Definitions

Alleged: This role defines an individual who is believed to have broken a policy or rule.

Arbitrary: No reasonably factual basis for reaching the conclusion or taking the action.

Assertion: A contention or theory about the existence of some state of being. An assertion is established or disaproved by information.

Breach of Security: Unauthorized access to information resources or information resources technologies and/or release of password or other confidential information related to computer security.

Capricious: Unpredictable and subject to whim.

Chairperson: An Office of Community Standards administrator who is authorized by the Vice President for Student Affairs or designee to take the lead role in conducting conferences when there is more than one person serving as a Panel and/or more than one Student Conduct Administrator present.

Charge: An allegation of a potential violation of the WTAMU Student Handbook. Charges are issued after a Student Conduct Officer has determined sufficient information exists to hold a conference to determine whether any student(s) has violated any rule(s).

Classification: A student's classification refers to the number of years they have been enrolled in higher education. This is measured by the number of college-level hours completed.

College Integrity Committee: The Appeal committee for Academic Dishonesty cases.

Complainant: This role defines an individual who submits a formal complaint against another party.

Conduct Officer: A University official authorized by the VP for Student Affairs or designee to collect information, initiate notification letters, articulate charges in conferences, present information to support charges, to conduct meetings, and to impose sanctions upon any student(s) found to have violated the Student Handbook.

Conference/Hearing: A process that provides an opportunity for an alleged student to respond to a specific charge or charges. The purpose of a conference or hearing is to determine responsibility and appropriate sanctions. Only information presented during the designated conference or hearing can be used to determine if there is a finding of responsibility.

Consent: Solely for the purposes of sexual misconduct, means clear, voluntary, and positive verbal or non-verbal communication that all participants have agreed to the activity. Consent must occur prior to or at the same time as the activity. Consent must remain clear, voluntary, and positive throughout the activity. Consent must be given for the current activity. The existence of a prior relationship or prior activity does not automatically ensure consent for current or future activity. Consent must be given by each participant involved. A person must be 17 years of age or older to be able to consent to a sexual activity if the other participant(s) involved are more than three (3) years of age older than that person. A person who is clearly or visibly incapacitated is not able to give consent to sexual activity.

Controlled Substances: Those drugs and substances whose possession, sale, or delivery results in criminal sanctions under the Texas Controlled Substances Act (Texas Civil Statutes, Article 4479-15), as well as substances that possess a chemical structure similar to that of a controlled substance (e.g., "designer drugs").

Credible: Believable by a reasonable person.

Day: Means Monday through Friday during regular University business hours (8am to 5pm).

Direct Threat: A significant risk of causing substantial harm to the health or safety of a student or other members of the University community that cannot be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level through the provision of reasonable accommodations.

Directory of Information: Information contained in an education record of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. The University has designated the following items as directory information, thus they may be made public unless the student submits a request to withhold any or all of this information; the student's name, UIN (Universal Identification Number), local address, permanent address, email address, local telephone number, permanent telephone number, dates of attendance, program of study, classification, previous institution(s) attended, degrees, honors, and awards received, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and medical residence specialization (Health Services Center students).

Education Records: Any records (in handwriting, print, tapes, film or other medium) maintained by the University, an employee of the University or agent of the University that are directly related to a student.

Faculty: An individual holding a position in which the primary title includes the word "professor," lecturer," or "librarian" regardless of other rank of appointment qualifiers associated with the title. Appointments with the word "dean" or "provost" with or without a specified faculty rank higher than assistance professor are normally tenured faculty appointments.

Final Grade: A grade assigned by the instructor at the end of the academic term. This does not include other grade designations of I, X, Q, W and NG.

Fraud: Any intentional act or omission designated to deceive others and resulting in the victim suffering a loss and/or the prepetrator achieving a gain (i.e., willful or deliberate act or failure to act with the intention of obtaining an unauthorized benefit, such as money or property, by deception or other unethical means. Fraud and fraudulent activities include, but are not limited to: theft of any university asset including money, tangible property, time, trade secrets, and intellectual property; embezzlement; bribery/rebate/kickback; misappropriation, misapplication, destruction, removal or concealment of university property; forgery, alteration, or falsification of documents and/or conflicts of interest.

Full-Time Graduate Students: One who is registered for nine (9) semester hours during a Fall or Spring semester, or eight (8) in a summer semester.

Full-Time Undergraduate Student: One who is enrolled in at least 12 semester hours during a Fall or Spring semester, or either (8) in a summer semester.

Hazing: Any intentional, knowing, or reckless act occurring on or off the campus of an educational institution, by one person alone or acting with others, directed against a student for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in an organization if the act: a) is any type of physical brutality, such as whipping, beating, striking, branding, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on the body or similar activity; b) involves sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, calisthenics, or other similar activity that subjects the student; c) involves consumption of a food, liquid, drug, or other substance, other than as described in paragraph (E), that subjects the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversley affects the mental or physical health or safety of the student; d) is any activity that induces, causes, or requires the student to perform a duty or task that involves a violation of the Penal Code; or e) involves coercing, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, the student to consume: i) a drug; ii) an alcoholic beverage or liquor in any amount that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the student is intoxicated, as defined by Section 49.01, Penal Code.

