University-Wide Regulations

Only a portion of the University-wide regulations are represented below. Please consult the Oracle, the University’s official Student Handbook, online for the most current and complete version.

Standards of Conduct

By publication of these “Standards of Conduct,” the university calls to the special attention of students and organizations the standards by which they are expected to abide. Students and organizations should be aware of the STANDARDS and should know they will be held accountable for their provisions.

General

All students enrolling in Troy University assume an obligation to conduct themselves at all times as responsible members of the campus community and in accordance with standards of common decency and decorum, with recognition and respect for the personal and property rights of others and the educational mission of the University.

Authority for Rules and Regulations

The Board of Trustees of Troy University is vested with the authority to promulgate rules and regulations regarding the conduct of students while enrolled at Troy University by Title 16-56-6, Code of Alabama, 1975. The University Trustees have delegated full authority to the University administration to prepare and administer rules and regulations for the welfare and discipline of its students.

Administrative Responsibility and Authority

The Student Affairs Division of the University has primary authority for the supervision of student conduct and administration of discipline. The Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and staff are responsible for working with students and student organizations to encourage support and compliance with University standards. They delegate specific responsibilities to members of their respective staffs and, in some instances, to student government agencies. It is permissible for the Dean of Student Services to handle disciplinary decisions administratively if the student or student organization agrees to an administrative hearing. The Dean of Student Services is responsible for coordinating all disciplinary procedures and maintaining appropriate records of student conduct and disciplinary actions.

Misconduct Defined

By enrollment at the University, a student or organization neither relinquishes rights nor escapes responsibilities of local, state, or federal laws and regulations. The “STANDARDS OF CONDUCT” are applicable to behavior of students and organizations on and off the University campus if that behavior is deemed to be incompatible with the educational environment and mission of the university. A student or organization may be disciplined, up to and including suspension and expulsion, and is deemed in violation of the “STANDARDS OF CONDUCT,” for the commission of or the attempt to commit any of the following offenses:

1. Dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University, faculty, or other officers or employees of the University.
2. Forgery, alteration, or misuse of university documents, records, or identification.
3. Issuance of a worthless check made payable to Troy University.
4. Actual or threatened physical abuse, threat of violence, intimidation, hazing, harassment, or any other act that endangers the health or safety of any person.
5. Any sexual conduct that takes place without the victim’s consent, sexual harassment, or sexual misconduct.
6. Destruction, damage, or misuse of university property, public or private.
7. Theft, attempted theft, burglary, attempted burglary, accessory to these acts, and/or possession of stolen property.
8. Unauthorized manufacture, sale, delivery, use, or possession of any drug or drug paraphernalia defined as illegal under local, state, or federal law.
9. The unlawful possession, use, or distribution of alcoholic beverages, public drunkenness, driving under the influence, or the public display of alcoholic beverages and the use or display of such in public areas of the residence halls and all other public areas of the campus.
10. Participation in any form of gambling.
11. Use, possession, display, or distribution of any rifle, shotgun, handgun, or other lethal or dangerous device capable of launching a projectile by air, gas, explosion, or mechanical means (including BB guns, air-soft guns, and paintball guns). Only duly-constituted law enforcement officers may possess firearms on campus.
12. Use, possession, display, or distribution of any toy weapon which resembles a real weapon, any swords, any illegal knives, any explosives (including fireworks and sparklers), any martial arts weapons, or any devices which are used to threaten the safety and well-being of any person.
13. Disorderly conduct, including rioting, inciting to riot, assembling to riot, raiding, inciting to raid, and assembling to raid university properties.
14. Pervasive behavior or dress that is objectively offensive and detracts from the educational experience of other students.
15. Trespassing or unauthorized entry to or use of university facilities.
16. Unauthorized use or attempted use of any services belonging to or provided by the University, including but not limited to, computer, telephone, cable television, copying facilities, or any other such service.
17. Unauthorized possession of a key to any university facility.
18. Interference with the use of or access to university facilities, obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, service, disciplinary procedures, or other activities on university property by either university or non-university person or groups.
19. Classroom disruption to include any classroom behavior that interferes with the instructor’s ability to conduct class or the ability of other students to learn.
20. Failure to dress appropriately for academic exercises or campus events, including no footwear, pajamas, dirty clothes/ body offensive to others, and head coverings indoors unless considered to be a part of religious dress.
21. Failure to promptly comply with directions of university officials (faculty, staff, or student employees) or law enforcement officers acting in the performance of their duties as such officials and officers.
22. Participation in setting or causing to be set any unauthorized fire, entering false fire alarms, bomb threats, tampering with fire extinguishers, alarms, or other safety or fire-fighting equipment, failure to evacuate or immediately respond to a fire alarm.
23. Pervasive use of the mail, telephone, computers, and electronic media that undermines and detracts from the educational experience of other students and/or the ability of faculty or staff to meet their obligations to provide for students’ educational experience.
24. Conviction of any misdemeanor or felony that adversely affects the educational environment of the University.
25. Violation of any university policies or regulations as published or referred to in the Student Handbook, including, but not limited to those governing the time, place, and manner of public expression; the registration of student organizations; the use of university facilities; occupation and visitation of residence halls and other housing owned or controlled by the university; and the use and parking of motor vehicles on the campus.
26. Conduct in violation of public law, federal and state statutes, local ordinances, or university regulations or policies, whether or not specified in detail, that adversely affects the student’s suitability as a member of the academic community and regardless of whether such conduct has resulted in a conviction under a statute of ordinance.
27. Any other activity, conduct, or dress not specifically stated herein that impairs, endangers, or disrupts any person, property, social order, or the educational environment of the University.

