There are two primary committees on campus that process petitions related to academic issues. It is best to confirm that you have identified the correct committee before submitting your petition. Each petition has its own requirements which sometimes include professor or Departmental signatures and approvals. Also, some issues are resolved directly by department committees (such as exceptions to major and minor requirements), or other offices on campus.

Following are the issues resolved by petition to the Scholastic Review Committee (SRC). Petitions may be obtained from the Office of Academic Advising, 364 Oregon Hall.:

• Grade disputes
• Academic probation
• Academic disqualification
• Withdrawal - retroactively
• Deleting an entire term
• Change in grading option - after deadline

Following are the issues resolved by petition to the Academic Requirements Committee (ARC) Petitions may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar, 220 Oregon Hall.

• Graduation requirement issues
• Late registration
• Adding classes after deadline
• Withdrawal after deadline
• Delete class without a W
• Register for more than 24 credits S
• elective withdrawal after term deadline
• Receive credit twice for same class

The University publishes a tuition refund schedule each year. It is typically available in the Schedule of Classes, the University Catalog, and the Registrar's website or by phone. The Business Affairs Office provides the following information about refunds:

“In the event of complete withdrawal from the university or a reduction in course load, refunds may be granted to students in accordance with the refund schedule on file in the Business Affairs Office in Oregon Hall. Refunds may take from four to six weeks to process. All refunds are subject to the following regulations:

Refunds are calculated from the date the student officially withdraws from the university, not from the date the student ceased attending classes, except in unusual cases when formal withdrawal has been delayed through causes largely beyond the student's control.

No refunds are made for any amount less than $3 unless a written request is made.

In case of complete withdrawal, students who received financial aid are responsible for repayment of that aid in accordance with the university's financial aid repayment policy and schedule. See the UO Schedule of Classes for details.

If you are a financial aid recipient who withdraws, you must file a petition at the Office of Student Financial Aid, 260 Oregon Hall, (541) 346-3221 if you wish to be considered for financial assistance in subsequent terms.

Note: Students who drop a class prior to tuition payment may still owe tuition for the class that was dropped.

For complete withdrawal, contact the Office of Academic Advising, 364 Oregon Hall.

The university has an appeal process for students or parents contending that individual circumstances warrant exceptions to published policy if circumstances of withdrawal or course-load reduction are beyond the student's control. Petitions for exception to the refund policy may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar on the second floor of Oregon Hall or from the Office of Academic Advising.”

Formal grievance procedures are available to undergraduate, post baccalaureate, community education, and graduate students that are enrolled for courses at the University of Oregon or were enrolled at the time the action grieved occurred.

There are a variety of different grievance procedures depending on the nature of the action grieved and the student's status.

In general, “a student who believes that one or more University of Oregon agents or employees has acted in an arbitrary manner or has acted in non-compliance with federal or state law, policies, directives, or administrative rules, or has acted in a way that exceeds authority or abuses discretion, to the personal detriment of that student, shall file a grievance under the process described in OAR 571-003-0110 and 571-003-0115.”

This process is quite detailed and should be completely reviewed before filing a grievance. Some of the important requirements include:

o The grievance must be in writing;
o A formal grievance must be submitted within 45 days of the time the student knows or by reasonable diligence should have known of the matter prompting the grievance. The running of the 45 day period is suspended during examination and vacation periods, including the period between the end of spring term and the beginning of fall term if the student is not enrolled in summer session;
o The grievance must include the approximate date and nature of the events that lead to the filing of the grievance;
o The names of all persons the aggrieved knows to have been directly involved in or responsible for the events alleged;
o All the relevant facts the aggrieved knows that support these allegations, including any stated policies or procedures that are alleged to have been violated;
o The relief the aggrieved seeks to resolve the grievance.
The grievance process requires written decisions from the decision makers and provides avenues of appeal. The grievance rules protect students from retaliation for filing a grievance.

