2.3.3 : Expectations of Privacy

Students are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy but understand that they do not have the same rights of privacy as other citizens, especially when it pertains to student housing. A reasonable expectation of privacy exists for students within their assigned residential rooms and all restrooms.  Areas such as hallways, lobbies, lounges, and laundry rooms are considered public areas and as such there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. If in the opinion of the Dean of Students or Director of Community Standards and Campus Safety there is reasonable cause to believe there is a violation of federal laws, state laws, local laws, or university policies and regulations, Greenville University’s Dean of Students or Director of Community Standards and Campus Safety, may authorize or perform a search of a particular room in a residence hall. “Reasonable cause” exists when facts, circumstances, evidence, and information are, in the judgment of the Dean of Students or Director of Community Standards and Campus Safety, sufficient to indicate that there is a reasonable likelihood that a violation of federal laws, state laws, local laws, or university policies and regulations, has been or is being committed.

Should a student’s conduct involve the public courts, the University may conduct a formal disciplinary hearing independent of how the public court proceeds. If the person is clearly a danger to the university’s community, the student could be removed from campus prior to the conclusion of the disciplinary proceedings. A public conviction would not as such be grounds for dismissing a student, unless the conviction carried with it a sentence which precluded class attendance. If a student is convicted of an off- campus misdemeanor in a public court, they may be placed on probation for one full semester after a hearing with the Director of Community Standards and Campus Safety, Dean of Students, or on the student’s request, with the Judicial Hearing Board. If the student is convicted of a felony, an on-campus misdemeanor, or repeated off-campus misdemeanors, the University may institute proceedings of specific charges in violations of this code.

Finally, the University reserves the right to refer any on-campus offenses to the appropriate law enforcement agency for disposition. This is most likely to occur when university officials have substantial evidence that a crime has been committed, but the student allegedly involved, pleads innocence. The university may waive its on campus jurisdiction in favor of the public courts, which deal more commonly with criminal matters.