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Expectations of Students
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The community of scholars at Northeast State Technical
Community College is committed to the development of
personal and academic excellence. The essence of a college
is the pursuit, dissemination and application of knowledge,
and members of this community should engage vigorously
in this college’s academic life. As voluntary members of the
college community, students are expected to act with civility
toward others in the community. Accordingly, in order
to foster and promote an educational environment conducive
to the college’s mission, students at Northeast State are
expected to:
- Commit themselves to learning and the pursuit of higher
education;
- Prepare for, attend, and actively participate in scheduled
classes;
- Conduct themselves with personal and academic integrity;
- Respect the rights and dignity of all members of the college
community;
- Discourage bigotry and encourage tolerance while striving
to learn from differences in people, ideas and opinions;
- Refrain from and discourage behaviors that threaten the
freedom and respect every individual deserves;
- Participate in the broad educational experience available
to all members of the college community through college
sponsored cultural events and other educational activities;
- Observe prescribed procedures and schedules for academic
advisement, registration and advancement in a chosen program
of study;
- Observe all rules and regulations, including those designed
to insure and promote safety and security on the Northeast
State campus;
- Use, as necessary, various college services available to students
for assistance with academic, health, career, financial,
emotional and other concerns;
- Assist the college in evaluation of its programs and services
and conscientiously participate in evaluations, surveys
and periodic comprehensive examinations.
Institutional Policy Statement
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College students are citizens of the state, local and national
governments and the academic community, and are, therefore,
expected to conduct themselves as law abiding members
of each community at all times. Admission to an
institution of higher education carries with it special privileges
and imposes special responsibilities apart from those
rights and duties enjoyed by non-students. In recognition of
the special relationship that exists between the college and
the academic community which it seeks to serve, the Tennessee
Board of Regents has authorized the President of the
college to take such action as may be necessary to maintain
campus conditions and preserve the integrity of the college
and its educational environment.
Pursuant to this authorization, Northeast State has developed
the following regulations which are intended to govern student
conduct on the campus. In addition, students are subject
to all national, state and local laws and ordinances. If a
student’s violation of such laws or ordinances also adversely
affects the college’s pursuit of its educational objectives, the
college may enforce its own regulations regardless of any proceedings
instituted by other authorities.
Disciplinary Offenses |
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- Generally, through appropriate due process procedures,
institutional disciplinary measures shall be imposed for conduct
which adversely affects the college’s pursuit of its educational
objectives, which violates or shows a disregard for
the rights of other members of the academic community, or
which endangers property or persons on college or collegecontrolled
property.
- Individual or organizational misconduct which is subject
to disciplinary sanction shall include but not be limited to
the following examples:
- Conduct dangerous to others: Any conduct which constitutes a
serious danger to any person’s health, safety or personal well-being,
including any physical abuse or immediate threat of abuse.
- Hazing: Any act of hazing, as defined by state law, by any individual
or group.
- Disorderly conduct: Any individual or group behavior
which is abusive, obscene, lewd, indecent, violent, excessively
noisy, disorderly, or which unreasonably disturbs
other groups or individuals.
- Obstruction of or interference with college activities or facilities:
Any intentional interference with or obstruction of any college activity,
program, event, or facilities including the following:
- Any unauthorized occupancy of college or college-controlled
facilities or blockage of access to or from such facilities.
- Interference with the right of any college member or
other authorized person to gain access to any college or
college-controlled activity, program, event or facilities.
- Any obstruction or delay of a campus security officer,
fireman or any college official in the performance of his
or her duty.
- Misuse of, or damage to, property: Any act of misuse, vandalism
malicious or unwarranted damage or destruction, defacing disfiguring,
or unauthorized use of property belonging to the college including, but
not limited to, fire equipment, elevators, telephones, institution keys,
library materials and/or safety devices; and any such act against a member
of the college community or a guest of the college. Acts of vandalizing
and/or littering the campus grounds or buildings are strictly prohibited.
