Policies

 Conduct—Rules and Regulations

Any Student or Registered Student Organization found to have committed or to have attempted to commit the followinf is subject to the disciplinary sanctions outlined in Article IV, D:

1. Academic dishonesty and impropriety:

A. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling or distribution of term papers or other academic materials.

B. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: (1) use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; (2) use of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; (3) the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the university faculty or staff; (4) engaging in any behavior specifically prohibited by a faculty member in the course syllabus, assignment, or class discussion; (5) or otherwise engaging in behavior that gives the Student an unfair academic advantage including, but not limited to, fabrication of data or sources, resubmitting work already submitted for another academic requirement without prior authorization, or other similar behavior.

C. Facilitating, procuring, or encouraging another person to engage in plagiarism or cheating.

** As outline in the university's Withdrawal from Classes policy (policy no. 02.10.14), once a student has been informed that academic misconduct is suspected, the student student may not drop or withdraw from the course during the investigation and adjudication process except where the drop or withdrawal is approved for exceptional circumstances.

2. Disruption or obstruction of university activities, on or off campus, including, but not limited to, teaching, research, administration, disciplinary proceedings, and its public service functions , or authorized non-university activities where those nonuniversity activities occur on university premises.

3. Intentional or reckless physical harm to another person.

4. Written, verbal, physical, or other conduct that intentionally or recklessly places another person in reasonable fear of:

  • A. Bodily harm to that person;
  • B. Bodily harm to a third party; or
  • C. Damage to property; or
  • D. Physical harm to a Service or Emotional Support Animal.

5. Violation of the University Policy on Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct 04.82.02 which may be found on the university’s policies and procedures webpage at http://policies.temple.edu. Sexual misconduct includes sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual exploitation and other forms of sexual harassment, as articulated in Section 6 below. The university has specific processes when investigating and resolving Formal Complaints of: Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking, Quid Pro Quo Harassment, and Hostile Environment, as defined below. A summary of these processes are attached in Appendix A and set forth in further detail in the Policy on Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct.

A. Sexual Assault. Includes any of the following, or threat or attempt thereof:

(i) Any intentional and unconsented touching of the following for the purpose of sexual gratification

  • 1. an intimate bodily part of another person, such as a sexual organ, buttocks or breast; any bodily part of another person with a sexual organ; or
  • 2. any part of another person's body with the intent of accomplishing a sexual act.

(ii) Vaginal or anal penetration of another individual, by body part or object, without the other person's consent; or

(iii) Vaginal, anal, or oral sexual intercourse with another individual without the other person's consent.

  • In accordance with federal regulations, the university prohibits sexual assault that includes conduct defined by federal agencies as rape, sodomy, sexual assault with an object, and fondling.

Consent in sexual activity is defined in Pennsylvania in accordance with its plain and common meaning. Consent means words or actions that show a knowing and voluntary agreement to engage in mutually agreed sexual activity. Consent must be ongoing through sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. Assent (an affirmative statement or action) shall not constitute consent if it is given by a person who is unable to make a reasonable judgment concerning the nature or harmfulness of the activity because of their intoxication, unconsciousness, youth, mental deficiency or incapacity, or if the assent is the product of threat or coercion. Consent to prior sexual activities does not constitute consent to future acts.

B. Domestic Violence. Violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or who has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim, by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or as “domestic violence” is otherwise defined under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

C. Dating Violence. Violence committed by a person—

(i) who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and

(ii) where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the victim’s statement and with a consideration of the following factors:

  • The length of the relationship.
  • The type of relationship.
  • The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

(iii) Dating violence includes, but it not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse. Dating violence does not include acts that meet the definition of "domestic violence."

D. Stalking. Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of others; or suffer severe emotional distress; or as “stalking” is otherwise defined by the law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

  • One engages in an impermissible course of conduct if one engages in two or more acts that include, but are not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates about a person in a way prohibited as described above, or interferes with a person’s property.

