The University is developing a student appeal process for disciplinary action taken for campus compact violations, walking back a previous announcement that no appeals would be allowed, according to Friday’s Re-Approaching Stanford newsletter.
Stanford also announced the creation of job opportunities for students who can no longer serve as student staff, and that in-person undergraduate research for students approved to live on campus may resume on Sept. 14. “Undergraduate research that can be done remotely should continue to be done remotely,” states University policy.
When the compact was first announced in July, students did not have the ability to appeal decisions made by the Compact Review Panel, which is charged with reviewing student violations of the campus compact. In a July 30 email, Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Sarah Church cited the “need to act quickly to reduce transmission of the virus” as a rationale for the lack of an appeal process.
The decision was met with swift student pushback. Over 1,500 graduate students signed a petition objecting to the lack of an appeal process, among other criticisms of the compact. Some students argued that withholding the right to appeal could be a violation of University policy.
Stanford first announced its decision to develop an appeal process in an Aug. 21 email to graduate students. Students will receive information on how the appeal process works and an outline of possible “educational interventions and administrative actions” for violations of the campus compact on Wednesday, according to Friday’s email.
Brubaker-Cole and Church also announced the creation of new staffing opportunities for students who lost their positions as student staff after the University canceled its plan to bring students back to campus. Students will be offered positions like “co-facilitating” the Frosh 101 course and serving as “mentors” to incoming students.
Mentors will be paid a stipend of $1,500 for the fall quarter, according to an email sent to resident fellows and student staff. The amount is substantially less than the previous student staff salary of $3,800 per quarter.
A University spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on if there will be enough staffing opportunities for all former student staff to work in one of the new planned positions.
Stanford’s COVID-19 screening program has also launched, wrote Brubaker-Cole and Church. Asymptomatic students will be tested at McCaw Hall in the Arrillaga Alumni Center. Students experiencing symptoms should contact Vaden Health Services or a different healthcare provider for testing, according to the email.
Contact Sam Catania at samcat ‘at’ stanford.edu and Cameron Ehsan at cehsan ‘at’ stanford.edu.