Section A: The name of this document is the RPI Student Bill of Rights. 

Section B: The student is a citizen of the nation at large, and the Institute shall not impede or obstruct students in the exercise of their fundamental rights as citizens. It is the purpose of this document to set forth ways in which these rights are applied to student members of the RPI community. 

Section A: The Institute shall state, in a specific written document, the characteristics and expectations and responsibilities of students which it considers relevant to success in the institution's programs. The Institute shall be open to all students who are qualified according to its admission standards, barring no one on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, military status, veteran status, prior criminal convictions, genetic information, genetic predisposition, domestic violence victim, or any other basis prohibited by law. 

Efforts shall also be made to seek out and admit students of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds whose potential could be reached through a RPI education. Prospective students may, before entering the Institute, request Institute regulations, contractual rights, obligations and responsibilities. 

Section B: The facilities and services which are normally available to students under the rules and regulations of the Institute shall be open to all of its students without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, military status, veteran status, genetic information, genetic predisposition, domestic violence victim status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Age or year in school shall not be used arbitrarily as a basis for discrimination, but there may be valid reasons for differential access based on educational goals or allocation of resources. The Institute shall endeavor to secure equal access for all students to public facilities in the local community.

Section C: Every prospective student shall have the right to a written explanation of the basis of eligibility for financial aid, and the requirements for continuation. In addition, recipients of such aid shall be provided an explanation of the reasons for change in financial aid that may occur in subsequent years.  

Section A: The professor in the classroom and in conference shall encourage free discussion, inquiry, and expression. Students shall be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion. 

Section B: Students have the right to be informed about the content and educational intent of a course, and about the procedures and standards by which they are to be evaluated. Accordingly, at the beginning of each course, students should be provided with: 

1. A syllabus of the course including content and objectives as appropriate. 
2. The policies which govern various factors used in the evaluation process along with a description of the method by which the final grade will be determined. Factors to consider include homework, examinations, projects, papers, laboratory work, and attendance. Should changes in the content, procedures, or standards become necessary, the reasons for these changes should be explained to the class. 
3. A statement of definition of academic dishonesty where such may be open to question. Particular attention should be paid to collaboration on out-of-class assignments. The official policy, with regard to academic dishonesty, can be found in this handbook. 

Section C: Student performance in coursework shall be evaluated on an academic basis, not on opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to academic standards. Students shall have protection through orderly procedures against prejudiced or capricious evaluation. 

Section D: Information about student activities, views, beliefs, and political associations which professors acquire in the course of their work as instructors, advisers, and counselors shall be considered confidential. Persons who provide confidential statements or written judgments of ability and character in connection with an application in which the student gives express permission for the release of such information are responsible to the recipient and to the subject equally to be honest and fair in their judgment. 

The Institute shall publish an explicit policy statement as to the information which is a part of a student's permanent official educational record and the conditions of, and process for, its disclosure. To minimize the risk of improper disclosure, academic, financial, disciplinary, and medical records shall be separate, and the conditions of access to each shall be published in an explicit policy statement. Transcripts of academic records shall contain only information about academic status, and the student and their adviser shall have the right to see these records at any time. Information from student records shall be available only to authorized persons as determined by the Institute or legal regulations. Other persons, both on campus and off, shall have access to such records only with the express permission of the student. No educational records shall be kept which reflect as such the political activities or beliefs of students. Provisions shall also be made for periodic destruction of inactive non-academic and nonfinancial records. The student shall have the right to view and contest the contents of their official Institute records, except those relating to their admissions application and all records of the psychological counseling and medical services, regardless of where such records may be physically located. 

Section A: (1) Students shall be free to organize and join lawful associations to promote their common interests. The policies and actions of a student organization will be determined by the membership within the limits established by the Rensselaer Union (Institute student body) and other appropriate bodies within the Institute. Affiliation with an extramural organization shall not of itself disqualify a student organization from recognition by the Rensselaer Union. In order to receive Rensselaer Union recognition, student organizations may be required to submit a statement of purpose, criteria for membership, rule of procedure, and a current list of officers. All Rensselaer Union organizations, including those affiliated with an extramural organization, shall be open to all eligible students without discrimination. Recognition shall not imply approval or disapproval of an organization's aims, objectives, or policies. (2) The denial of access to facilities or reduction of resources shall not be used by the Institute or the Rensselaer Union as a means of censorship or suppression of any lawful activity. Rensselaer Union building facilities shall be available for the use of all members of the Institute community, subject to rules of use implemented by the Institute and Rensselaer Union. 

Section B: (1) Students and student groups shall be free to examine and discuss all questions of interest to them and to express opinions publicly and privately. They shall be free to support causes by orderly means, including peaceful assembly, which do not disrupt the normal operation of the Institute. Unless otherwise authorized, students and student groups speak only for themselves in their public expressions or demonstrations. (2) Students and student groups shall be allowed to invite and to hear any person of their own choosing. Such students and groups shall have an affirmative obligation to comply with Institute procedures which are designed to ensure that for such an event there is adequate preparation and security, and that such an event is conducted in a manner appropriate to an academic community. The sponsors of any event shall make clear to the academic and at-large communities that such sponsorship does not necessarily imply approval or endorsements of the views expressed, either by the sponsoring group or by the Institute. 

