Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) sets forth policies to educate the university community regarding the rights and responsibilities of students in various forms.  Rights and responsibilities are primarily encapsulated within written and online documents in the form of official publications and policy statements, e.g., the LSU General Catalog [1], The Code of Student Conduct [2], the Residential Life Handbook [3], Student Health Center Privacy Practices [4], and Patients’ Rights and Responsibilities [5], including Dismissal of Patient from Care [6].  The foundation of the Code of Student Conduct is the Commitment to Community [7]. 

The Code of Student Conduct governs academic and behavioral expectations of students.  Conduct in and out of the classroom impacts the ability not only of the student in question, but also of the environment of other LSU community members.  As students and student learning are central to the mission of the institution, policies outlining the expectations of conduct help to create an environment supportive of the institution’s mission [8].  Students believed to have violated the code have the opportunity to meet with staff in Student Advocacy and Accountability to address concerns in one-to-one meetings. 

Commitment to Community

Adopted in May 1995, the Commitment to Community stands as a document used to help guide the ethos of the university community.  The Code of Student Conduct is rooted in the Commitment to Community.  Students are expected to exemplify the Commitment to Community in their daily lives. 

Louisiana State University is an interactive community in which students, faculty, and staff together strive to pursue truth, advance learning, and uphold the highest standards of performance in an academic and social environment.

It is a community that fosters individual development and the creation of bonds that transcend the time spent within its gates.

To demonstrate my pride in LSU, as a member of its community, I will:

• Accept responsibility for my actions;
• Hold myself and others to the highest standards of academic, personal, and social integrity;
• Practice justice, equality, and compassion in human relations;
• Respect the dignity of all persons and accept individual differences;
• Respect the environment and the rights and property of others and the university;
• Contribute positively to the life of the campus and surrounding community;
• And use my LSU experience to be an active citizen in an international and interdependent world.

The continued success of LSU depends on the faithful commitment by each community member to these, our basic principles.

*Adopted May 5, 1995, as a “Statement of University Position” on behalf of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.

Promotion of Student Rights

This commitment statement is published on multiple pages on the LSU Website, including the Office of the Dean of Students [9], Student Advocacy and Accountability [10],  and the LSU A to Z Web page under Commitment to Community [11].  In printed form, the commitment is placed on posters throughout offices and classrooms [12], on business card-sized items [13], within Experience LSU on the Division of Student Life and Enrollment Handbook [14], and on six-foot-tall posters housed within the five units of the Office of the Dean of Students [15].  The five posters housed within the Office of the Dean of Students units are posted during presentations including new student orientation, on-campus recruiting events, and various campus presentations.

As explained in the LSU General Catalog, students have the opportunity to appeal to the Office of Academic Affairs when extraordinary circumstances warrant extraordinary action.  In addition to the General Catalog, The Office of Academic Affairs publishes online the procedures necessary for a student seeking “Retroactive Drop” or to have a previous grade removed from his or her transcript, to make a “W Appeal,” to have a “W” removed from transcript, to make a “General Education Appeal” or to have a general education requirement substituted [16]. 

Code of Student Conduct

Student Advocacy and Accountability is designated by the Office of the Dean of Students as the administrative unit charged with responding to alleged violations of the Code of Student Conduct.  Alleged violations are reported to and investigated by Student Advocacy and Accountability through enumerated Accountability Procedures.  Student rights and responsibilities are identified within the Code of Student Conduct, which is then communicated to students in multiple ways:

New Student Orientation Presentations. Staff from Student Advocacy and Accountability serve on the Health and Safety Panel informing students and parents of the responsibilities of joining the LSU Community, as well as resources students may seek for education and advocacy of student rights [17].          

Website. The Code of Student Conduct is directly posted on the Websites of the Division of Student Life and Enrollment, the Office of the Dean of Students, and Student Advocacy and Accountability.  It may also be accessed through LSU’s main page at LSU A to Z by clicking directly on Code of Student Conduct [18].

Printed Copy.  A printed copy may be downloaded and printed from the Websites listed above.  Additionally, selected portions are available within the Department of Residential Life’s Living on Campus Handbook. Faculty are encouraged to include information on the code, particularly policies on classroom decorum and academic integrity issues, within their course syllabi [19] [20] [21].

