Students in violation of the BFIT Student Code of Conduct (as outlined in the BFIT student handbook) or BFIT Residence Life and Housing Handbook may be subject to various disciplinary actions based on the severity of the incident and/or the student’s level of responsibility.

The Student Conduct system is designed to be educational, so students are learning within the process why their actions or behaviors were inappropriate or not acceptable for the community, and what they can do to be a more positive member of the community.

Sanctions include, but are not limited to:

• Residence Hall warning/probation
• Housing suspension
• College suspension/expulsion
• Disciplinary warning/probation
• Judicial Educator online educational programs
• Alcohol and Drug workshops
• Community Service
• Restitution Referral to another office/department
• Fines
• Transcript notation

Note: BFIT reserves the right to increase sanctions at any time based on the severity student actions. As noted in the BFIT Student Handbook, student’s have a right to appeal all decisions made by the college.

The Conduct Process

A student, who demonstrates unacceptable behavior, thereby failing to be a responsible member of the BFIT community, may be subject to disciplinary action.  Reports of alleged violations will be provided to the designee of Student Conduct system who will review the incident, call in members of the faculty, staff, and/or students and determine an appropriate outcome based on the preponderance of the evidence.

There are two levels of conduct hearings:

• Individual Conduct Hearing, which is a hearing between the student and the Conduct Officer
• Student Conduct Board, which is a hearing between the student and a five-person board consisting of faculty, staff, and student representatives.

Students have the right to appeal the decision from their original hearing by the Conduct Officer or the Student Conduct Board.

Students must base an appeal on one or more specific aspects of the original conduct meeting:
• Procedural error
• Finding not supported by the evidence
• Excessive or inappropriate sanction
• New evidence not previously available

It is up to the student(s) appealing to be persuasive and professional in their appeal letter.  Appeal arguments should detail any information that was not available at the time of the original conduct meeting, as well as any additional information that is provided by witnesses or character references.

The college encourages students to act responsibly, respectfully, and engage in appropriate behaviors.