Community Expectations
Dear Students,
As we get closer to the dates for the opening of the fall term, we are going to share a lot of information you'll need in order to start planning your return to campus, setting up residence elsewhere, or planning your academic year from home.
One of the most important things we need to address is the Community Expectations Agreement. As you know, we are asking all undergraduate and graduate students to embrace the Community Expectations in order to protect community health and the campus experience for everyone. As we have mentioned in other communications these past few months, adherence to this Agreement is a condition for enrollment this academic year. All of us have a critical role to play in reducing risk in the community. We all need to work together to navigate the fall term and bring it to a successful conclusion in November. In order for us to succeed, it's going to take all of us to consistently make changes to almost every aspect of our lives -- including, but certainly not limited to, the way we eat our meals, wearing a mask at all times, and learning to socialize and connect from a distance. Even though the small individual and collective choices we make may seem insignificant in the moment, they can -- and do -- have impact. Every choice matters.
With this shared understanding in mind, we are all accountable to each other for following College guidelines - you through this agreement, graduate and professional students through their agreement, and faculty and staff as employees of the college who are required to comply with College policies. We have a shared responsibility for one another, for the good of the community, and for doing all we can to increase the likelihood that we are able to successfully complete each term.
The Agreement sets forth risk reduction expectations for the pre-arrival period through the full academic year. It establishes a framework that is separate from, but parallel to, the Standards of Conduct (see https://student-affairs.dartmouth.edu/policy/standards-conduct) that all of you are bound to adhere to from matriculation through graduation. In essence, this is a companion to the Principle of Community, adopted in 1980, which reads, in part, "each student is expected to be sensitive to and respectful of the rights and interests of others", and the Dartmouth Pledge that each of you signs at matriculation, which reads, in part, "I will contribute to this community and conduct myself, here and in the wider world, in a manner worthy of my education." These are critical values and guideposts - now more than ever.
President Hanlon and Provost Helble have underscored repeatedly that the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and the Upper Valley are our highest priority. We believe that you share that goal, and that you are as invested as we are in fulfilling the College's mission to prepare you for a lifetime of learning and responsible leadership. However, because this is so important for the entire community -- here on campus and beyond - there will be consequences for those of you who fail to comply. If any of you do engage in behavior that poses a threat to the community, we want to be sure you understand that you may be required to leave within 24 hours and you will lose the privilege of campus enrollment for the remainder of the academic year. You may, of course, continue to enroll remotely, and we will welcome your return once the pandemic is over. While this response may seem extreme, it is necessary to protect the health and safety of our community. Moreover, it is not, in and of itself, a disciplinary sanction, and it will not be recorded on your transcript or College record as such. Our goal is not a punitive one -- it is simply to remove known risk.
That said, it's important to keep in mind that the Standards of Conduct still apply. Those behavioral expectations have not changed. Behavior that would have been subject to disciplinary action in the past remains so. In addition, as the agreement sets forth, severe, pervasive or repeated violations of the terms of the Agreement may also be subject to College disciplinary action. Given the risk to health and safety, you could be subject to immediate temporary suspension while the disciplinary process is pending, and just as was true in the past, disciplinary sanctions may include suspension or permanent separation if a student is found responsible through the disciplinary process. These possible outcomes are not new -- though the context of the pandemic is. We hope that we will not need to invoke them. We are committed to working with you to adjust and navigate these expectations and new realities.
You may, of course, decide not to sign. If that is your choice, you may enroll remotely, but you will be ineligible for campus enrollment for the entire academic year. And as always, you remain subject to the Standards of Conduct and the College disciplinary process, no matter where you are living so long as you are a student. While it is our hope to see all of you back at some point over the next four terms, we understand that everyone has their own choices to make. But for those of you are do choose to return, we are committed to providing you with as safe and as connecting environment as possible.
We all very much want this year to work, and we believe that you are all up to the task. We have structured this Agreement in a way that provides information about Covid-specific expectations, the risk we need to work together to reduce, a swift response process for the good of the community, and an outcome that preserves your opportunity to continue your education remotely. You have important decisions to make, and we hope and expect that you appreciate the responsibility you assume if you wish to take advantage of the opportunity and privilege of being here.
The form will be available for you later this afternoon. I'll be sending a more logistical message, with the link, by 3 p.m. You will have until midnight eastern time on Monday, August 24th, to sign and submit. As I've said before, on behalf of our faculty who want to teach you, our staff who want to support you, and your fellow students who want to be here with you, thank you in advance for taking the necessary, if inconvenient, steps to protect the health and safety of the community and ensure a successful academic year for everyone.
All best,
Dean Lively