Center for Student Conduct

Preparing for a Conduct Meeting

The Center for Student Conduct has the responsibility to resolve allegations of violations of the Code of Student Conduct. We strive to have this process feel restorative and educational. We care about providing a safe and supportive environment for students and we understand that we may also need to have some difficult conversations.

Your conduct meeting becomes your opportunity to share any information with us prior to the resolution of those allegations. This page provides you with the information you might need to best prepare for your scheduled meeting.

You've Received a Notice of Alleged Violation(s) ...

If you have received notification of a scheduled conduct meeting, it means the Center for Student Conduct has received an incident report that alleges you may have violated University policy.

What does a meeting with the Center for Student Conduct entail?

The meeting is an opportunity for us to talk with you about the report and hear from you about your perspective on the incident. It is our hope that during the conduct meeting, we can explore what happened, what you have thought about since, and collaborate on a path forward that might assitst you in making healthy decisions that minimize future harm to yourself and your community. The meeting provides you the opportunity to respond to the incident report and the alleged violations to the degree that feels comfortable to you.

The meeting will be facilitated by a staff member in our office; their name is provided in your notification letter. The staff member is referred to as a conduct meeting facilitator and you can find out a little more about them on our Meet the Staff page. Your meeting facilitator has three objectives during and after the meeting: to collect as much information as possible (from all perspectives) about the incident, to make a decision about responsibility for alleged violations utilizing all testimony available, and to engage you in an educational, restorative conversation about the incident. Ahead of your meeting, it may help you to have an understanding of typical sanctions for various violations.

If other students are named as having potentially been involved with the violations, you will be scheduled for a group conduct meeting so that all involved students will have an opportunity to hear and respond to any testimony provided.

If you feel your incident is covered by the Medical Amnesty Program, please contact your meeting facilitator to discuss those thoughts or mention those concerns at the onset of the meeting.

How does the meeting facilitator make a decision?

Your meeting facilitator will make their decision based on a preponderance of the evidence. This standard asks the facilitator to determine, after considering all testimony presented, whether it is more likely than not that the violation occurred. After your conversation, the meeting facilitator will use this standard to determine if you are to be found responsible for a policy violation and, if so, to determine any appropriate sanction. The facilitator will make this determination even if you decide not to participate in the conduct meeting.

The meeting facilitator will likely ask you to explain what happened from your perspective, what you have learned from the incident, what impact the incident has had on you and others within your community, and what you believe should happen in response to that impact. However, each conversation is different.

Action Steps to Consider While Preparing for Your Conduct Meeting ...

In preparation for your upcoming meeting, we encourage you to consider the following:

Read your Notice of Alleged Violations carefully. This notice letter outlines the alleged violations as well as the date and time of your conduct meeting. Your meeting has been scheduled based on your academic course schedule. To request an accommodation for your meeting, contact the Center for Student Conduct. If you need to request a change to your meeting date/time due to religious observance, please contact your meeting facilitator directly.

Request a copy of your incident report prior to your meeting, so that you are prepared to respond to the report and alleged violations during your meeting. To make that request, you'll need to agree to keep information confidential.

Review the Code of Student Conduct [PDF] for more information about University policies and your rights during the meeting.

Additional policy information is available for specific charges depending on the nature of the alleged violations:

Arrive to your meeting prepared to describe, as honestly and as clearly as possible, the details of your involvement in the incident in which you have been named. Some students find it useful to prepare written notes or statements in advance of their meeting to assist them in sharing important information, timelines, etc. This is not required, but may be helpful. Your conduct history becomes an educational record protected by federal privacy guidelines. There are conditions to the extent of that privacy: FERPA Rights Disclosure [PDF]

Consider whether you wish to bring an advisor, witnesses, or additional documents to your meeting. Information about advisors and witnesses can be found in the sidebar of this page as well as in the Code of Student Conduct [PDF].

You may always Submit a Witness Statement ahead of your meeting so the facilitator has an opportunity to consider your thoughts in advance.

We understand that this may feel like a lot of information and may feel overwhelming. Please know that we are here to support you as you move through this process. If you have any questions about the incident or the conduct process, please contact your meeting facilitator or the Center for Student Conduct. We are happy to answer questions, explain the process, and provide additional resources.

After Your Conduct Meeting

You will be notified of any finding and outcomes in your decision letter. This decision letter will be sent to your UVM email account. Please be sure to carefully read the letter in its entirety as it contains important information about the outcomes (if applicable), their due dates, and the appeals process.

What to Expect for Outcomes

Submission Form for any Assigned Outcomes

Appeal Process

Waterman building, viewing from the UVM Green

One of your rights in the conduct process is to appeal the decision if it meets one of the three grounds for an appeal.

How to Prepare for an Appeal

Off Campus Violations

Campus over looking Lake Champlain in the evening

We are notified by the City of Burlington, other police agencies, and neighboring colleges of all UVM students who have received citations for a variety of charges. The Code of Student Conduct holds students accountable for off-campus behavior. Depending on the severity of the violation and your conduct history, our response will range from a letter of warning to a formal conduct meeting.

Student Withdrawal Prior to a Conduct Meeting

In cases where a student withdraws prior to the issuance of charges for a conduct violation, the Center for Student Conduct retains the discretion to determine whether or not to proceed with a conduct case. In exercising this discretion, consideration will be given to the seriousness of the offense, whether the respondent is likely to return to campus, and whether the offense, if established as having occurred, would likely result in suspension or dismissal from the University.

Group Conduct Meetings

If an incident involves more than one student, the meetings for all students will likely be combined into one conduct meeting. A student may request a separate meeting; however, in most cases it is in the University’s interest to hear and consider all testimony together. Requests for an individual meeting must be made within 24 hours of the date of your Notice of Alleged Violations letter and will only be granted for good cause.

Advisor

You may bring an advisor to your meeting. An advisor does not have a speaking role during the meeting, but can serve as a person of support for you. Your advisor must be a UVM affiliate, and cannot be a family member.

Read more on the explanations of advisors and support during a conduct meeting.

Witness(es)

You may also bring a witness who has first-hand relevant knowledge of the incident. Character witnesses are not allowed. Witnesses may attend the conduct meeting or submit a written statement via their UVM email, but it is your responsibility to bring your witness or witness statement to the meeting.

A witness and an advisor may not be the same person. If you choose to bring either, you must submit the name(s) no later than 24 hours before the conduct meeting.

We do not consider anonymous witness statements. A person submitting a witness statement should include their full name and contact information as well as the following statement (signed and dated): The information that I have provided in this statement is true and accurate. I have made this statement freely without expectation of a benefit or reward, without threat of punishment, and without coercion. I understand that providing false information in this statement may subject me to penalty of perjury.

Submit a Witness Statement

Standard of Evidence (How the Decision is Made)

You are presumed to be “not responsible” for the alleged violation(s) unless the facts of your case show a preponderance of evidence. Preponderance of evidence is defined as being more likely than not that the violation occurred, meaning there is greater than a 50% chance the violation occurred. A student is found responsible when the meeting facilitator concludes there is a preponderance of evidence.