11. Disciplinary Procedures for Graduate Students

11.1 Introduction

Graduate students found to have violated the standards and policies of the School of Music, Graduate School, or Baylor University as defined or referenced under sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.6, and 10 above may be subject to disciplinary actions, up to and including termination of graduate associate positions and scholarships or dismissal from the graduate program. Disciplinary actions resulting from failure to maintain the required GPA are described in section 3.6 above and are triggered automatically when a student’s GPA falls below the minimum requirement. Disciplinary actions resulting from violations of other standards or policies referenced above may be triggered after due process in accordance with the procedures described in sections 11.2 through 11.6 below. Students accused of such violations have a right to a fair hearing and will be given opportunity to respond to the allegations. In recognition that some acts of professional misconduct may also involve violations of Baylor’s Student Conduct Code, the School of Music or Graduate School may also and simultaneously report concerns or allegations of a student’s behavior to Baylor’s Judicial Affairs office, Office of Academic Integrity, or Title IX office, as appropriate.

11.2 Reporting Unprofessional Conduct by Music Graduate Students

If a faculty member believes that a student may have violated the standards and policies of the School of Music, Graduate School, or Baylor University as defined or referenced under sections 3.1, 3.2, and 10 above, the faculty member should consult with the appropriate Graduate Program Director (GPD), Division Director (DD), and Department Chair (DC). If the GPD, DD, and DC agree that the situation warrants investigation, the following steps should be taken.

The GPD, DD, or DC (or designees) shall meet with the student to discuss the situation. If the student acknowledges the problem and a resolution can be found, the GPD (or designee) should describe the situation and resolution in writing, provide a copy of the document to the student and faculty member, and keep a copy in the student’s file. The document should specify whether or not it is a formal letter of reprimand, which it may or may not be depending upon the specific circumstances.
If the situation warrants more immediate action or a resolution cannot be found, the GPD, DD, or DC (or their designees) should notify the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in writing. The notification should
describe in detail the behavior in question, including any relevant written documentation or communications,
explain why the behavior is unprofessional in the context of the particular discipline or program,
describe in detail the steps taken thus far to resolve the issue,
if necessary, explain why any resolution proposed by the student is inappropriate, and
state a recommended disciplinary action or resolution.
The Graduate School should be notified of the process by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

11.3 Responding to Allegations of Unprofessional Conduct

When the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies receives written notice that a student may have violated the standards and policies of the School of Music, Graduate School, or Baylor University as defined or referenced under sections 3.1, 3.2, and 10 above, and the situation was not resolved as described in section 11.2a above, the following steps will be taken:

The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies will notify the student of the allegations and will provide the student with a copy of the written notice submitted by the GPD, DD, or DC (or their designees).
The student will have an opportunity to respond to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in writing within three business days.
Both the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and/or the student may request a meeting at this point. However, if the student requests a meeting, it will not take place until after a written response from the student has been received by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies will supply any written response submitted by the student to the GPD, DD, or DC (or their designees), who may then respond in writing to that response within three business days.
If the student chooses not to submit a written response to the allegations and/or if three business days following the notification of the student of the allegations have lapsed without the student submitting a written response to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, the Associate Dean may proceed with providing a written response to the GPD, DD, or DC based on the initial notification provided by the GPD, DD, or DC (as described above in section 11.2b).
If, after receiving the student’s reply and/or meeting with the student, and in consultation with the GPD, DD, or DC, all parties can agree on a resolution that allows the student to remain in the graduate program, the student and the Division will be notified of any terms and conditions imposed in a formal letter of reprimand. Digital copies of all correspondence and documentation shall be kept in the student’s file.
If no such resolution can be found, or in the absence of a written response from the student, or if warranted by the circumstances (including, but not limited to, the nature of the offense or the student having received a prior letter of reprimand), the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies may determine any disciplinary action, including the loss of financial support or dismissal from the program. The student shall be notified of the Associate Dean’s decision in writing.
The Graduate School should be notified of the resolution and/or disciplinary action instituted.

11.4 Appeal

The student may appeal a decision by the School of Music concerning unprofessional conduct to the Provost’s office. The student must make the appeal in writing within three business days of notification of the decision. The Provost (or designee) will review the documentation and either uphold the School of Music’s decision or determine some alternate outcome. The decision of the Provost’s office is final.

