5. Offenses and Sanctions
A violation is any unacceptable conduct, action or neglect that violates the RCLS, Student Resident Agreement or Seneca College’s policies. Violations are described and classified based on three levels of increasing severity. Sanctions are the consequences for violations, which are described in detail in subsequent sections of the RCLS. At each level of offense and/or after repeated violations the severity of the sanctions will increase.
Level 1 Violations: Actions that interfere with the rights of another individual or community to the peaceful use and enjoyment of their space in Residence.
Normal Point Range: 1-3
Level 2 Violations: Actions that create a significant nuisance and/or disturbance to an individual or community and/or repeated level one violations.
Normal Point Range: 2-5
Level 3 Violations: Actions that endanger the safety and security of an individual; significantly compromise or damage personal or Residence/Seneca College property; attack the dignity/integrity of an individual; contravene the laws of the land; and/or repeated level two violations. Any Level 3 Offense may warrant an eviction. Normal Point Range: 4-9
The Point System
The point system is designed to help define the seriousness of specific behaviours and to track the frequency and severity of a student’s RCLS violations. All violations are associated with points ranging from a value of 1 through 9. All violations have a minimum value of one point. The assigned number of points will depend upon the type of incident and/or its severity. In complex situations where multiple violations occur in the same incident, points will typically be assigned based on the most serious single violation of the RCLS.
Points remain on record until August 15 of each year, or as stipulated upon eviction. After a Resident has been found responsible for a violation, the Resident may be responsible for educational, restorative, or punitive sanctions. Points are assigned for each incident based on the table below. Points are used in determining the sanctions appropriate for a resident, given their cumulative conduct record, as outlined in the “Sanctions” section below. During sanctioning, decision makers consider a resident’s total points, including those assigned for the current violation.