Dear Students, Staff and Faculty of the University of Michigan:
"The University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (the University) is dedicated to supporting and maintaining a scholarly community. As its central purpose, this community promotes intellectual inquiry through vigorous discourse. Values which undergird this purpose include civility, dignity, diversity, education, equality, freedom, honesty, and safety. When students choose to accept admission to the University, they accept the rights and responsibilities of membership in the University's academic and social community."
The above language provides for you an introduction to the "Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities" (the Statement). This community-owned document sets forth the University's values and expectations for resolving conflicts and is intended to maintain a campus climate that supports learning for all students. Similar to policies articulating standards for academic behavior within the University's colleges and schools, the Statement sets forth the expectations for non-academic behavior for all students.
You may familiarize yourself with the Statement by reviewing the entire document online at oscr.umich.edu/statement.
The Office of Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR) administers the Statement and facilitates conflict resolution through formal and other adaptable conflict resolution (ACR) pathways. For more information about the services OSCR provides, please refer to the website at oscr.umich.edu.
Amendment Process
The Statement is a dynamic document subject to regular revisions on a timeline set by the Student Relations Advisory Committee (SRAC). SRAC is a committee of SACUA, the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs. The Board of Regents has provided SRAC with primary oversight of the review process, which is outlined in Section VIII of the Statement.
The 2015-2016 academic year is an amendment year. The opportunity for community input begins in April 2015, and concludes on November 2, 2015, the date by which SRAC must receive all refined and vetted amendment proposals. SRAC will conduct a formal review of all proposed amendments from November 2015 – January 2016. At that point, all proposed amendments will be reviewed by the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel and the Civil Liberties Board, before SRAC forwards their recommendations regarding proposed amendments to the Office of the President in March 2016. Final Statement amendment decisions will be announced to the community in April, and will go into effect July 1, 2016.
Pursuant to the Statement, amendments may be proposed by the Central Student Government (CSG), the faculty Senate Assembly (SACUA), or the Executive Officers of the University. The process for submitting proposed amendments is designed to ensure representation of each campus constituency (students, faculty and staff) through their representative leadership.
All proposal ideas should be submitted first to OSCR for assistance on formatting and other procedural requirements prior to being presented to CSG, SACUA or Executive Officers. Information about the proposal process, amendment cycle timeline, and community dialogues is available on OSCR's website.
Please note that the SRAC has requested that stakeholders submitting proposals participate in consensus building during the Winter 2015 and Fall 2016 semesters so that proposals are refined and vetted prior to submission to SRAC by November 2, 2015. To this end, OSCR, in collaboration with CSG, is organizing a series of Community Dialogues during the months of April and September to provide an opportunity for amendment authors to vet their proposals with community stakeholders. Additional information about the Community Dialogues is available on OSCR's website.
On behalf of the OSCR Team and the Division of Student Life, I wish each of you a successful year.
Sincerely,
E. Royster Harper
Vice President for Student Life
Additional Information
Amendment Proposal Language (1/20/2016)
2015-2016 Statement Amendment Process
Submit a proposal to amend the Statement
Five Ways to Get Involved in the Statement Amendment Process
Related News Articles
At CSG, OSCR director speaks about amending student rights statement (Michigan Daily, outside link)
Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities open to amendments (Michigan Daily, outside link)
CSG says Statement Amendment is top priority (Michigan Daily article, outside link)