- Theft, misappropriation, or unauthorized sale: Any act of theft,
misappropriation, unauthorized possession, or sale of college property
or any such act against a member of the college community or a guest of
the college.
- Misuse of documents or identification cards: Any forgery, alteration
or unauthorized use of documents, forms, records or identification cards,
including the giving of any false information or withholding of necessary
information, in connection with a student’s admission, enrollment
or status in the college.
- Firearms and other dangerous weapons: Any unauthorized or illegal
possession of or use of firearms or dangerous weapons of any kind is prohibited.
No firearms shall be permitted on the college’s campus or be worn
by any person at any time except as provided in Tennessee Code Annotated,
section 39-17-1309.
- Explosives, fireworks, and flammable materials: The
unauthorized possession, ignition or detonation of any
object or article which would cause damage by fire or other
means to persons or property or possession of any substance
which could be considered to be and used as fireworks.
- Alcoholic beverages: The use , possession, distribution, sale,
or manufacture of alcoholic beverages or public intoxication on property
owned or controlled by the college, at college sponsored events, on property
owned or controlled by an affiliated clinical site, or violation on any
term of Northeast State Technical Community College’s Drug Free
Schools and Community Policy Statement.
- Drugs: The unlawful use, possession, distribution, sale, or
manufacture of any drug or controlled substance (including any stimulant,
depressant, narcotic, or hallucinogenic drug or substance, or marijuana),
being under the influence of any drug or controlled substance, or the
misuse of legally prescribed or “over the counter” drugs on
property owned or controlled by the college; at a college sponsored event;
on property owned or controlled by an affiliated clinical site; or in
violations on any term of the Northeast State Technical Community College’s
Drug Free School and Community Policy Statement.
- Gambling: Gambling in any form.
- Financial irresponsibility: Failure to meet financial responsibilities
to the college promptly including, but not limited to, knowingly passing
a worthless check or money order in payment to the college or to a member
of the college community acting in an official capacity.
- Unacceptable conduct in hearings: Any conduct at a college hearing
involving contemptuous, disrespectful or disorderly behavior, or the giving
of false testimony or other evidence at any hearing.
- Failure to cooperate with college officials: Failure to comply
with directions of college officials acting in the performance of their
duties.
- Violation of general rules and regulations: Any violations of
the general rules and regulations of the college as published in an official
college publication, including the intentional failure to perform any
required action or the intentional performance of any prohibited action.
- Attempts and aiding and abetting the commission of offenses:
Any attempt to commit any of the foregoing offenses, or the aiding and
abetting of the commission of any of the foregoing offenses (“an
attempt” to commit an offense is defined as the intention to commit
the offense coupled with the taking of some action toward its commission).
- Violations of state or federal laws: Any violation of state
or federal laws or regulations prescribing conduct or establishing offenses,
which laws and regulations are incorporated herein by reference.
- Disciplinary action may be taken against a student for
violations of foregoing regulations which occur on college-owned, leased, or otherwise controlled property, or
which occur off-campus when the conduct impairs, interferes
with or obstructs any college activity or the missions,
processes and functions of the college. In addition,
disciplinary action may be taken on the basis of any conduct,
on- or off-campus, which poses a substantial threat
to persons or property within the college community.
- For the purpose of these regulations, a “student” shall
mean any person who is registered for study at the college
for any academic period. A person shall be considered
a student during any period which follows the end
of an academic period which the student has completed
until the last day for registration for the next succeeding
regular academic period, and during any period while the
student is under suspension from the college.
Disciplinary Sanctions |
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- Upon a determination that a student or organization has
violated any of the rules, regulations, or disciplinary offenses
set forth in the regulations, the following disciplinary sanctions
may be imposed, either singly or in combination, by the appropriate
college officials.
- Definition of Sanctions
- Restitution. A student who has committed an offense
against property may be required to reimburse the college
or other owner for damage to or misappropriation of such
property. Any such payment in restitution shall be limited
to actual cost of repair or replacement.
- Warning. The appropriate college official may notify the
student that continuation or repetition of specified conduct
may be cause for other disciplinary action.
