What’s the Difference?
Disciplinary conferences and College Hearing Boards are NOT a court of law. Although there are significant differences between campus conduct procedures and criminal justice procedures, they are not mutually exclusive. This means a student may be arrested and charged in the criminal justice system AND face consequences under the college’s student code of conduct.
Alleged violations of the code of conduct may or may not be violations of local, state, or federal law.
During the conduct process there are only findings of ‘responsible’ and ‘not responsible’. The outcome of campus proceedings are not determinant on the findings, verdicts of “guilty” or “not guilty”, of the criminal justice system.
Decisions made in the student conduct process are determined through the hosting of a disciplinary conference or campus hearing board, not a trial.
Any sanctions/outcomes given are not bound by technical rules of evidence. The determination of responsibility will be made on whether there is a preponderance of evidence indicating that it is more likely than not that there was a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
Information on Arrests:
If in violation of local, state, or federal laws, there are different types of processes by which law enforcement can effect an arrest on and off campus.
Appearance ticket: This is considered a non-custodial arrest. A person may or may not be placed in handcuffs, depending on the circumstances. Regardless, it is an arrest. You must stay with the Officer until you receive the Appearance Ticket which will identify the date and time you must appear before a judge in a court of law off campus.
Custodial Arrest: A person is removed from an environment and detained by Public Safety. You will be taken to the Broome County Jail processed and may be held without bail or released on either a promise to appear, or a monetary bail.
