Probation Reduction

Thank you for your interest in the Probation Reduction Program. In addition to enforcing SUNY Oneonta’s student conduct policies and procedures, the Office of Community Standards strives to provide experiences that will enhance student learning and promote development. There are SUNY Oneonta leadership positions and academic experiences that require a review of student conduct records before acceptance into those opportunities. Being on probation at any level may disqualify students from being eligible to participate. These include, but are not limited to, resident advisor and night host positions, as well as international study experiences. In order to support our goal of helping students, the Office of Community Standards offers this program designed to reduce a student’s length of time on disciplinary probation through self-reflection and giving back to the campus community.

This program allows students to demonstrate that they have taken steps to become a productive and engaged member of the campus community. As a result, they eliminate a portion of their probation in order to become eligible for some of the campus roles that they otherwise would not have been. By participating in this program, the student will have the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with a faculty/staff mentor, demonstrate what they have learned from the incident, reflect on how to make changes and prevent future similar situations, as well as educate others.

To participate in this program, the applicant must meet all completion requirements below and follow all instructions to submit a completed application to the Office of Community Standards, 119 Netzer Administration Building. Complete applications may be submitted at any time but are only guaranteed to be reviewed once a semester. Once submitted, a committee decision will be emailed to the applicant after the application due date.

In order to receive Probation Reduction the student must meet certain completion requirements. These include:

• Completing 3 months of their disciplinary probation without incident.
• Finding a faculty/staff member who is willing to mentor the student throughout the process.
• Researching, creating and implementing an educational community project that will leave a lasting impact on the SUNY Oneonta campus. This project will be the main component of the application.
• Developing a reflection presentation on what the student has learned since the incident and why this reduction would help the student with their future goals. This will be presented to the committee.

1. Email Jennifer Westmoreland (jennifer.westmoreland@oneonta.edu) in order to obtain the Probation Reduction packet of information and application.
2. Once received, go through both the packet and application to make sure there is a clear understanding of what is required.
3. Identify and talk with a mentor about the process and have them email Jennifer Westmoreland confirming they are willing to participate in the mentorship portion.
4. Complete each step; most steps will occur concurrently. The whole process takes minimally three months to successfully complete.
5. Neatly assemble all your documentation from each step and place it in an envelope or portfolio.
6. Deliver all your materials to the Office of Community Standards, attention Jennifer Westmoreland, 119 Netzer Administration Building.
7. Present your reflection presentation to Probation Reduction committee.

Completed applications/materials will be reviewed and an email will be sent to the student with the date, time, and location of their presentation. The student will be notified via email if their application packet is incomplete.

Students are only eligible for one reduction. If placed on probation again after receiving a reduction, the student will be ineligible to reapply. If the student’s application is denied by the committee, they will be provided suggestions for improvement, and will be eligible to apply again. If approved, this does not remove the incident/sanction from a student’s conduct record. Decisions of the Probation Reduction committee are final.

Any questions regarding this process, should be directed to the Office of Community Standards at 607-436-3353.

The faculty/staff member who agrees to be a mentor must be willing to do the following:

• Meet with the student in person at least once a month, for a series of three months prior to submission of the completed application.

• Engage in conversation with the student. The most successful mentorships are when both parties have similar interests. Topics to discuss should include, but are not limited to, the student’s career goals, academic interests, co-curricular interests, the impact the student has on their peers, and leadership opportunities.
• Discuss and Approve the on-campus community service project.
• At the end of the mentorship, the mentor will need to submit a letter discussing their level of support for the probation reduction. The letter should be on official letterhead, signed and placed in a sealed envelope for the student to submit with the other documents.

• The community project must involve researching a topic, creating an educational component, and implementation within the campus community. The community could be the student’s residence hall, athletic team, club/organization, etc. The point is to actively educate and give back.
• This project should involve research of a topic related to the incident that interests the student. The project should involve creating and implementing an educational program or session where the student has the attention of their peers and is able to educate them on the topic. The student should be prepared to discuss all their plans with their mentor prior to implementation.
• The student can work with Residence Life staff, club & organization advisors, coaches, or other faculty & staff to develop their project.

Due to the research, creation, and implementation of this project, participating in tabling (e.g. bake sale), signing up for a community service through the CSRC, or putting up a bulletin board will not count towards this portion of the Reduction Program.

Examples of projects include, but are not limited to, a PowerPoint presentation, creating a video, or writing an essay discussing ALL the reflective points below.

• How has this incident impacted your, loved ones and the SUNY Oneonta community?
• What have you learned from this incident?
• What are your goals while here at SUNY Oneonta?
• What are your goals once you graduate?
• How has this incident impacted those goals or your life in general?
• What did your community project entail and what did you learn from it?
• In what ways do you feel the SUNY Oneonta community benefited from your community project?
• Describe your relationship with your mentor.
• What have you accomplished as a result of your mentorship?
• Why do you feel the Committee should reduce your probation at this time?