III.P. – Students – 06-2026

1. Purpose

This policy establishes expectations for student-related matters at the institutions. It sets minimum requirements for student services, student rights and protections, student organizations and publications, student athletes, and related administrative practices. It also defines institutional responsibilities consistent with applicable state and federal law and Board oversight. In accordance with Board Policy III.A Coverage, this policy subsection is applicable to Boise State University, Lewis-Clark State College, Idaho State University, and the University of Idaho.

2. Definitions

1. A “student” means any person duly admitted and regularly enrolled at an institution under governance of the Board as an undergraduate, graduate, or professional student, on a full-time or part-time basis, or who is admitted as a non-matriculated student on or off an institutional campus. The following policies and procedures are applicable to or for any person designated as a student at an institution under governance of the Board.
2. A “full-time student” includes the following definitions:
   1. Undergraduate: For fee and tuition purposes, a full-time undergraduate student means any undergraduate student carrying twelve (12) or more credits (or equivalent in audit and zero-credit registrations).
   2. Graduate: For fee and tuition purposes, a full-time graduate student means any graduate student carrying nine (9) or more credits, or any graduate student on a full appointment as an instructional or graduate assistant, regardless of the number of credits for which such instructional or graduate assistant is registered.

3. Nondiscrimination

It is the policy of the Board that institutions under its governance must provide equal educational opportunities, services, and benefits to students without discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status, in accordance with federal and state laws.

Each institution must develop and publish procedures for promptly responding to allegations of discrimination on the basis of a protected class in the institution’s education programs or activities when the institution has actual knowledge of the alleged conduct. The institution’s response must not be deliberately indifferent; it must adequately respond to known instances of such harassment or discrimination. This may include taking steps to remedy a hostile environment, even if the institution is unable to hold the person responsible due to their own constitutional rights.

4. Sexual Harassment

In alignment with Title IX, each institution must establish and maintain policies which ensure no person is excluded from participation or denied the benefits of or subjected to discrimination based on sex. See Board Policy I.T Title IX.

1. Policies and Procedures: Each institution must develop and publish procedures for promptly responding to allegations of sexual harassment in the institution’s education programs or activities when the institution has actual knowledge of the alleged conduct.
2. Institutional Response: The institution’s response must not be deliberately indifferent, meaning that institutions must adequately respond to known instances of sexual harassment or discrimination. Each institution’s policies and procedures must comply with current Title IX requirements.

5. Catalog and Representational Statements

Each institution must publish its official catalogue and admissions, academic, and other policies and procedures which affect students.

Each institutional catalogue must include the following statement:

Catalogues, bulletins, course or fee schedules, and policies or procedures shall not be considered as binding contracts between [an institution] and its students. [The institution] reserves the right at any time, without advance notice, to (a) withdraw or cancel classes, courses, and programs; (b) change fee schedules; (c) change the academic calendar; (d) change admission and registration requirements; (e) change the policies, procedures, regulations, and requirements governing instruction in and graduation from [the institution] and its various divisions; and (f) change any other regulations affecting students. Such changes may occur whenever the proper authorities so determine and must apply not only to prospective students but also to those who are matriculated at the time. When economic and other conditions permit, [the institution] must provide advance notice of changes. In particular, when an instructional program is to be modified or discontinued, [the institution] must make every reasonable effort to ensure that students who are within two (2) years of completing graduation requirements, and who are making normal progress toward completion of those requirements, have the opportunity to complete the program facing discontinuation.

6. Student Records

The collection, retention, use, and dissemination of student records is subject to the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, and implementing regulations. Each institution must establish policies and procedures for maintenance of student records consistent with the act and implementing regulations. These policies and procedures must provide a process for students to review, request changes, and appeal decisions related to student records.

7. Student Governance

The students at each institution may establish a student government constitution for their own duly constituted organization, which must be consistent with Board Governing Policies and Procedures. Institutions may consider recognizing student organization officer labor through course credit, compensation, or other appropriate means. Each student constitution must be reviewed and approved by the institution’s president or designee. Any amendments to the student constitution must also be reviewed and approved by the institution’s president or designee.

8. Student Financial Aid

Each institution must establish policies and procedures necessary for the administration of student financial aid. See Board Policy V.R. Establishment of Fees for further information about student fees, tuition, and other charges.

1. Delinquent Loans: See Board Policy V.P. Assignment of Delinquent Loans for more information on the transfer of delinquent Perkins student loans.
2. Fraud: Each institution must refer suspected student financial aid fraud to appropriate authorities and take administrative action as permitted by law.

9. Fees and Tuition

1. Establishment: Policies and procedures for establishment of fees, tuition, and other charges are found in Board Policy V.R. Establishment of Fees.
2. Refunds: Each institution must develop and publish a schedule for refund of fees in the event a student withdraws in accordance with regulations governing withdrawal.
3. Exemptions: Students who are exempted from fees may have access to fee-based services at the discretion of the institution.

10. Student Employees

1. Restrictions: No student employee may be assigned to duties which are for the benefit of personal and private gain of any institutional employee. No student employee supervisor may solicit or permit to be solicited from any student any fees, dues, compensation, commission, or gift or gratuity of any kind as a condition of or prerequisite for the student’s employment.
2. Policies and Procedures: Each institution must develop its own policies and procedures regarding student employment, including use of student employment as a part of financial assistance available to the student, consistent with applicable law and funding requirements.
3. Graduate Assistants: Each institution is delegated the authority to appoint within the limitations of available resources graduate assistants in a number consistent with the mission of the institution. Graduate assistantships are established to supplement a graduate student’s course of study, with employment appropriate to the student’s academic pursuits.

