Enforcing Nonacademic Requirements for Graduation
April 1, 2000
Too often private educational institutions face the thorny issue of whether
to withhold a diploma on nonacademic grounds. While never an easy decision, a
recent Maryland case shows that schools, colleges and universities can prepare
for the challenges of this situation by
- developing and publishing nonacademic standards for graduation, and
- establishing and following a disciplinary process for enforcing nonacademic
standards
The facts giving rise to Harwood v. Johns Hopkins University, No. 5457 (Md.
Ct. Spec. App. Mar. 2, 2000) are astonishing and unfortunate. Robert J. Harwood,
Jr. (Harwood) had completed his course of study at Johns Hopkins University (JHU),
and was slated to receive his diploma in Spring semester of 1995. After
attending an April 1995, meeting of a student organization at JHU, Harwood
confronted, shot and killed a candidate for president of the organization.
Harwood pled guilty to murder and handgun violations, and received a 35-year
prison sentence.
After JHU was informed of Harwood’s guilty plea, it initiated disciplinary
proceedings, and decided not to grant Harwood a diploma. Harwood challenged JHU
in court, but the Maryland Special Court of Appeals upheld the university’s
decision. The court’s opinion contains important guidelines for enforcing
nonacademic graduation requirements.
Publishing Nonacademic Standards for Graduation
The relationship between private educational institutions and their students
is largely contractual in nature i.e., the school establishes academic and
nonacademic graduation requirements and promises to award a diploma to students
who fulfill those requirements. However, requirements become part of the
"contract" only if they are published and communicated to the
students. Consequently, before a school denies a diploma on nonacademic grounds,
it should be able to point to a published nonacademic standard that a student
has not met.
Great care should be taken in drafting such "contract"
requirements. Publications should clearly state that receipt of a diploma is
conditioned upon fulfillment of nonacademic requirements, and should explain
what those requirements are. In most cases, nonacademic requirements should be
broadly worded to apply to a wide range of conduct.
For example, in Harwood, the court upheld the university’s decision in
large part because the JHU Student Handbook provided that "[t]he university
does not guarantee the award of a degree or a certificate upon satisfactory
completion of any course of study," and further that the award of a degree
was conditioned upon compliance with JHU’s University Standards. The
University Standards expressly prohibited acts that were "a danger to [a
student’s] own personal safety or which harm or have the potential of harming
others."
While the court in Harwood relied considerably on the student handbook, it is
also important to set forth nonacademic standards in other publications,
including admissions applications, student recruitment materials, catalogues,
orientation materials and other official school statements — all of which
might form part of the "contract" between the school and its students.
Schools should review and update these publications on a regular basis.
Establishing and Following a Disciplinary Process to Enforce Nonacademic
Standards
Where a private school, college or university has published nonacademic
requirements for graduation, it is free to implement those requirements as long
as enforcement is not "arbitrary or capricious." As Harwood
demonstrates, the enforcement process should (1) include an investigation of the
alleged conduct; (2) allow the student adequate opportunity to present his or
her position (no matter how patently outrageous the student’s misconduct); and
(3) provide an avenue of appeal. It is critical that nonacademic requirements
are consistently enforced. A decision to withhold a diploma on nonacademic
grounds may be "arbitrary or capricious" if diplomas are awarded to
other students who have also failed to fulfill the same nonacademic
requirements.
In sum, thoughtfully drafted policies and procedures can help students better
understand and fulfill the nonacademic requirements for receiving a diploma.
Moreover, institutions that carefully set forth and enforce nonacademic
standards for graduation reduce their risk of liability when inevitable disputes
arise concerning a decision to deny a diploma.
For more information, contact Jeanette McGlamery at 1-888-688-8500 or
gmcglame@hklaw.com.
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