Compliance with COVID-19 Health and Safety Directives

Scope

All Indiana University students.

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Policy Statement

1. Indiana University’s highest priorities are to protect the health and safety of every member of the university community and to resume normal campus operations. Every individual plays an important role in helping us to continue those operations uninterrupted by a widespread recurrence of COVID-19 within the university community.    
2. The university’s guidance and directives related to the COVID-19 pandemic can be found at https://www.iu.edu/covid/index.html). IU will engage in regular, direct communications with non-compliant students to ensure that students know what steps are necessary to achieve compliance and how, where, and when to complete those steps prior to pursuing more serious consequences. 

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Reason for Policy

Indiana University is taking actions in light of COVID-19 with the goal of promoting a safe environment for our students, employees, and community. Compliance with health and safety directives by university students is critical to achieving this goal.

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Procedures

1. Because compliance with COVID-19 health and safety directives and requirements, is critical to protect the entire university community, each campus may utilize either the disciplinary procedures in paragraph 2, or the procedure identified in paragraph 3, in lieu of already-established campus conduct processes. The procedures in paragraph 2.b and 3. are specific to COVID-related compliance and are not authorized under this policy for any other purpose.
2. A campus may bring conduct charges against a student for failure to comply with the university’s health and safety guidance and directives adopted by the university or state or local authorities to combat the spread of COVID-19, including deliberate refusal to take required precautions, persistent or repeat instances of non-compliance, or for intentional behavior that endangers another member of the university community. A campus may choose to resolve conduct charges for COVID-19 violations in a particular case through one of the following processes:
   1. The compliance mechanisms and conduct procedures adopted by the campus in the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct; or
   2. The following COVID-19 specific procedure:
      1. A student will be notified of the charges in writing via email.
      2. A student charged with a COVID-19 violation will be afforded an opportunity to respond to the charges before a designated university official(s). The student will be notified of the decision in writing via email.
      3. A student who has been found responsible has the right to a direct appeal to the campus chief officer for student affairs (or designee) on the following bases:
         • • Significant procedural error that would have otherwise resulted in a different outcome of the case.
           • Disproportionate sanctioning.
           • The presence of bias.
           This appeal is not a rehearing. The reviewer will have access to the full file from the hearing and the student’s appeal submission.
      4. The student will receive the outcome of the appeal in writing via email, and there are no further appeals.
3. Depending on the nature and occurrence of the violation, the campus may provide the student with the opportunity to come into compliance prior to or without a charge, or to resolve a pending charge before a finding of responsibility is made. The campus may also take non-disciplinary action designed to encourage the student to come into compliance.
4. Faculty may include classroom expectations in their course syllabi.

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Sanctions

Egregious violations or intentional repeated violations are the only violations for which the most serious sanctions such as suspension or expulsion from the university will be imposed.

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History

This policy was adopted on August 5, 2020, and amended on November 6, 2020.

This policy was updated on August 23, 2021.

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