College is hard. How hard? Lots of students are dismissed from Fresno State every year. And they're not just dismissed for failing academically. Sure, calculus and organic chemistry are hard, but just as many students get expelled for disciplinary mistakes like stalking, vandalism, and plagiarism.
How do you make sure you're not one of them?
- First, you make sure you know the rules. What can get you dismissed from Fresno State, and how do you avoid making mistakes?
- Next, you find out all you can about the disciplinary system. If you should wind up in trouble, how do you go about getting out of it?
- And last, but certainly not least, you get help. You can fight dismissal charges, but it's not easy. You need someone on your side who understands the system and knows how to protect your rights.
The Lento Law Firm was founded to help students get fair treatment. We know what you're up against, and we know how to handle it. For more information, call 888-535-3686 or use our automated online form.
Reasons for Dismissal at Fresno State
There are dozens of reasons Fresno State might decide to dismiss you. For the most part, though, they can all be grouped into four basic categories.
- Academic Performance: You came to Fresno State to study, and that should always be your first priority. The university maintains a strict academic standing policy. Any time your GPA falls below 2.0, you're placed on academic probation. Should you continue to struggle while on probation, you can also be dismissed.
- Academic Misconduct: You are also expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty while you earn your degree. Cheating, plagiarism, and anything else that could potentially give you an unfair advantage in completing your coursework are all expressly forbidden under the school's Academic Integrity policy. First-time offenders are usually punished with in-class sanctions like lowered grades. Multiple offenders, though, can face dismissal.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: Cheating isn't the only type of misconduct you can commit at Fresno State. The university has an extensive Student Code of Conduct that governs everything from hazing to firearms possession. Any violation can potentially lead to dismissal.
- Sexual Misconduct: As a member institution of the California State University System, Fresno State is bound by federal Title IX guidelines regarding sexual discrimination and harassment, as well as state Executive Order 1097. These laws require schools to investigate all credible complaints of sexual misconduct. They also encourage schools to employ harsh sanctions in such cases, up to and including dismissal.
Misconduct Procedures
You always have the right to respond to an attempt to dismiss you at Fresno State. If the charges against you relate to misconduct, the school must conduct a full investigation, and you should be allowed to defend yourself at a formal hearing. Here's how those processes work.
- If you're facing charges, it means someone has registered a formal complaint to either the Student Conduct Administrator or, in the case of Title IX allegations, the Title IX Coordinator.
- You are entitled to Notice of the Charges any time you are under investigation by Fresno State. That notice should include a detailed summary of the allegations against you and a list of your rights during the process.
- Among your rights, you are entitled to an advisor, someone to help you prepare your case and accompany you to meetings and proceedings. That advisor can be an attorney. This means someone from the Lento Law Firm can be on hand from the moment you are charged.
- Investigators typically begin by inviting the accused to an interview. This is your first chance to offer your side of the story. In addition, they interview the Complainant (your accuser) and any other witnesses in the case. They also collect any physical evidence.
- Once investigators have completed their work, they submit their findings to the school. The school then sets a time and date for a hearing and appoints one or more decision-makers to preside over the case.
- At the hearing, both sides have the chance to make their cases. This means offering arguments, submitting evidence, and calling witnesses to testify. You should also have the opportunity to raise questions for any witnesses testifying against you.
- At the conclusion of the hearing, decision makers must determine whether or not you are Responsible for (guilty of) an offense. To do this, they employ a legal standard known as “preponderance of the evidence.” According to this standard, they must find you Responsible if they are more than fifty percent convinced of your guilt.
- Finally, you have the right to appeal the hearing outcome, but only under certain conditions. These include
- A procedural irregularity
- The discovery of new and relevant evidence
- A disproportionate sanction
All misconduct cases follow this general outline. However, you should be aware that procedures can differ in small but important ways depending on the exact nature of your charge. For example, only advisors may examine witnesses in Title IX sexual misconduct cases. In all other cases, only the presiding hearing officers may ask questions. These minor differences can be crucial in mounting your defense.
No matter what your situation, you can count on your Lento Law Firm attorney to be well-versed on exactly what you'll be facing and to know how to use these procedures to your best advantage.
Academic Dismissal Cases
Academic dismissal cases at Fresno State are considerably different from misconduct dismissal cases. There is no investigation, and you have no opportunity to make your case to decision-makers at a hearing. Decisions are based entirely on your grade point average, and the school regards this as an objective fact that isn't open to debate.
However, even in these cases, the Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm knows some useful strategies for avoiding dismissal. For example,
- If you can show your low grades are the result of extenuating circumstances, such as a family emergency, you may be able to appeal to the dean of your particular school or college.
- You're entitled to fair treatment in the classroom. If you believe an instructor is mistreating you in any way, you should bring this to the attention of the instructor's department head immediately.
- If you should discover you have a previously undiagnosed learning disability, you can petition the university to drop low grades from your transcript and let you retake those courses with accommodations in place.
Here again, you can count on the Lento Law Firm to help you come up with a plan and to help you put that plan into action.
Fighting for Your Future
By this point, you should have a clear sense of why you need the help of an attorney to fight dismissal decisions. Procedures can be complex and difficult to navigate, and the full weight of your school will be against you. Plus, it's no exaggeration to say that your entire future is on the line.
The Lento Law Firm was built to help students just like you handle all types of misconduct charges. The Firm's Student Defense Team has dealt with everything from plagiarism allegations to rape charges. They know how to negotiate with faculty and administrators; they know how to interview witnesses; they know how to put together water-tight appeals. Most importantly, no matter what problem you're facing, they are on your side and will do everything in their power to get you the very best possible resolution to your case.
To find out more about what the Lento Law Firm can do for you, contact the firm today at 888-535-3686 and find out just what we can do to help. Or, use our automated online form.
