Student Accountability

Student Accountability Overview

Naropa University is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and champions active responsibility. Naropa students are expected to uphold appropriate standards of behavior as outlined in the Naropa Student Code of Conduct, for which all students are held accountable.

The Naropa Student Code of Conduct policies and procedures can be located in the Student Handbook.

If you need to report an incident of a suspected violation of the Student Code of Conduct, you may file a report. All reported incidents are received by the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy and may be reviewed by other relevant Dean of Students Office staff.

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What to Expect

Being involved in a Student Accountability process can be overwhelming and intimidating. Below is some helpful information for different parties to understand more about what your involvement may look like.

Responding Party (Alleged)

If you have been reported for a potential conduct violation, and the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy determines that, if proven, this would be a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, you will receive a written notification including the specific policies that may have been violated, a description of the alleged acts, and a pre-scheduled meeting.
You will be required to attend this meeting, and it is intended to hear your perspective of what occurred and provide an overview of the Student Accountability process.
You will have an opportunity here to accept responsibility for all or some of the violations, or you can choose to be not responsible, or no comment.
There are different routes for Student Accountability proceedings: Restorative and Formal Adjudication.
If you decide you are not responsible for the violations, or do not decide to take full accountability, this will be a Formal Adjudication process where the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy will investigate the alleged acts to determine if there is a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not) that these occurred. If found ‘Not Responsible’, your conduct case will be dismissed and closed. If found ‘Responsible’, the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy will share written notification of the outcome and any applicable sanctions. You will also receive information on how to appeal the decision.
If you wanting to accept responsibility for all alleged violations, it is at the discretion of the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy, if the case is more appropriate for Restorative or for Formal Adjudication. This can depend on the nature of the alleged conduct and prior behavior. If you accept responsibility for violations in a Formal Adjudication process, the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy will administratively apply sanctions which you will receive in a written notification, which may be of a formal nature, though educational and reformative options will also be considered strongly. If you accept responsibility for violations in a process that may be eligible for Restorative resolution, the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy will work collaboratively with you on this.
Restorative processes can be with Naropa University, or with a Harmed Party if they seek to participate in one.
Naropa University aims to work in collaboration with you in this Student Accountability process. We seek to uphold behavioral expectations and protect the community, whilst holding compassion and supporting learning from mistakes.

Harmed Party/Reporting Party (Victim)

In some conduct cases, but not all, there is a specific party that may be harmed.
If you are the Harmed party from another student who may have engaged in behavior that goes against the Student Code of Conduct, we will send you an outreach to meet with you to understand more about what occurred from your perspective, as well as collect any evidence you may have.
We will also ask what you would like to see as outcomes, and will try to consider this, within reason, for applicable sanctioning that may follow, or to consider if you would like to engage in a Restorative process with the Responding Party.
You may request that this be resolved through a restorative conversation, which will be facilitated by the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy if deemed appropriate, and if the Responding Party takes responsibility and wishes to proceed with this. Conduct can also be resolved in a Restorative way that does not involve you within a conversation (i.e. learning-focused and community reparation focused).
We also share a prohibition of retaliation notice with Responding Parties, to minimize the likelihood of this occurring and to support safe reporting.

Witnesses

On occasion, we may need to reach out to identified witnesses, as deemed appropriate for an investigation.
If the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy contacts you asking to meet for the purposes of an investigation, it is to support them in coming to the best conclusion they can possible about whether or not conduct occurred. It is important to be objective and truthful for the purpose of this investigation.

Reporting Party (not harmed)

If you are reporting an incident based on what you had witnessed, or had shared with you, but were not directly harmed, we may reach out for further information as needed.
We do not share information back regarding conduct case outcomes to the reporting parties that were not directly involved in a case.

Restorative Approaches and Reformative Sanctioning

Naropa University champions a “restorative first” initiative, meaning we prioritize a Student Accountability process that supports learning, accountability and repair. Below shares information of potential resolution strategies or applied sanctions that we focus on within our Student Accountability processes. Some of these may be considered in both the Restorative route and a Formal Adjudication process.

Research shows that approaches that may be too punitive, may engender further harm and be less effective in reducing the risk of behavior reoccurring, whereas restorative models support community reparation and reduce the likelihood of repeating the behavior.

1:1 Skills Building/Support & Accountability Sessions with the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy. We aspire to support students in enhancing their toolbox to better navigate complex situations and to show up as their “best self”. The Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy will work with the Responding Party to create a strengths-based 1:1 plan that explores skills relevant to their conduct situation.
Educational Engagement Reflections. We understand some students learn better independently and seek to foster an environment that supports students in learning from their mistakes in a way that works best for them.
Restorative peer-to-peer conversation with Agreement outcomes.
Behavioral Support Agreements or Plans
Engagement with services or Departments. We seek to support learning and well-being so restorative outcomes may explore engagement with counseling providers or other University offices as appropriate.
Verbal or Written apologies.
Awareness campaigns. We recognize many students have strengths in their artistic abilities and can harness this may creating community campaigns, flyers, or artwork. This may then be shared around out campuses or community for reparation and support others in education and knowledge as well.
Community Service.

