Dartmouth College doesn't just give degrees away. You've got to earn yours, and that means getting to class and studying. It means visiting professors during office hours when you're confused about a subject and joining study groups to help you keep up with assignments. Whatever degree you're working towards, you're a premed student, and the academic challenges you face are even tougher. OChem is a trial by fire.
Students don't always realize conduct can get you into just as much trouble as a low GPA, though, maybe more. There are dozens of rules and regulations at Dartmouth, any one of which can earn you sanctions up to and including dismissal. And you're not above those rules or immune to sanctions just because you happen to be premed.
So, what do you do when you make a mistake? What do you do when some misunderstanding happens and you wind up accused of plagiarism, or trespassing, or date rape? What do you do when you're the victim of a false allegation?
You call the Lento Law Firm. Our Student Defense Team knows education law inside and out. We're familiar with Dartmouth's rules and procedures and how the judicial system works. Most important of all, we're committed to your success, and we're always on your side. Even if you've made a mistake—or two or three—you have rights, and a mistake shouldn't cost you your diploma.
What can we do for you? Call 888-535-3686 today to find out, or take a few minutes right now and tell us a little about your situation.
Misconduct at Dartmouth College
We mentioned before that there are a lot of rules at Dartmouth. To be fair, there are a lot of rules at every college. In this case, there are simply too many to list them all here. However, virtually all of them can be grouped into three simple categories. These are the major problems you want to avoid.
- Academic Misconduct: First, you're subject to Dartmouth's Academic Honor Principle. This policy specifically outlaws cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, multiple submissions, and misuse of technology, but you can be sure that any action that gives you an unfair advantage in completing your coursework will get you into trouble.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: Dartmouth also maintains strict Standards of Conduct that govern your behavior outside of class. These standards are written to be broad enough to encompass any activity that might do harm to other students or the campus community as a whole. Dartmouth doesn't list every possible offense. Instead, it prohibits "behavior which causes or threatens physical harm to another person," conduct that interferes with teaching and research, and any type of misrepresentation.
- Sexual Misconduct: All colleges and universities are required by law to follow Title IX guidelines regarding sexual discrimination and harassment. You can expect Dartmouth to investigate all credible allegations of sexual misconduct and to issue harsh sanctions if you're found Responsible for (guilty of) an offense.
You're expected to abide by all these rules in the same way as any other undergraduate. As you well know, though, the consequences for misconduct are higher for you as a premed student. Medical schools take a dim view of disciplinary violations. You might be able to sneak into a program with a low grade on your transcript. If a cheating offense shows up on your record, you'll almost certainly be looking for a new career path.
You must take every allegation seriously. That means understanding how the judicial process at Dartmouth works. It also means you can't try to navigate those processes on your own. You need help. You need a Lento Law Firm attorney.
Misconduct Procedures
The first thing you need to know if you're facing a misconduct charge at Dartmouth is that you have rights. You're entitled to due process. Dartmouth can't sanction you without conducting an investigation, and the college must give you the opportunity to defend yourself at a hearing. You have other important rights designed to protect you as you go through these processes, such as the right to a presumption of “Not Responsible” (innocence) and the right to review all evidence in the case.
Here's how investigations and hearings are meant to work.
- Cases begin when someone files a complaint against you. The person filing the complaint could be an instructor, an administrator, another student, or college staff.
- If Dartmouth believes the allegations are credible, it initiates an investigation. As part of that investigation, you should be asked to give your side of the story. Of course, the college will also interview the Complainant (your accuser) and any other witnesses to the incident, and it will collect any physical evidence.
- Investigators complete a written summary of their findings. This summary serves as the foundation for the next phase of the case, a hearing. Once the summary has been submitted, the college sets a time and date for a hearing and appoints one or more decision-makers to preside over this hearing.
- The hearing provides you the opportunity to argue your innocence or introduce mitigating factors to explain why you did what you did. You can submit evidence and call witnesses. You can also raise questions about the evidence against you, including witness testimony.
- · Decisions are based on a legal standard known as "preponderance of the evidence." This standard requires decision-makers to find you Responsible if they are more than fifty percent convinced of your guilt. In other words, you don't have to be found guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" to be sanctioned for an offense.
- · You can appeal the hearing outcome, but only if you can demonstrate that the process was somehow unfair. Grounds for appeal are limited to procedural error and the discovery of new evidence.
Working your way through these processes and procedures can be confusing enough, but investigations can also differ in small but important ways depending on the nature of the charges against you. That can make preparing your defense even more complicated.
In all cases, though, Dartmouth allows you to select an advisor of your choice to help you prepare your case and accompany you to meetings and proceedings. This means a Lento Law Firm attorney can be at your side from start to finish. Your attorney cannot speak for you, but they can map out your defense strategy, work with you to collect evidence, suggest questions for witnesses, coach you in presentation, and even confer with you during the hearing. Your attorney's most important job, though? Monitoring the case as it unfolds and making sure that you're treated fairly.
Fighting for Your Future
Fighting a misconduct charge is never an easy proposition for anyone. As a pre-med student, though, you face special challenges. Beyond the complexities of the Dartmouth College judicial system, you have to worry about whether sanctions are recorded in your record. You have to worry about who might find out about the allegations and whether those allegations might interfere with recommendation letters, even if they're proven false. You have to keep a close watch on social media and make sure your reputation doesn't suffer online. It's an enormous amount of work to have to deal with on your own.
That's why the minute you suspect you might be in trouble, it's vital that you contact the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team. We can negotiate with faculty and administrators if that's what's called for, but we can also be fierce in defending our clients.
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.
