Updated August 12, 2025
The Community Standards is produced for the students, faculty, staff and administration of Dickinson College. Please contact the Vice President and Dean of Student Life Office at (717) 245-1676 with any questions.
Introduction
As Dickinsonians, students have the opportunity to benefit from a rich and stimulating learning experience. By accepting membership in our community, students also assume a critical role in fostering an intellectual and social environment characterized by civility, understanding, accountability, and respect. Being a member of the Dickinson College community is a privilege that carries the responsibility for the well-being of all other members and for the community as a whole.
This document provides information to help students understand the conduct that is expected of all Dickinsonians. It also outlines how the College will move to educate when behaviors occur that are inconsistent with the standards outlined in this document. All students are expected to know and uphold the Community Standards.
The Director of Student Conduct coordinates the administration of the student conduct process at Dickinson College, including the handling of social and academic misconduct. The Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students has oversight responsibility for incidents involving social misconduct. The Provost and Dean of the College oversees cases involving academic misconduct. These responsibilities have been delegated by the President and the faculty.
Mission and Philosophy
Dickinson’s mission is inspired by our founder, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and his vision to educate citizens to meet the societal and economic demands of an emerging democracy. Our residential environment provides an opportunity to develop leadership and citizenship skills as students learn to assume responsibility for themselves and the welfare of their community.
In this environment, students may occasionally exercise poor judgment or engage in conduct that disrupts the community. For this reason, the College maintains Community Standards that set expectations for behavior and outline educational procedures for student conduct. The goals and objectives of the College's Community Standards differ from those of the civil and criminal justice systems. Ours is a process that prioritizes education and accountability to the community. We do not adhere to “courtroom” principles but rather to educational objectives that seek to balance individual learning and community welfare.
The College affirms a student’s right to be treated fairly, including the right to receive appropriate notice of concerns about specific behaviors and the opportunity to respond to those concerns. In formal resolution proceedings, this also includes the right to be assisted by an advisor and to appeal the initial hearing outcome.
Dickinson Community Standards and Expectations for Conduct
The expectations articulated in the Community Standards are designed to foster a vigorous academic life and a respectful community. Dickinson expects that its students will demonstrate standards of behavior that demonstrate:
- Respect for Ideas
- Respect for Self
- Respect for Others
- Respect for Community
- Respect for Property
These standards apply to on-campus behavior, to behavior while studying in a Dickinson program abroad, and to off-campus behavior that does or has the potential to adversely affect any member of the Dickinson College community or Dickinson College.
Please refer to the Community Standards document for the remainder of the code.