Other Policies and Procedures

Adding or Deleting a Varsity Sport

Each fall, Westmont will notify students of the opportunity to request the addition or deletion of a varsity sport. Students may obtain a copy of this procedure and of a Varsity Sport Request form from the athletic director’s office. In order for Westmont to consider adding or deleting a varsity sport as early as the following academic year, you should complete the Varsity Sport Request form and submit it to the athletic director by Oct. 31.

All requests will be reviewed by the college’s Title IX officer in light of federal requirements. They will be evaluated by the athletic director and the faculty athletic committee, which will make a recommendation to the provost. Any request approved by the provost will be forwarded to the budget committee for funding consideration and a recommendation to the president. The president will make a final recommendation to the board of trustees.

The timing of the implementation of a decision to add a varsity sport will take into account funding, hiring of qualified personnel, compliance with Title IX, and college-wide programmatic needs.

Computer and Network Use

The computer and network use policy governs the use of the campus computing facilities and network. This policy may be found at http://www.westmont.edu/_offices/it/computer-use-policy.html Use of these resources implies agreement to abide by the current policy.

E-mail

Every enrolled student is provided with a Westmont e-mail account (username@westmont.edu ). All student e-mail is the primary method used by the college officials to communicate important messages to all students. It is every student's responsibility to check e-mail regularly for official college correspondence.

The use of all-student e-mail is reserved for faculty, staff and official student organizations. This also applies to class e-mail lists (first, second, third, and fourth year) unless utilized for academic related assignments. Clubs, ministries and other student groups interested in notifying students about events or meetings are invited to communicate through the Current Students page on the Wen site, which the campus life office updates daily. This page serves as a hub for student information. Students can also join electronic mailing lists for groups with which they are involved.

Fund Raising

You will receive instruction and guidance from your staff director/coordinator to ensure the institution approves your fundraising. Guidelines are online at http://www.westmont.edu/giving/student-fundraising.html. As well as raising funds from friends, family and home churches, you may need to coordinate with the Office of College Advancement (OCA). Contact Janna Mori, director of donor relations, at x6833 or jmori@westmont.edu. New or not-approved student groups with fundraising goals will find an application to fundraise and directions for pursing approval online at the URL above.

Harassment

Westmont is committed to providing a learning and work environment free of unlawful harassment. In keeping with this commitment, the college prohibits and will not tolerate unlawful harassment because of sex, which includes sexual harassment (please see “sexual harassment” definition at the end of this section), gender harassment, and harassment due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Neither will Westmont tolerate harassment because of race, religious creed, color, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation. All such harassment is unlawful.

Prohibited unlawful harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following behavior:

Verbal conduct such as epithets, derogatory jokes or comments, slurs, or unwanted sexual advances, invitations, or comments;
Visual conduct such as derogatory and/or sexually-oriented posters, photography, cartoons, drawings, or gestures;
Physical conduct such as sexually-oriented gestures, assault, unwanted touching, blocking normal movement, or interfering with work because of sex, race, or any other protected basis;
Threats and demands to submit to sexual requests as a condition of continued employment or academic advancement, or to avoid some other loss, and offers of employment benefits in return for sexual favors;
Retaliation for having reported or threatened to report harassment.

It is Westmont’s policy to prohibit unlawful harassment within the campus community of faculty, staff, students, and guests by any person and in any form, and to apply the procedures outlined below in responding to any complaints of harassment. (The procedures outlined here shall preempt any other procedures set forth in various handbooks that may be deemed inconsistent with these.)

Westmont is committed to investigate promptly any complaints of harassment. Where unlawful harassment is found to have occurred, the college will take appropriate disciplinary action reasonably calculated to end the harassment, up to and including termination of employment or expulsion from the college.

A complaint of harassment may be reported to any of the following complaint recipients: the director or associate director of human resources; one’s immediate supervisor; the department chair; a resident director; the college’s Title IX officer; any dean or vice president; the special assistant to the president for legal affairs,or the president. (A list of the people currently occupying these positions can be found in the catalog or received from the president’s office or the human resources department.)

A complaint recipient will notify the college’s Title IX officer whenever a complaint of harassment has been received. The Title IX officer shall ensure that the complainant promptly receives a copy of this policy and is clearly informed of his or her rights to assistance.

