Student Rights

The OSRR receives reports from various entities including Central Washington University Police Department, Ellensburg Police Department, Title IX, Housing & Residence Life, faculty, or other members of the campus community, including students.

All reports received are reviewed and followed up on by professional staff in the OSRR. If a report is mistakenly sent to the OSRR the report will be directed to the appropriate office.

If a report suggests that a student may be responsible for violating the CWU Student Conduct Code or any other University policy, the OSRR will schedule a University Conduct Hearing for that student with an appropriate University Conduct Hearing Officer.

The student will receive written notice, a letter, via email and within their Guardian Portal. The written notice will contain the date, time, and location of a University Conduct Hearing, as well as information detailing the reported incident and any alleged policy violations.

Guardian is the conduct software that the OSRR uses to document student records, track the progress of reported incidents and cases, as well as communicate with students.

The purpose of the conduct hearing is to provide an opportunity for the student to be made aware of the reported information and give them an opportunity to share their side of the situation. The conduct hearing creates an interaction that assists in fostering a relationship to help increase student success.

The role of the University Hearing Officer is not to judge the student or the student’s behavior, but to help the student understand the consequences and the impact the student’s behavior has on themselves and the surrounding community.

If a student does not attend an assigned University Conduct Hearing, the OSRR will place a university hold on the student’s account to prevent the student adding or registering for classes. Additionally, if you do not to attend a University Conduct Hearing, a decision may be made in your absence based on the information available to the hearing officer and a hold.

Depending on the nature of the reported incident and type of alleged policy violation, the OSRR may utilize a different set of procedures. For more information about the Student Discrimination Complaint process, please visit our Student Discrimination Complaint page.

The Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities uses a preponderance of the evidence standard (more likely than not); therefore, all University Conduct Hearing outcomes are determined based on what was most likely to have occurred, based on the evidence, after the University Conduct Officer reviews all the information.

Students may bring a support person to any meeting or hearing related to the Student Conduct Process. If you are interested in having a Support Person attending your University Conduct Hearing, you must complete a release of information for your Support Person prior to the hearing.

For more information on having a Support Person and how complete a Release of Information for your support person, please visit our Support Person page.

If you are in need of any accommodations to participate in the Student Conduct Process, please notify the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities at 509-963-1817 and Disability Services at 509-963-2214. Central Washington University makes every effort to honor accommodation requests.

If a student is found responsible for any policy violations, appropriate disciplinary sanction(s) will be assigned to foster student development and avoid additional or repeat policy violations.

University Hearing Officers may impose sanctions up to temporary or permanent dismissal from Central Washington University. For more information about possible sanctions, please visit our Sanctions page.

Any outcome imposed as a result of a University Conduct Hearing, including the finding of responsibility and assigned sanctions, may be appealed. For more information about how to appeal the outcome, please review your outcome letter and/or the please visit our Student Rights and Appeals page.

Your conduct file is in no way connected to your academic file. It's a completely different file that we keep in the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities. The file goes away 7 years after your last date of attendance. The only way someone can view it is if you give them permission through a Public Records Request (working in law enforcement, government job, etc.).

• Unless you have a Release of Information on file, we do not share your information with parent(s)/guardian(s) unless you are in danger to yourself or the community. Otherwise, only those with an educational need to know based (so the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities and your hearing officer) will have access to your record.
• You can also request your entire discipinary/conduct record from the Business Services Office with a Public Records Request. It takes a few weeks but you will get every file we have. Learn more at our Request Procedure for Public Records page.