Separate grievance procedures are available for complaints involving the following:

o Student versus Student complaints (OAR 571-021-0005)
o Fees, Fines, and Other Charges (OAR 571-060-0005 and by petition)
o Financial Aid (OAR 571-002-0000 or 571-003-0125)
o Student Records (OAR 571-020-0005)
o Graduate Student Academic Grievances (OAR 571-003-0120)
o Work-Related Graduate Teaching Fellow Complaints (Collective Bargaining Agreement)
o Discrimination (OAR 580-015-0090 and OAR 571-003-0025)

Students that believe they have been erroneously or wrongfully issued a ticket or traffic citation on campus (both vehicle and bike) may petition a Petition Officer of the Department of Public Safety in writing. OAR 571-010-020(1). If the petition is denied the student may appeal in writing to the University's Traffic Appeals Board within five days. The appeal must show that the decision of the Petitions Officer was “unreasonable or arbitrary or was not supported by substantial evidence.” OAR 571-010-020(1)(e).

The university may release directory information about a student, however, a student may restrict that information. Students have the right to request an amendment to their education records if they believe that the record is “inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's rights of privacy.” Students are entitled to an informal hearing on the request for an amendment, and if the amendment is denied, allowed to place a statement in the file commenting on the contested information. A request for an amendment must contain a copy of the record the student is seeking to amend (if available), the specific amendment sought, the reasons why the student is seeking the amendment; and all evidence the student wishes the university to consider. OAR 571-020-0190.

The Student Conduct Code is the document that includes the violations students can be punished for, the discipline that can be taken against them, and the processes to deal with these cases.

Students are required to act in a manner consistent with the student conduct code. If there is an allegation that a student has violated the student conduct code, the Office of Student Judicial Affairs, or one of its delegates such as University Housing, may bring charges against a student to begin a fact finding process to determine whether the student engaged in the prohibited conduct. Any individual can also file a conduct complaint against a student who has allegedly broken the rules established in the code.

That process has two primary avenues: formal and informal. In all but the most serious cases, where suspension or expulsion from the university may be warranted, students have the choice of an informal or formal hearing. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these processes.

Informal Hearing: Meet with the Director of Student Conduct in a private meeting. There is no ability to appeal, but the severe sanctions of expulsion, suspension and negative notation cannot be issued. If a student is uncomfortable with the Director hearing their case because of previous interactions, or perceived bias, the student may request a referee to hear the case.

Formal Hearing: The formal hearing involves the case being heard by a panel of 5 hearings board members. This board is made up of both students and faculty. They have the ability to issue any disciplinary sanction they deem appropriate. There is a chance to appeal this decision to the Appeals Board.

Students are entitled to advice and assistance in choosing, preparing for, and attending a hearing. It is important that students are timely in responding to letters alleging student conduct code violations.

Students should be aware that they may be held accountable for criminal charges arising from the same conduct that violates the student conduct code. Further, some misconduct covered by the conduct code may not be a violation of law, including academic dishonesty and some sexual misconduct offenses.

Student Conduct issues are regulated by the Student Conduct Code. OAR 571-021-0005 through 571-021-0073 Student Conduct Code

Final examinations must be given during the final examination period. Faculty legislation prohibits the early administration of final examinations. Faculty legislation also controls the assignments that may be made during the last week of regular classes ("dead week"). This legislation states:

1) No examination worth more than 20 percent of the final grade, with the exception of make-up examinations, will be given.

2) No final examinations will be given under any guise.

3) No projects will be due unless they have been clearly specified on a syllabus distributed within the first two weeks of the term.

4) Take-home final examinations will be due no earlier than the day of the formally assigned final examination for the class.”

“A faculty member (or the department head) should retain grade books and attendance records for at least one year after the class was taught. Examinations, reports, and other class papers may be retained by the faculty member only if the faculty member either communicates an intention to retain such papers at the time they are assigned or if the faculty member obtains the consent of the student to retain such papers. All other examinations, reports, and class papers must be returned to the student. It is the instructor's responsibility to accomplish the return of graded papers or other assignments in a manner that protects the identity of the student.

