Erik S. Wessel, Director of the University of Michigan’s Office of Student Conflict Resolution, formally announced changes to the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities and the new Office of Student Accountability in an email to the University community Monday afternoon. According to reporting from The Michigan Daily, discussions surrounding the newly formed office, designed to split investigative and disciplinary functions from OSCR, began this summer but not announced formally until Monday. This announcement also comes after OSCR charged 11 pro-Palestine student activists with SSRR conduct violations in July.
Every three years, students, faculty and staff are able to submit amendments to the SSRR. The 19 approved amendments that will now be considered as violations to the SSRR include harm to animals, doxxing and AI-facilitated impersonation. Updates also include changes to arbitration, resolution timelines and process language for OSCR. In cases involving multiple students, joint arbitration can now proceed only if both respondents and complainants consent.
In addition, the update also clarifies timeliness requirements for complaints. While conduct complaints are generally limited to incidents within the past six months, the resolution coordinator may now waive that restriction if a late filing is deemed reasonable.
Additional revisions bring the SSRR in line with new federal requirements, such as the Stop Campus Hazing Act and Title VI rules on discrimination.
Wessel wrote in his email the new structure will better balance accountability with education.
“This reorganization will best allow OSCR and OSA to together offer the full range of conflict resolution and community accountability pathways that are educationally-focused, student-centered, and restorative in nature,” Wessel wrote.
Daily News Editor Emma Spring can be reached at sprinemm@umich.edu.
The post UMich officially updates student conduct policy, launches OSA appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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