Dismissals & Involuntary Withdrawals – On-Demand Training

Address Students of Concern with Confidence & Care 

Failure to create clear policies and procedures that follow legal and ethical guidelines, adequately address privacy concerns, and support student safety could lead to costly litigation, a public relations nightmare or worse: a student injury or death. Institutions have a duty to take varying levels of “reasonable action” to protect your students from inflicting foreseeable self-harm, as well as from foreseeable violence from others.

Our expert presenter Hannah Ross, General Counsel and Chief of Staff at Middlebury College, reviews the legal background — including several precedent setting cases, core risk management principles, behavioral contracts and voluntary/involuntary leaves, and best practices for supporting students who are at risk of self-harm or harm to others. 

Topics Covered

As a result of this training, you will be able to: 

• Examine legal developments and previous cases to create clear policies and procedures that encourage appropriate communication between divisions, address privacy concerns, protect the health and safety of students, and minimize institutional liability.
• Ensure understanding of the two different definitions the Department of Education uses for threats to others, and for threats to self under the ADA.
• Develop clear and compliant policies to address students’ voluntary and involuntary leave, and craft appropriate behavioral contracts and return from leave processes. 
• Provide faculty, staff, and students with specific training to help everyone recognize and respond to students in need of mental health or basic needs resources to improve campus safety through campus-wide education and prevention programs.
• Initiate a campus-wide dialogue with faculty, staff, administration, and students to address “students of concern” to appropriately identify and mitigate reasonably foreseeable risks of self-harm or violence to others in compliance with the ethical and legal standards and ensure post-vention protocols are in place to reduce future risk. 
• Identify the core components of institutional negligence and liability.
  

Presenter

Hannah Ross currently serves as the General Counsel, Chief of Staff, and Secretary to the Corporation at Middlebury College in Vermont.
Click here for full bio.