Purpose of Student Code of Conduct
A student code of conduct contains guidelines and rules to ensure proper order in schools. The students are obligated to follow the procedures of the student code of conduct. If any student fails to abide by the student code of conduct, the school authority has a right to issue consequences to the student.
A student code of conduct serves to establish expectations of the students in a particular school. The guidelines in the code of student conduct generally parallel the school’s overall mission and objectives. Therefore, the guidelines are established to regulate student behavior. Also, the code ensures the safety and protection of students, teachers, and school authority. It establishes the atmosphere of the school to allow the school to achieve its mission.
Effective codes of student conduct focus on channeling positive behavior of all students. Therefore, the guidelines are directed to diminish any improper behavior of students. The school’s objectives generally provide an environment conducive to learning and student achievement. For example, most high schools require all students to report to their classes on time and remain in the class during the entire period. Also, some colleges require the students to be present in a class the majority of the semester. In other words, if the student fails to report to a certain number of class sessions, the student may be dropped from the class. Most of the guidelines apply to a student’s behavior during class time and on school grounds.
Typically, students are not allowed to carry out any behavior that’s akin to cheating, lying, and exploitation. Normally, a student is not allowed to conduct any behavior that enables him to defraud a teacher or other school authority. For instance, many schools prohibit students from obtaining and using unauthorized material during an exam. Moreover, any behavior that is generally prohibited by law is forbidden on school grounds. Likewise, a student is not allowed to place another individual on school grounds in fear of harm to that individual’s self or property.
Depending on the severity of the violation, the student code of conduct has established procedures to handle the student’s prohibited behavior. Codes of student conduct vary from school to school. Because each school possesses its own distinctive mission and objectives, schools may react differently with student violations. Some schools may provide warnings for moderate violations prior to taking rigorous action. For example, a student who continuously disrupts classes may receive a certain amount of warnings before being suspended from school. However, some schools may retain more strict policies and resort to stringent disciplinary actions immediately.
A schools has a right to protect its objectives by ensuring proper student conduct. For a school to succeed in accomplishing its mission, the school must maintain a level of control over the student body on and off campus. In other words, any student activity or event that is sponsored by the school is subject to the student code of conduct. Therefore, if a student violates the code at an off campus school sponsored event, the student may be subject to disciplinary actions. In many schools, students are subject to the code of student conduct on field trips, internships and study abroad.