11.5 Unsatisfactory Performance of Duties by Graduate Associates

If a faculty member believes a Graduate Associate (GA) under their supervision is not performing their duties in a satisfactory manner yet the GA has not exhibited other inappropriate behavior or professional misconduct beyond poor job performance, the supervising faculty member should meet with the GA to discuss the faculty member’s concerns and mentor the GA toward improving performance. If a satisfactory resolution to the situation cannot be found during this or any subsequent meeting, or if the supervising faculty member believes that unsatisfactory performance of duties by the GA has continued despite the faculty member’s mentoring efforts, the following steps should be taken:

The faculty member should document the concerns in writing to the Graduate Program Director (GPD), Division Director (DD), and Department Chair (DC). The written notice should
describe in detail the unsatisfactory performance of duties in question, including any relevant written documentation or communications,
describe in detail the steps taken thus far to attempt to resolve the issue, and
state a recommended disciplinary action.
If the GPD, DD, and DC agree that the situation warrants, the hearing and sanctioning process described in sections 11.2 through 11.4 above will be triggered.

11.6 Dismissal for Inadequate Academic Performance and/or Progress in the Degree Major

In addition to maintaining an overall GPA of 3.0 in accordance with Graduate School and School of Music policy, graduate students in the School of Music must maintain adequate academic performance and progress in their degree major (performance, church music, collaborative piano, composition, conducting, musicology, music theory, or piano pedagogy and performance) as judged by their graduate committee, the functions and membership of which are described in sections 7.5 through 7.9 above.

Inadequate academic performance or progress in the degree major would be indicated by, but not be limited to, a grade of B- or lower in one or more courses in the major area, failure to make adequate progress toward presenting an acceptable required recital, failure to make adequate progress toward completing an acceptable required thesis, dissertation, or other significant capstone document or project, failure of doctoral preliminary exams, or failure of the final comprehensive oral exam or dissertation defense. A second failure of the final comprehensive oral exam, doctoral preliminary exams, or dissertation defense will result in automatic dismissal from the program in accordance with Graduate School policy without invoking the process in the remainder of this section.

If, after efforts to mentor a student have been made, any member of the student’s graduate committee, the GPD, or the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies remains concerned about the student’s academic performance or progress in the degree major, the following steps should be taken:

The concerned faculty member, GPD, or Associate Dean should ask the committee chair to convene a meeting of the committee to discuss the concern and to vote on the student’s continuance in the program.
If the majority of the committee believes the student can and will improve their performance or progress in the degree major, the committee should meet with the student to discuss the concern and potential resolution. Following the meeting, the committee chair should describe the situation and conditions for continuance in writing and provide a copy to the student and the Associate Dean.
If the majority of the committee believes the student cannot or will not improve performance or progress in the degree major, or if a resolution cannot be found in step 11.6b above, or if in the committee’s judgement the student subsequently fails to meet conditions for continuance as determined in step 11.6b above, the committee chair should notify the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in writing of the committee’s recommendation to dismiss the student from the program. The notification should describe in detail the inadequate performance or progress in question and the steps taken thus far to attempt to resolve the issue.
The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies will notify the student in writing of the pending dismissal from the program, provide the student with a copy of the committee’s recommendation, and direct the student to the hearing and disciplinary process contained in section 11.6 of this Handbook.
The student will have the opportunity to respond to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in writing within three business days.
Either the student or the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies may request a meeting at this point. However, if the student requests a meeting with the Associate Dean, it will not take place until after a written response from the student is received.
The Associate Dean will supply any written response submitted by the student to the student’s graduate committee and direct the committee to respond in writing to that response within three business days.
If the student chooses not to submit a written response to the committee’s recommendation or if three business days following the notification of the student by the Associate Dean have lapsed without the student submitting a written response, the Associate Dean will notify the student, the student’s graduate committee, and the Graduate School of the student’s dismissal from the program due to inadequate academic performance and/or progress in the degree major.
If—after receiving the student’s written response and meeting with the student (should a meeting take place), and after considering any written response from the graduate committee—the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies sees no satisfactory resolution to the situation that will allow the student to remain in the program, the Associate Dean will notify the student, the student’s graduate committee, and the Graduate School of the student’s dismissal from the program due to inadequate academic performance and/or progress in the degree major.
If a resolution can be found that allows the student to remain in the program, no member of the graduate committee having voted for dismissal will be expected to continue service on the committee.
In accordance with section 7.5 above, the decision of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies after following the process outlined in this section (11.6) is final.