Complaint Policy

Please consult the TROY Student Complaint Policy and submit a completed form to the Graduate School, 231 Adams Administration Building, Troy, AL, 36082.

Veterans who wish to file a complaint: any complaint against the school should be routed through the VA Educational Benefits Feedback System. The VA will then follow up through the appropriate channels to investigate the complaint and resolve it satisfactorily.

Disability Services: Policies and Procedures

Please consult the Oracle, the University’s official Student Handbook, online at https://www.troy.edu/student-life resources/student-resources/oracle.html for the most current and complete policies and procedures related to disability services.

Harassment and Discrimination Policy

Please consult the Oracle, the University’s official Student Handbook, online at https://www.troy.edu/student-life-resources/student-resources/oracle.html, for the most current and complete policy related to harassment and discrimination.

Religious Holiday Observance Policy

Troy University respects the religious diversity of our academic community and recognizes the importance of religious holy days and observances in the lives of our community members. TROY strives to be an inclusive community in all aspects of academic and campus life. Faculty members are expected to make reasonable efforts to accommodate the sincerely held religious practices and observances of students.

Guidelines: Guidelines pertaining to the observance of religious holidays are as follows:

1. TROY encourages all faculty, staff, and students to be cognizant of major religious and cultural observances when planning major campus events in order to be sensitive to potential conflict.
2. Guidelines relating to academic work (below) should be loaded into the online syllabus template. All faculty members are encouraged to include on the syllabus and to announce at the beginning of the semester/term the following:
   • Students should notify faculty in writing or via email during the first two weeks of the semester/term of their intention to be absent from class for religious observance.
   • Faculty should provide students who give the required notice of and are absent for observance of a religious holiday reasonable opportunity to complete academic responsibilities in the original or alternative form without penalty, unless doing so would interfere unreasonably with the academic integrity of the course.
   • If the student and the faculty member cannot agree on a requested accommodation for completion of the academic responsibilities, the student may appeal to the department chair.
   • Upon approval of an accommodation, the student is responsible for completing the academic work by the deadline established in the accommodation.

Student Records Policy

Please consult the Oracle, the University’s official Student Handbook, online at https://www.troy.edu/student-life-resources/student-resources/oracle.html, for the most current and complete policy related to student records under Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA).

Tobacco Policy

Introduction

Troy University is committed to providing a healthy and safe environment for all students, faculty, and staff. The University’s Board of Trustees demonstrated this commitment with the approval of a resolution designating Troy University as a tobacco-free institution.

This new policy, which went into effect on August 13, 2012, prohibits smoking and the use of all tobacco products within all University buildings, parking lots, structures, walkways, indoor and outdoor athletic facilities, University vehicles, worksites and grounds and any vehicles on campus, regardless of ownership. The health care and health education programs of the University perform an important function by demonstrating and promoting healthy lifestyles through activities such as curtailment of the use of tobacco products.

Definitions

1. “Smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, or pipe.
2. “Tobacco Products” such as all forms of tobacco, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, water pipes (hookah), electronic cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco products (e.g., chewing tobacco and snuff).
3. “Members of the University Community” include its faculty, staff, students, volunteers, vendors, customers, and visitors.

Policy

This policy applies to all Troy University employees, students, contractors, vendors, recruits, and visitors. The use of all tobacco products is prohibited on all property that is owned, operated, leased, occupied, or controlled by the University. “Property” for the purposes of this paragraph includes buildings and structures, grounds, parking lots, non-public walkways, sidewalks, and vehicles, as well as personal vehicles in these areas. These same policies apply for all TROY campuses and locations.

Troy University will provide a variety of wellness initiatives to assist students, faculty, and staff to achieve nicotine independence and smoking cessation.

Implementation Authority

Authority for enforcement of this policy is vested in the Deans of Colleges, Department Chairs, Supervisors, or the Dean of Students and Athletic Director or their designee, in conjunction with the Senior Director of Human Resources.

Compliance

Violation of this policy may result in corrective action under the Student Code of Conduct, Human Resources Policies and Procedures or other applicable University Regulations or Policies. Visitors refusing to comply may be asked to leave campus.