- Reprimand. A written reprimand, or censure, may be
given any student or organization whose conduct violates
any part of these regulations. Such a reprimand does not
restrict the student in anyway, but does have important
consequence. It signifies that the student is being given
another chance to conduct himself or herself as a proper
member of the college community, but that any further
violation may result in more serious penalties.
- Restriction. A restriction upon a student’s or
organization’s privileges for a period of time may be imposed.
This restriction may include, for example, denial
of the right to represent the college in any way, denial of
use of facilities, parking privileges, participation in extracurricular
activities or restriction of organizational
privileges.
- Probation. Continued enrollment of a student on probation
may be conditioned upon adherence to these regulations.
Any student placed on probation will be notified
of such in writing and will also be notified of the terms
and length of the probation. Probation may include restrictions
upon the extracurricular activities of a student.
Any conduct in violation of these regulations while on
probationary status may result in the imposition of a more
serious disciplinary sanction.
- Suspension. A suspended student is separated from
the college for a period of time with conditions of readmission
stated in the notice of suspension.
- Expulsion. Expulsion entails a permanent separation from
the college. The imposition of this sanction is a permanent
bar to the student’s readmission to the college.
- Interim or summary suspension. Though as a general
rule the status of a student accused of violations of these
regulations should not be altered until a final determination
has been made in regard to the charges against
him or her, summary suspension may be imposed upon
a finding by the appropriate college official that the continued
presence of the accused on campus constitutes an
immediate threat to the physical safety and well-being
of the accused, or of any other member of the college
community or its guests, destruction of property, or substantial
disruption of classroom or other campus activities.
In any case of immediate suspension, the student
shall be given an opportunity at the time of the decision
or immediately thereafter to contest the suspension, and
if there are disputed issues of fact or cause and effect, the
student shall be provided a hearing on the suspension as
soon as possible.
- Mandatory participation in and satisfactory completion
of a drug or alcohol abuse program, or rehabilitation
program.
- The President of the college is authorized to convert any
sanction imposed to a lesser sanction or to rescind any previous
sanction.
Procedural Due Process |
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Northeast State fully recognizes the constitutional rights of
students to be afforded due process and equal protection
wherein a violation of college regulations has been alleged
and the possibility of sanctions is present.
All cases which may result in (1) suspension or expulsion of a
student from the college and a program, or (2) revocation of
registration of a student organization during the term of the
registration are subject to the contested case provisions of
the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures (TUAP) and
shall be processed in accordance with the uniform contested
case procedures adopted by the Tennessee Board of Regents
unless the student waives those procedures in writing and
elects to have the case disposed of in accordance with the
College Disciplinary Procedures.
All cases which are not subject to the contested case procedures
under the TUAP and all cases in which the student has
waived the contested case procedures in writing shall be disposed
of in accordance with the College Disciplinary Procedures.
College Disciplinary Procedures |
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Persons who allege that a student has violated certain institutional
rules or regulations or ordinances or laws of the
county, state or federal government must make these charges
known to the President, Vice President for Academic and Student
Affairs or Associate Vice President of Student Affairs as
soon as possible after the alleged violation occurs. If it is determined
that there is probable cause that the violation occurred,
the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs will
notify the student in writing by mail or in person at least five
working days prior to a hearing. The notice will include:
- The specific charge, the rule, violated, possible sanctions
that could be imposed.
- Notice of a hearing before the Student Discipline Committee
including the date, place and time of the meeting.
- The student may have an advisor present at the hearing.
The advisor may not be an attorney and cannot address the
hearing unless permission is granted by the chairperson.
- Material evidence may be presented and the student may
cross-examine the witness(es).
- The student shall be entitled to be present throughout the
presentation of evidence, to know the identity of witness/es
against him or her and to present evidence including
witness(es) who may speak on the student’s behalf.
- A verbatim record of the hearing will be made available to
the student upon request.
- The Student Discipline Committee will submit a recommendation
to the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs
who will determine appropriate disciplinary or other
action.
