If someone at the University of Nevada, Reno, has mentioned the possibility of dismissal to you, you have to take it seriously. You can't just transfer your way out of this problem. UNR isn't going to drop the charges just because you withdraw, and dismissal comes with a transcript notation about the nature of your offense. That will keep most other schools from accepting you.
You can fight dismissal, though, and you can win. We can help.
The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm are committed to the proposition that you deserve fair treatment from your university and every reasonable opportunity to earn your degree. We back up that commitment with a deep understanding of education law, a knowledge of campus judicial rules and procedures, and years of experience representing hundreds of students.
What can our Student Defense Team do to help you? Call to find out at 888-535-3686, or take time now to tell us about your issue.
Reasons for Dismissal from the University of Nevada, Reno
It's no easy task defending yourself from dismissal. That's one of the chief reasons why you should never try to take on your school alone. One of the problems is that there are literally dozens of reasons why the University of Nevada, Reno, could decide to dismiss you.
Luckily, most of these reasons can be grouped into four categories. That can help you get a handle on all of them.
- Poor Academic Performance: No matter how low your high school GPA fell, your school couldn't kick you out. That's not true in college. UNR has an academic standing policy that requires you to maintain a minimum 2.0 grade point average. Anything lower than that means you are in "academic distress," and if your grades should fall further, you can ultimately be dismissed as well.
- Academic Misconduct: It's not enough to earn good grades at UNR. You must also earn those grades honestly—no cheating, no plagiarism, and no making up lab results just because you couldn't get the experiment to work right. Here again, there is some leeway when it comes to academic misconduct. One offense probably won't lead to dismissal. Commit multiple offenses, though, and that's exactly what could happen.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: It turns out that your behavior outside of class is subject to just as much scrutiny as your behavior in class, if not more. In this case, you have to worry about UNR's Student Code of Conduct. That Code deals with offenses like underage drinking, theft, and misuse of computer resources. Any violation can result in dismissal if it is serious enough.
- Sexual Misconduct: Though it is technically a form of disciplinary misconduct, sexual misconduct is treated as its own special offense. One reason for this is that such offenses are among the most serious a college student can commit, and Responsible (guilty) students are almost always punished with dismissal. In addition, you should know that sexual misconduct isn't just a matter of school policy. Under Title IX, it's a violation of federal law.
Misconduct Procedures
How you defend yourself from dismissal will vary depending on the specific reason UNR is trying to dismiss you. If you've been charged with misconduct, though—academic, disciplinary, or sexual—there are clear processes in place designed to give you a fair opportunity to prove your innocence or introduce mitigating circumstances.
- Cases begin when someone lodges a formal complaint against you. Academic and disciplinary code violations are reported to the Office of Student Conduct (OSC). Most sexual misconduct offenses are handled by the school's designated Title IX Coordinator.
- The OSC or the Title IX Coordinator then issues you a Notice of the Charges. This document should contain a description of the allegation and a list of all your due process rights, such as the right to a presumption of Not Responsible (innocence).
- One of your most important rights is the right to an advisor. Additionally, this advisor can be an attorney, which means someone from the Lento Law Firm can help you from the moment you are charged.
- The first thing you can expect is that investigators will ask to interview you. This is your first chance to give your side of the story, and your Lento Law Firm attorney can accompany you. Investigators also interview witnesses and collect physical evidence.
- Once the investigation is complete, investigators submit a written report summarizing their findings. The school then sets a time and date for a hearing and appoints one or more decision-makers to preside over this hearing.
- The hearing provides both sides with the opportunity to make their cases. You can present evidence, call witnesses to testify, and raise questions for any witnesses against you.
- Cases are decided using a legal standard known as "preponderance of the evidence." Far less strict than "beyond a reasonable doubt," this standard requires decision-makers to find you Responsible if they believe you "more likely than not" committed an offense.
- Finally, you have the right to appeal the hearing outcome. However, the grounds for appeal are extremely limited. You must be able to show
- Some error occurred in the process
- New evidence has come to light with a bearing on the case
- Decision makers did not use the “preponderance of evidence” standard
- The sanction is disproportionate to the nature of the offense
While all misconduct cases at UNR follow this outline, there are important differences in how different offenses are treated. For example, in Title IX sexual misconduct cases, you have the right to cross-examine your accuser, and they have the right to cross-examine you. That's not true in other types of cases.
Whatever the charge, you can count on the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm to be prepared for what will happen. They're familiar with all of UNR's judicial procedures, and they know how to use those procedures to your best advantage.
Academic Dismissal Cases
Academic dismissal cases don't involve investigations or hearings. There's simply no need: decisions are based almost exclusively on your GPA, and that's an established fact rather than something that must be proven.
That doesn't mean you must simply accept dismissal when your grades fall. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm know a number of strategies for protecting you from dismissal in these cases as well.
- Mitigating circumstances can be the basis for a dismissal appeal. If you can point to a serious illness or a family emergency, you may be able to convince your college dean to give you more time to improve rather than dismiss you outright.
- You always have the option of asking instructors for extra credit or makeup assignments. Not every professor is open to this possibility, but if they are, this can be a quick way to pull your grade point up.
- Low grades can sometimes be a sign of an undiagnosed learning disability. If you should discover you have such a disability, you can ask UNR to set aside your low grades and let you retake courses.
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, use our online form.
