsibilities of Students, general campus policies and procedures, and additional information about the college can be found in the Student Handbook. The Student Handbook contains all policies, rights, and regulations for students at Manchester Community College.
The Dean of Student Affairs’ office is authorized to establish and administer this policy. Any questions regarding interpretation of this code or any of its provisions should be directed to the Dean of Student Affairs and/or a designee.
Values
The values of the Dean of Student Affairs’ office provide a framework for programs and practices that mirror institutional values. The values of the Student Conduct Program are:
- Civic responsibility and student involvement;
- Education and development of all students;
- Respect, dignity and equity;
- A socially just community;
- Responsibility, accountability and critical thinking; and
- Fairness, honesty and integrity
Jurisdiction
This policy governs:
- Student conduct that occurs on or as it relates to college property or at official functions and college-sponsored programs conducted away from the campus. College property is defined as land, buildings and facilities in possession of or owned, used or controlled by the college or funded by college budgets.
- Student conduct that occurs off college property is subject to this policy if it: (1) adversely affects the health, safety or security of any member of the college community or the mission of the college; or (2) involves any records or documents of the college.
- Proceedings initiated under this policy are separate from civil or criminal proceedings that may relate to the same incident. Investigations or conduct proceedings by the college are not postponed while criminal or civil proceedings are pending unless otherwise determined by the Dean of Academic and Student Affairs.
- The unexcused failure of a student to appear and/or respond to the conduct process does not prevent the college from proceeding with the conduct process.
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Manchester Community College exists in order to foster knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of students and the general well being of society. This can only be achieved in an environment where there are appropriate educational opportunities and academic freedom, including the freedom to teach and the freedom to learn in an environment where students are encouraged to develop their critical judgment and engage in a free search for truth.
To achieve the environment and conditions essential to the pursuit of these goals, Manchester Community College has developed a policy regarding students’ rights and responsibilities. Students who feel their rights have been violated may take their complaint to the appropriate department chair or administrator. The college’s organizational structure provides the appropriate levels of appeal through which such a complaint can be pursued. The Statement on Student Code of Conduct and Rights and Responsibilities of Students, general campus policies and procedures, and additional information about the college can be found in the Student Handbook.
It is the duty of all students who are potential parties or witnesses to an alleged violation of the Student Code of Conduct to participate conscientiously in the conduct process. Students have a duty to cooperate and discuss the incident with an investigator and over the telephone or in person, adhere to stated deadlines, attend scheduled meetings, and participate in all proceedings.
Failure to meet these duties may result in a decision being made without the benefit of the student’s participation or may result in a student being charged with failing to comply with the direction of a college official. It is the responsibility of a charged student to seek modification to any criminal or civil restraining orders to allow for the completion of any conduct process defined in the Student Code of Conduct.