Students’ Due Process

POLICY OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE 

Adopted: Tuesday, May 11, 1976 
Revision Number: 3 
Revision Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023 
Reference: Student Affairs

Policy:

Pearl River Community College affords due process to all students in accordance with the law.

Procedure:

Due Process in Student Discipline:
All Pearl River Community College (PRCC) students are expected to conform to the ordinary rules of society, the laws of the State of Mississippi, and the Code of Student Conduct as stated in the Student Handbook, the Cat Country Guide. The College reserves the right to apply appropriate sanctions to any and all violations of these standards as necessary. While being familiar with instructional regulations is the responsibility of the student, the College affords the following procedures in order to ensure that every student’s rights are protected.

1. When an infraction is committed that requires disciplinary action, the student involved will receive notice that specific action has been taken.
2. Students have the right to appeal any disciplinary action taken against them within three (3) college working days of the incident. Appeals may be submitted to the specific Campus Police Department, the Vice President for Poplarville Campus and Student Services (Poplarville), the Vice President for Forrest County Campus (Hattiesburg), or the Vice President for Hancock Campus (Waveland). Pearl River Community College online students who want to file an appeal should submit their appeal to the Dean of eLearning. Appeals of students in a general education class offered at a non-campus site should be submitted to the Senior Vice President for Instruction/Provost. Appeals of any career and technical students at a non-campus site should be submitted to the Dean of Workforce, Economic Development, and Adult Education.
3. Depending on the infraction, the appeal will be assigned to the appropriate division of the PRCC Judicial System.
4. The President of Pearl River Community College is charged with the responsibility of maintaining an environment which is conducive to learning. The President has delegated this responsibility of student due process to the Vice Presidents. The appropriate Vice President governs two levels of student due process hearing bodies. These levels include:
   1. PRCC Campus Court: The Director of Public Safety handles all traffic tickets and college fines that are not drug or violence related. If the appropriate campus’s Director of Public Safety is directly involved with the disciplinary sanction this appeal will be heard by the PRCC Appeals Court.
   2. PRCC Appeals Court: This level of the PRCC Judicial System handles all appeals that involve dismissal from school and/or campus housing or any case appealed from Campus Court. The PRCC Appeals Court is comprised of two members of the PRCC student body and two members of the PRCC faculty/staff and is presided over by the appropriate Vice President or his/her designee. The decision of this court is final and will exhaust the Pearl River Community College Students’ Due Process procedure.
5. The Chair of the appropriate court will receive an appeal and determine if a hearing is necessary.
6. If a hearing is deemed necessary, the student will receive notice of a hearing date within five (5) college working days of the appeal filing date.
7. The student will receive notice of the hearing findings within five (5) college working days of the hearing date.
8. Details of the hearing procedure are available in the student handbook, the Cat Country Guide.