Know Your Code
Proposed Code of Student Conduct Revisions
The Montana State University academic community seeks to foster a campus environment conducive to academic inquiry, productive campus life, and thoughtful study and discourse.
The student conduct process at MSU is an educational and developmental process that balances the interests of individual students with the interests of the academic community.
Students are essential members of the MSU community and are expected to uphold and abide by certain standards of conduct that form the basis of the Code of Student Conduct. The student conduct process at MSU is not intended to punish students; rather, it exists to challenge those whose behavior is not in accordance with our policies and to foster a better understanding of the expectations that exists for members of our academic community. Sanctions are intended to improve the students’ moral and ethical decision-making and to help them learn more about what is expected as members of our community.
Students should be aware that the student conduct process is quite different from criminal and civil court proceedings. Procedures and rights in the student conduct process are conducted with fairness, but do not include the same protections of due process afforded by the courts in criminal cases. Due process, as defined within these procedures, assures written notice and a hearing before an impartial board or hearing officer. No student will be found in violation of the MSU Code of Student Conduct without a determination that is more likely than not that a policy violation occurred. Any sanctions will be proportionate to the severity of the violation and to the cumulative conduct history of the student.
The navigation bar to the left contains links to the full Code of Student Conduct, frequently asked questions, summaries of potential charges and sanctions your student may face, a flow chart of how the conduct process works, and information on confidentiality and student conduct records.