Student Conduct

The Student Code of Responsibility outlines the policies and expectations for student behavior at the University of North Carolina Asheville. It explains students’ rights and responsibilities, defines prohibited conduct, and describes the procedures used to address potential violations, all with the goal of upholding community values and supporting student success.

Student Code Of Responsibility

UNC Asheville has compiled a list of relevant policies around Campus Free Expression for faculty, staff, and students, in addition to educational resources and frequently asked questions geared toward providing clear expectations and knowledge to the university community.

Access Campus Free Expression Policies And Information

UNC Asheville’s Hazing Policy prohibits any activity connected to joining or participating in a group that intentionally or recklessly causes physical or psychological harm, humiliation, or a substantial risk of injury—regardless of a person’s willingness to participate. Hazing is not only a violation of University policy, but also a crime under North Carolina law. The University investigates reports and may impose disciplinary action or refer cases to law enforcement. The policy encourages community members to report concerns and take action to prevent hazing in order to maintain a safe and respectful campus environment.

Read The University Hazing Policy

The Housing and Residence Life (HRL) Guide is a resource for students living on UNC Asheville’s campus that outlines housing policies, procedures, expectations, and resources for residential life. The HRL Guide includes information about community standards and helps students understand their responsibilities and successfully navigate living in the residence halls.

View The 2025–2026 Housing And Residence Life Guide

Acts of sexual misconduct, sex-based harassment, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking jeopardize the health and welfare of our campus community and the larger community as a whole. To ensure an inclusive and respectful community, UNC Asheville has implemented policies and procedures to address and respond to conduct related to gender equity and address sex discrimination.

Please refer to the Office of Institutional Integrity & Access Policy page for additional information.

In an emergency situation, all members of the UNC Asheville community should seek immediate assistance for themselves or others, regardless of age, by contacting University Police at 828.232.5000. You may also contact the RA on Call, if applicable. RA on Call phone numbers can be found in the Housing and Residence Life Guide.

If you, or a friend, make an emergency call for another student, please remain on scene until assistance arrives. When emergency personnel or University officials arrive on the scene, please work closely with those responding to provide details about the incident.

The Office of the Dean of Students will receive an incident report from Housing & Residence Life or University Police and will initiate a review of the provided information and other important details. Involved parties may receive an Official Notice of Charges or an Appointment Letter. Please note that a preliminary review of the incident report may not indicate that a student, student organization, or student group is eligible for Backing Bulldogs. The Director of Student Conduct will make the final determination on the eligibility for Backing Bulldogs.

If Backing Bulldogs is implemented, the qualifying charge(s) or violation(s) will be dismissed, and the student, student organization, or student group may be assigned an educational assignment or intervention. Students who fail to complete required assignments or activities may be subject to a formal disciplinary proceeding through the Student Conduct Process.

• A student who receives assistance from emergency personnel or a University official as a result of another person(s) seeking assistance on their behalf.
• A student who seeks medical assistance from emergency personnel or University officials on their own behalf.
• A student who seeks medical assistance from emergency personnel, or University official(s), on behalf of another student/person and remains on scene to provide support to emergency personnel or University officials.
• A student who is reporting an incident or crime to emergency personnel, or University officials, or is the alleged victim of an incident/crime (including but not limited to hazing, theft, vandalism, physical and/or sexual assault).
• A student organization/student group hosting an event or program in which one or more members of the organization/group seek medical assistance on behalf of another student from emergency personnel, or University officials, and remain on scene to provide support to emergency personnel or University officials.

Hazing is any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.

The University Hazing Policy states that, in connection with an affiliation to any organization, group, team, or sports club, no student shall engage in the following activities:

• Any action or situation, with or without consent, which recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for purposes including, but not limited to, initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization operating under the sanction of a postsecondary institution.
• Pressuring or coercing a student into violating University policy or state or federal law.
• Brutality of a physical nature, such as whipping, beating, branding, paddling, physical shocks, exposure to the elements, food deprivation, and forced or coerced consumption of food, liquor, drugs, or any other substance.
• Any other forced physical activity that could adversely affect the physical health or safety of the student.
• Any activity that could subject the student to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, line-ups or berating, road trips where individuals must find their way back to campus, forced or coerced exclusion from social contact,  forced or coerced wearing of apparel which is conspicuous and/or inappropriate, forced conduct which could result in extreme embarrassment, or any other forced activity that could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the student.
• Any activity that causes unreasonable interference with a student’s academic performance.
• Personal servitude.
• Kidnapping or abandonment.
• Any activity that would be viewed by a reasonable person as subjecting someone to embarrassment, degradation, or humiliation.
• Any violation of N.C.G.S. § 14-35, which deems it a Class 2 misdemeanor offense for any student in attendance at any university, college, or school in North Carolina to subject another student to physical injury as part of an initiation, or as a prerequisite to membership, into any organized school group, including any society, athletic team, fraternity or sorority, or other similar group, or to aid or abet any other student in the commission of this offense.

Reports of hazing can be made anonymously using the Student Affairs Incident Reporting Form. Please note that reports made anonymously are not eligible for Backing Bulldogs as the University has no way of contacting the reporting party. 

No. Students do not have to submit an application in order to be considered for Backing Bulldogs. All relevant incidents will be reviewed for eligibility by the Dean of Students Office (DOSO) and will be communicated to the student/student organization/student group by the Director of Student Conduct.

A qualifying charge or violation is any alleged charge/violation that may result in the implementation of Backing Bulldogs. Applicable charges/violations are as follows: hazing, underage possession and/or consumption of alcohol, possession and/or use of controlled substances.

Not necessarily. If at the time of the incident, the student/student organization/student group was also engaged in other prohibited conduct, including, but not limited to – acts of harm, interpersonal violence or sexual misconduct, vandalism, distribution of controlled substances, or aiding and abetting the possession and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages, Backing Bulldogs will not be an available option.

While each situation is unique and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, Backing Bulldogs is only available one time per student/student organization/student group in order to ensure that members of the UNC Asheville community reach out for assistance when necessary, but also to effectively address any ongoing behaviors that violate the Student Code of Responsibility.

No. Students do not have to be transported in order to be eligible for Backing Bulldogs, as each situation is unique and may not require medical treatment. Students should always still contact emergency personnel or University officials for assistance so that a proper assessment can be made by trained and qualified professionals. 

Students, student organizations, and student groups participating in the Backing Bulldogs program may be asked to complete assignments, including, but not limited to: reflection exercises, preventative interventions, service-based learning opportunities, and/or one-on-one appointments with a UNC Asheville Health and Counseling professional.

Backing Bulldogs is an enhancement of UNC Asheville’s Amnesty Policy. Under UNC Asheville’s Medical Amnesty Policy, the student for whom assistance is sought and a bystander acting in good faith who discloses to University officials an incident of alcohol or drug use may not be subject to University outcomes for violations of alcohol or drug policies. Additionally, if a student makes a good faith report of activity that may fall within the definition of hazing and cooperates fully as a witness in the student conduct process, that student may be exempt from student conduct outcomes related to their own participation in hazing behavior, as determined by the University in its sole discretion.

Medications or illicit drugs, primarily active in the central nervous system, that may potentially cause a relative physical and mental dependency leading to addiction.

Unless otherwise specified, this term shall include university faculty or staff members exercising their assigned duties and may include student employees; other students acting in an assigned official capacity on behalf of the University; and other authorized agents of the University, which may include staff or campus-related organizations or University contractors or subcontractors when acting in their official capacity.