Student Conduct Information for Faculty

Any time you take action regarding a violation of the Academic Code of Conduct, you should report the incident to us. While you do not need our permission to act, it is helpful for us to document the incident for accountability and prevention. 

You do not have to make this determination. We will make the determination. The most critical step is that you report a violation. If another campus resource is more appropriate, our office will refer the student and handle the transfer of information.

If you report a student to us, you will not have access to information about the case. Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a student's record is protected; we cannot share information regarding the violation. For more information about RISD’s privacy policy, please visit policies.risd.edu.

Generally, a conduct administrator will contact the student to discuss the incident and options for resolution. Students are expected to check their RISD email accounts regularly; their failure to do so or to respond to any kind of notice will not prevent the student conduct process from proceeding. In such cases, the conduct administrator may proceed without the respondent’s participation.

No. The procedures in the Academic Code of Conduct and the Code of Student Conduct differ from one another and only one process may be used to respond to a given incident. For example, if you give someone an “F” for an assignment or a class, you are not also allowed to send them to the Student Conduct Board for suspension or expulsion.

Yes. Open dialogue about the process can be helpful, especially in the classroom. It is up to  the faculty member to maintain a professional working relationship with a student. We can assist in restorative measures if both you and the student are interested and invested in that step.

RISD faculty may, at your discretion, excuse a student from the academic classroom, studio or other educational experience if a student’s behavior, conduct or communication is disruptive to your ability to provide academic instruction or maintain decorum in the class session or experience.

It should be noted that this is not a permanent dismissal from the course, only the class period or experience in which the student was disruptive. Following the dismissal the instructor should complete a community incident report to document the incident.