“The student records policy prohibits publicly disclosing grades linked to personal identifiers, such as names, or student numbers (social security numbers). The last four digits of a student number may be used, however the list should not be presented in alphabetical order.”

“Grades and transcripts may not be released to someone other than the student without the expressed written consent of the student.”

The regular evaluation of a faculty member's teaching performance by students is required by the state board's rules and university legislation. The regulations require that evaluative data provided by students include 1) results from quantitative questionnaires and 2) signed, written student evaluations.

“Quantitative questionnaires are used to evaluate all courses taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty with enrollments greater than ten students. Departments are responsible for constructing and administering their own student evaluation forms; with the university comparing the course and the instructor to other courses taught at the same size and level. Data from these two questions are made centrally available to students.”

“Written comments are solicited from students in all courses, regardless of enrollment size. The forms used for these comments must clearly state that the faculty member responsible for the course will have access to the written comments, but only after the grades for the course have been submitted.”

“When student evaluations are solicited, students are clearly informed that results of their evaluation play an important role in faculty development, in future promotion and tenure decisions, and in post-tenure reviews.”

Law (on campus):
Office of Student Advocacy
Erb Memorial Union, Room 334
asuoosa@uoregon.edu
(541) 346-3722 | Fax (541) 346-3726

Law (off campus):
ASUO Legal Services
Suite 334, Erb Memorial Union
(541) 346-4273

Whether you live on or around campus you are likely to have contact with officers from the UO Department of Public Safety (DPS) or the Eugene Police Department (EPD). You should treat all law enforcement officers with the same respect you expect them to treat you with.

If you receive a citation from DPS or EPD do your best to be polite, don’t touch the officer and don’t “mouth off.” Remember that anything you say or do will be described to a judge or other decision maker in incident reports and may be used against you in any resulting criminal or administrative proceedings.

In general, when contacted by police you have the right to remain silent and the right to ask to speak to a lawyer. You also have the right to decline to consent to a search of your person, property or residence or to give any evidence against yourself by answering questions, taking various tests or giving samples of hair, handwriting, breath or urine.

If you feel that your rights were violated you can file a written complaint against EPD or DPS. Complaint forms are available from each agency.

DPS, the campus law enforcement team, is authorized by the State of Oregon to write parking, pedestrian and bicycle tickets. DPS also is authorized to write citations to appear in court for violation offenses under the municipal code. A violation, as opposed to a crime, is an offense for which you cannot be arrested and which is punishable by a fine but not jail. The most frequently cited violation offenses include Possession of Less Than an Ounce of Marijuana, Minor in Possession of Alcohol (by consumption or simple possession) and Allowing Minors to Consume on Private Property. If a DPS officer believes you have committed a crime rather than a violation, he or she will detain you and contact the Eugene Police to deal with you.

Commissioned DPS officers are not police officers but do have authority to stop (temporary restraint of a person’s liberty by an officer lawfully present) and frisk (external patting of a person’s outer clothing to search for weapons), and for probable cause arrest (substantial objective basis to believe more likely than not that an offense was committed and that the person to be arrested committed it). DPS officers may also make reasonable inquiry including request for consent to search. You should be cooperative by being polite and courteous to DPS officers.

However, you are not required to consent to any search or answer any questions. Do not offer explanations or excuses because you may inadvertently incriminate yourself or an officer may misinterpret your explanation as an admission. Many times a charge would not have occurred if the student had remained silent.

If you are charged with Minor in Possession of Alcohol (MIP) by consumption even though you have had nothing to drink you may choose to go directly to a hospital emergency room as soon as possible and request a blood test. You will be responsible for the cost of the test but a negative result will help you to defeat the MIP ticket.

Contrary to popular belief, you can be convicted of MIP law even though you did not drink enough to be legally intoxicated. Consumption or simple possession of even a small amount of alcohol is sufficient to be charged and convicted of that offense. Telling an officer that you had nothing to drink “since yesterday” is an admission to an MIP, not a defense. Your best bet is to say nothing and accept the ticket graciously.

