College can be the best four years of your life. Let's face it, though, it's not exactly easy. Central Michigan University doesn't just give degrees away. Courses are tough, and professors can be demanding. Keeping your GPA up is just the beginning. CMU dismisses dozens of students every year for everything from plagiarism to disorderly conduct.
Universities don't always get things right, though. Instructors have been known to make mistakes. Students do wind up falsely accused sometimes. Administrators have become almost draconian in recent years when it comes to issuing sanctions. Even minor offenses can put your academic future in jeopardy.
How do you protect yourself? And if you should find yourself facing dismissal, how do you defend yourself?
Below, we'll get into all the most important reasons why CMU might try to dismiss you, and we'll look at the processes and procedures available to you. The most important thing you can do, though, whether you're struggling academically or facing a charge of misconduct, is to contact the Lento Law Firm. Our Student Defense Team was built to make sure college students are afforded the rights they deserve and given every reasonable opportunity to earn their degrees. We're on your side, and we have the knowledge and background to help you fight for your future.
To find out more about just what we can do, contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or fill out our automated online questionnaire.
Reasons for Dismissal from Western Michigan University
There are lots of rules at Western Michigan University, really at any university. There are so many reasons WMU could decide to dismiss you, in fact, that we couldn't possibly list them all here. What we can do, though, is offer a list of offense categories. There are basically only four of those.
- Poor Academic Performance: WMU wants you to succeed academically. Faculty recognize that you're a student. By definition, you're still learning and bound to make some mistakes. Even so, there are limits to how many mistakes the university will let you make. The academic standing policy requires you to maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average. Anything below that number and Western Michigan places you on probation. Should you continue to struggle while on probation, you can also wind up dismissed entirely.
- Academic Misconduct: There's no getting around the fact that you have to go to class and you have to study. Taking shortcuts almost always backfires. You should know, for example, that CMU also has a strict Academic Integrity Policy. Anything that could potentially give you an unfair advantage in completing your coursework—cheating, for instance, and plagiarism—can result in serious consequences. The punishment for a first offense can include course failure. Punishments for additional offenses can include dismissal.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: The Academic Integrity Policy governs your classroom behavior. The Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Disciplinary Procedures governs your general campus behavior. Anything from basic trespassing to underage drinking can lead to dismissal. Many offenses, such as hazing and drug possession, almost always result in dismissal.
- Sexual Misconduct: Finally, sexually-based offenses almost always result in dismissal. Sexual misconduct isn't just a violation of school policy; it's a violation of federal law. Title IX bars sexual discrimination and harassment at federally-funded colleges and universities and encourages schools to set severe penalties.
Misconduct Procedures
An allegation is serious and can be the first step to dismissal. CMU can't dismiss you, though, without giving you a fair opportunity to defend yourself. At a minimum, you can expect an investigation and a hearing, and you have some important due process rights, such as the right to a presumption of Not Responsible (Innocence).
- Most cases begin when someone lodges a complaint against you. Your accuser—the aggrieved party—is referred to as the Complainant. The university itself can fulfill this role. As the accused, you're referred to as the Respondent, and the central issue of the case is whether or not you are Responsible for (guilty of) a policy violation.
- If the university decides to formally charge you with an offense, you'll be issued a Notice of Charges. This notice should describe the allegations against you and explain your various rights as the Respondent.
- One of your most important rights is the right to an advisor. Further, you're allowed to choose your advisor, and you can choose an attorney for that role. That means someone from the Lento Law Firm can accompany you to all investigative meetings and hearings.
- Investigators usually begin by interviewing separately both sides of the case. This is your first chance to give your side of the story. In addition, they speak with any relevant witnesses and collect physical evidence.
- Ultimately, investigators are tasked with submitting a summary of their findings. This then becomes the foundation for the next phase in the case, the hearing.
- At least in basic outline, hearings resemble criminal court cases. You are invited to make opening and closing statements. You can submit evidence. You can call witnesses and cross-examine witnesses against you.
- A university hearing is not a criminal trial, though. Seasoned judges with law degrees don't preside over cases. Professors do. Rules of evidence are far more relaxed. And cases aren't decided using the "beyond a reasonable doubt" formula. Instead, decision-makers use a lesser legal standard known as "preponderance of the evidence." If they are more than fifty percent convinced you are Responsible, they must find you Responsible.
- You have the right to appeal the hearing outcome. Groups for appeal are limited, though, to issues like the discovery of new evidence and procedural errors.
All misconduct cases at WMU follow this general outline. However, specific rules and procedures can vary depending on the exact nature of the charges. In Title IX sexual misconduct cases, for example, the law mandates that both the Respondent and Complainant be allowed to cross-examine one another through their advisors.
No matter what type of charges you're facing, though, the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm can help guide you through the process. We know how campus judicial processes work, and we know how to use them to your best advantage.
Academic Dismissal Cases
Unlike misconduct cases, dismissal cases that are based on academic deficiencies don't involve investigations or hearings. The school does offer an appeals process if your deficiencies were caused by extenuating circumstances. Your Lento Law Firm attorney can help you gather evidence and draft an appeal if you need one.
We also know some important informal approaches to avoiding academic dismissal, though. For example,
- A low GPA can be caused by a learning disability, such as ADD or ADHD. If you discover you have such a disability, we can help you petition the university to remove low grades from your GPA and allow you to retake those courses.
- If you feel you've been treated unfairly in a class, we can help you contact your instructor's department head and file a formal grade appeal.
- Faculty are sometimes open to assigning extra credit or makeup work to students with borderline grades. Often, this can be the quickest route to avoiding an academic sanction like dismissal.
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. Our Student Defense Team can 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, use our automated online form.
