If you're in trouble at Appalachian State and someone has mentioned the possibility of dismissal, you must take it seriously. Dismissal doesn't just mean losing your spot at App State. It includes a transcript notation that explains your offense, and that will keep most other schools from accepting you, too.
What does “taking it seriously” mean? It means finding out everything you can about the university's disciplinary policy. It means understanding how administrative and judicial processes work. Most importantly, it means getting help. You can't risk dismissal by trying to handle this situation alone.
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team was built to protect student rights. We're committed to the idea that you deserve fair treatment and that a mistake or two shouldn't stand in the way of earning your degree. And we're prepared to back up this idea. We know the law and how the App State system works.
What can we do for you? Call 888-535-3686 to find out, or take a few minutes right now and fill out our online form.
Reasons for Dismissal from Appalachian State University
Understanding the App State disciplinary system starts with understanding the rules. Yes, that's basic information, but knowing the rules not only helps prevent you from making mistakes; it can also help you better fight the charges against you should you—despite your best efforts to stay out of trouble—find yourself accused of making a mistake.
There are basically four categories of offense at App State.
- Academic Misconduct: All colleges and universities maintain academic misconduct policies to ensure students are earning their degrees honestly. App State's Academic Integrity Code prohibits the usual things, like cheating, plagiarism, and multiple submissions. A single offense probably isn't enough to get you dismissed. Get caught cheating more than once, though, and dismissal becomes a distinct possibility.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: The Academic Integrity Code governs your academic behavior. App State's Code of Conduct governs your non-academic behavior. There, you'll find rules against things like underage drinking, theft, and vandalism. Any offense can lead to dismissal. Some offenses, though, like hazing, weapons possession, and drug use, are almost always punished with dismissal.
- Sexual Misconduct: While technically a type of disciplinary misconduct, sexually-based offenses are so serious that they are treated as their own category of violation. App State, like all other colleges and universities, is required under Title IX to investigate all credible allegations, and it is encouraged to assign harsh sanctions to anyone found Responsible (guilty).
Misconduct Defenses
If you're found Responsible for a serious enough offense, you can be dismissed from App State immediately. However, the university must prove you committed that offense before it can institute a sanction. You are entitled to due process—an investigation and a hearing—and to some important rights to help you defend yourself.
- Cases typically originate with a complaint. Such complaints are filed either with the Office of Student Conduct or, in the case of sexual misconduct, the Title IX Coordinator.
- If you've been charged with an offense, you're entitled to Notice of the Charges. This Notice should provide you with the name of the Complainant (your accuser or alleged victim) and an explanation of the allegations. In addition, it should include a list of your due process rights. For example, you have the right to be presumed "Not Responsible" until proven "Responsible." You also have the right to review evidence in the case.
- The first phase of the process is an investigation. You can expect investigators to start by interviewing you. One of your most important rights is the right to an advisor, and your advisor can be an attorney. This means someone from the Lento Law Firm can accompany you to interviews and other meetings and advise you about how to respond to questions.
- Investigators also interview potential witnesses and collect any physical evidence. Once their work is complete, they submit a summary of their findings to the university. These findings become the foundation of the second phase of the case, a hearing.
- Hearings take place before one or more trained, appointed decision-makers. You may offer arguments, submit evidence, and call witnesses. You may also raise questions for any witnesses testifying against you.
- Decision-makers are bound to use a legal standard known as “preponderance of the evidence to decide the case. According to this standard, they must find you Responsible if they believe it is “more likely than not” that you committed the offense.
- You can appeal the hearing outcome if you lose, but not simply because you lost. You must be able to show that some procedural error prevented you from getting justice or that you've discovered some new evidence that could potentially exonerate you.
These processes are made even more complex by the fact that rules and procedures can differ in small but significant ways depending on the exact nature of the charges against you. For instance, Complaints and Respondents aren't normally allowed to question each other during hearings—unless the case is a Title IX case.
Your Lento Law Firm attorney can help you make sense of all these rules and procedures and even show you how to use them to your advantage. They are experienced with all types of charges and all types of cases. Whether you've been accused of buying a paper from an online paper mill or committing some type of dating violence, we'll make sure you're treated fairly and that you get the best possible resolution to your case.
Academic Dismissal Cases
Academic dismissal cases are administrative rather than judicial matters. The good news is that you aren't going to be dismissed the moment your GPA falls below the 2.0 cutoff number. You go through a process of probation first, and that gives you the opportunity to improve. The bad news is that App State offers only one formal option for challenging an academic dismissal. Once you reach the point of dismissal, it can be very hard to prevent it.
The university does have an appeals process. If you can point to extenuating circumstances as the cause of your academic deficiencies, you can request an additional semester on probation before dismissal. Your Lento Law Firm attorney will be familiar with the process and can help you organize evidence and draft your appeal.
The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm have been protecting students for a number of years. As a result, we also know some informal ways to challenge an academic sanction. For instance,
- Your low GPA could be a sign that you have an undiagnosed learning disability. If that turns out to be the case, you can petition App State to drop low grades from your transcript. Then, you can retake those courses for replacement credit once you have appropriate accommodations in place.
- You can always ask instructors for extra credit or makeup work. Some instructors will make these kinds of assignments; others won't. It could be, though, that a paper rewrite or a little extra research is enough to keep you from academic dismissal.
- You deserve fair treatment from all your instructors. Any time you feel you're being mistreated, you should report that to your instructor's department head. At a minimum, you can file a formal grade grievance.
Fighting for Your Future
By this point, it should be abundantly clear why trying to defend yourself from dismissal is always a dangerous proposition. It's no easy task taking on a university, and the stakes are incredibly high. Luckily, you don't have to go it alone. The Lento Law Firm was built to help students. Our Student Defense Team can also be fierce when it comes to protecting our clients, and we're not afraid of faculty and administrators.
Let us help you fight for your academic future. To find out more, contact the firm today at 888-535-3686. Or, fill out our online questionnaire.
