Southeast Missouri State University is committed to having a student body who maintains themselves in an appropriate manner during interactions with faculty, staff, and other students. We in the Dean of Students Office and the Office of Student Conduct expect students to cooperate with faculty members at all times. Campus civility is a major focus for our area, so we hope the following information is a valuable resource if issues arise.

Academic Honesty 

Academic honesty is one of the most important qualities influencing the character and vitality of an educational institution. Academic misconduct or dishonesty is inconsistent with membership in an academic community and cannot be accepted. Violations of academic honesty represent a serious breach of discipline and may be considered grounds for disciplinary action, up t and including dismissal from the University. For additional information, please see the links below and the Statement of Student Rights and Code of Student Conduct. 

General Student Behavior:

We recommend that each faculty member include a small section in each course syllabus related to students’ behavior in the classroom and campus civility. The following is a sample statement from the Code of Student Conduct (Code) that could be included in the course syllabus:

Every student at Southeast is obligated at all times to assume responsibility for his/her actions, to respect constituted authority, to be truthful, and to respect the rights of others, as well as to respect private and public property. In their academic activities, students are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity and abide by the University’s Policy on Academic Honesty. Alleged violations of the Code of Student Conduct are adjudicated in accordance with the established procedures of the judicial system.

More specific information and guidelines can also be included which explain the individual faculty member’s policies and philosophies with regard to classroom behavior and discipline. The following list explains some of the issues that may arise:

  • Inappropriate, threatening, abusive, or vulgar language
  • Willfully refuses to comply with proper requests
  • Possession or consumption of drugs or alcohol
  • Disorderly, indecent, or obscene conduct
  • Academic dishonesty or plagiarism
  • Sexual harassment of students or faculty
  • Possession of weapons
  • Physical threats or intimidation
  • Other (Cell phones or late arrival)

We hope that you never need to refer a student to the Office of Student Conduct (OSC), but in the event that a student referral is necessary, the office can be contacted in the following ways:

For any incident of alleged misbehavior or academic dishonesty, we ask that you complete the Disruptive Student Referral Form.

This form can be sent via e-mail attachment to lrcarter@semo.edu, faxed to (573) 986-7388, sent through Campus Mail to MS 1500 (Attention: Office of Student Conduct), or hand delivered to the OSC in the University Center, 422.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT REFERRALS CAN BE MADE FOR INCIDENTS THAT OCCUR VIA TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC FORMS OF COMMUNICATION.

Serious Student Issues // Students of Concern:

For more serious violations, we recommend calling the OSC or Dean of Students to discuss the matter along with sending the referral form. The phone number is (573) 651-2264.

For the more minor violations, the Dean of Students Office recommends that the faculty member make one or two attempts to correct the behavior, and then if that does not resolve the situation, we recommend that the referral form be completed. This would include situations like disruptive behavior in the classroom (including talking, answering a cell phone, refusing a proper request, and/or sending a text message during class).

For the more severe violations, such as threats/intimidation, alcohol/drug incidents, sexual harassment, and weapons incidents, it is STRONGLY recommended that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) be called immediately.

It is important that each faculty member have the DPS phone number programmed in to his/her cell phone, so that a call can be placed if a serious incident occurs, including those mentioned in the previous paragraph or a health emergency. The number for DPS is (573) 651-2215. This is like dialing 911 on our campus.

Also, we recommend that faculty members contact the Dean of Students, OSC, and/or DPS if a student(s) actions or behavior raise a more than usual concern, because if the student’s actions are in question in that course, the student may also have RED FLAGS appearing in other areas such as in the Office of Residence Life or the OSC. We generally address these issues through our Students of Concern Team (or more commonly called a Behavioral Intervention Team). The committee meets weekly during the semester.

It is much better to be safe than sorry if you have a concern based on a student’s behavior or something he/she may have written for a class assignment.

Other Student Related Incidents:

Faculty members may also deal with students who are in some type of mental, physical, or emotional distress. Depending on the situation, the incident may have to be referred immediately to DPS (573-651-2215) or to Counseling and Disability Services (573-986-6191). Counseling and Disability Services generally distributes more specific information about assisting students in distress. The University also has a Crisis Team which responds to health emergencies, mental health situations, behavioral incidents, and other types of emergencies after hours (DPS makes this contact).

For incidents involving academic honesty, please refer to Policy on Academic Honesty (Faculty Handbook) or the link on the OSC website. After reading this document, we encourage everyone to add a section to each course syllabus related to their policies related to academic honesty and plagiarism. Definitions related to academic honesty are available in the Code, which is also available on the website. For specific questions related to academic honesty, please contact the OSC, Dean of Students (573-651-2264), and/or the Chair/Dean of the appropriate academic department. The Dean of Students (All University Judicial Board or student hearing board) are the final appeal bodies for alleged incidents related to academic honesty, which have gone through the general progression from Faculty Member to Chair/Dean.

For issues related to sexual assault, sexual misconduct, or relationship violence (e.g., a student shares information with a faculty member about such an occurrence), please remember that as University employees, we are obligated to pass along any information related to any type of criminal activity to the appropriate office on campus such as DPS. Our goal is to assist and support students who report this type of activity as well as to protect the due process rights of the complainant and the accused student. In protecting the rights of the involved students, we also must protect the safety of the University community as a whole. For more information about the University’s Sexual Assault Policies, Procedures, and reporting please visit Its-On-Us.

Quick Reference Resources:

Please feel free to use the Dean of Students Office, Center for Behavioral Health and Accessibility, and/or the Office of Student Conduct as resources when working with students during this academic year. Please contact us anytime you have questions, concerns, comments, or information to share.

Location
Office
University Center 422
Mailing Address
One University Plaza, MS 1500
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701