FAQ

We encourage you to start a conversation with your student. All students are continuously learning about themselves as they go through their college experience. We want the conduct process to be educational as possible, and your involvement is vital to that goal. Please explore with your student how their experience has impacted them and how they can move forward during their college experience and be successful as a member of the Catamount community.

Student disciplinary cases and records are confidential educational records under the Family Educational Records and Privacy Act (FERPA). We are not able to share student records without receiving a signed FERPA Waiver from your student.

Please refer to University Policy 74 which outlines FERPA regulations and release of information.

Generally, students attend the meeting on their own. The student is permitted to have an advisor or an emotional support person present in the meeting with them. The student can choose to attend the meeting alone or indicate they would like an advisor present with them. As parent or guardian, you may act as an advisor with your student’s approval. Please refer to the WCU Code of Student Conduct Article VI, Section 6.07 for further details.  

Parents or guardians who wish to attend the meeting with their student can communicate with the student, and their student can complete a FERPA Waiver.

The Hearing Officer will investigate and meet with all parties involved in the case to learn each perspective on what took place. Once all information is received, the Hearing Officer will review the alleged violation(s) present in the report that was submitted and will determine based on all the information present if it is more likely than not that the student committed the violation(s).

This standard is called preponderance of the evidence. Preponderance means that, more likely than not, a violation either took place or did not take place. In other words, preponderance is met if the information available suggests that there is a greater than 50% chance that a violation occurred.

If the preponderance of evidence indicates that the student most likely violated a policy, then the student and the Hearing Officer will discuss the mutual resolution process. If the student is found responsible for the violation, then the Hearing Officer will discuss educational sanctioning to make the process a learning experience for the student.  

The legal process and student conduct process are different. Therefore, the student conduct process will continue in order to ensure the student is provided due process, which requires that their case is heard in a timely manner. The student conduct process will not be delayed due to the legal process.

Please refer to the WCU Code of Student Conduct to review the policies.

You can use our online reporting form listed on the WCU Department of Student Community Ethics website if you believe a student was in violation of the Code of Student Conduct.

Once you open the online reporting form, it will provide you with all the relevant fields for information regarding the incident you are reporting. Some of the important details to include in the reporting form are:

• the student or organization’s full name
• student ID number (if you are reporting an individual student)
• a summary of the incident
• information of any other individuals included in the incident

You can reach out to us by emailing DSCE@wcu.edu or by calling our office at 828.227.7234. If you need to submit a report regarding an alleged violation of the WCU Code of Student Conduct, please use our reporting form on our website at dsce.wcu.edu.

You can become involved by being part of the DSCE Hearing Board Panel. If you would like to be part of the Hearing Board, please fill out the application form and we will contact you to set up a time for training. As a member of the Hearing Board, you will work with other faculty/staff and students to assist in addressing alleged violation(s) of the WCU Code of Student Conduct. You will also assist in determining sanctions that are educational and appropriate for the student or organization involved.

This training is conducted twice each year. Each member will complete the training before participating as a hearing board member.

WCU students are required to abide by the WCU Code of Student Conduct. The specific policies and the descriptions of the policies can be found in the Code. If you are unsure whether a violation of the Code occurred, you can submit the report anyway. DSCE staff will review the report and determine if any policy violations are present.

If you have concerns about a student's mental health, academic progress, or other challenges, please fill out a Student Concern Response Team (SCRT) Report through WCU Health & Wellness' website. More information and a guide for helping students can be found on the Student Concern Response Team's website.

To assess the responsibility of an alleged violation(s), the university must determine presence of preponderance of evidence which shows that it is more likely than not that the violation(s) took place or did not take place.

The violations present under student’s case can also be violations of federal, state, or local law. Due to the information involved in the case, the student may face both criminal charges as well as University Conduct Process. This does not constitute double jeopardy. University Conduct Process is not a criminal process and is meant to provide students with educational opportunities to learn what took place and how it may have impacted them as well as their community. 

WCU's conduct process will still continue based on the information present in the case. Should a student choose not to participate or if they do not respond within the timeline that is provided, the case will be heard in absentia and the outcome of the case will be determined based on the information present in the case. It is a voluntary process meant to provide students with educational opportunities to learn what took place and how it may have impacted them as well as their community.