The fundamental purpose of the university is to maintain an environment that supports and encourages the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge. That environment is damaged by illegal drug use. Therefore, all members of the academic community, students, faculty members, administrators and other university employees, share the responsibility for protecting the environment by exemplifying high standards of professional and personal conduct.
Board of Trustees
Reformatted January 2015; Revised June 15, 2012; Reformatted July 18, 2005 ; approved April 13, 1988 ; supersedes former MSC 1.20 policy
41 U.S.C. § 701; 15 C.F.R. Part 29; UNC Code, Section 1300.1
Dean of Students
PURPOSE
The fundamental purpose of the university is to maintain an environment that supports and encourages the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge. That environment is damaged by illegal drug use. Therefore, all members of the academic community, students, faculty, administrators and other university employees share the responsibility for protecting the environment by exemplifying high standards of professional and personal conduct.
POLICY AND PROGRAM
The illegal use, possession, sale, delivery and/or manufacture of drugs will not be tolerated and may be grounds for immediate suspension or dismissal of students, faculty, administrators and other university employees.
University policies and programs are intended to emphasize the following:
The incompatibility of the possession, use or sale of illegal drugs with the goals of the university.
The legal consequences of involvement with illegal drugs.
The medical implications of the use of illegal drugs.
The ways in which illegal drugs jeopardize an individual’s present accomplishments and future opportunities.
The university provides a systematic substance abuse education and prevention program designed to reach all segments of the campus community. To assist in accomplishing this mission, Crossroads: Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention and Education Program has developed a well-integrated, centralized program that is a focal point for campus substance abuse education, training and prevention, which monitors the effectiveness of programs for constituencies served. The Counseling Center provides substance abuse counseling and referral services for students and provides consultation to students, faculty and staff.
EDUCATION
The university provides a program of education designed to help all members of the university community avoid abuse of illegal drugs. Education programs:
Provide a system of accurate, current information exchange on the health risks and symptoms of drug use for students, faculty and staff.
Promote and support institutional programming that discourages substance abuse.
Establish collaborative relationships between community groups and agencies and the institution for education, treatment and referral.
Provide training programs for students, faculty and staff to enable them to detect problems related to drug use and refer persons with these problems for appropriate assistance.
Include information about drugs for students and family members in the student orientation programs. The use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs will be addressed.
Support and encourage faculty in incorporating education about drugs into the curriculum where appropriate.
Develop a coordinated effort across campus for drug related education, treatment and referral.
COUNSELING AND REHABILITATION
The university provides information about drug counseling and rehabilitation services to members of the university community. Persons who voluntarily avail themselves of university services can be assured that applicable professional standards of confidentiality will be observed. Counseling and rehabilitation services include:
Training for professional staff and student staff on drug abuse information, intervention and referral.
Education programs for students who have demonstrated abusive behavior with drugs.
Assessment, counseling and referrals for students.
Consultation, information and referrals for students, staff and faculty.
In providing the above strategies, it is recognized that some campus constituents may prefer professional assistance external to the campus. Therefore, Crossroads: Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention and Education Program will collaborate with the Counseling Center in the development of appropriate referral mechanisms for these individuals. A listing of off-campus resources for assistance and referral is available for those who choose that option. In the development of this program, it is desired that faculty, students, administrators and other employees be comfortable in the manner in which they are served and have a choice in the selection of appropriate assistance. Individuals served in the Counseling Center on campus can be assured that applicable confidentiality will be maintained.
ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES
ENFORCEMENT
In seeking to enforce established university policy, the university will:
Publicize all drug policies.
Consistently enforce drug policies.
Exercise appropriate disciplinary action for drug policy violations.
PENALTIES
The university shall take actions necessary, consistent with state and federal law and applicable university policy to eliminate illegal drugs from the university community. University policy on illegal drugs is publicized in the university catalog, student and faculty handbooks, student orientation materials, on-line resources, letters to students and parents, residence hall meetings and faculty and employee meetings.
Students and faculty members, administrators and other employees are responsible as citizens for knowing about and complying with the provisions of the North Carolina law that makes it a crime to possess, sell, deliver or manufacture drugs designated collectively as “controlled substances” in Article V, Chapter 90 of the North Carolina General Statutes (see State Law I). Any member of the university community who violates that law is subject both to prosecution and punishment by the civil authorities and to disciplinary proceedings by UNCW. It is not “double jeopardy” for both the civil authorities and the university to proceed against and adjudicate a person for the same specified conduct. The university will initiate its own disciplinary proceedings against the student, faculty member, administrator or other employee when the alleged conduct is deemed to affect the interest of the university.
Penalties will be imposed by the university in accordance with procedural safeguards applicable to disciplinary actions against students (see UNCW Code of Student Life, Section II), faculty members (see Policies of Academic Freedom and Tenure, UNCW, Section VII), and administrators and other employees (see Policy 08.510 SHRA Disciplinary Action) 1.
The penalties to be imposed by the university will vary depending upon the nature and seriousness of the offense and may include a range of disciplinary actions up to and including expulsion from enrollment and discharge from employment. The university may also refer matters to law enforcement for prosecution.
Students and faculty members, administrators and other employees found to have violated applicable law of university policies concerning illegal drugs may be required to participate in drug education and counseling program, consent to regular drug testing, and accept such other conditions and restrictions, including a program of community service, as the chancellor or the chancellor’s designee deems appropriate. Refusal or failure to abide such conditions and restrictions may result in additional disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from enrollment and discharge from employment.
1 Rules of the State Human Resources Commission govern the disciplinary actions that may be taken against SHRA employees. Under current commission regulations discharge, rather than suspension, is the applicable penalty for SHRA employees in those instances where this policy otherwise requires suspension.
SUSPENSION PENDING FINAL DISPOSITION
When a student, faculty, administrator or university employee has been charged by the university with a violation of policies concerning illegal drugs, he/she may be suspended from enrollment and/or employment before initiation or completion of regular disciplinary proceedings if, assuming the truth of the charges, the chancellor, or in the chancellor’s absence the chancellor’s designee concludes that the person’s continued presence within the university community would constitute a clear and immediate danger to the health or welfare of other members of the university community; provided that, if such a suspension is imposed, an appropriate hearing of the charges against the suspended person shall be held in accordance with applicable campus conduct policy.
ASSESSMENT
The University must comply with the applicable state and federal law regarding illegal drugs including without limitation, the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug- Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989. In accordance with the latter, the university must conduct a biennial review of the effectiveness of its educational programs regarding illegal drugs and the consistency of sanction enforcement, and maintain the results of such reviews on file.