Let's talk about dismissal. We know, we know, it's the last thing you want to talk about. Just bringing it up could jinx you, right? But it does happen at Towson University, and you need to know what to do if it's happening to you.
Defending yourself from the threat of dismissal is never an easy proposition. At a minimum, you need to
- Know the rules at Towson so you'll understand exactly what you've been accused of doing;
- Have a familiarity with the administrative and judicial processes at Towson, so you'll be prepared for what you might face;
These may not be enough, though. A dismissal is a serious business and not a situation you should ever try to handle alone. The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team is experienced in handling all sorts of dismissal cases. We've worked with hundreds of students, protecting them from all sorts of charges, from plagiarism to sexual assault. If you're in trouble, if someone's mentioned the possibility of dismissal to you, don't wait to see what might happen. Contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use the firm's automated online form.
Reasons for Dismissal from Towson University
Let's start with the basics: just what is it that is bad enough to get you dismissed from Towson? Turns out there are only four categories of offense that lead to expulsion, but each one of these contains a number of different types of individual offenses.
- Poor Academic Performance: Of course, you can be dismissed simply for failing to keep your grades up. Towson takes education seriously, and it maintains a strict academic standing policy. Should your GPA fall below 2.0, the school issues you an Academic Warning. If you continue to struggle while on Academic Warning, though, you can ultimately wind up dismissed.
- Academic Misconduct: As you probably expect, Towson also holds you accountable for completing your coursework honestly. Cheating, plagiarism, and any other action that might give you an unfair advantage in earning your degree are expressly forbidden. Here again, a first offense usually won't doom your academic career. Should you be caught committing multiple offenses, though, you could very well face dismissal.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: Your general campus behavior is under just as much scrutiny as your classroom performance. Maybe more. Misconduct like trespassing and underage drinking is expressly forbidden by Towson's Code of Student Accountability. Any violation can lead to dismissal if it is serious enough.
- Sexual Misconduct: Sexually-based offenses are among the most serious charges any student can face. In fact, dismissal is the most likely outcome if you're found Responsible (guilty). In most cases, procedures are set by Title IX, a federal law, and schools are required to investigate all credible allegations.
Misconduct Procedures
How you defend yourself from dismissal will vary depending on the specific nature of the dismissal. If you've been accused of misconduct, whether academic, disciplinary, or sexual, you have the right to defend yourself through a very clear process. Towson University must conduct an investigation and allow you to present your case at a formal hearing.
- Cases begin with an accusation made either to the Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices (SARP), the Department of Housing and Residence Life, or, in the case of sexual misconduct charges, the Title IX Coordinator.
- Once you're officially charged, you receive a written Notice of the Charges. This notice should describe the specific nature of your offense and apprise you of your due process rights.
- Among your rights, you are allowed to bring a support person with you to meetings and proceedings. This means a Lento Law Firm attorney can be at your side from the beginning to protect your rights and help you respond to questions. They may not speak on your behalf, but they may offer advice on what to say.
- Investigations can sometimes be short, especially in academic misconduct cases, but they can also be quite lengthy, lasting weeks or months. During that time, investigators speak with you and the Complainant (your accuser), gather evidence, and interview witnesses.
- Once their work is complete, investigators submit a written summary of their findings. The school then sets a time and date for a hearing and appoints one or more trained decision-makers to oversee the proceedings.
- At the hearing, you may present evidence of your innocence of evidence that mitigates your offense. In addition to physical evidence, you may call witnesses to testify. Both sides also have the right to raise questions for witnesses against them.
- Decision makers use a legal standard known as “preponderance of the evidence” to determine whether or not you are “Responsible for” (guilty of) an offense. This standard is far less strict than “beyond a reasonable doubt” and essentially requires they find you Responsible if they are more than fifty percent convinced of your guilt.
- You also have the right to appeal the hearing outcome. However, Towson limits the grounds for appeal to
- Procedural irregularities affecting the outcome
- Clear bias on the part of a decision-maker
- The discovery of new and relevant information
- A disproportionate sanction
You should know that while this general outline applies in all misconduct cases, specific procedures can vary based on the nature of the charges. As mentioned, different kinds of cases are handled by different administrative offices at the university. Those different offices use different sets of rules. For example, during a Title IX sexual misconduct case, you're allowed to cross-examine the Complainant, and they're allowed to cross-examine you. That's only true in these cases, though.
No matter what the charges are, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team knows exactly what you're facing, and they're prepared to help you navigate the system and use your rights to your very best advantage.
Academic Dismissal Cases
The other type of dismissal is an academic dismissal—dismissal based on your grade point average. Unfortunately, there are no clear-cut procedures for defending yourself from these types of dismissals. That doesn't mean you must simply accept your fate, though. Here again, the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm know a number of informal strategies for protecting you. For example,
- Extenuating circumstances—mental health issues, for instance, or a family emergency—can be grounds for more time to improve. You can always try appealing directly to the dean of your school or college.
- Any time you're being mistreated in the classroom, you should bring this to the attention of your instructor's department head. You may deserve a higher grade than the one you received.
- Learning disabilities can cause low grades, and you may not even realize you have one. If Disability Services should diagnose you, you can petition the university to drop low grades from your transcript and let you retake those courses without penalty.
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. If you wind up dismissed from Towson University, you'll find it difficult to find another school to take you.
The Lento Law Firm was built to help students. We're committed to the proposition that you deserve fair treatment and that a mistake shouldn't cost you your chance to earn a degree.
Our Student Defense Team knows how to negotiate with faculty and administrators, but we can also be fierce when we need to. Let us help you fight for your academic future. To find out more, contact the firm today at 888-535-3686. Or, use our automated online form.
