3361:40-05-01. Conduct, rights and responsibilities: charter of student rights and responsibilities

(A) Article 1. Students are members of society as well as members of the academic community. As members of society, students have the same responsibilities as other members of society and enjoy the same freedom of speech and peaceful assembly and the right of petition that other members of society enjoy. As members of the academic community, they shall have the rights and be subject to the responsibilities which accrue to them by virtue of this membership. Institutional authority shall not be employed to inhibit such intellectual and personal development of students as is often promoted by the exercise of their rights and responsibilities both on and off the campus.

(B) Article 2. Students shall be accorded a significant and direct voice in the formulation and application of policies and procedures at the university, college, and departmental level; the structure for such participation shall be determined by the students, faculty, and administration of each unit. Arrangements for student participation thus developed shall be subject to review by a university body composed of students, faculty members, and administrative officials, which shall be representative of the entire university community and which shall determine whether such arrangements comply with the standards of this article.

(C) Article 3. Student requests to obtain financial information regarding the operations of the university shall be respected. If, aside from public university financial statements, additional information is desired, a request must be presented in writing to the appropriate university authority.

(D) Article 4. Students shall be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by university personnel.

(E) Article 5. Students shall be responsible for maintaining established standards of scholarship and conduct essential to the educational mission and community life of the university. In any case where failure to adhere to such standards may lead to suspension or dismissal from the university, a student shall, upon request, be granted a hearing before a regularly constituted committee or board, which, in its proceedings, shall afford the student the protection of procedural fairness. (See rules 3361:40-5-03 and 3361:40-5-05 of the Administrative Code) In addition orderly review procedures shall be available to any student who claims that he has been subjected to prejudice or capricious academic evaluation. All hearing and review procedures in effect or developed at the university, college, and departmental level shall be subject to review by a university body composed of students, faculty members, and administrative officials, which shall determine whether such procedures comply with the standards of this article. (See rule 3361:40-5-03 of the Administrative Code.)

(F) Article 6. Students have the right to organize, join, and hold office in associations of their common interest. Membership in student organizations shall be open to all students without respect to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sex orientation, age, handicap, or status as disabled or Vietnam era veteran, except for religious qualifications which may be required by organizations whose aims are primarily sectarian. All registered student organizations shall have access to university facilities as provided in the use of facilities handbook.

(G) Article 7. Students shall have the right to invite and to hear persons of their own choosing. Scheduling procedures shall not be used as a device of censorship.

(H) Article 8. Student publications shall be free from censorship. Standards and guidelines for student publications shall be determined by the communications board.

(I) Article 9. Any member of the university community may challenge a regulation established or enforced by a student governmental organization by submitting objections to the office of student activities and programming, which shall refer the matter to an appropriate university committee consisting of a majority of students. Should the committee find that the challenged regulation is either clearly detrimental to the academic goals of the university or conclusively prejudicial to the rights of individual students, it may amend or repeal the regulation.

(J) Article 10. As a guide to the interpretation and implementation of the rights and responsibilities set forth in this charter, the university hereby adopts in principle the "1967 Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students" endorsed by the "Association of American Colleges," the "National Association of University Professors, "the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators," the "National Association of Women Deans and Counselors," and the "United States National Student Association."

Replaces: 3361:40-5-01

Effective: 7/31/1989
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3361
Rule Amplifies: 3361
Prior Effective Dates: 3/16/1978, 10/31/1983, 2/25/1985