The Title IX officer will work with the provost and the vice president and dean of students (if the accused is the Title IX officer, the provost, or the vice president and the dean of students, then the president will be notified and help determine the appropriate investigation strategy; if the accused is the president or a member of the board of trustees, then the chair of the board will be notified and help determine the appropriate investigation strategy) to ensure that:

A complaint of harassment is promptly, fully, and effectively investigated;
Whatever action is deemed necessary to end the unlawful harassment will be taken;
The determination and imposition of any sanctions is handled in accordance with existing procedures spelled out in the relevant handbook (e.g., Faculty Handbook provisions on Discharge for Cause).

Confidentiality for both the complainant and the accused shall be encouraged and maintained as appropriate and to the extent allowed under the circumstances and by law.

The Title IX officer will keep the complainant informed about the process of investigating and responding to the complaint. After action on a complaint is concluded, the complainant will be notified whether or not discipline will be imposed. The college will not tolerate any reprisal or retaliation against someone who has submitted (or indicated an intent to submit) a complaint in good faith.

Westmont encourages all members of the community to report any incidents of unlawful harassment immediately so that complaints can be resolved quickly. In addition, any member of the community who believes that he or she has been harassed or retaliated against for resisting or complaining about harassment may file a complaint with appropriate government agencies. The nearest offices are listed in the telephone directory. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing investigate and prosecute complaints of prohibited harassment; currently, the statute of limitations for filing a claim with these agencies is 180 days, 300 days, and one year, respectively.

Definition of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature made by someone from or in the work or educational setting under any of the following conditions:

Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or a condition of an individual’s employment, academic status, or progress;
Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis of employment or academic decisions affecting the individual;
The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a negative impact upon the individual’s work or academic performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment;
Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the individual is used as the basis for any decision affecting the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, programs, or activities available at or through the educational institution.

Non-Discrimination Statement

Westmont does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, veteran status,national or ethnic origin, or disability in its admissions policies or in the administration of its educational programs, including scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other college-administered programs and activities.

The college will make reasonable accommodations for your known physical limitations unless undue hardship for the college would result. If you require an accommodation in order to live on campus or to perform in the classroom, you should make your request to the provost, specifying what accommodation you need. The college will then conduct an investigation to identify the barriers that make it difficult for you and identify possible accommodations, if any, that will help eliminate the limitation. If the accommodation is reasonable and will not impose an undue hardship, Westmont will make the accommodation.

The severity and circumstances of the complaint shall determine the character and extent of the investigation. Confidentiality for both the complainant and the accused shall be encouraged and maintained as appropriate and to the extent allowed under the circumstances and by law.

Parental Contact

Pursuant to the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), the college may contact your parents regarding certain matters of concern, including but not limited to urgent matters related to your safety and violations of state or local law.

Privacy Rights

Inquiries regarding the obligations of Westmont under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, and under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, may be directed to either of the following addresses:

Vice President for Administration
955 La Paz Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
(805) 565-6023

Director U.S. Dept. of Education
Washington, D.C. 20201.

Pursuant to the Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, you, as a student, are vested with certain rights, and the college with certain responsibilities, regarding your education records. These rights and responsibilities are as follows.

Complaints

If you feel the college has violated your privacy rights under the act, you may file a complaint to this effect with the Office of the Secretary, Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

Inspection and Review

You may request an opportunity to inspect all college records, files, documents, and other materials which contain information directly related to you. You may also request an explanation or interpretation of the records, as well as a copy of any information required by law to be given to you, upon payment of five cents per page. Direct your requests for inspection and review to the custodian in charge of the records you wish to see as follows:

Academic records: the registrar (e.g., transcripts, test results, petition forms, correspondence regarding academic progress, class schedules);
Disciplinary records: Jane Hideko Higa, vice president and dean of students;
Financial records: Paul Larson, controller;
Health records: David Hernandez, director of health services; and
Letters of recommendation for job placement or graduate school admission: Dana Alexander, director of career and life planning.

Making Corrections and Amendments

If you believe information contained in your education records is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of your privacy rights, you may request the appropriate custodian to delete or correct the information. The custodian, or his or her nominee, must afford you an opportunity to present your opinion regarding the amendment of your records and must render a decision on your request within a reasonable time.

