The threat of dismissal is always serious. It means you may be forced to head out onto the job market—and pay any student loans you've accumulated—without a college degree. You know what the statistics say about that. Jobs are tough to come bay without a degree.
If you've found yourself in some sort of trouble at Indiana State, though, it doesn't necessarily mean dismissal is inevitable. There are always ways to defend yourself--ways to use the university's administrative and judicial systems to protect your future. Processes and procedures aren't simple, though, and you're going to need help navigating them.
That's where we come in. The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team understands the stakes, and we're always on your side. We also know how Indiana State operates and how to use rules and regulations to your benefit.
Don't try to take the university on by yourself. You owe it to yourself to find out how the Lento Law Firm can help. Call 888-535-3686, or take a few minutes right now and fill out one of our online forms.
Reasons for Dismissal from Indiana State University
Protecting yourself from dismissal starts with understanding the charges against you. You may think that your innocence will be enough to get you through, but if you don't truly understand what you've been accused of doing, there's no way you can properly explain your innocence.
At Indiana State, there are essentially four categories of offense that can put your academic career in jeopardy.
- Academic Deficiencies: First, you can be dismissed for failing to keep your GPA up. Don't panic—you're not going to find yourself expelled over a bad grade or two. Under the university's academic standing policy, a GPA below 2.0 means academic probation. If you can't improve while on probation, though, you can eventually be dismissed.
- Academic Misconduct: The pressure to keep grades up drives some students to try and bend the rules a bit. This is never a good idea. Indiana State's academic integrity policy is at least as strict as its academic standing policy. As you might expect, cheating and plagiarism are the most obvious offenses. Any type of course dishonesty can get you into trouble, though, from submitting the same work in two classes to fudging lab results. Again, a single offense isn't likely to result in dismissal. Multiple offenses can lead to dismissal, though.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: Code of Conduct violations have nothing to do with your performance as a student, but they generally lead to dismissal more quickly than low grades or cheating. You're part of a community, and that community expects you to abide by a set of common sense rules about how you treat others and how you treat the university.
- Sexual Misconduct: These are among the most serious offenses you can commit, and they generally result in the most serious sanctions as well. In fact, dismissal is actually the most common result in sexual misconduct cases.
Misconduct Defenses
As we said before, the fact that you've found yourself in trouble doesn't have to mean you'll wind up dismissed. There are ways to challenge a dismissal threat if you know what you're doing.
If you've been charged with some type of misconduct, Indiana State maintains a clear set of procedures for defending yourself. You have the right, for instance, to a presumption of “Not Responsible” (innocence) and to an investigation and a hearing. The process can be complicated, though.
- Cases begin when someone lodges a complaint against you either with the Office of Student Conduct and Integrity or, in the case of sexual misconduct, the university's Title IX Coordinator.
- Once you've been accused, you're issued an official Notice of the Charges. That notice should identify your accuser, explain the allegations, and include a list of your due process rights.
- The university then conducts a thorough investigation. Even academic misconduct charges require proof. Typically, investigators begin by meeting separately with the Respondent (the accused, you) and the Complainant (your accuser or alleged victim). In addition, they collect physical evidence and talk with witnesses.
- The length of an investigation can vary depending on the nature of the charges. Once it is complete, though, investigators submit a full report of their findings to the appropriate administrative office. The university then sets a time and date for a hearing.
- Hearings take place before one or more trained, unbiased decision-makers. If you suspect a decision-maker may have some prejudice against you, you have the right to challenge their position.
- The hearing affords you the chance to counter the university's evidence and offer arguments to demonstrate your innocence. You may, for example, call witnesses to testify and cross-examine witnesses testifying against you.
- Decision-makers are bound to use a legal standard known as "preponderance of the evidence" in determining your level of responsibility. According to this standard, you are guilty if they are more than fifty percent convinced you are guilty.
- You can appeal a hearing outcome, but again, the process can be complex. You can't simply disagree with that outcome. You must have appropriate "grounds" for an appeal, such as a procedural error, the discovery of new evidence, or a disproportionate sanction.
Unfortunately, while Indiana State does allow you to choose an advisor to accompany you to investigative meetings and other proceedings, you must choose someone from the university community. That means your Lento Law Firm attorney cannot be on hand to help you answer questions or present your case.
Do not let this fact dissuade you from consulting with us. We can play a crucial role in preparing you for your defense. Even if we can't sit beside you during interviews, we can coach you on what to say and even give you practice in answering questions. Likewise, we'll help you uncover evidence, work with you to develop your strongest arguments, suggest questions for witnesses, and draft documents. And our most important job? Ensuring Indiana State respects your due process rights. We don't have to step one foot on campus to do any of this.
Dealing With Academic Dismissal
What about academic dismissals? How do you deal with them?
Indiana State offers no formal procedures for challenging academic sanctions. However, your Lento Law firm attorney knows a number of strategies for protecting you from this type of dismissal, too. For instance,
- You always have the right to fair treatment in the classroom. If the problem is as simple as a grumpy instructor, you have the right to complain to that instructor's department head. This can result in immediate relief. At a minimum, it will create a record you can use later to file a formal grade appeal.
- Low grades can be a sign of a learning disability. Disability Services will test you for free. If you do have such a disability, you can petition Indiana State to drop low grades from your GPA and let you retake those courses with appropriate accommodations in place.
- You can simply ask instructors for extra credit or makeup work. In fact, you should do this even if your grade is relatively high. Changing a B to an A affects your overall GPA the same as changing a D to a C, and it can help to minimize the damage lower grades might do.
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.
