To:       Craig Parker, General Counsel

                Margaret O’Donnell, Assistant General Counsel

From:    Kathryn Benner, Legal Clerk

Date:    July 23, 2003

Re:       Public Universities Disciplining Students for Off-Campus Conduct

 

 

 

The general opinion holds that universities, both private and public, have the ability to discipline their students for misconduct that occurs off campus.[1] In Krasnow v. Virginia Polytechnic Institute,[2] the court said,

 

An educational institution’s authority to discipline its students does not necessarily stop at the physical boundaries of the institution’s premises.  The institution has the prerogative to decide that certain types of off-campus conduct are detrimental to the institution and to discipline a student who engages in that conduct.

 

However, there is a slightly stricter standard applied with respect to a public university since it is subject to federal constitutional restraints; therefore, a disciplinary rule cannot be so vague as to violate due process.  Disciplinary actions must be based on a student’s disregard of university standards of conduct “expressed in reasonably clear and narrow rules.”[3] 

 

Therefore, the courts have implied that there must “be some nexus between the off-campus offense and a vital interest of the university.”  Courts have found a sufficient connection when drugs, assaults, harassing and disruptive conduct are involved.  The key is for university officials to articulate how the conduct is detrimental within their code of conduct; the more specificity that is given, the better.[4]

 

Though criminal conduct off campus may be used as grounds to bring disciplinary actions under a school’s code of conduct, the best scenario is to deal with the state criminal code independently from the school code of conduct.  This is helpful when attempting to elude a vagueness claim regarding the nexus between the conduct and the school’s interest.[5]

 

Administrators will face vulnerability where there are no written rules at all or where the rule provides no standard to guide conduct.[6]  However, a rule will likely pass judicial scrutiny if the standard “conveys sufficiently definite warning as to the proscribed conduct when measured by common understanding and practices.”[7]

 

Officials do have some latitude in interpreting and applying them, as long as the interpretation is reasonable.

 

Conclusion

 

Public universities may implement their code of conduct against students for off-campus conduct.  However, there must be a sufficient nexus between the reported conduct and institutional interest in order to avoid a charge of unconstitutional vagueness in violation of due process.  In addition public schools are required to give clear advanced notice to students through the code of conduct what conduct is expected.