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Let's cut right to the chase: if you're a student at West Chester University and you're facing dismissal, you can't afford to handle it yourself. Dismissal comes with a transcript notation about the nature of your offense, and that could essentially end your academic career. Few, if any, schools are going to accept you with that kind of record.
You need an attorney on your side, but not just any attorney. You need someone from the LLF Law Firm. Our Student Defense Team provides premier representation to students across the country. We know the law, and we know how West Chester University operates.
What can we do for you? Call 888-535-3686 to find out, or take a few minutes right now and fill out our online form.
Reasons for Dismissal from West Chester University
If you're facing dismissal at WCU, at a minimum, you need to understand the charges against you. There are essentially only four categories of dismissal, though each category contains numerous rules and regulations.
- Academic Standing: First, you need to keep your GPA up. Good standing means a cumulative GPA above 2.0. Should yours fall below that number, you face warnings, probation, and, eventually, dismissal.
- Academic Misconduct: You can also be dismissed for violating the university's academic integrity policy. This policy covers all your coursework and specifically prohibits things like cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication. First offenses usually garner course sanctions, like lower grades. Second offenses, though, can be punished with dismissal.
- Disciplinary Misconduct: Outside the classroom, your behavior is subject to WCU's Student Code of Conduct. Here, you'll find rules against things like hazing, trespassing, and drug possession. Any violation could result in dismissal if it is serious enough.
- Sexual Misconduct: Sexually-based offenses are almost always punished with dismissal. These are among the most serious charges any student can face. They are also subject to regulations under Title IX, a federal law.
Misconduct Defenses
It's no easy task defending yourself from a misconduct dismissal. The good news is that WCU affords students due process rights. You're entitled to an investigation and a hearing, for instance, and to a presumption of Not Responsible (not guilty). However, the procedures aren't easy to follow, and it can be even more difficult to know how to use your rights effectively.
- Anyone can file a complaint against you—instructors, administrators, staff, other students. The Office of Student Conduct handles most cases. However, Title IX sexual misconduct is under the jurisdiction of the school's Title IX Coordinator.
- You should receive a Notice of the Charges. This Notice should identify your accuser, if there is one, and provide details about the allegation to help you begin preparing your case. In addition, it should include a complete list of your due process rights.
- One of your most important rights is the right to an advisor, someone to help you prepare your case and to accompany you to meetings and proceedings. You're allowed to choose anyone to serve as an advisor, which means someone from the LLF Law Firm can be at your side from the moment you're accused.
- The university will undertake some form of investigation. Even if you've only been accused of academic misconduct, you can expect your instructor to gather evidence to back up their allegation.
- As part of the investigation, you should be asked to provide your side of the story. In addition, you have the right to provide evidence and to suggest witnesses. In addition, however, you can expect investigators to interview the Complainant (your accuser) and any other witnesses and to collect any physical evidence.
- Once the investigation is complete, investigators compile a written report and submit it to the appropriate office. The university then sets a time and date for a hearing and appoints one or more decision-makers to oversee proceedings.
- As part of the hearing, you may introduce evidence and call witnesses to testify. You also have the right to cross-examine any witnesses against you. Of course, your accuser has these same rights.
- Decision-makers employ a legal standard known as "preponderance of the evidence." Less strict than "beyond a reasonable doubt," this standard requires decision-makers to find you Responsible (guilty) if they are more than fifty percent convinced you committed a violation.
- Should you lose your hearing, you can appeal the outcome. However, grounds for appeal are limited to issues such as procedural errors, the discovery of new evidence, and a sanction that is disproportionate to the offense.
These basic procedures apply to all of the cases at WCU. However, part of what makes cases so complex is that they can differ in small but significant ways based on the nature of the charges. For example, in Title IX cases, you have the right to cross-examine your accuser. That right only applies in Title IX cases, however.
No matter what charges you may be facing, you can count on your LLF Law Firm attorney to be well-versed in all rules and procedures. They'll help you navigate the system and use your rights to your best advantage.
Academic Dismissal Cases
Misconduct cases involve allegations that must be proven before WCU can dismiss you. That's not true of academic dismissal cases. They're based almost exclusively on your GPA, and that's not normally subject to debate.
Nevertheless, LLF Law Firm attorneys know some useful strategies for helping you avoid these types of dismissals as well. For example:
- If your academic deficiencies are the result of extenuating circumstances, such as a serious illness or a family emergency, you can appeal directly to the dean of your college for more time to improve.
- If you should discover you have a learning disability, you can petition the university to drop low grades from your GPA. Then, you can retake those courses with appropriate accommodations in place.
- Some faculty are willing to assign extra credit or makeup work, particularly to students with borderline grades. An extra essay or a makeup lab could be all you need to get your GPA out of the dismissal danger zone.
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 LLF 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.
