New Collegewide Standing Committee: Student Conduct and College Safety

NOVA has established a new standing committee, the Student Conduct and College Safety Committee, which builds upon and continues the good work of this summer’s ad hoc Student Conduct and College Safety Taskforce. College Senate Chair Jack Lechelt assisted in writing the description and charge of this committee, which is shared below.

Vice President for Student Affairs Joel Frater serves as co-chair, and seven members represent NOVA offices with frontline responsibility for student conduct and campus safety. The College Senate is responsible for electing the committee co-chair, and the College Forum Councils, ISSC, and PSC will appoint eight of the committee members. In addition, the Student Government Council will name three members. The first meeting will occur this fall once all forum and SG members are appointed.

I hope you will consider serving on this important standing committee. 

Student Conduct and College Safety Committee
The Student Conduct and College Safety Committee is a collaborative body that serves as a cornerstone of NOVA’s efforts to maintain a learning and working environment grounded in a shared commitment to care, excellence, inclusion, integrity and respect. This committee is composed of faculty members, staff and students working together to articulate, learn, listen and respond collaboratively to concerns regarding student behavior and conduct.

The Student Conduct and College Safety Committee complements the existing student conduct process by providing an ongoing opportunity for employees and students to provide feedback to those responsible for the student conduct process with a goal of continuous improvement. The committee’s charge does not extend to reviewing, investigating or adjudicating student conduct issues. The committee may request aggregate reports summarizing the number and frequency of student conduct cases, provided that the reports do not reveal any student private personal information. The committee is convened and charged to work toward shared goals of engaging in open communication and active listening in pursuit of strengthening NOVA’s learning and working environments. It provides a vehicle for members of the NOVA community to voice their perspectives on the college’s approach to maintaining a positive, safe and supportive learning and working environment.

The Student Conduct and College Safety Committee will be chaired by the Vice President of Student Affairs and a Teaching Faculty member elected by the College Senate. Members will include a campus dean of student success; director of student rights and responsibilities; coordinator for student integrity and conduct; director of the office of wellness and mental health; a representative of the police department; a representative of the DEI/Title IX office; a representative from human resources; one faculty or staff representative selected by each Campus Forum Council; one member from the Senate’s Instructional and Student Services Committee; one member from the Personnel Services Committee; and three student representatives selected by the Student Government Council. All committee members must be committed to ensuring that all discussions model respect, integrity, inclusion and care, and that actions of individual members or the committee do not violate VCCS or NOVA policies/procedures or legal requirements. Members who do not meet this commitment will be removed from the committee.

The committee will meet at least once per semester, fall and spring, with the frequency of the meetings determined by committee consensus. As with all standing committees, the Student Conduct and College Safety Committee must post its agendas and minutes to the NOVAnet Committees site on SharePoint. At the end of each semester, based upon its work, the committee will prepare a report of recommendations for improvement to college processes to be shared with the President, College Senate, Student Government Council and college faculty and staff.

Regards, Anne