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This policy applies to all students of Rowan University.

IV.   POLICY

1. Rowan University recognizes that students play a major part in creating and supporting the educational environment and believes that students have a right to learn and a responsibility to participate in the learning process. While Rowan University is committed to the fundamental principles of freedom of speech, including controversial positions taken in the classroom, all types of speech and behavior must be balanced with principles of appropriate classroom behavior.
   
   
2. Furthermore, course instructors have a right to establish clear expectations in this regard, and students share the responsibility for maintaining an appropriate, orderly learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to the behavioral expectations outlined by the instructor (either in the syllabus or at the time the behavior occurs) may be subject to discipline in accordance with the procedures described in this classroom behavior policy.
   
   
3. Students and instructors are expected to follow the procedures described below when a concern about student behavior in the classroom arises. This policy does not replace or preclude any Rowan policies or local, state or federal laws concerning unlawful behaviors, whether inside or outside the classroom, including those concerning the health and safety of class members or the instructor.
   
   
4. What Constitutes Disruption?
   1. Disruptive behavior can be classified into two levels.
      1. Level I disruptive behavior can include: 
         • Persistent speaking without permission
         • Engaging in activities not related to the class
         • Inappropriate use of electronic devices, cell phones, or pagers
         • Sleeping in class
         • Chronically entering class late or leaving early
         • Eating/drinking in class without permission
         • Verbally confronting a faculty member or another student using utterances that have the effect of insulting or demeaning them in such a way that it causes disruption or interference with the classroom environment.
      2. Level II disruptive behaviors can include:
         • Engaging in physical violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, bullying, coercion, and/or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person as described in the Student Code of Conduct.
   2. Some disruptive students many have emotional or mental disorders. Although such students may be considered disabled and are protected under the Rehabilitation Act/ADA, they are held to the same standards of conduct as any student.

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