For Students

Basic Rights

As Provided by University policy or by law:

• Students have the right to free inquiry, expression and association.
• Students should be free from discrimination and harassment based on race, sex, sexual orientation, age, color, national origin, religion, disability, marital status or family status.
• Students should be secure in their persons, living quarters, papers and effects.
• Students are protected against improper disclosure of, and access to, education records as provided for in the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
• Students are free to participate in the governance of the University through membership in appropriately designated University and college committees.
• Students have the right to access their personal records and other University files as provided for under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

Academic Rights:

Students have those academic rights and responsibilities as described in the University catalogs, including but not limited to the following:

• Student performance will be evaluated solely on academic criteria.
• Students have protection against prejudiced or capricious academic evaluation.
• Students are free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion, but they are responsible for learning the content of any course of study for which they are enrolled.
• Students will be informed by the faculty about course requirements, evaluation procedures, and the academic criteria to be used in each class. This information will be provided at the beginning of the semester or sufficiently in advance of actual evaluation.

Student Conduct Process Rights:

Students have the following rights provided in student conduct processes (hearings) to address alleged violation of the policies in the Student Code.

• Receive notification of the student conduct hearing so that they may participate.
• Receive information about the incident of concern and which policies the student is alleged to have violated ahead of the hearing.
• Have their questions about the policies and conduct process answered before the hearing.
• Share their perspective on the alleged incident before a decision is made about whether they violated WMU policy.
• Request witnesses to be called to share information relevant to the incident of concern during the hearing.
• Have their DSS registered accommodation needs reasonably met to allow for their full participation in the student conduct process.
• Be assisted by one support person of their own choosing and at their expense during the conduct process.

Student Responsibilities:

Being a member of the Western Michigan University community is a privilege. In a community, individuals have a responsibility to each other and to the maintenance of a positive community. Students at Western Michigan University  are expected to be aware of and act consistently with values and expectations of the University community and to obey local, state, and federal laws.

Detailed information about University expectations can be found in the following:

• Student Code – responsibilities for all WMU students, on and off-campus
• Community Living Expectations – responsibilities for WMU students living on-campus
• Registered Student Organization Handbook – responsibilities for student organizations
• University Computing Guidelines – responsibilities for technology use
• The Western Michigan University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs – responsibilities for academic courses
• Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct Policy – responsibilities related to ensuring people of all sexes/genders have equal access to education at WMU
• Other applicable policies enacted by the Board of Trustees or other authorized University official.