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Information for Recognized Student Organizations

Office of Student Conduct
724-357-1264

IUP has established procedures for the recognition of clubs, organizations, and independent intramural teams.  The responsibility for granting such status has been delegated to the Rules Committee of the Student Government Association (SGA) and the Center for Student Life.  The Recognized Organization Review Board (RORB) has been established to process alleged violations of university regulations and to resolve disputes involving recognized groups through both informal and formal processes.

The list of offenses, which follows, is not to be taken to be exclusive as to the grounds that might lead to the issuance of discipline against an organization. The university reserves the right to discipline any recognized organization for any action (or any inaction in a situation where the representatives of the recognized organization has a duty to act) that an ordinary, reasonable, intelligent college student knows or should know might result in discipline. This simply means that the university reserves the right to issue discipline for reasonable cause. Such discipline may include, but is not limited to, suspension or withdrawal of recognition from the organization. The standard for determining discipline is objective, not subjective, and if an ordinary, reasonable, intelligent college student should have known that a particular action or inaction might lead to the issuance of discipline, the university may issue discipline, even if the particular recognized organization that is charged with the particular offense did not know that discipline might ensue.  The provisions of this clause are incorporated by reference in any notice of misbehavior, so long as the notice fairly describes the act(s) or omission(s) with which the recognized organization is charged.

• Duties

• Board Membership

• Charges

• Informal Hearings

• Formal Hearings (General Information)

• Formal Hearings (Procedures)

• Sanctions

• Appeals

• Summary Sanctions

• Referral Form (Word document)

B.  Duties

The Recognized Organization Review Board shall fulfill the following duties:

1. Recommend changes to the RORB operating policies and procedures to the Senate Committee on Student Affairs (SCOSA) and the SC Rules Committee.

2. Hear cases of alleged violations of university policy or regulations by recognized organizations and recommend, when necessary, appropriate sanctions to the director of the Center for Student Life and/or her/his designee.

3. To informally arbitrate: disputes which arise between organizations and their advisers; disputes between and within recognized organizations; concerns which arise regarding an organization's compliance with its constitution and/or by-laws or deviation from the purposes indicated at the time of recognition; and/or alleged violations of university policy or regulations by recognized organizations, as defined in Section V.

C.  Board Membership

1. The Student Government Association president-elect shall appoint three students from the SGA Rules Committee in the spring semester to serve on the RORB beginning the following fall semester.  Service shall continue for the academic year. Two alternate members shall also be appointed from the SGA Rules Committee.

2. The Senate Committee on Student Affairs (SCOSA) shall appoint three members (two non-students and one student) from the committee in the fall semester to serve for one academic year.  Two alternate members (one non-student and one student) shall also be appointed by the SCOSA.

3. Members of Greek organizations shall be recruited to serve on the RORB; any case involving allegations against a recognized Greek organization shall include minimally one undergraduate Greek-affiliated member on the RORB.

4. Student, staff, and faculty members on the University Judicial Board shall be eligible to serve on the RORB.

5. The director of the Center for Student Life and/or her/his designee shall chair the RORB.  The chair will only vote on RORB decisions in the event of a tie.

6. Members of the RORB shall not be involved in adjudicating an alleged violation by an organization in which they hold membership or are personally involved to a degree that reduces their objectivity, as determined by the chair.

The Recognized Organization Review Board has delegated authority from the president of IUP to adjudicate student disciplinary cases.  University legal counsel may be called upon, as deemed necessary by the Office of Student Conduct, to provide assistance with selected cases.

D.  Charges

Charges of a violation of university policies or regulations or student behavior regulations can originate from any member or nonmember of the university community.  If charges originate from a nonmember of the IUP community, the Office of Student Conduct may determine an appropriate designee to assist in the presentation of the case.  The testimony of non university members may be used as in any hearing.  Alleged violations involving breach of contracts, whether implied, assumed, inferred, verbal, or written contracts, between the student group and the contracting party shall not be within the jurisdiction of the RORB unless all the parties to the dispute are student groups.

Members of the university community bringing the charge must report the case in writing to the Office of Student Conduct.  Such incidents must be reported no later than fourteen (14) calendar days after the incident unless the Office of Student Conduct waives the requirement of notification.

The president and adviser(s) of the recognized organization shall be notified in writing of the specific charges and be given a minimum of ten (10) calendar days' notice prior to a hearing.  The notification shall include, but not be limited to: the specific charge, the name of the person referring the charge, a brief summary of the allegations that constitute the charge, and the time, date, and place of the hearing.

Should a recognized organization choose not to appear for a hearing, the case will be heard and adjudicated based on the available information.

