Except in Title IX cases, the Dean of Students handles all violations of the Student Code of Conduct. The Dean of Students has the authority to suspend and dismiss students. When a violation of the Code of Conduct comes to the Student Conduct Board, the Dean of Students meets with students and advises them of their rights, including, in rare cases, students’ right to withdraw voluntarily without facing disciplinary action. The Student Conduct Board’s decision usually communicates its decisions via email although face-to-face meetings often occur.
The following list are the types of sanctions a student may receive if violating the Code of Conduct:
Residence Hall Restriction is imposed by the residence hall deans for policy violations. Possible restrictions may include some or all of the following:
Citizenship Probation places the student on notice that his/her registration may be interrupted or canceled. It also carries some or all of the following restrictions:
In-house Suspension requires a student to remain on campus for a period of 3-5 days, during which the student is required to meet all class, Chapel, Vespers, and Convocation appointments and a loss of student leadership positions for no shorter than a year provided the student remains violation-free during that year. Violations typically leading to suspension are alcohol and drug use, stealing, spending the night unsupervised with a member of the opposite gender, sexual immorality, and repeated violations of university policies.
Short-term Suspension requires a student to remain off campus for a period of 3-5 days. Though rarely used, this sanction also requires a loss of student leadership positions.
Long-term Suspension is an involuntary withdrawal of a student for the rest of a current semester and may cover the equivalent of a full academic year.
Dismissal is the involuntary termination of a student’s matriculation at Southern. Students who are dismissed are not eligible for re-admission. Moreover, a dismissed student is banned from all Southern’s properties (See “Banning” for how to appeal this decision).
The university discipline process is separate from any criminal procedures. Discipline decisions may rely in part on information received from civil authorities but are not dependent on civil or criminal proceedings.
A sanction letter is an official part of the student’s official record, which may be used as a reference in evaluating future behavior and may be used when making future recommendations. The Dean of Students office will send copies of a sanction letter to the parents of students who are minors or who are under the age of 21 when violating Southern’s drug and alcohol policy.
The following list, though not exhaustive, reveals the type of sanction a student may expect to receive for various violations of the Student Code of Conduct.
| Code of Conduct Violations | Sanctions |
| Use of tobacco | - Community service |
| Use of alcohol | - In-house suspension |
| Use of illicit drugs | - Short-term suspension to dismissal (banning) |
| Manufacturing or distributing illicit substances | Dismissal (banning) |
| Physical assault | - Community service, |
| Verbal assault | Warning to Suspension |
| Sexual misconduct | Warning to Dismissal (banning) |
| Firearms/weapons violation | Warning to Dismissal (banning) |
| Possession of fireworks/explosive material | - Fine, - Suspension - Dismissal (banning) |
| Hazing | Suspension to Dismissal (banning) |
| Sexual impropriety | In-house suspension to Dismissal (banning) |
| Theft | Short-term or Long-term suspension |
| Insubordination | - Community service - Warning to Suspension |
| Falsifying overnight leaves | Residence-hall restrictions to Suspension |
| Tampering with fire equipment | Fine |
*Students who are banned from campus may not be on any university properties, including all university housing; the Bauxite and White Oak Mountain trails; Fleming Plaza; all ballfields; the Collegedale SDA Church; Collegedale Academy: Elementary, Middle, High School. Failure to abide by a ban may result in trespassing charges against violators.