If the custodian denies your request, you may place a statement in your education records commenting on the disputed information and setting forth your reasons for disagreeing with the custodian.

Record Disclosure

Westmont will not, without your written consent (and except as set forth below), disclose information from your education records, except to those authorized by the act to obtain access to student records without consent. Those so authorized include, but are not limited to, college personnel with legitimate educational interests; schools of intended enrollment; specified state and federal educational administrators; providers of financial aid; and emergency health care providers. Access to student records without consent may also be obtained by court order.

Westmont will send your grade reports to your home address as long as you remain a dependent of your parents. Students who have established independence from their parents may request their grades be sent directly to them at another address.

The college will keep a record of all individuals or entities, other than college personnel, who have requested or obtained access to your records.

Your Directory Information

Westmont will disclose certain information about you unless you submit a written directive to the contrary. Called directory information, this includes your name, address, telephone number; date and place of birth; major; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; dates of attendance at the college; degrees and awards received; and the most recent previous educational institution attended. It also includes the height and weight of members of athletic teams.

If you do not want your directory information to be released, you must sign and deliver to the registrar a Request to Withhold Directory Information form available from the registrar’s office.

Promoting, Selling, or Publicizing On Campus

The following policy gives guidelines for anyone who wishes to sell, promote, or publicize products, events, candidates, job opportunities, ministries or viewpoints on campus.

Students, Staff, or Official Campus Organizations:

An academic department or official student organization may sponsor an issue forum or invite a guest speaker to campus. These events should be planned in accordance with the College Speakers and Sponsorship policy that is available in the provost’s office.
An academic department or official student organization may arrange with student and alumni employment coordinator (x6248) to use tables at the entry of the D.C. for promotion or other purposes.
The Campus Posting policy (available in the student life office) includes the locations, types of announcements, poster sizes, and duration for approved postings.
WCSA will publish and uphold its own policies regarding the promotion of candidates in the elections it conducts.
A student is not permitted to go door-to-door for the purpose of selling a product or service unless it is for fund raising. A student may purchase advertising space in the Horizon or get approval from the student life office to have promotional materials distributed through the campus mailbox ($60 distribution fee). A gathering to promote a product or service must be held within a student’s room.

Off-campus Individuals or Groups:

Due to very limited posting spaces, off-campus entities may not post materials on campus. It is possible to get approval from the student life office to have materials distributed through the campus mailbox ($60 distribution fee). Off-campus entities may also purchase advertisement space from the student newspaper, the Horizon.
Ministries, summer employment, and employment recruiters must contact the Office of Life Planning to arrange campus visits. The approved visitors will be given space outside of the dining commons to set up a simple display and to meet with students. (The group may move upstairs during rains or if an elaborate display requires electrical outlets.)
Individual political candidates, entities promoting specific issues, and voter registration volunteers may arrange with the student life office to set up portable tables on the dining commons lawn during meal times.
Door-to-door efforts for fund raising or selling a product or service are not permitted. No campus space will be provided to sell a product or service for profit.

Posting Fliers and Banners

Any individual or group that wants to advertise on campus must have posters and signs approved, stamped, and dated by the student life office or the campus life office before posting them. This includes but is not limited to: all advertisement in public spaces, campus buildings, residence halls, banners inside the D.C. and posters on the KSC balcony.

Signs and posters must be taken down by the date stamped on the flier. For events, this date will be the day after the event has occurred. If signs and posters are not removed after the event, the responsible individual or group may be charged a fine .
Certain adhesive materials cannot be used for posting as they can lead to property damage (e.g. duct tape, clear packing tape, any tape on glass surface). If any property damage occurs as a result of posting, the responsible individual or group may be charged a damage fee.
The student life staff may remove posters or advertisements that have not been approved and stamped.
Student life will not allow the posting of any materials that advocate or encourage conduct that is contrary to the Community Life Statement.
Student life staff may require an individual to sign the posting policy when materials are brought in to be approved.

Other advertising guidelines:

Sidewalk chalk may be used to advertise, however, it is the responsibility of the person who uses it to make sure it is properly cleaned up after the event takes place. Chalk is not to be used on the president’s patio or the areas immediately surrounding it.
Westmont does not allow the posting of notices on trees or lampposts.
Posters in residence halls about residence life events don’t need approval.