Updated August 15, 2023
The Community Standards is produced for the students, faculty, staff and administration of Dickinson College. Please contact the Vice President and Dean of Student Life Office at (717) 245-1676 with any questions.
Introduction
As Dickinsonians, students have the opportunity to benefit from a rich and stimulating learning experience. By accepting membership in our community, students also accept a critical role in contributing to an intellectual and social environment characterized by civility, understanding, accountability, and respect. Being a member of the Dickinson College community is a privilege that carries with it the responsibility for the well-being of all other members and aspects of the community.
This document provides information to help students understand the conduct that is expected of all Dickinsonians. It also outlines how the College will move to educate when behaviors occur that are inconsistent with the standards outlined in this document. All students are expected to know and uphold the Community Standards.
The Vice President and Dean of Student Life’s Office coordinates the administration of the student conduct process at Dickinson College, including social and academic misconduct. The Vice President and Dean of Student Life also has oversight responsibility for incidents involving social misconduct. The Provost and Dean of the College oversee situations that involve academic misconduct. These responsibilities have been delegated by the President and faculty [Charter and Bylaws of Dickinson College, Chapter IV, Section 2(a)].
Mission and Philosophy
Dickinson’s mission is inspired by our founder Dr. Benjamin Rush and his vision to educate citizens to meet the societal and economic demands of an emerging democracy. Our residential environment provides a chance to develop these leadership and citizenship skills as students learn to assume responsibility for self and for the welfare of their community.
In this environment, students may occasionally exercise poor judgment or conduct themselves in a manner that disrupts the community. For this reason, the College maintains Community Standards that set forth expectations for behavior, as well as outline educational procedures regarding student conduct. The goals and objectives of the College's Community Standards differ from those of the civil and criminal justice systems. Ours is a process with education and accountability to community as its top priorities. We do not adhere to “courtroom” principles but rather to educational objectives that seek to balance individual learning and community welfare.
The College affirms a student’s right to be treated fairly, which includes receiving appropriate notice of concerns about specific behaviors and the opportunity to respond to those concerns. In formal resolution proceedings, this also includes the right to be assisted by an advisor and to appeal the initial hearing outcome.
Dickinson Community Standards and Expectations for Conduct
The expectations articulated in the Community Standards are designed to create an environment that supports a vigorous academic life and respectful community. Dickinson expects that its students will demonstrate standards of behavior that demonstrate:
- Respect for Ideas
- Respect for Self
- Respect for Others
- Respect for Community
- Respect for Property
These standards apply to on-campus behavior, to behavior while studying in a Dickinson program abroad, and to off-campus behavior that does or has the potential to adversely affect any member of the Dickinson College community or Dickinson College.
Please refer to the pdf of the Community Standards for the remainder of the code.