The first thing you need to know if you're facing dismissal from Montana State University? The situation is serious. Dismissal doesn't just mean dismissal. It also means a transcript notation explaining the nature of your offense. That could keep you from getting in anywhere else. Your academic career could essentially be over.
The second thing you need to know if you're facing dismissal from Montana State University? You can't handle the situation all on your own. MSU judicial procedures can be complex and difficult to navigate. You need someone by your side who knows the system, someone who knows the law, someone with experience helping hundreds of students defend themselves. You need someone from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team.
The third thing you need to know? You can't afford to wait to start building your defense. The very moment MSU charges you with an offense, you must contact the Lento Law Firm. Call 888-535-3686 today, or take a few minutes right now and fill out an online form.
Reasons for Dismissal from Montana State University
If someone at MSU has mentioned the possibility of dismissal to you, it's probably for one of four reasons.
- Academic Deficiencies: Probably the most obvious reason Montana State might dismiss you is simply for failing to keep your GPA up. It's not as easy to get dismissed for low grades as you might think, though. Before that happens, MSU puts you on academic warning status and gives you a chance to improve.
- Academic Misconduct: You can also be dismissed for dishonestly trying to get grades. Cheating, plagiarism, and anything else that could potentially give you an unfair advantage in the classroom is explicitly forbidden at MSU. As with your GPA, though, one mistake probably isn't enough to doom you. Dismissal is typically reserved for students who commit multiple offenses.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: Your conduct outside the classroom is governed by the MSU Code of Student Conduct. This policy relates to behavior such as hazing, weapons possession, theft, and disorderly conduct. In this case, any offense could lead to dismissal if it is serious enough.
- Sexual Misconduct: Dismissal is actually highly likely in these cases. Sexual discrimination and harassment are barred by Title IX, a federal law, at all universities and colleges. The government requires schools investigate all credible complaints and encourages schools to issue harsh sanctions.
No matter what the charges against you, you can count on the Lento Law Firm to protect your rights. We've worked with hundreds of students accused of every type of offense. We know MSU's administrative and judicial systems and how to use them to your advantage.
Misconduct Defenses
If you've been accused of misconduct at MSU, that's all that has happened so far: you've been accused. The university must substantiate allegations before it can sanction you, and that requires both an investigation and a hearing. That gives you a chance to prove your innocence or explain your actions.
- Normally, cases begin when someone lodges a complaint about you with either the Dean of Students or, in the case of Title IX sexual misconduct, the Title IX Coordinator.
- If the university decides to open an investigation into the complaint, it must provide you with a Notice of the Charges. This Notice should describe the allegations and provide you with the name of your accuser. It should also include a list of your due process rights, such as the right to be presumed Not Responsible (innocent) and the right to review all evidence against you.
- One of your most important rights as the accused is the right to an advisor. Further, you can choose an attorney to serve in this role. Your Lento Law Firm attorney can't speak for you, but they can be on hand during investigations and hearings to offer advice.
- The university then conducts an investigation. If you're accused of academic misconduct, this may be as simple as collecting examples of your work. Other charges—sexual misconduct, for instance—can take several months to investigate.
- Investigators should ask for your side of the story. In addition, they interview the Complainant if there is one and any witnesses to the events. They also collect any relevant physical evidence.
- Once they have completed their work, investigators submit a report to the appropriate administrative office. The university then sets a time and date for a hearing and appoints one or more trained decision-makers to preside over this hearing.
- At least in general outline, hearings work much like court cases you see on TV. Both sides get to submit evidence and call witnesses to testify. Both sides get to raise questions for witnesses against them. In the end, decision-makers determine whether or not you are Responsible for (guilty of) an offense and assign sanctions as appropriate.
- Campus hearings are not court cases, though. Standards of evidence, for example, are far more relaxed, and the standard for determining responsibility is considerably lower. You're probably familiar with “beyond a reasonable doubt.” MSU uses “preponderance of the evidence.” According to this standard, you are guilty if decision-makers decide you “more likely than not” committed the offense.
- Likewise, while you have the right to appeal the hearing outcome, grounds for appeal are far more limited than they are in an actual court case. At MSU, the only grounds for appeal are
- The discovery of new evidence not available at the time of the hearing that could affect the hearing outcome
- A violation of your due process rights that could potentially have affected the hearing outcome
While these procedures apply in all misconduct cases at MSU, you should be aware that cases can differ from one another in small but important ways depending on the specific nature of the charges. For example, in Title IX cases, both sides have the right to cross-examine one another. That can have a large impact on how you go about preparing your defense.
No matter what the charges, though, you can count on your Lento Law Firm to be prepared. They'll walk you through the process one step at a time, protect your rights, and make sure you get the best possible result.
Academic Dismissal Cases
Academic dismissal cases have nothing to do with misconduct. They're based almost exclusively on your GPA. That can make defending against these types of dismissals a bit tricky.
Here again, though, your Lento Law Firm attorney knows a number of strategies for salvaging your career at MSU. For example,
- You may be able to show that extenuating circumstances, such as a family emergency or a serious illness, led to your deficiencies. If so, you can petition for more time to improve.
- If you suffer from a learning disability, you may be entitled to certain course accommodations, like extra time to complete assignments. Any time you're denied these accommodations, you can file a complaint with the Office of Disability Services.
- Of course, there's always the old standby of asking instructors for makeup or extra credit assignments. It could be that raising your GPA is as simple as completing an extra lab assignment or rewriting a paper.
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.
