- Office of Community Standards Home
- Early Alert Program
- Policy Links and Resources of Interest to Students
- 2018 Brochure
- Student Conduct Report
- Prehearing Survey
- Absence Notification
Office of Community Standards
Mission Statement
The mission of the Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Community Standards is to guide students through the conduct process in a learner-focused manner that provides a foundation for success, a commitment to responsible citizenship in a global and diverse community and a desire to make positive lifestyle choices based on the core values of integrity, honesty, accountability, civility and respect.
Staff Members
- Director - Dennis B. Mosley, M.Ed.
- Coordinator - Amy Smith
- Student Assistant - Briana Rhodes
Location and Phone
- 315 Rusk Building
- 936-468-2703
Services
KSTN - Key Services Temporarily Needed
The Office of Community Standards offers students with temporary limiting conditions help in locating services and assistance vital to their continued academic success. The Director of the Office of Community Standards works with a student to determine individual needs and then attempts to package assistance from available resources on campus. While there is not always an answer for every situation, much of the time, there are successful ways of addressing students’ temporary needs. The success of this program comes from the cooperation of SFA’s student-centered faculty and staff.
A few of the past conditions for which students have received assistance are broken bones, sprained joints, minor surgeries, and pregnancy complications. Examples of assistance that some students have received are assistance with obtaining copies of class notes, extended travel time across campus between classes, online assignments, and assistance with test taking. Each student is assessed individually and every endeavor is made to work with instructors to find workable answers appropriate to the particular course.
The various conditions addressed under this program do not meet criteria for the Americans with Disabilities Act and any assistance offered through the KSTN program is not to be considered acknowledgement of an ADA qualifying condition.
Absence Notifications
Students missing classes for legitimate reasons other than University-sponsored trips may contact the Office of Community Standards and request an absence notification be sent to their instructors. These notifications are not excuses. They are provided as a courtesy to the student and the student's instructor(s) and are not an evaluation of the information received by this office.
Students requesting an absence notification should be prepared to give the Office of Community Standards their name, ID number, date(s) of the absence, reason for the absence, and a contact phone number. Students should also be prepared to offer documentation of the absence to their instructors. As per University policy Class Attendance 6.7, an instructor may determine the nature of satisfactory documentation.
Ethics Statement
This department ascribes to the ethical standards of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA, College Student Educators International) as stated in the Statement of Ethical Principles and Standards and the ethical guidelines of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) as found on the organization’s Best Practices page. We also adhere to the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) Professional Standards.