Educational Programs & Counseling:
It is important that educational programs and counseling assessments be completed immediately following the assignment of sanctions. Letters from the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities will note the type of educational/counseling program the student is assigned and the date that it should be completed.
Definitions and notes:
Advisor notification:Advisors for student organizations of which the student is a member may also be informed of violations –
- When the student conduct administrator hearing the case believes that this would be helpful to the student
- When the advisor requests such information
Alcohol and Drug Required Leave
A key component of Gettysburg College’s mission is to provide a safe environment where students are able to pursue their academic and social goals. The College may require a student to take a leave of absence if a student illustrates that he or she is repeatedly unable to make sound and safe decisions about alcohol and drug use, or the student engages in drinking or drug use that threatens the life, health and safety of one’s self or others. This term of Alcohol and Drug Required Leave will be invoked for significant or repeated violations of the terms of the College’s Alcohol and Drug Policy Points System.
The Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students or their designee will determine the terms of the Alcohol and Drug Required Leave. If a student violates the terms of the Alcohol and Drug Policy Points System by reaching or exceeding ten points, the terms of the Alcohol and Drug Required Leave will normally include a provision for the student to receive care (medical, psychiatric, psychological, counseling, or therapy) while on leave.
Our procedures will follow the protocol outlined in the Medical Leave of Absence and Withdrawal Policy of the Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities. The Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students or their designee may identify additional criteria in order to return to campus. The Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students or their designee, in consultation with Health and Counseling Services, will determine if all criteria have been met and if the student is eligible to return. If a student is required to leave during the fall semester, normally the leave will be extended to the entire spring semester as well.
A student returning from Required Leave will have 5 points on their record upon return.
A student that accumulates 10 or more points for a second time during their Gettysburg career will be referred to the Student Conduct Review Board for consideration of suspension/expulsion, along with any sanctions assigned through the point system process.
Instances of any of these behaviors, whether alcohol-related or not, could also be referred to the Student Conduct Review Board for consideration of possible suspension or expulsion (along with other sanctions, as detailed in the Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities).
BAC testing: Is done only by Public Safety and the local Police, at the discretion of the officer addressing the situation. RAs will not administer Breathalyzer tests. Security may ask students to take a voluntary Breathalyzer test in order to demonstrate that they have not been drinking. Security may also ask students to take a Breathalyzer test to help assess the need for medical treatment.
Educational Programs & Counseling: It is important that educational programs and counseling assessments be completed immediately following the assignment of sanctions. Letters from the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities will note the type of educational/counseling program the student is assigned and the date that it should be completed.
Engaging in drinking practices or activities that seriously threaten one’s health and life – second occurrence: The Vice President for College Life or their designee will review each case and may convene a group of administrators to review each individual case. If convened, the group will assess the student’s ability to safely manage the college environment in relation to alcohol/other substance use. This group will, as part of this assessment, determine whether an Alcohol and Drug Required Leave is an appropriate response to the situation in question.
Medical Amnesty: To receive medical amnesty, the student seeking assistance for the sick student must
- Be the first person to contact Public Safety to report that a person needs medical assistance due to alcohol consumption
- The calling student must provide their own name to Public Safety when they call
- The student calling must remain with the person needing medical assistance until Public Safety arrives and the need for their presence has ended
Multiple violations in one incident: The student will be assigned the point value of the most serious violation.
Other Potential Sanctions: In addition to the sanctions listed here, Hearing Officers/the Student Conduct Review Board may also assign other sanctions, depending on the specific circumstances of the situation. These sanctions include, but are not limited to: reflective essays, educational activities, anger management assessment, service hours, restriction/loss of parking privileges, residence hall separation, counseling assessment, alcohol education programs, requirement to submit to breathalyzer test in the event of future incidents, apology, financial reparations. See the Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities for a complete list of possible sanctions.
Point Forgiveness: The goals of point forgiveness are:
• To reward students who avoid conduct difficulty
• To give students an opportunity to reduce points through meaningful activities
• To give students learn more about alcohol and other drugs so they can make informed choices
• To help students become more aware how choices affect outcomes.
• To provide support to students who want to make positive behavioral changes
- For each semester that a student is not involved in any adjudicated violations of College Policy, (including for example residential guidelines, network use policy, etc.) ONE point will be removed from their record.
- To qualify for the removal of one point from their record, as described above, students must have completed all outstanding sanctions and meet the scheduling expectations for educational programming and counseling sessions at the time of the initial violation (see the Educational Programming and Counseling section above for more details).
- Students that successfully complete an optional alcohol education program (through Counseling Services) have ONE point removed from their record.
- After completing an optional alcohol education program, students may work with a hearing officer to develop their own point forgiveness program. This program must meet the expectations of all point forgiveness and must be approved by the hearing officer. After successful completion of this program the student will have ONE point removed from their record.
- No more than 4 points can be forgiven for a student in one academic year; no more than 2 points can be forgiven for a student in one semester.
- Points cannot be forgiven for a previous violation if a student is being investigated for (or has been charged with) a new violation, until the new violation has been fully adjudicated.