Sanctions
When a student or student organization is found in violation of the Code of Conduct, or other policies referenced in the Student Handbook, any of the sanctions described on this page may be imposed. The following factors guide decisions on sanctions.- The nature, context, and severity of an incident;
- The level of accountability and responsibility taken by the student/student organization
- The need to stop the misconduct and prevent its recurrence;
- The impact of the conduct on the reporter when one exists;
- The impact of the conduct on the community or the University;
- The need to remedy and address the impact or effects of the conduct on others;
- The disciplinary history of the student/student organization*;
- The developmental needs of the student/student organization;
- The best interests of the University community; and
- Any other aggravating, mitigating, or relevant factors.
*For student organizations, the deciding body will review the group's history for the 30 months prior to the incident date.
A student/student organization’s proactive use of harm reduction techniques, or lack thereof, prior to or in connection with an incident may be considered when determining the nature, context, and severity of any responsibility findings involving alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs. Participation in high-risk drinking or drug behaviors, including, but not limited to, high proof alcohol consumption or distribution (30 proof or higher), including shots, common source alcohol, sharing or consuming high THC level cannabis, are generally seen as escalating the severity. Harm reduction techniques such as following the planning tenets laid out in the Alcohol at Undergraduate Events health, safety and wellness guiding principles (Provision 6), offering or consuming food and water during use, consuming or providing only lower proof alcohol (29 proof or lower), and other techniques may be considered as lowering severity. For proactive education in these areas, students/ student organizations may contact the Health Promotion and Wellness office (www.northwestern.edu/wellness/hpaw/services/).
The Four Types of Harm
In an effort to understand the context related to the three sanctioning factors related to impact – impact to the reporter, impact to the community, and the need to remedy and address those impacts – the parties and the University may choose to Northwestern’s conduct process is not a fully restorative one but does incorporate restorative practices such as the four types of harm (Karp & Armour, 2019) for the purposes of sanctioning.
- Emotional/Spiritual harms involves incidents that create emotional or spiritual strife for another individual.
- Material or Physical harms occur when a behavior results in something broken or it creates a financial cost to another individual.
- Communal or Relational harm arises when behaviors damage the relationship between parties.
- Structural or Historical harm result from incidents that replicate historical or structural harms within a community.
Additional Sanction Considerations/Information
Compliance with all sanctions within the assigned deadlines is mandatory. Failure to complete or comply with any assigned sanction, or failure to meet an assigned deadline (if applicable) may result in further disciplinary action, and/or the placement of a hold on a student’s University account. If a student withdraws or takes a leave from Northwestern prior to the completion of their sanctions, they must complete all assigned sanctions before they will be permitted to re-enroll.