Hold: A hold can be applied to a student's account, this would limit the person's ability to register for upcoming courses, or receive a transcript from the University. 

Incapacitation: The physical and/or mental inability to make informed, rational judgements. States of incapacitation include, but are not limited to: sleep, unconsciousness, and brownouts or blackouts (where an individual is awake but is not forming memories). Where alcohol or other drugs are involved, incapacitation is defined with respect to how the substance consumed impacts a person's decision-making capacity, awareness of consequences, and ability to make fully informed judgements.

Information Resources: The procedures, computer equipment, computing facilities, software and data which are purchased, designed built, operated and maintained to collect records, process, store, retrieve, display, report and trasmit information.

Intoxication: Is either 1) not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties due to the introduction of alcohol or other drugs into the body; or 2) having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. Penal Code, 49.01.

Investigation: The follow through on a report to ascertain details and circumstances associated with the report. Investigations may result in charges, a form of alternative dispute resolution, or closure of the report. This determination is made at the sole discretion of the Office of Community Standards, responsible for the oversight of the Student Conduct process.

Letter: In the context of Student Conduct proceedings, a Letter is defined as the official notification sent to the student via the Office of Community Standards. This Letter will go to the student's WT email account and will require the student to sign in with their university credentials.

Member of the University Community: Any person who is a student, faculty member, staff, University official, or any other person employed by the University or by a company contracted to provide services for the University.

Non-Student: An individual who has not been admitted into West Texas A&M University, or a former student that does not have a current or upcoming course schedule.

Organization: Any number of people who meet any single or combination of the following criteria:

• Belong to a group whose members are primarily West Texas A&M University students, including but not limited to academic, athletic, recreational, religious, performance, political, and social or similar groups;
• Have complied with the formal requirements for university recognition;
• Are advised by a University official whose position description designates them as an advisor;
• Are advised by a University official who has volunteered as an advisor; and/or
• Are otherwise considered by the University to be an organization.

Pledge: Any person who has been accepted by, is considering an offer of membership from, or is in the process of qualifying for membership in an organization.

Prejudicial: Irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual. This does not include hostility on the basis of any legally protected status that is addressed through Civil Rights violations.

Preponderance of Evidence: The greater weight of credible evidence submitted in the University. For a fact to be established by a preponderance of the evidence the judicial officer must find the fact is more likely true than not true.

Respondent: This role defines an individual who was named in a Formal Complaint submitted in reference to alleged misconduct.

Retaliation: Any adverse action taken against a person for making a good faith report of a violation of the WTAMU Student Handbook, and/or the law, or for participating in any proceeding related to the investigation or resolution of such report. Retaliation includes threatening, intimidating, harassing, coercing or any other conduct that would discourage a reasonable person from enegaging in activity protected under this policy. Retaliation may be present even where there is a decision of "Not Responsible" on the allegations. Retailiation does not include good faith actions lawfully pursued in response to a report. Violation of an interim, remedial, or protective measure will be considered retaliation.

Sanction: Responses or requirements given by the University to a student during adjudication in response to a violation of a rule. University sanctions include all items listed in Section 2.8 of this Student Conduct Code.

School Official: A school official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff), a person or company with whom the University has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent), a person serving on the Board of Regents, or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing their tasks.

Significant Risk: A high probability of substantial harm that is not just a slightly increase, speculative or remote risk.

Student: All persons who have accepted their offer of admission, and/or who are taking courses at the University, either full-time or part-time, pursuing undergraduate, graduate, or professional studies and who are either currently enrolled or were enrolled the previous semester and registered for a future semester. Persons who withdraw after allegedly violating the Student Handbook, or who are not officially enrolled for a particular term but who have a continuing relationship with the University are considered students. In addition, persons who are living in University Residence Halls, although not enrolled in this situation, are also considered "students," for the purpose of enforcing this code.

Student Identification Cards: More commonly called "Buffalo Gold Card" or "Buff ID", a student identification card is the primary identifier issued to the student upon initial registration with the University.

Student of Concern: This role defines an individual who is exhibiting behavior outside the typical scope, that leads others to worry about their safety and/or wellbeing.

Victim: A role that defines an individual as a person who was negatively impacted by the actions of another.

Waste: Intentional or unintentional, thoughtless or careless expenditure, consumption, mismanagement, use of squandering of resources to the detriment of the organization. Waste also includes incurring unnecessary costs as a result of inefficient or ineffective practices, systems or controls.

Withdrawal: When a student is no longer enrolled in current or upcoming courses with the University.

Witness: This role defines an individual who witnessed the incident being reported.

Common Acronyms:

AIC | Academic Integrity Code

BIP | Behavioral Intervention Plans

BIT | Behavioral Intervention Teams

CIC | College Integrity Committee

CTW | Criminal Trespass Warning

DA | Designated Administrators

DSA | Division of Student Affairs

EDCRTIX | Executive Director of Civil Rights and Title IX

EVPP | Executive Vice President and Provost

OSA | Office of Student Accessibility

SOAB | Student Organization Accountability Board

SOAP | Student Organization Accountability Process

VP | Vice President

VPSA | Vice President of Student Affairs