PDFWAC 132I-126-100
Prohibited student conduct.
The college may impose disciplinary sanctions against a student who commits, attempts to commit, aids, abets, incites, encourages, or assists another person to commit, an act(s) of misconduct which include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Academic dishonesty. Any act of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication.
(a) Cheating: Includes any attempt to give or obtain unauthorized assistance relating to the completion of an academic assignment.
(b) Plagiarism includes taking and using as one's own, without proper attribution, the ideas, writings, or work of another person in completing an academic assignment. Prohibited conduct may also include the unauthorized submission for credit of academic work that has been submitted for credit in another course.
(c) Fabrication includes falsifying data, information, or citations in completing an academic assignment and also includes providing false or deceptive information to an instructor concerning the completion of an assignment.
(d) Collusion includes assisting another to commit an act of academic dishonesty, such as paying or bribing someone to acquire a test or assignment, or to increase the score on a test or assignment; taking a test or doing an assignment for someone else; allowing someone to do these things for one's own benefit.
(e) Academic misconduct includes intentionally violating college policies, such as altering grades, misrepresenting one's identity failing to report known incident of academic dishonesty or participating in obtaining or distributing any part of the test or any information about a test.
Academic consequences for academic dishonesty or abetting in academic dishonesty may be imposed at the discretion of a faculty member up to and including a failing grade for the course. Students should refer to each of their faculty's course syllabus. Further academic consequences may follow consistent with the provisions in any program handbook. Incidents of academic dishonesty may also be referred to the student conduct officer for disciplinary action consistent with this chapter in addition to the academic consequences identified above.
(2) Other dishonesty. Any other acts of dishonesty. Such acts include, but are not limited to:
(a) Forgery, alteration, submission of falsified documents or misuse of any college document, record, or instrument of identification;
(b) Tampering with an election conducted by or for college students; or
(c) Furnishing false information, or failing to furnish correct information, in response to the request or requirement of a college officer or employee.
(3) Obstructive or disruptive conduct. Conduct, not otherwise protected by law, that interferes with, impedes, or otherwise unreasonably hinders.
(a) Any instruction, research, administration, disciplinary proceeding, or other college activities, including the obstruction of the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular movement on college property or at a college activity; or
(b) Any activity that is authorized to occur on college property, whether or not actually conducted or sponsored by the college.
(4) Abuse of others. Assault, unwanted touching, physical abuse, verbal abuse, threat(s), intimidation, or other conduct which harms, threatens, or is reasonably perceived as threatening the health or safety of another person or another person's property unless otherwise protected by law.
(5) Cyber misconduct. Cyberstalking, cyberbullying or online harassment. Use of electronic communications including, but not limited to, electronic mail, instant messaging, electronic bulletin boards, and social media sites, to harass, abuse, bully or engage in other conduct which harms, threatens, or is reasonably perceived as threatening the health or safety of another person. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to, unauthorized monitoring of another's email communications directly or through spyware, sending threatening emails, disrupting electronic communications with spam or by sending a computer virus, sending false messages to third parties using another's email identity, nonconsensual recording of sexual activity, and nonconsensual distribution of a recording of sexual activity.
(6) Property violation. Damage to, misappropriation of, unauthorized use or possession of, vandalism or other nonaccidental damaging or destruction of college property or the property of another person. Property for purposes of this subsection includes computer passwords, access codes, identification cards, personal financial account numbers, other confidential personal information, intellectual property and college trademarks.
(7) Failure to comply with directive. Failure to comply with the directive of a college officer or employee who is acting in the legitimate performance of his or her duties, including failure to properly identify oneself to such a person when requested to do so.
(8) Weapons violation. Possession, holding, wearing, transporting, storage or presence of any firearm, dagger, sword, knife or other cutting or stabbing instrument, club, explosive device, or any other weapon apparently capable of producing bodily harm is prohibited on the college campus, subject to the following exceptions:
(a) Commissioned law enforcement personnel, legally authorized military personnel, or approved contractors, while in performance of their duties;
(b) A student with a valid concealed weapons permit may store a pistol in his or her vehicle parked on campus in accordance with RCW 9.41.050 (2) or (3), provided the vehicle is locked and the weapon is concealed from view; or
(c) The president or designee may grant permission to bring a weapon on campus upon a determination that the weapon is reasonably related to a legitimate pedagogical purpose. Such permission shall be in writing and shall be subject to such terms or conditions incorporated in the written permission.
This policy does not apply to the possession and/or use of disabling and/or self-defense sprays when possessed and/or used for self-defense.
(9) Hazing.
(a) Hazing is any act committed as part of:
(i) A person's recruitment, initiation, pledging, admission into, or affiliation with a student group;
(ii) Any pastime or amusement engaged in with respect to such a student group; or
(iii) That causes, or is likely to cause, bodily danger or physical harm, or serious psychological or emotional harm, to any student.
