To the Editor,
As students may have heard, the university has been in the process of reviewing and revising the Student Code of Conduct. On behalf of the Student Code of Conduct: Review and Standards Committee and the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility (CSSR), I am writing to share the process we have undertaken and to solicit feedback from the university community at large, but particularly from students.
In April of 2013, Student Senate passed a resolution seeking a review of the Student Code of Conduct. Work on that review began immediately, starting with conversations with Students Defending Students (SDS). In addition to ongoing conversations with SDS, the Review and Standards Committee met regularly throughout the last academic year to both review the current Code and to begin drafting proposed changes to the Code. The Review and Standards Committee is made up of faculty, staff, undergraduate, and graduate students and is charged with, among other things, recommending changes to the Student Code of Conduct.
In April of 2014, we convened two open forums in which we solicited input from students regarding the Code. One of those forums was sponsored by SDS and the other by the Review and Standards Committee. Students had the opportunity to share feedback about their experiences with the Community Standards process as well as their thoughts on the Student Code of Conduct. The feedback we received in those forums was compiled and used by the Review and Standards Committee this summer in the drafting of the newly proposed Student Code of Conduct.
We have appreciated the opportunities we’ve had this week to share the draft of the Code with Student Senate and Graduate Student Senate. The feedback we’ve received has been very helpful. Now, we want to give the entire campus community the opportunity to review the draft of the Code and to provide us with feedback. The draft of the Code has been posted on our website, along with an overview of the major changes to the Code. I invite you to take the time to review the Code and provide us with feedback via the online form we have also set up. The Code will remain open for comment through Wednesday, September 17 and we look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Martha Compton is the Director of Community Standards and Student Responsibility at Ohio University.