Online Module.  MyStudentBody (MSB) is an online education tool required of all incoming undergraduate students.  The Code of Student Conduct is presented to students during their mandated MyStudentBody experience.  Also included in the MSB experience are rights and responsibilities regarding misuse of alcohol and drugs, student misconduct, illegal use or abuse of alcohol or other drug use by students, and sexual harassment.  [22]

Online and Distance Education.  Online and Distance Education students are bound to the same standards of classroom conduct and academic integrity.  Although the classroom is virtual or distant, standards of conduct in electronic and written communication and academic integrity remain the same as for students at the physical campus.  This information is posted online, and faculty are encouraged to include the information on their course syllabi.  If an online or distance student is believed to have violated the code, necessitating a meeting with Student Advocacy and Accountability, the conversation may take place via phone, Skype, or other electronic means if the student is unable to meet in person [23].

The Code of Student Conduct addresses behavioral and academic misconduct.  Student Advocacy and Accountability staff regularly present to classes, student organizations [24], and academic departments [25], as well as facilitate one-to-one meetings with students.  The 2009-2010 NASCAP survey indicated students who participated in the survey understood behavioral expectations at their institution at a rate better than the national average [26].

University Catalog

The LSU General Catalog contains policies related to student rights and responsibilities from application through graduation and is published in electronic form through a joint effort by the Office of the Registrar and Office of Academic Affairs.  It is available online and for download as an app. The Graduate Bulletin [27], encapsulated within the General Catalog, is published electronically and contains additional information specifically for graduate students. 

University Policy Statements

LSU’s policies and procedures are available online in a series of Policy Statements (PS).   The 117 University Policy Statements are established for the purpose of campus governance.  They represent policies of LSU and are subordinate to the policies of the LSU System issued as Permanent Memoranda (PM) and to the by-laws and regulations of the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Policy Statements apply to all campus community members.  However, those specifically tied to the rights and responsibilities of students include:

• PS-01  Equal Opportunity Policy [28]
• PS-22  Student Absence From Class [29]
• PS-26  Policy for Persons with Disabilities [30]
• PS-30  Student Privacy Rights [31]
• PS-33  Student Employment [32]
• PS-37  Minimum Class Size [33]
• PS-44  Grades [34]
• PS-48  Student Appeal Procedures [35]
• PS-53  Pre-Trial Intervention Program [36]
• PS-73  Sexual harassment [37]
• PS-75  Illegal/Abusive Alcohol/Other Drug Use by Students [38]
• PS-95  Sexual Harassment of Students [39]
• PS-108  Prohibition of Hazing [40]
• PS-113  Social Security Number Policy [41].

Residential Life Handbook

The Living on Campus Handbook is published in print and online by the Department of Residential Life. It covers facilities, interpersonal interactions, and other necessary information on rights and responsibilities for students living on campus or considering the option of living on campus [42]. It is a comprehensive document distributed in print format to all campus residents at check-in, as well as posted on the Department of Residential Life and Division of Student Life and Enrollment Websites.

The handbook articulates policies related to student rights and responsibilities within the Residential Life conduct and contractual processes, as well as guidelines for alcohol within facilities, bias-related incidents, and return to facilities after hospitalization [43].  The policies within the handbook are designed to facilitate student learning and development, thus supporting the academic mission of the institution.

Student Health Center (SHC)

“The mission of the SHC is to provide, promote, and support services that integrate individual health, educate for health, prevention of disease, clinical treatment for illness, and public health responsibilities consistent with the educational mission of the university” [44].  Policies supporting the mission include Patient Bill of Rights, Patient Privacy, and Dismissal of Patient from Care. These policies are posted on the Student Health Center Website, are available in printed form from the center, distributed to each patient/client upon check-in, and also posted throughout the center. [45]

Associated Principles

Other SACSCOC principles with components of student rights include Comprehensive Standard 3.4.5, associated with the dissemination of academic policies, Comprehensive Standard 3.9.2, associated with security and confidentiality of student records, and Comprehensive Standard 3.13.3 and Federal Requirement 4.5, associated with student complaints.