(b) Examples of hazing include, but are not limited to:
(i) Causing, directing, coercing, or forcing a person to consume any food, liquid, alcohol, drug, or other substance which subjects the person to risk of such harm;
(ii) Humiliation by ritual act;
(iii) Striking another person with an object or body part;
(iv) Causing someone to experience excessive fatigue, or physical and/or psychological shock; or
(v) Causing someone to engage in degrading or humiliating games or activities that create a risk of serious psychological, emotional, and/or physical harm.
(c) "Hazing" does not include customary athletic events or other similar contests or competitions.
(d) Consent is not a valid defense against hazing.
(10) Alcohol, cannabis, drug, and tobacco violations.
(a) Alcohol. Use, possession, manufacture, or distribution of alcoholic beverages or paraphernalia (except as expressly permitted by college policies, and federal, state, and local laws), or public intoxication on college premises or at college-sponsored events. Alcoholic beverages may not, in any circumstance, be used by, possessed by, or distributed to any person not of legal age.
(b) Cannabis. The use, possession, growing, delivery, sale, or being visibly under the influence of cannabis or the psychoactive compounds found in cannabis and intended for human consumption, regardless of form, or the possession of cannabis paraphernalia on college premises or college-sponsored events. While state law permits the recreational use of cannabis, federal law prohibits such use on college premises or in connection with college activities.
(c) Drugs. The use, possession, delivery, sale, or being observably under the influence of any legend drug, including anabolic steroids, androgens, or human growth hormones as defined in chapter 69.41 RCW, or any other controlled substance under chapter 69.50 RCW, except as prescribed for a student's use by a licensed practitioner.
(d) Tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and related products. The use of tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and related products in any building owned, leased or operated by the college or in any location where such use is prohibited, including 25 feet from entrances, exits, windows that open, and ventilation intakes of any building owned, leased or operated by the college. The use of tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and related products on the college campus is restricted to designated smoking areas. "Related products" include, but are not limited to, cigarettes, pipes, bidi, clove cigarettes, waterpipes, hookahs, chewing tobacco, vaporizers, and snuff.
(11) Lewd conduct. Conduct which is lewd or obscene that is not otherwise protected under the law. This includes, but is not limited to: Indecent exposure. The intentional or knowing exposure of a person's genitals or other private body parts when done in a place or manner in which such exposure is likely to cause affront or alarm. Breastfeeding or expressing breast milk is not indecent exposure.
(12) Discriminatory harassment.
(a) Unwelcome and offensive conduct, including verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct, not otherwise protected by law, that is directed at a person because of such person's protected status and that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive so as to:
(i) Limit the ability of a student to participate in or benefit from the college's educational and/or social programs and/or student housing;
(ii) Alter the terms of an employee's employment; or
(iii) Create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for other campus community members.
(b) Protected status includes a person's race; color; creed/religion; national origin; presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability; use of a trained service animal; sex, including pregnancy; marital status; age; genetic information; sexual orientation; gender identity or expression; honorably discharged veteran or military status; HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C status; or membership in any other group protected by federal, state, or local law.
(13) Sexual discrimination. The term "sex discrimination" includes sex-based harassment, and may occur when a respondent causes more than de minimis harm to an individual by treating them different from a similarly-situated individual on the basis of: Sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Conduct that prevents an individual from participating in an education program or activity consistent with the person's gender identity subjects a person to more than de minimis harm on the basis of sex.
(a) Sex-based harassment. "Sex-based harassment" is a form of sex discrimination and means sexual harassment or other harassment on the basis of sex, including the following conduct:
(i) Quid pro quo harassment. A student, employee, agent, or other person authorized by the college to provide an aid, benefit, or service under the college's education program or activity explicitly or impliedly conditioning the provision of such an aid, benefit, or service on a person's participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
(ii) Hostile environment. Unwelcome sex-based conduct that, based on the totality of the circumstances, is subjectively and objectively offensive and is so severe or pervasive that it limits or denies a person's ability to participate in or benefit from the recipient's education program or activity (i.e., creates a hostile environment). Whether a hostile environment has been created is a fact-specific inquiry that includes consideration of the following:
(A) The degree to which the conduct affected the complainant's ability to access the college's education program or activity;
(B) The type, frequency, and duration of the conduct;
(C) The parties' ages, roles within the college's education program or activity, previous interactions, and other factors about each party that may be relevant to evaluating the effects of the conduct;
(D) The location of the conduct and the context in which the conduct occurred; and
(E) Other sex-based harassment in the college's education program or activity.
(iii) Sexual violence. "Sexual violence" includes nonconsensual sexual intercourse, nonconsensual sexual contact, domestic violence, incest, statutory rape, dating violence, and stalking.
(A) Nonconsensual sexual intercourse is any sexual intercourse (anal, oral, or vaginal), however slight, with any object, by a person upon another person, that is without consent and/or by force. Sexual intercourse includes anal or vaginal penetration by a penis, tongue, finger, or object, or oral copulation by mouth to genital contact or genital to mouth contact.
