Our Mission
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Student Accountability & Conflict Resolution is to uphold academic and community standards, encourage personal accountability and responsible decision making; promote student learning; and reduce and prevent behavior that undermines student success and community safety. We are committed to providing a fair, impartial, and efficient process facilitated through compassionate conversations in which students are heard, respected, and treated with dignity.
TO ALL MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY
As conduct professionals, we are responsible for addressing student behavior and assisting students reporting violations committed against them. We want to share the following information with our community.
Our profession is committed to and responsible for following multiple laws and codes of ethics. One law in particular stands out: the concept of due process. After nine Black students were expelled for engaging in a sit-in during the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama, three of them filed suit, and the 5th Circuit Court ruled in Dixon v. Alabama (1961) that institutions of higher education could not take punitive action against students–including suspension or expulsion–without providing due process. In the Code of Student Responsibility, and in all we do as professionals, due process is imperative. Students have a right to know their accuser. Students have the right to respond to charges in front of an unbiased hearing officer. Students have the right to appeal. And students have the right to report harassment, discrimination, and threats without fear of retaliation.
From the referral step to the appeal step of our process, and every step in between, we have a commitment to treat each student as an individual with rights. We acknowledge that higher education conduct and judicial systems have, historically, contributed to systemic racism. Our staff has completed years of academic and professional training and created initiatives (not just those required by law) to work against complicity in systemic racism. Some of these initiatives include providing Procedural Advisors, for students wishing to have support and representation; multiple methods of reporting; an annual report studying trends in our conduct system, and educational sanctions focusing on UNC Charlotte’s core values such as respect, equity, and diversity.
As with the scales of justice, our work is about balance. We must balance free speech rights with wanting to protect our campus community from harmful words and actions. We must balance student rights with student responsibilities. We must balance our commitment to encouraging personal growth and development of responsible students and demonstrating to victims our commitment to holding those students accountable for their actions.
Our students are the most important part of our work. If you are a current UNC Charlotte student (or attending in the upcoming semester) and wish to share concerns, provide feedback, or ask questions about our conduct process, please reach out to us at accountability@charlotte.edu.
On behalf of the SACR Team,
Kaela Lindquist, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Accountability & Conflict Resolution