Student Rights

Right to be free from discrimination on the basis of race, gender, color, religion, national origin, age, or disability.

Brazosport College shall not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, gender, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, veteran status or any other protected class in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:

Vice President of Human Resources
500 College Drive
Lake Jackson, TX 77566
979-230-3459
marshall.campbell@brazosport.edu

Please refer to Brazosport College Policy FA (LEGAL).

Right to be able to apply for admission.

Brazosport College Policy FB (LOCAL) - Admissions and FB (LEGAL) - Admissions addresses the rights of students as it pertains to admissions. All students shall be able to apply for admission to Brazosport College including home-schooled or privately educated students and international students. Additional information regarding admission is on the Admissions web page.

Right to review all educational records and to file complaints regarding them (including all rights under FERPA guidelines).

Brazosport College policy FJ (LEGAL) - Student Records and FJ (LOCAL) - Student Records addresses the rights of students as it pertains to records. These rights include the right to privacy, access to educational records, the right to review and to request corrections to their records and the right to require the school to obtain written consent prior to the disclosure of any information. Information regarding these rights is available in the Brazosport College Catalog, Brazosport College Student Guide & Calendar, and on the Registrar's web page.

Right to be free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

It is the policy of Brazosport College that all employees and students or users of college resources be able to enjoy a campus environment free of all forms of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Brazosport College policy FFDA (LEGAL & LOCAL) - Freedom from Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation - Sex and Sexual Violence and FFDB (LEGAL & LOCAL) - Freedom from Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation - Other Protected Characteristics addresses the rights of students as it pertains to discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Students who feel their rights have been violated are provided the process for addressing the alleged violation. The statement instructs anyone who has a grievance to submit their written grievance to the College administrators identified as the Title IX coordinator and the Section 504 Coordinator. Board policy FFDA (LEGAL & LOCAL) - Freedom from Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation - Sex and Sexual Violence outlines the steps to address Title IX complaints and is also on the Notice of Non-Discrimination webpage.

Mareille Rolon, Human Resources Coordinator & Title IX Coordinator
Office C.114; 979-230-3303; mareille.rolon@brazosport.edu

Alex Crouse, Director, Student Life & Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Office J.117D; 979-230-3355; alex.crouse@brazosport.edu

Right to appeal decisions in academic matters, including grades.

Brazosport College students are encouraged to resolve grade issues informally with their instructor, where possible and appropriate. In the event that a grade concern cannot be resolved informally, students may follow through the academic appeals process which is introduced in the Brazosport College Catalog and detailed in EGA-R (LOCAL) - Academic Achievement-Grading and Credit on pages 7-17.

Written request to the division chair within sixty calendar days of the due date of grades posted at semester’s end.
If the division chair is unable to satisfactorily address the issue, the student may provide a written appeal to the Dean of Instruction, Jeff.Detrick@brazosport.edu for review by the Academic Appeals committee.
If the student is dissatisfied with the outcome of the Academic Appeals committee, the student may apply for a review by the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs.

Right to appeal financial aid suspension.

Students not meeting established financial aid criteria may seek to appeal if mitigating circumstances affect academic performance. Mitigating circumstances are defined as a change in program study, illness, death of a family member, or other traumatic life-altering events of the student. The appeal may not be based upon the need for assistance or the lack of knowledge that the assistance was in jeopardy. Information including the written appeal document may be found at the Financial Aid website.

Right to due process.

Board Policy FM (LEGAL) - Discipline and Penalties provides that students at Brazosport College that are "subject to discipline by the college district must be afforded the level of due process, including notice and an opportunity to respond, under the U.S. Constitution Fourteenth Amendment that corresponds with the level of the discipline". Student Guide and Calendar on, these include the right to:

have their case processed without unreasonable delay,
receive prompt written notice of alleged violations per Brazosport College communication policies,
have reasonable access to any written testimony to be used against them with written request filed in a timely manner, with the conduct officer,
be able to, in a formal hearing, question witnesses against them,
produce witnesses and/or evidence per prescribed procedure on their own behalf,
decide not to be a witness against him/herself, or to have their silence be construed as an admission of responsibility,
and, have a decision based on a preponderance of the evidence.

Right to appeal the outcome of a student conduct violation or sanctions by the Dean of Students Services, her delegate or the Community Appeals and Adjudication Board.

As outlined in the Brazosport College Student Guide & Calendar on page 17, a decision reached by the Dean of Student Services, her delegate or the Community Appeals and Adjudication Board (CAAB) may be appealed by accused students or complainants to an Appeals Board within five (5) working days of being notified of the decision. If the student is notified of the decision by letter, the student has five (5) working days from the date on the letter to make an appeal. Such appeals shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs. The Vice President will determine if the student has grounds for appeal based on a substantial procedural irregularity, bias by the hearing officer or CAAB or evidence not available at the hearing which might have rendered a difference outcome, if it had been available. The Vice President may choose to modify findings of responsibility, sanctions, both, remand the case for a new hearing or uphold the original decision.

The Dean of Student Services is responsible for investigating all allegations in compliance with Board policy FMA (LOCAL) - Discipline and Penalties - Discipline Procedures which describes in detail the procedures provided for students who believe that their rights have been violated. Additionally, students may file complaints in person (Room J.117), in writing or online.

Right to Free Expression

It is the policy of Brazosport College to protect the expressive rights of persons guaranteed by the constitutions of the United States and the State of Texas by:(1) recognizing freedom of speech and assembly as central to Brazosport College’s mission; and (2) ensuring that all persons may assemble peaceably on Brazosport College’s campus for expressive activities, including to listen to the speech of others.

These policies ensure that the common outdoor areas of Brazosport College’s campus are deemed traditional public forums and permit any person to engage in expressive activities in those areas of the institution’s campus freely, as long as the person’s conduct is not unlawful and does not materially and substantially disrupt the functioning of the institution. Moreover, Brazosport College’s policies (1) impose reasonable, narrowly-tailored restrictions on the time, place, and manner of the expressive activities in the common outdoor areas of the campus; (2) employ clear, published, content-neutral, and viewpoint-neutral criteria; (3) provide for ample alternative means of expression; and (4) allow members of the College community to spontaneously and contemporaneously assemble or distribute written material without a permit or other permission from the institution.

Please find additional information at the following:

FLA (LEGAL) - Student Expression and Use of College Facilities (adopted December 17, 2019) https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/215?filename=FLA(LEGAL).pdf

FLA (LOCAL) - Student Expression and Use of College Facilities (adopted August 3, 2020) https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/215?filename=FLA(LOCAL).pdf