Office of Student Conduct


Students Rights & Responsibilities

Each student has the right to assume that he/she will not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process. Although each student has rights guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution, these freedoms cannot be enjoyed, exercised, or protected in a community which lacks order and stability. It is, therefore, each student's responsibility to adhere to the conduct and standards prescribed by the University, the Board of Trustees for University Louisiana System, as well as those established by local, state and federal law.

Each student is entitled to the essential rights common to all institutions of post-secondary education which are held to include the following:

  • Speech and Expression. Students shall be free to discuss questions of interest and to express opinions. Public expression of students or student organizations reflect the views of those making the statement and not necessarily the University community. The University retains the right to provide for the safety of students, faculty, and staff, to protect property, to ensure the continuity of the educational process in maintaining order.
  • Assembly and Demonstration. Students shall be free to organize and to associate to promote their common interests. Assembly and demonstration, just as speech and expression within the institution in public places, are permitted subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions for the maintenance of order and is applicable to local, state and federal laws. Approval from the Vice President for Student Affairs shall designate a "free expression" area for demonstrations. However, students must reserve the designated area in advance and must adhere to regulations governing usage.
  • Publication and Distribution. Students shall be free to publish and to distribute their ideas in the form of newspapers, newsletters, leaflets, handbills, and the like, subject to time, place, and manner restrictions. Publications shall be disseminated in the designated "free expression area" on the campus.
  • Expression through Media. Students shall be free to express opinions through student media as long as they are governed by and adhere to the canons of professional journalism and applicable regulations of the U. S. Constitution and the Federal Communication Commission. Similar rights are afforded oral statements of views on student-run radio and television stations.
  • Discrimination. Students have the right to be free from all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, political affiliation, and/or national origin. The University will not condone any practices or policies that discriminate against the handicapped.
  • Privacy. Students have the right to be secure in their possessions against invasions of privacy and unreasonable search and seizure. However, the University reserves the right to enter occupied residence halls with a warrant or under other special circumstances. Conditions for entry by University authorities/officials into occupied rooms in residence halls are divided into three categories: inspection, search and emergency. (See "Residential Living" Handbook, p. 24 and Housing Assignment Contract.)
  • Confidentiality. Students have the right to confidentiality of Official Records, Transcripts, Personnel Records, and Disciplinary Records. Students also have the right to confidentiality of information relating to personal views, beliefs, and political associations, acquired by administrators, instructors, counselors, advisors, and officials of University in the course of their work.
  • Redress of Grievances. Any time a student's rights as outlined herein are contravened, the student shall have the right to petition for redress of such a grievance through procedures as promulgated within this cover.