- The student may appeal this decision to the Vice President
for Academic and Student Affairs and if needed, the
President of the college. The President’s decision is final
except in the those cases in which appeal is provided, by
policy, to the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Smoking and Tobacco Use on Campus |
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The following policy is established relative to smoking/tobacco
use in college facilities and vehicles.
College Buildings - Smoking is prohibited in all college
buildings and indoor facilities.
Grounds and Open Air Facilities - Smoking is permitted on
college grounds. Ash receptacles are located throughout the
campus.
College Vehicles - Smoking is prohibited in all college owned
vehicles.
Off-Campus Facilities - Smoking at off-campus teaching
sites may be permitted but regulations established by the
organization which controls the facility must be followed.
Other Tobacco Use - The use of mouth tobacco (including dipping, chewing, etc.) is prohibited in all buildings.
Enforcement Policies - The above regulations will be enforced
under the provisions of TBR Policy 3:02:00:01 which
require adherence to college and TBR regulations designed
to protect the rights of all students and staff from any conduct
which constitutes a danger to any person’s health and
personal well-being.
Visitors in Classes |
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Visitors are not permitted in classes taught on the Northeast
State main campus or at other off-campus teaching site
owned, leased or used by the college except with prior approval
of the classroom instructor. Children are not permitted
to attend classes or lab sessions under any
circumstances and should never be left unattended or without
supervision in any area of the college.
Disposition of Abandoned Property |
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All lost or abandoned property is subject to the custody of
the state as unclaimed property. If the college has an address
presumed to be accurate, a written notice to the apparent
owner will be sent informing him/her that the college
is in possession of the property. All property with a value
that exceeds $50 and has remained unclaimed for more than
one year is presumed abandoned.
Concerns or Complaints |
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A student who has a concern or complaint to include, but
not limited to, issues related to academic misconduct that
are not addressed in other policies regarding a Northeast State
instructor or staff member should follow these steps:
- Discuss the concern with the instructor or staff member.
- If the problem is not resolved by a conversation with the
instructor or staff member, the student may then contact
the appropriate organizational unit head.
- If the student continues to be dissatisfied, he/she should ask
the unit head to contact the Vice President for Academic and
Student Affairs. The Vice President for Academic and Student
Affairs will determine any additional steps to be taken or will
initiate other institutional procedures to ensure appropriate
consideration.
Complaints regarding discrimination or harassment should
be directed to the Director of Human Resources, the college’s
affirmative action officer.
Reporting Fraud, Waste or Abuse |
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State law requires all public institutions of higher education to provide a
means by which students, employees, or others may report suspected or known
improper or dishonest acts. In addition, Northeast State Technical Community
College is committed to the responsible stewardship of our resources.
Whether you are part of departmental management, a faculty
or staff member, a student, or an interested citizen, we
encourage you to report known or suspected dishonest acts
by employees, outside contractors or vendors.
You may report your concerns to the college’s Internal Audit
at 423-439-5656 or to the Tennessee Board of Regents by email at ReportFraud@tbr.state.tn.us or to the Tennessee
Comptroller’s Hotline for Fraud and Abuse at 1-800-232-5454.
Suggestions for Improving College Services |
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A student who has a suggestion for improving services provided
by the college should follow these steps:
- Discuss the suggestion with the individual providing the
service to include action(s), which can be taken to improve
the service.
- If the improvement action(s) require approval by the service
provider’s supervisor or the college administration, the
student should submit the suggestion in writing to the Vice
President for Academic and Student Affairs.
- The Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs will
present the suggestion to the college’s Executive Council,
which will review the service and make a recommendation
to the President.
- The President may direct the development and implementation
of actions designed to improve the services provided
by the college.
Northeast State encourages individuals and groups to offer suggestions
for scheduling credit courses on campus during the
evenings and weekends and at off-campus locations in area
communities. For more information contact the Evening and
Distance Education office on Northeast State’s campus in
Blountville at 423/323/0221 or the director of Northeast State
at Elizabethton, 432/547/8450.
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