State and federal constitutions guarantee every citizen freedom from warrant less search and seizure of his or her person, property and residence. This applies to your home, whether you own or rent your house or apartment, or live in a dorm room.

Police officers rarely obtain warrants to enter residences or to search the contents of closed containers such as backpacks or drawers. You are not required to consent to police entering your residence or to search closed containers inside your residence. If you are asked for consent to enter or search and you don’t want to, you should vocalize your objection clearly so that the officer and others can hear you. Take photographs of any damage officers cause during entry because it is good evidence that the entry was not consensual.

An officer can legally enter your residence without a warrant or consent if he or she has probable cause to believe that a crime is being committed and exigent circumstances are present. This situation occurs frequently when police believe minors are being furnished alcohol inside a residence based upon what they see and hear outside (i.e., keg cups and minors who admit they got alcohol inside can form probable cause) and that there is a good chance that suspects may flee or evidence may be destroyed if they delay entry to get a warrant (exigent circumstances).

Under state and federal constitutions you are not required to answer questions that might incriminate you. Try always to be as cooperative as possible without giving evidence against yourself. You can do this by remaining silent and by obeying officers’ directions to stand or sit, for example. Keep in mind that the police do not have the authority to “go easy” on you in any resulting criminal or violation case. However, your general cooperation may be the difference between merely receiving a criminal ticket, or getting the same ticket or multiple tickets and spending the night or weekend in jail. Never argue with officers; it will not help you, the friend you’re arguing for, or your case.

In general, you are not required to give your name or to carry or produce a photo ID if asked by a police or DPS officer. Similarly, if you give your true name you are not required to prove it by producing a photo ID. You cannot be arrested solely for refusing to identify yourself or produce ID. However, it is usually smarter to identify yourself or show your ID depending on the circumstances.

A police officer can detain you for a “reasonable period of time” to ascertain your identity if you refuse to tell him who you are. What is a reasonable time depends on the circumstances and will be different in every case.

If you have been arrested police can legally perform an exterior clothing “pat down” of your person. An officer can reach into your pockets to remove anything the officer reasonably perceives to be a weapon in the name of officer safety. He or she can also perform a “search incident to arrest” to find more evidence of the crime you have been arrested for. Do not physically resist the officer. Clearly vocalize your objection to a search, if any. Using profanity never helps.

If you are not sure you are actually under arrest ask the officer, “am I free to leave?” If the answer is no, stay put.

Police are generally not allowed to reach into your pockets to search for or seize ID without your consent or a warrant. If this happens to you, vocalize your objection clearly so that the officer and others can hear you. Again, do not touch or resist the officer. The best place to complain about such unconstitutional conduct is in court when answering any resulting charge, by filing a written internal complaint with the agency, or in a civil suit based on violation of your civil rights.

Do not give a false name, date of birth or address. This usually leads to a more serious charge than the one you were trying to avoid. You have the right to answer the officer’s questions or say nothing (the better option). Lying never helps.

You are not required to take the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) or “eye test,” if requested or directed to do so by DPS or police officers. This is a test police use to guess whether you are under the influence of intoxicants. You are not required to give evidence against yourself in this or any other way. Moreover, officers frequently incorrectly administer the eye test. If you wish to decline this or any other test do so clearly and politely.

It is a crime to use another’s ID, lend your ID for use by another or to possess or present a fake ID to get into a bar or tavern. In addition to other penalties (fines up to $6,250 and up to 1 year in jail), these offenses frequently lead to lengthy suspension of your own driving privileges in Oregon even if you have a valid driver license from another state.

An officer may read you your rights, the so-called Miranda warning. This is generally information about your right to remain silent and to ask for a lawyer, and warns that what you say will be used against you. Take the hint. Remain silent and ask for a lawyer. If the officer continues to try to engage you in conversation or question you, repeat your desire to remain silent or say nothing. You are highly unlikely to talk yourself out of the ticket and more likely only to say something that hurts your case. An officer’s failure to warn you of these rights does not invalidate the arrest or the citation. Instead, this failure could allow you, under proper circumstances, to prevent the use of your incriminating statements against you in court.