(B) Nonconsensual sexual contact is any intentional sexual touching, however slight, with any object, by a person upon another person that is without consent and/or by force. Sexual touching includes any bodily contact with the breasts, groin, mouth, or other bodily orifice of another individual, or any other bodily contact in a sexual manner.
(C) Incest. Sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a person known to be related to them, either legitimately or illegitimately, as an ancestor, descendant, brother, or sister of either wholly or half related. Descendant includes stepchildren, and adopted children under the age of 18.
(D) Statutory rape. Consensual intercourse between a person who is 18 years of age or older, and a person who is under the age of 16.
(E) Domestic violence is physical violence, bodily injury, assault, the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, sexual assault, or stalking committed by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the state of Washington, or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the state of Washington.
(F) Dating violence is physical violence, bodily injury, assault, the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, sexual assault, or stalking committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors:
(I) The length of the relationship;
(II) The type of relationship; and
(III) The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
(G) Stalking means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person's safety or the safety of others or to suffer substantial emotional distress.
(b) Consent. For purposes of this code "consent" means knowing, voluntary and clear permission by word or action, to engage in mutually agreed upon sexual activity.
(i) Each party has the responsibility to make certain that the other has consented before engaging in the activity.
(ii) For consent to be valid, there must be at the time of the act of sexual intercourse or sexual contact actual words or conduct indicating freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact.
(iii) A person cannot consent if they are unable to understand what is happening or are disoriented, helpless, asleep, or unconscious for any reason, including due to alcohol or other drugs. An individual who engages in sexual activity when the individual knows, or should know, that the other person is physically or mentally incapacitated has engaged in nonconsensual conduct.
(iv) Intoxication is not a defense against allegations that an individual has engaged in nonconsensual sexual conduct.
(14) Harassment or bullying. Conduct unrelated to a protected class that is unwelcome and sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive such that it could reasonably be expected to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment, or has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a person's academic or work performance, or a person's ability to participate in or benefit from the college's programs, services, opportunities, or activities.
(a) Harassing conduct may include, but is not limited to, physical, verbal, or nonverbal conduct, including written, social media, and electronic communications unless otherwise protected by law.
(b) For purposes of this code, "bullying" is defined as repeated or aggressive unwanted behavior not otherwise protected by law when a reasonable person would feel humiliated, harmed, or intimidated.
(c) For purposes of this code, "intimidation" is an implied threat. Intimidation exists when a reasonable person would feel threatened or coerced even though an explicit threat or display of physical force has not been made. Intimidation is evaluated based on the intensity, frequency, or duration of the comments or actions.
(15) Retaliation. Harming, threatening, intimidating, coercing, or taking adverse action of any kind against a person because such person reported an alleged violation of this code or college policy, provided information about an alleged violation, or participated as a witness or in any other capacity in a college investigation or disciplinary proceeding.
(16) Misuse of electronic resources. Theft or other misuse of computer time or other electronic information resources of the college. Such misuse includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Unauthorized use of such resources or opening of a file, message, or other item;
(b) Unauthorized duplication, transfer, or distribution of a computer program, file, message, or other item;
(c) Unauthorized use or distribution of someone else's password or other identification;
(d) Use of such time or resources to interfere with someone else's work;
(e) Use of such time or resources to send, display, or print an obscene or abusive message, text, or image;
(f) Use of such time or resources to interfere with normal operation of the college's computing system or other electronic information resources;
(g) Use of such time or resources in violation of applicable copyright or other law;
(h) Adding to or otherwise altering the infrastructure of the college's electronic information resources without authorization; or
(i) Failure to comply with the college's electronic use policy.
(17) Unauthorized access. Unauthorized possession, duplication, or other use of a key, keycard, or other restricted means of access to college property, or unauthorized entry onto or into college property.
(18) Safety violations. Nonaccidental conduct that interferes with or otherwise compromises any college policy, equipment, or procedure relating to the safety and security of the campus community, including tampering with fire safety equipment and triggering false alarms or other emergency response systems.
(19) Violation of other laws or policies. Violation of any federal, state, or local law, rule, or regulation or other college rules or policies, including college traffic and parking rules.
(20) Ethical violation. The breach of any generally recognized and published code of ethics or standards of professional practice that governs the conduct of a particular profession for which the student is taking a course or is pursuing as an educational goal or major.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 34.05 RCW, RCW 28B.50.140(13), 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f), and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Department of Education April 2024 Title IX Regulations Final Rule. WSR 24-21-065, s 132I-126-100, filed 10/11/24, effective 11/11/24. Statutory Authority: 2022 c 209. WSR 23-21-054, § 132I-126-100, filed 10/11/23, effective 11/11/23. Statutory Authority: Chapter 34.05 RCW and RCW 28B.50.140(13); 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f); Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. WSR 21-14-003, § 132I-126-100, filed 6/23/21, effective 7/24/21.]