E.  Informal Hearings/Arbitration

Disputes, mediation, and alleged violations normally referred to the RORB may be resolved through informal non binding arbitration, according to the following conditions and procedures:

1. Informal arbitration is acceptable to both parties and the RORB chair.

2. All involved parties agree upon an RORB arbitrator chosen from the Recognized Organization Review Board.  The RORB  member chosen cannot be affiliated with any of the disputing parties.

3. In order to provide continuity in the arbitration process, the director of the Center for Student Life or her/his designee may provide consultation and advisement to the RORB arbitrator.

4. Following the completion of verbal discussion and resolution of the points of conflict, all involved parties accept all agreed-upon decisions, conditions, or sanctions and the length of time in which they will prevail.  Except for withdrawal of recognition, the full range of sanctions available to the board may be considered.

5. An informal arbitration document is completed detailing these agreed-upon decisions.

6. The director of the Center for Student Life receives the completed informal arbitration document signed by all involved parties and affixes his/her signature upon the document indicating acceptance.  Any conclusions agreed upon will then be confirmed in writing by the director of the Center for Student Life to all involved parties. 

7. If mutually agreed-upon decisions and resolutions cannot be made, the grievances can then be filed by the offended party for a formal hearing before the RORB.

Following signatures, any violation of or failure to comply with decisions or conditions reached through successful informal arbitration will be viewed as a violation of university policy.  Sanctions will be levied accordingly in the event charges are filed and an “in violation” decision is rendered through a formal RORB hearing.

F.  Formal Hearings (General Information)

A minimum of four (4) RORB members, excluding the chair, will constitute a board.  Board members must be present to hear all testimony.  A simple majority of affirmative votes is necessary for an action to occur.  The chair is a nonvoting member, unless there is a tie vote.

Any involved party, including the university, may challenge the objectivity of a board member.  The board will determine by majority vote if these challenges will result in the dismissal of the member being challenged.  Members of the board may challenge one another.

The person(s) filing the charge(s) must be present at the hearing to offer evidence unless s/he has been granted an alternate means of filing charge(s) by the director of the Center for Student Life or her/his designee.

Any involved party may identify an advisor, who may be an attorney, to be present at the hearing.  An advisor may only consult and interact privately with their party.

When time constraints prohibit the regular appointment of an RORB (summer, final exams, or other non-class periods, etc), an interim RORB will be convened by the director of the Center for Student Life or her/his designee.  The interim RORB has the same authority as the regularly appointed RORB.

The RORB chair has the following responsibilities:

1. To facilitate the hearing.

2. To determine whether the Board should request legal counsel.

3. To determine appropriate responses to any challenges that may arise during the hearing and consult with board members and/or legal counsel at any time regarding them.

The director of the Center for Student Life or her/his designee has the following responsibilities:

1. To handle the administrative duties of the RORB (scheduling hearings, facilitating correspondence, keeping records, etc)

2. To consult with the RORB on matters of policy and regulations.

3. To notify the involved parties of any sanctions that may be imposed by the RORB.

G.  Formal Hearings (Procedures)

All formal hearings shall be audio taped.  An audiotape will be provided to the requesting party at their expense upon submission of a written request.

Formal hearings shall be conducted in the following order:

1. The chair shall verify the acceptability of the board membership to all involved parties.

2. The accused party shall have the opportunity to enter a plea regarding the charge(s).

3. The referring party shall present its case utilizing supporting information.

4. The accused party may present relevant information to respond to the charge(s).

5. All parties shall be afforded an opportunity for submission of relevant information and questioning of all parties.

General Guidelines for RORB Hearings:

1. The RORB shall not be bound by formal rules of evidence.  However, all evidence must be inherently reliable.

2. The RORB shall review all materials and hear all evidence pertinent to the case from the referring party, the accused, and all witnesses.  Members of the RORB shall be free to ask relevant questions in order to clarify information or resulting issues.

3. An organization’s previous disciplinary record shall not be used to determine whether a policy violation occurred in a current case.  However, the RORB may consider such a record to determine the appropriate disciplinary sanction.

4. All formal hearings are closed unless any involved party requests an open hearing.  Such a request must be made in writing to the director of the Center for Student Life no less than one (1) working day before the hearing.  In no event shall a hearing be open if this would cause a violation of FERPA or other applicable law.

5. Throughout an open hearing, the chair may regulate the access of spectators.  The chair shall have the power to do what is necessary to maintain decorum during the hearing.  The board may, by majority vote, order the removal of any person or persons who disrupt the hearing.

6. During exams, only informal arbitration may take place, except in special circumstances or emergency situations as determined by the Office of Student Conduct.

7. If during or after a hearing it is determined that witnesses intentionally misrepresented the facts of the case in their testimony, they may be held in contempt of the RORB and referred to the university judicial board for “C16 Dishonesty/Fraud.”   If this misrepresentation is discovered after a hearing, the board will review the evidence to determine whether the case should be reopened and/or a new hearing scheduled.

