Cottey College Campus Guidelines and Rules

Core Values and Behavioral Expectations

The College considers the behavior described in the following sub-sections as inappropriate for the Cottey community and in opposition to the Honor Code set forth in this document. These expectations and rules apply to all students. Cottey College encourages community members to report to College officials all incidents that involve the following actions. Any student found to have committed or to have attempted to commit the following misconduct is subject to the sanctions outlined in this section. 

Community Violations

At Cottey College, we recognize that every member of our community has a responsibility to that community. As such, the College has expectations that must be fulfilled for the community to provide the environment necessary to foster student success. The following is a list of behaviors that could result in a community violation:

1. Prohibited Items: The use or possession of prohibited items. Prohibited items include open coil appliances, candles, incense, dartboards, heaters, flammable liquids, fireworks, as well as food or drink in the computer lab or computer suite areas. 
2. Tobacco Products: Use or possession of smoking or other tobacco-based products including electronic cigarettes, vaping, or other smoking/vaping devices and chewing tobacco. See for further information regarding the College’s smoke and tobacco-free campus policy. 
3. Alcohol: Possession, consumption, or distribution of alcoholic beverages (or empty containers) on any part of the campus including student vehicles. See for further information regarding the College’s alcohol policy. 
4. Improper Use of Furniture or Furnishings: Stacking or disassembling room furniture to make bunk beds out of beds not designed for this type of use or other reasons; removing a mattress from a frame or dismantling the frame; stacking, piling, or removing suite furnishings; or other damaging or destructive treatment or use of the furniture or furnishings.
5. Noise Violation: Failure to maintain appropriate noise levels during quiet hours. Causing excessive, disruptive noise, regardless of time of day. 
6. Automobile Violation: Failing to register an automobile, failure to abide by Cottey College policies regarding the use or registration of an automobile, and parking violations. See for further information regarding the College’s automobile policy. 
7. Posting Violation: Displaying obscene or offensive visual materials within a suite or on an outside window. Items pertaining to alcohol, tobacco, or vaping, including neon signs, and other potentially offensive items may not be hung in windows, nor can they be visible to the outside through the window. 
8. Improper Cohabitation: Failure to abide by policies and/or procedures with regard to overnight guests and/or assigned residential spaces.
9.  Animal Violation: Allowing an animal into the hall, except as an approved service animal or emotional support animal. Failure to abide by policies and/or procedures in regard to a service animal and/or emotional support animal. (Please see here for further details.) Improper treatment or handling of another person’s service animal or emotional support animal.
10. Improper Exit or Entry/Unauthorized Access: Setting off a door alarm. Misuse of access privileges to Cottey College residence hall facilities, including unauthorized entry into spaces that are not intended for student use. Unauthorized access to storage, office, mailroom, or kitchen areas. 
11. Safety or Wellness Violation: Tampering with safety equipment within residence halls including, but not limited to, fire alarms, fire detection/control equipment, emergency alert systems, and locks. Failure to appropriately participate in fire, tornado, or other safety drills and exercises when mandated by residence life personnel. 
12. Failure to Abide by Other Residence Life Policies and Procedures: Committing any other violation of the rules, policies, procedures, or regulations that are established by the Cottey College Residence Life program. Failure to follow the proper procedures for room changes, check-outs, etc.

Procedure

Any student or College employee may report a community violation. At that time, a hall director or resident assistant should be called to the scene to process the community violation. The responding hall director or resident assistant will then determine if a violation has occurred. This could be determined on the scene or could require the gathering of additional information following the incident. If additional information is needed to make a determination this process will be carried out promptly by the hall director. If it is determined that a community violation has occurred, a warning will be issued with a copy going to the student involved, the hall director (if the offense occurred in a residence hall), and the director of campus and residence life. 

A first offense for certain community violations will result in a written warning, and depending on the violation, an automatic sanction. Automatic sanctions will be given to students for the following community violations:

• Having food or drink in a computer lab or computer suite, $25 fine 
• Failure to register an automobile, $25 fine 
• Burning a candle or incense, $50 fine 
• Animal in the hall, $50 fine 
• Unauthorized room change, $50 fine

When a student has received three community violations in an academic year, a grievance will be filed by the director of campus and residence life or a designee that will include copies of the previous warnings and any statements the student may have submitted in response. Thereafter, the major disciplinary procedure will be followed, and the student will be notified by the proper authority concerning further action. A grievance can be filed before three community violations at the director of campus and residence life’s discretion. In a situation where a student is responsible for multiple community violations during a single incident or when a student is thought to be responsible for an Honor Code violation and a community violation, no warning will be issued. These situations will be handled as Honor Code violations and may lead to disciplinary action through the Major Violation Grievance Procedure.

Appeal Procedure

Following the receipt of a community violation, a student has the right to appeal by submitting a written notice of appeal. The written notice should include the reason(s) for the appeal and be submitted to the director of campus and residence life within three school days of receiving the community violation. The following will be considered grounds for appeal:

1. The procedural irregularity that affected the outcome of the matter. 
2. New evidence that was not reasonably available at the time the determination regarding responsibility or dismissal was made could affect the outcome of the matter. 
3. The outcome of the finding was affected by a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents.

Upon review of the basis for appeal, the director of campus and residence life may

1. Deny the basis for appeal, thereby affirming the finding and the sanction originally determined. 
2. Upon review of the hearing records 
   1. Affirm the finding and original sanction. 
   2. Affirm the finding and modify the sanction. 
   3. Dismiss the community violation.