About
Student Judicial Services (SJA) is a place on campus for students and faculty to come to have problems solved, reach agreements and to gather information. We take a positive, pro-active approach and provide information regarding student conduct, academic honesty as well as behavior and anger management. We receive student referrals from faculty, staff, students and campus police.
Our staff consists of the Dean of Student Life/Campus Disciplinarian, a counselor, and one an administrative assistant. The Ombudspersons are also part of our team, however they are located in another office and operate independently and confidentially although we regularly consult on various cases.
Services
The Office of Student Judicial Affairs provides the following services:
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Student Discipline which includes receiving incident reports, conducting investigations and interviews, making recommendations to students and teachers and facilitating the discipline appeals process when necessary.
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Ombudsperson assists students with grade disputes and provides faculty-student mediations.
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Mediation and conflict resolution activities for students (individual or group)
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Workshops and presentations for students and faculty
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Working with individual department chairs and faculty to encourage referral of students on an as-needed basis in a timely manner. Referrals can easily be made filling out an online Referral Form.
Approach
The Office of Student Judicial Affairs uses a variety of methods in adjudicating student discipline cases. We work collaboratively with a variety of programs, services, and personnel in carrying out the SMC Mission.
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SJA works hand in hand with other student services programs, especially with Campus Police, College Counsel and The Center for Wellness and Wellbeing.
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The Dean/Campus Disciplinarian has the responsibility of upholding Student Code of Conduct AR 4410 and the Academic Code of Conduct AR4411. The Disciplinarian also has initial authority to suspend students for Code violations.
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The Honor Code/Honor Council, provides leadership to the College Community in matters of academic honesty/integrity; the Dean serves as a member of the Council and chairs the Hearing Board when faculty or students bring issues of academic integrity to be adjudicated through an appeal process.
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The Care & Prevention Team, under the leadership of the Dean of Counseling and Retention, consists of a small group of campus leaders and the Dean/Campus Disciplinarian is an intrinsic part of that Team. The goal is to provide training to faculty and staff on how to deal with difficult student issues; we also share highly confidential student cases to prevent campus crisis.
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A main goal of SJA is to provide the faculty with the support they need when dealing with extremely challenging and disruptive students; we also support campus police in providing a safe learning environment for the entire campus community. We often utilize other student services such as The Center for Wellness and Well-being, Academic Counseling, and DSPS. Students may make complaints about fellow students and we will also mediate/investigate these complaints.
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It is important to note that SJA is part of the educational process for some SMC students. The students that are referred to us can be assured that we take an educational approach to the judicial process. The education and goal attainment for students shape our policies and procedures and students’ due process rights are respected.