E. Sexual Exploitation. Conduct where a person takes non-consensual sexual advantage of another individual for the benefit of anyone other than the individual being exploited. When sexual exploitation rises to the level of sexual harassment as defined by university policy, the reported conduct will be processed through the procedures set forth below in Appendix A and in more detail in the university's sexual miscondut policy. In the event that sexual exploitation does not rise to the level of sexual harassment, the conduct will be addressed through the procedures for other conduct violations. Examples of sexual exploitation include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Taking and/or disseminating pictures, video, or audio recording of another person engaged in sexual activity without the consent of all involved in the activity.
  • Exposing one's own or another's genitals in non-consenual circumstances, including via online communications.
  • Sexual voyeurism, such as watching another engage in sexual activity or undressing without consent.
  • Disrobing another person without their consent.
  • Prostituting another person.
  • Knowingly transmitting sexually transmitted infections (STI) or sexually transmitted diseases (STD) without disclosing that one is infected with a STI or STD.

Temple University seeks to encourage and sustain an academic environment that both respects individual freedom and promotes the health, safety and welfare of all members of its community. Because Temple University places a high priority on student health and safety, those who report Sexual Misconduct or participate as a complainant, victim, or a witness in Sexual Misconduct investigations, or who seek medical assistance for themselves or another, will not be subject to disciplinary sanctions for their consumption of alcohol and/or other substances.

6. Engaging in other forms of Sexual Harassment, as defined in the applicable university policy, which include:

  • a. Quid Pro Quo Harassment. Submission to unwelcome conduct based on sex/gender that is a) made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or status in a course, program, or activity, or b) used as a basis for an employment-related, educational, or other decision affecting an individual.

 

  • b. Hostile Environment Harassment. Unwelcome conduct based on sex/gender that is severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive such that it effectively denies an individual from participating in or benefitting from the university's education or employment programs and/or activities.

In evaluating conduct prohibited under Subsection 6 above, the university will consider the totality of the known circumstances.

7. Conduct (including written, oral, or electronic communications) that causes severe or pervasive distress by:

  • (a) repeated communications that the Student knows or should know are unwanted;
  • (b) where the Student acts with the intent to harass; or
  • (c) violations of the University Policy on Preventing and Addressing Discrimination and Harassment 04.81.11.

8. Intentional or reckless damage to or destruction of University property or private property.

9. Theft of University property, private property, or government property.

10. Intentional provision of false or misleading information, verbally or in writing. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • i. Forgery, fraud (including payroll fraud), bribery, alteration, or misuse of University documents, records;
  • ii. Intentionally providing false or misleading information during a disciplinary proceeding or investigation related to potential policy violations; or
  • iii. Representing oneself as another member of the university community.

11. Misuse of another's property. This includes, but is not limited to, the inappropriate use of another person’s identity, password(s), identification number, university identification card, or any other form of identification. This may also include the dissemination of another's property without their consent.

12. Violation of the university's Anti-Hazing Policy, policy number 03.70.14, which may be found on the university’s policies and procedures webpage at http://policies.temple.edu.

13. Failure to comply with directions of university officials or law enforcement officers acting in performance of their duties and/or failure to identify oneself to these persons when requested to do so.

14. Unauthorized possession, duplication or use of keys or swipe cards that are used for electronic access to any university premises, or unauthorized entry to or use of university premises or private property.

15. Violation of any university policy, rule, or regulation published in hard copy or available electronically on the university website.

16. Violation of any federal, state or local law.

17. Unlawful use, possession, manufacture, or distribution of alcoholic beverages (except as expressly permitted by university regulations), or public intoxication. Alcoholic beverages may not, in any circumstance, be used, possessed, manufactured, or distributed by any person under twenty-one (21) years of age. It is also a violation to possess and/or use false forms of identification to obtain alcoholic beverages. Students 21 years of age and older may be in violation of the University’s alcohol policy for, among other things, the public possession of an open container, public intoxication, and the distribution of alcohol to anyone under the age of 21.