Section C: In the delegation of editorial responsibility to individual students, the Rensselaer Union shall provide sufficient editorial freedom for the student publications and other media to maintain their integrity of purpose as vehicles for responsible free expression in an academic community. To this end, the Rensselaer Union shall provide written clarification of the role of student media, the standards to be used in their evaluation, and the limitations on control of their operation. Editors and managers of student media shall be free from arbitrary disciplinary action, suspension or removal because of student, faculty, administrative, or public disapproval of editorial policy or content. Only for proper and stated causes, shall editors and managers be subject to removal, and then only by orderly and prescribed procedures as established by the Rensselaer Union. All Rensselaer Union published and financed student media shall explicitly state on the editorial or in other appropriate fashion that the opinions expressed there are not necessarily those of the Institute or student body. 

Section D: Students shall be free, individually and collectively, to express their views on issues of institutional policy and on matters of general interest to the student body. The student body shall have a means of providing input on institutional policy affecting academic and student affairs. The role of student government and both its general and specific responsibilities shall be made explicit, and the actions of the student government within the areas of its jurisdiction shall be reviewed through orderly prescribed procedures. 

Section A: The Institute's students are both citizens of the nation at large and members of the academic community. As citizens, students shall enjoy the same freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and right of petition that other citizens enjoy. Off-campus and on-campus, students are expected to conduct themselves in a civil, respectful and lawful manner. 

Section B: When the activities of students result in apparent violation of the law, staff from the Division of Student Experience, the Rensselaer Union, Public Safety, and other appropriate administrative offices shall be available to apprise the students of sources of legal counsel and other sources of assistance. Students who violate the law may incur penalties prescribed by civil authorities but Institute authority shall not attempt to duplicate the function of public authority. Rensselaer reserves the right to address off-campus student conduct which violates RPI's Grounds for Disciplinary Action through the Institute's judicial process. 

No student's status at RPI shall be altered on the basis of pending legal action or conviction for any crime, except when the presence of such student could constitute a danger to the safety of person or property on the premises of the Institute or the student's behavior is otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of RPI as set forth in this Student Bill of Rights. Institutional action shall be independent of community pressure. 

Section A: The administration of discipline shall provide procedural fairness to an accused student.Thus, each Institute regulation shall be as clear and specific as possible and shall be clearly communicated to the student body. The Institute shall initiate disciplinary action for conduct including that which could be a threat to the personal safety of members of the academic community, conduct that endangers property, and/or conduct that is disruptive to the educational and administrative processes of the Institute. Disciplinary procedures shall take into account the case circumstances in particular, and each accused student shall be entitled to an individual inquiry/hearing. The jurisdiction of campus judicial bodies, the disciplinary responsibilities of institutional officials, and the disciplinary procedures, including the student's right to appeal a decision, shall be clearly formulated and available in advance. Penalties shall be imposed or assessed under prescribed procedures. 

Section B: The student shall be informed of the nature of the charges against them and shall be given a fair opportunity to refute them. Neither the Institute nor any of its judicial bodies shall be arbitrary in its actions and there shall be provisions for the appeal of the initial decision. Except in extraordinary circumstances, standards of conduct will be formulated with input from student leaders, published, and communicated to the student community in advance through such means as a student handbook or a generally available body of institutional rules. 

Section C: Premises occupied by, and personal property of, students shall not be searched (as distinguished from ordinary maintenance activities) or seized without an externally issued search warrant or its internally issued equivalent based on comparable standards, or without the student's knowledge and approval of the search, except in cases where Institute officials have a reasonable basis for believing that safety is involved. For premises not controlled by the Institute, the ordinary requirements for lawful search shall be followed. 

Section D: Students detected or charged in the course of serious violation of institutional regulations or infractions of ordinary law shall be informed of their rights. No form of harassment shall be used by Institute representatives to coerce admissions of guilt or information about conduct or about other suspected persons. 

Section E: During the investigative process, a student may be placed on an interim suspension by the Director of Student Conduct when the continued presence of such student, or the participation by such student in Institute instruction or activities, could constitute a danger to the security, health, or safety of members of the Rensselaer community, or of person or property on the premises of the Institute. During an interim suspension, a student shall be denied access to campus, including classes, academic facilities, residence halls, and all other Institute activities or privileges for which the student might otherwise be eligible. The interim suspension does not replace the regular conduct process, which shall proceed on the normal schedule. In the event of an interim suspension, the student may request a review of the need for the interim suspension and submit evidence in support of their request.  Requests for review of the interim suspension must be submitted in writing to the Dean of Students, who will conduct a review within five Institute business days after said request is received.