Code of Conduct

All students must comply with Relay’s policies and maintain proper standards of conduct at all times in both physical and digital spaces. If student behavior interferes with the safe operation of Relay, corrective disciplinary measures will be taken. Disciplinary action may include a verbal warning, written warning, suspension, or administrative withdrawal. The appropriate disciplinary action or sanction to be imposed will be determined by the Conduct Review Council (CoRC). The institution does not guarantee that one form of disciplinary action or sanction will necessarily precede another. The following non-exhaustive examples of conduct may result in disciplinary action, up to and including administrative withdrawal: 

• Violation of Relay’s policies, procedures, or safety rules;

• Unauthorized possession, use, or sale of alcohol or controlled substances on Relay premises, during Relay events (including both on-premise and off-premise events), synchronous class sessions, or in any digital spaces associated with Relay;

• Unauthorized possession, use, or sale of weapons, firearms, or explosives on Relay premises, during Relay events (including both on-premise and off-premise events), synchronous class sessions, or in any digital spaces associated with Relay;

• Intoxication;

• Theft or dishonesty;

• Misuse of technology;

• Inappropriate use of social media; 

• Fighting;

• Abusive or foul language; and/or

• Physical harassment, sexual harassment, or disrespect toward another student, employee, visitor, vendor, or other member of the public.

Relay regards code-of-conduct violations as serious acts and will treat transgressions against this code as such. Code-of-conduct violations may therefore result in suspension or administrative withdrawal. Please note that students who are administratively withdrawn from the institution due to a code-of-conduct violation will not be eligible to reenroll in the future.

Due Process Procedures for Students

Students who are suspected of violating the code of conduct or any other Relay policy will be informed in writing of the suspected violations and will have an opportunity to meet with a designee from the Student Affairs Team and discuss the allegations and to learn what evidence Relay has to support them. Any student suspected of being in violation will be given a full opportunity to present their positions and provide supporting evidence. Students and the director of student affairs, or their designee, upon completion of the investigation, may reach a mutually acceptable resolution that will end the matter. If no mutual informal resolution is reached, a determination of whether or not there is a violation and the sanction to be imposed (which may take into account the students’ previous records) will be provided to students in writing.

Students may appeal the determination made, the sanction, or both. The appeal must be submitted in writing via email and sent to the vice president of student affairs within 10 business days of Relay sending the determination to the student. The grounds for an appeal are that new information not previously available should be taken into consideration, that procedural irregularities were present in the process and such irregularities significantly affected the determination, or that the sanction imposed is not appropriate for the violation. The appeal should clearly set forth the basis of the appeal, explain the students’ position on the appeal, and set forth any supporting documentation. The vice provost of student affairs will evaluate all appeals and related accompanying materials in collaboration with the director of student affairs and any relevant staff or faculty. While the vice provost may elect to meet with students, a meeting is not required. The outcome of the appeal may be to (a) uphold, in whole or in part, the determination of a violation, (b) to sustain or modify, in whole or in part, the sanction applied, or (c) to return the matter to the director of student affairs for further review. The decision of the vice president of student affairs is final.