The university strongly encourages students to call Campus Safety Services for medical assistance for themselves or for other individuals who are dangerously under the influence of drugs or alcohol. No student seeking medical treatment for the effects of drug or alcohol use will be subject to university discipline for violations pertaining to drug or alcohol use that are outlined in the Student Code. Medical amnesty does not apply to disciplinary action relating to any other criminal activity including but not limited to assault, property damage, or the presence of or distribution of other substances. This medical amnesty will be granted to both the intoxicated student and to the student seeking medical assistance for the intoxicated student; however, the intoxicated student will be required to participate in the university’s Drug and Alcohol Education Program in order to receive medical amnesty.

18. The illegal or unauthorized use, possession, cultivation, distribution, manufacture or sale of any drug(s), including prescribed medication (marijuana remains illegal under federal law and use of marijuana, even by prescription, is prohibited on university property, including within residence halls).

19. Intoxication due to the use or abuse of solvents, aerosols, or propellants.

20. Administration of drugs or other intoxicants to another person, without their knowledge.

21. Use, possession, sale or storage of articles and substances that endanger a person’s health and/or safety in or on university premises. This includes, but is not limited to, firearms (e.g. guns, pistols, rifles, stun guns, air rifles, pellet guns, etc.), fireworks, knives, weapons, ammunition, gunpowder, explosives, or other material containing flammable substances, as well as replicas of any such articles or substances. The university will confiscate any such articles. Any student found in possession of a firearm will receive an interim suspension from Temple University pending the outcome of the student conduct process.

Firearms and other dangerous weapons are strictly prohibited in or on university facilities. This prohibition applies to all persons, even those who possess a license to carry such weapons, except for authorized Campus Safety Services and other law enforcement personnel performing official functions.

22. Any lewd or indecent act, including public urination, which the Student knows or reasonably should know, is likely to be observed by others.

23. Disorderly conduct that causes a public inconvenience, disruption, or creates a risk thereof. Acts that may constitute disorderly conduct are limited to the following:

  • a. Engaging in fighting or threatening or violent behavior;
  • b. Making unreasonable or excessive noise; or
  • c. Creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition.

24. Abuse of the student conduct process, including, but not limited to:

  • a. The Student’s failure to comply with the notice to appear for any preliminary investigative meeting, Process Review meeting, or hearing as part of the student conduct process;
  • b. Attempting to discourage an individual’s participation in, or use of the student conduct process, including but not limited to, retaliation of any kind against any individual filing a complaint or participating in a disciplinary proceeding;
  • c. Attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of a Student Conduct Board prior to, during, and/or after a Student Conduct Board Hearing;
  • d. Harassment (verbal or physical) and/or intimidation of a member of a Student Conduct Board prior to, during, and/or after a Student Conduct Board Hearing;
  • e. Failure to comply with the sanction(s) imposed under the Student Conduct Code;
  • f. Influencing or attempting to influence another person to commit an abuse of the student conduct process.

25. Operating an unregistered student organization, including fraternities/sororities and sport clubs, organizing or sponsoring any event or activity that promotes or gives the impression or appearance that the unregistered group is a viable organization.

Students should contact the Student Activities Office or Campus Recreation to ensure that a student organization is in good standing.

26. Facilitating, procuring, or encouraging another person to engage in a code violation.

27. Bias-related Intimidation or Harassment. Conduct (including any gesture, written, verbal or physical act), or any electronic communication (which includes, but is not limited to, e-mail, text messaging, and internet posting on web-sites or other social media) that is directed by the Respondent at a person or group and is actually motivated, or reasonably perceived as being motivated, by another person’s or group’s actual or perceived membership in a “Protected Category,” and that a reasonable person under the circumstances should have known that their actions will:

  • a. Inflict physical harm, or severe or pervasive emotional distress upon a student, or
  • b. Damage a student’s and/or the university’s property, or
  • c. Place a student in reasonable apprehension of such physical, emotional, or property harm, or
  • d. Cause substantial disruption in or interference with the orderly operation of the University, or
  • e. Create a hostile educational environment by severely and pervasively infringing on the rights of one or more students and substantially interfering with one or more students’ education.

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