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Student Handbook
The Student Handbook, an extension of the Defiance College Catalog, contains further details about student life at Defiance College as well as complete information on rules and regulations governing student behavior. A copy of the Student Handbook can be obtained in the Office of Student Life.

Defiance College Campus Covenant*
Defiance College is a community of learners dedicated to nurturing the whole person of each of its members. We seek to inspire a commitment to know the truth, to understand our world, and the diverse cultures within it, to lead within our professions, and to serve our families, our communities, and our world as responsible citizens.

As a member of the Defiance College community ...

• I will respect the dignity and worth of each person.
  
• I will recognize the importance of interpersonal relationships
  
• and of a caring community.
  
• I will strongly advocate honest and open intellectual inquiry and academic freedom.
  
• I will trust that truths, in all their complexities, are ultimately interrelated.
  
• I will move beyond tolerance and acceptance to understanding and appreciation of religious, cultural, and individual diversity.
  
• I will recognize the privilege and responsibility of my stewardship for individuals, for institutions, and for the resources of the natural world.
  
• I will commit myself to serving others as an expression of faith and a way of life enrichment and fulfillment.
  

This statement is intended as a reflection of the central values of Defiance College. It is designed to be discussed and supported by the entire Defiance College community with the understanding that it is always a "work in progress."

* Adapted from the University of South Carolina's The Carolinian Creed and from the Defiance College statement of covenantal status as a United Church of Christ related college.

Career and Student Assistance

Academic Advising
Defiance College encourages close attention to individuals. At the core of this individual concern is the advisory system and access to professors. New students below the age of 21 who have not had a successful college experience elsewhere are required to take FS 101 Freshman Seminar in their first semester of study. The Freshman Seminar instructor becomes their advisor during the first semester. If students have declared a major, they will be assigned a faculty advisor in that discipline at the completion of the first semester. If they are unsure of their major, they will be advised by the Office of Career and Student Assistance in Hubbard Hall.

Weekend College students are advised by the Director of Weekend College with assistance by the professors teaching in the program. Other part-time students are assigned major advisors and can receive supplemental advising in the Office of Career and Student Assistance. Evening hours are maintained to provide service to students taking only evening classes.

Students declare majors and may request an advisor change in the Registrar's office.

Students are encouraged to work closely with their academic advisors throughout their college careers. Advisors are prepared not only to counsel students on selection of courses and overall workload, but to refer them to important resources such as the Office of Career and Student Assistance or to arrange for tutoring when assistance is needed.

Tutoring and Other Academic Support Services
Tutoring and other academic support services, such as assistance with media/technology related assignments and textbooks on tape, are available through the Learning Commons. These services, in addition to others, are provided free of charge to students. The Learning Commons is located in the lower level of the Pilgrim Library room 104.

Academic and Honor Societies
Alpha Chi accepts into membership those students who have distinguished themselves academically by ranking in the top 10 percent of the junior or senior class. Defiance College also participates in Tau Mu for social work majors, Tau Pi Phi for business/economics majors, and Phi Alpha Theta for history majors.

Civil Rights Racial Harassment Policy
Defiance College is committed to maintain a humane atmosphere in which the race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental handicap or veteran status of an individual or group are respected and not disparaged. Defiance College will not tolerate any acts of racial harassment or discrimination. The college will promptly and thoroughly investigate all allegations of racial harassment and discrimination. The college will take any action necessary against an individual(s) found guilty of racial harassment or discrimination in order to maintain a harmonious campus environment.

Discrimination is defined as behavior or conduct that tends to demean or disparage an individual on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental handicap, or veteran status.

Any student who is a witness to or victim of racial harassment or discrimination involving should immediately notify the Student Life Office. The procedures are found in the Student Life Handbook.

Computer Policy
Information systems (including computers, computer accounts, printers, networks, software, electronic mail, internet access) at Defiance College are provided for the use of Defiance College students, faculty and staff in support of the College's academic and administrative programs. All students, faculty and staff are responsible for seeing that these systems are used in an effective, efficient, ethical, and lawful manner. The use of information systems is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked at any time for misuse. All access to the College's computing resources, including the issuing of accounts, must be approved through the Computer Services Office. Usage policies can be found in the Student Handbook.

Sexual/Gender Harassment Statement
The college seeks to create and maintain an academic environment in which all members of the community are free of harassment based on gender or sex. Defiance College espouses values which infuse the academic and residential life on its campus. An integral community life must be the awareness on the part of every member of the rights and human dignity of every member. Attitudes of condescension, hostility, role-stereotyping, and sexual innuendo weaken the health of the community. Furthermore, harassment based on sex or gender compromises the integrity of a liberal arts education because it makes the learning and working environment hostile, intimidating and offensive; it destroys opportunities for students to develop strong, positive self-concepts and the sense of self-confidence which is essential to living out the ideals of a liberal education. In addition, persons who harass others compromise their own integrity and credibility. Consequently, no unlawful form of sexual or gender harassment can be tolerated.

Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, or as coercive behavior which threatens employment or academic reprisal, or promises rewards contingent upon obtainment of sexual favors, or as spreading false stories about a person's sexual harassment. Gender discrimination is defined as derogatory references to gender and/or unequal treatment based on gender.

Students who believe they have been the object of gender discrimination, or gender or sexual harassment, may inform the Student Life Office, their academic advisor, or appropriate counseling services.

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