Other Sanctions

Naropa University has an obligation to protect the student body and Naropa community at large, and at times, this may mean having to implement more formal, punitive sanctions. Depending on the conduct and sanctions that may be applied, we will always try to incorporate restorative learning opportunities alongside formal sanctions, if applicable. Formal sanctions may include the following:

Formal Warning.
Mandatory Behavioral Expectations.
Probation for a specified period of time, or deferred probation.
Suspension for a specified period of time, or deferred suspension.
Expulsion.
Other required sanctions as determined by the adjudicating officer.

Commencement of Proceedings

Send the Responding Party a Written Notice of Charge(s) within 5 business days of the alleged violation(s) being reported or referred to the Office of Student Accountability via the student’s Naropa email address. The written notification will include a description of the alleged acts, the policies that have been violated, and a pre-scheduled meeting with the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy or other appropriate Adjudicating officer.
The meeting will provide an overview of the Student Accountability process, their rights, explore whether the Responding Party would like to accept responsibility for all or any of the alleged violations, and provide an opportunity to present their perspective.
If the Responding Party elects to accept responsibility for all of the violations, it is at the discretion of the Adjudicating officer if this is eligible for a restorative process, or whether this will be held through Formal Adjudication and move straight to sanctioning which will be administratively applied by the Adjudicating officer. If eligible for a restorative process, the Adjudicating officer will create a reparative agreement in collaboration with the Responding Party. In cases in which the Reporting Party is also the harmed party and seeks to be involved in a repair or resolution process, this can also be considered in collaboration with the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy.
If the Responding Party does not accept responsibility or does not comment on all or any of the charges, the Adjudicating officer will conduct a robust and thorough investigation within 30 business days of the meeting date by gathering all and necessary evidence, witness interviews and statements. The Adjudicating officer may schedule a final hearing meeting with the Responding Party following the investigation to hear any final statements.
Within the 30 business days of the initial meeting date, or within 10 business days of a final hearing meeting date if applicable, the Adjudicating officer will render a decision about findings of responsibility based on the preponderance of the evidence standard. If the Responding Party is found responsible for violating policy, the Adjudicating officer will apply sanctions, as appropriate, necessary to the violation when a finding of responsibility is reached. If the Responding Party is found not responsible for all or any of the charges, those charges will be dismissed.
In either case of a responsible or not responsible finding, the Adjudicating officer will produce a formal letter articulating alleged violation(s), any findings of fact, any sanctions instituted, and the appeals process.
As Naropa University is a “restorative first” institution, even in cases of Formal Adjudication, the institution centers the inclusion of reformative learning and accountability whilst minimizing harm to the community. Restorative repair and educational sanctions that support learning from conduct may be included alongside any other necessary formal sanctions, with the exception of expulsion from the institution.

Staff & Faculty Support for Challenging Student Behavior

Not all challenging behaviors need to be addressed through a Student Accountability process, nor may behavior meet the thresholds for an infraction of the Student Code of Conduct. Whilst we strongly encourage our staff and faculty to file reports so that we can ascertain if there is a potential violation, as well as identify patterns and historical behaviors, we always advise a bottom-up approach to accountability and addressing behaviors. Naropa University aims to foster an environment that prioritizes direct communication that balances support and accountability, and we expect our staff and faculty to model this to our students.

If you have a concern with a student’s behavior, we advise the following steps:

Send an email to the student and request to find a time to connect with them to discuss some feedback you wanted to share. If you need support in how to draft this email, please reach out to the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy.
Schedule a 1:1 meeting with the student to share feedback in a supportive and assertive manner. You can defer to your supervisory authority or the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy for coaching and advice before this meeting if needed. Trainings are facilitated by Student Affairs and Mission, Culture, and Inclusive Community to provide support in having these dialogues, as they can often be uncomfortable.
If the meeting goes unsuccessfully, or if continued behaviors arise, schedule a 3-way conversation with yourself, the student, and another appropriate individual from Academic Affairs (program lead, Chair, etc.) to address these concerns.
File a Student Conduct report and include the student’s name, objective details of what has occurred and if/what communication measures you have taken so far to address this. The Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy may reach out to you for additional information, or share support as needed.
Please contact the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy for coaching support as needed.

Why is this approach helpful?

As faculty and staff, we want to model and reinforce the skills that we teach our student body, such as how to engage in direct communication, and doing this in a way that holds firm boundaries without shutting them out.
Early involvement from Student Affairs staff, such as the Director of Student Accountability & Advocacy, may evoke feelings of distrust for academic staff and faculty, and close students off to feedback and support from them in future.
It enables the student to hear feedback and have an initial opportunity for implementing this. Many of us may engage in behavior where we may be oblivious to the impact of it, and without this communication, we may not know to correct it.

Student Accountability