The Office of Student Conduct shall retain the audio tape record of the RORB hearing for minimally seven (7) years following the completion date of any sanction(s).

H.  Sanctions

A RORB may impose a single or multiple sanctions from the sanctions listed below. 

1. Any sanction may be put on hold or “stayed” from implementation for a specified period of time to be determined by the RORB.

2. Bias motivated offenses may result in stronger sanctions.  Such offenses are defined as any offense wherein the accused organization intentionally selects the alleged victim because of the victim’s race, disability, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or inclusion in any group or class protected by state or federal law.

3. Sanctions which may be imposed include the following:

   1. Disciplinary Warning: A written warning may be given to the organization that indicates that it has been found "in violation" of an IUP regulation and that failure to comply with IUP regulations in the future may result in referral to the RORB to be handled as a second offense.  A warning remains in effect for a specific period of time, as determined by the RORB.

   2. Disciplinary Probation: Disciplinary Probation, is an indication that an organization's status at the university is seriously jeopardized.  During the probationary period, if the organization is found “in violation” of another policy/regulation, a more serious sanction will be levied, including possible suspension of recognized benefits or withdrawal of university recognition.  Disciplinary Probation is in effect for a specific period of time, as determined by the RORB.

   3. Mandatory Activity: The required participation by the organization in specified group activity, service projects, educational programs, or other assignments.  

   4. Financial Restitution: An organization may be required to pay for damages to property, including but not limited to, personal and university property, and/or for personal injury.  Payment will be made under guidelines determined by the Office of Student Conduct.

   5. Social Limitation or Suspension: An organization may be denied formal or informal sponsorship of, or participation in, one or more of the following for a specified period of time:  inter- or intra-organizational social activities, formals, all-Greek or all-university events or activities, or any other event of a social nature.

   6. Intramural Suspension:  A specific length of time in which the organization may not participate in individual or team sports or the intramural league, earn intramural points, or receive any championship titles.

   7. Suspension of Recognized Benefits:  A specific length of time in which the organization maintains university recognition but is denied one or more benefits of recognition which may include, but are not limited to:  Student Cooperative Association funding; use of university or Co-op facilities, office space or property; bulk mailing services; and/or specified other benefits available through recognition.

   8. Withdrawal of University Recognition:  A specified or indefinite length of time in which university recognition is withdrawn in whole or part, or conditionally.  The organization and any semblance of its membership ceases to function at the university, is denied all benefits of university recognition, and no longer falls under the jurisdiction of the RORB.  For the organization, or any semblance of its membership to regain university recognition it may be asked to demonstrate evidence of organizational changes intended to eliminate the potential for repeated violations of this policy.

Any reasonable sanction(s) may be imposed by the Recognized Organization Review Board.  Sanctions not listed previously may be imposed, if reasonable, upon approval by the Vice President for Student Affairs.

I.  Appeals

1. Grounds for Appeal: Upon receiving notification of the outcome of a case, either party may appeal the decision of the RORB in writing for any of the following reasons:

   1. Denial of a fair and reasonable hearing

   2. New evidence (applies when there is an acceptable reason to explain why the evidence could not be presented at the original hearing)

   3. Inappropriate sanction
       

2. Procedure for appeal:

   1. The accused organization or referring party must present a written request listing the specific reason(s) for the appeal to the Vice President of Student Affairs within ten (10) calendar days of notification of the decision.  The ten-day requirement may be waived by the Vice President of Student Affairs where extenuating circumstances prevail and only if the grounds for appeal are met.

   2. The Vice President of Student Affairs may deny the appeal or direct the appeal to be heard by an appellate committee chaired by the Vice President of Student Affairs or her/his designee and consisting of one member of the Student Government Rules Committee and one member of the SCOSA.  Members of the RORB who heard the original case may not serve on this appellate committee.  Furthermore, two of the three members of this appellate committee must agree to any changes that are made to the RORB’s original decision and sanction(s).

J.  Summary Sanctions

In cases where allegations indicate an immediate and substantial danger to persons or property, the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs may summarily sanction an organization.  Such summary sanctions may include withdrawal of university recognition.

Within ten (10) calendar days of the issuance of a summary sanction, a hearing will be convened to review the appropriateness of that sanction.  The board may either continue or suspend the summary sanction, pending a full hearing on the allegations.

Following the interim decision, procedures to arrange a full RORB hearing shall begin.  This RORB hearing should follow the normal timeframes, providing ten (10) calendar days’ notice of the hearing and shall occur as soon thereafter as can be conveniently scheduled.

For more information on the IUP judicial process, see the student code of conduct, located in The Source.