The Office of General Counsel released a new regulation detailing how FGCU administrative bodies will handle student conduct violations on Friday, March 10.

The Student Conduct Review Process outlined in the regulation articulates the punishments students may face if they are found to be in violation of FGCU policies and establishes a strict procedure that must be followed by both the student and the advisor involved in the adjudication.

The Student Conduct Review Process has been in place since the university’s inception.

In this new proposed regulation, the Student Conduct Review Process has been changed to reflect the updated practices of the university.

In the Purpose and Application section of the document, the Counsel wrote, “These standards are designed to foster of personal, social, and ethical development and to promote the protection of the rights, responsibilities, safety and welfare of the university community.”

The new regulation continues to affirm the values included in its predecessor.

The bulk of the document explains how students can alert administrative bodies of a violation, how a hearing will be conducted and how a student may appeal if they feel an injustice in the process has occurred.

Most of the changes in this new regulation are made in an effort to improve the overall clarity of the document.

Mike Rollo, the vice president of FGCU Student Affairs and the main sponsor of the regulation, made changes to the document.

Included at the beginning of the regulation are definitions of legal terms essential to the understanding of the process, and throughout the document, each section is delineated to ensure each aspect can be thoroughly understood.

The most significant changes in the document come from the formatting.

While this regulation is divided into seven sections, the previous encompassed over ten.

The reduced length of this new regulation coupled with fewer digressions is meant to improve ease of student access and allow for greater accessibility.

While the previous document could be cumbersome for students, Rollo explained in his summary note that these changes were made to resolve that issue and allow students to be more informed of the university’s discipline policies.