   Each institution must establish its own procedures for appointment of graduate assistants which must include (a) qualifications, (b) clear and detailed responsibilities in writing, and (c) maximum number of hours expected and wages for meeting those requirements.

   Matriculation, activity, and facility fees for graduate assistants is paid either by the student or by the department or academic unit on behalf of the student. Graduate students must be covered by appropriate insurance in accordance with institutional procedures for work-related illness or injury.

4. Hourly or Contractual Employment: Each institution may employ students on an hourly or contractual basis in accordance with the needs of the various departments or units, available funds, and rules of the Division of Human Resources or the University of Idaho classified employee system and applicable federal law or guidelines.

11. Student Services

Each institution must develop and publish a listing of services available to students, eligibility for such services, and costs or conditions, if any, of obtaining such services.

12. Student Organizations

The institutional administration and the State Board of Education assume no responsibility for the independent operation of the student government association and recognized student organizations. Each student government association is responsible, subject to the approval of the institution’s president or designee, for establishing or terminating student organizations supported through allocation of revenues available to the association. Expenditures by or on behalf of such student organizations are subject to rules, policies, and procedures of the institution and the Board.

13. Student Publications, Broadcasts, and Media

The institutional administration and the State Board of Education assume no responsibility for the independent operation and content of any student publication, broadcast, or media, as they operate and publish independently. The publishers or managers of the student publications or broadcasts are solely responsible for the content.

14. Student Health Insurance

Students are responsible for arranging coverage of their medical needs while enrolled in a postsecondary institution on a part- or full-time basis. Accidents, injuries, illnesses, and other medical needs of students (with limited exceptions in the case of student employees of an institution who experience workplace injuries within the course and scope of their employment) typically are not covered by the institution’s insurance policies. The types and levels of medical/clinical support services available to students varies among the institutions and their local communities.

1. Health Insurance Coverage Offered through the Institution: Each institution, at the discretion of its president or designee, may provide the opportunity for students to purchase health insurance through an institution-offered plan. Institutions are authorized to provide student health insurance plans through consortium arrangements, when this option serves the interests of students and administration. Institutions which elect to enter contractual arrangements to offer student health insurance plans (either singly or through consortium arrangements) must comply with applicable Board and State Division of Purchasing policies. Institutions which elect to offer health insurance plans to their students are authorized, at the president’s or designee’s discretion, to make student participation in such plans either optional or mandatory.
2. Mandatory Student Health Insurance: Each institution, at the discretion of its president or designee, may require all or specific groups (for example, international students, intercollegiate athletes, health professions students engaged in clinical activities, student teachers, and so on) to carry health insurance that meets coverage types and levels specified by the institution. Administration and enforcement of any such health insurance requirements, and procedures for dealing with any exceptions thereto, lie within the authority of the institution presidents or their designees.
3. Other Medical Support Services and Fees: Institutions are authorized to support or supplement students’ medical needs through services provided by college/university clinics, health centers, cooperative arrangements with community/regional health care providers, etc. In cases where such services are provided, institutions are authorized to establish optional or mandatory fees to cover the delivery cost of such services.
4. Financial Aid Considerations: Any medical insurance or health services-related fees which are mandated by an institution as a condition of participation in any institutional program are considered a bona fide component of the institution’s cost of college and are a legitimate expenditure category for student financial aid.

15. Student Vaccine Informational Materials

Each institution must provide current information on vaccine-preventable disease to each student at the time of admission or enrollment for classes. The information must include, at a minimum, the following:

1. Symptoms, risks, especially as the risks relate to circumstances of group living arrangements for vaccine-preventable diseases that are known to occur in adolescents and adults; and
2. Information regarding where the vaccinations can be received.

16. Students Called to Active Military Duty

The Board strongly supports students serving in the National Guard and in reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces. The Board encourages its institutions to work with students who are called away to active military duty during the course of an academic term and provide solutions to best meet the student’s current and future academic needs. The activated student, with the instructor’s consent, may elect to have an instructor continue to work with them on an individual basis. Additionally, institutions are required to provide at least the following:

1. The activated student may elect to completely withdraw. The standard withdrawal deadlines and limitations must not be applied. At the discretion of the institution, the student receives a “W” on his or her transcript, or no indication of enrollment in the course(s); and
2. One hundred percent (100%) of the paid tuition and/or fees for the current term must be refunded, as well as a pro-rated refund for paid student housing fees, meal-plans, or any other additional fees. Provided, however, that if a student has received financial aid, the institution processes that portion of the refund in accordance with each financial aid program.

17. Student Athletes

1. Policies and Procedures: Each institution must have a written policy governing the conduct of student athletes. At a minimum, those policies must include the following: A disclosure statement completed and signed by the student athlete prior to participation in any intercollegiate athletic endeavor, which must include a description of (1) all prior criminal convictions, (2) all prior juvenile dispositions wherein the student was found to have committed an act that would constitute a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult, and (3) all pending criminal charges, including juvenile proceedings alleging any act which would constitute a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult. This statement must be kept in the office of the athletic director.

   Institutions must also require their athletic coaches to hold an annual team meeting with their respective teams at the beginning of each season. The coaches must verbally review the team rules with team members at the meeting. Attendance at this meeting must be mandatory. Each team member must receive a written copy of the team rules and sign a statement acknowledging receipt of the rules and attendance at the meeting where the rules were verbally reviewed.

2. Recruitment: Institutions must not knowingly recruit any person as a player for an intercollegiate athletic team who has been convicted of a felony or, in the case of a juvenile, who has been found to have committed an act which would constitute a felony if committed by an adult. Exemptions to this restriction must be granted only by the institution’s president upon recommendation of the athletic director and faculty athletics representative. Such decisions must be reported in writing to the Executive Director of the State Board of Education at the time the exception is granted.
3. Enrolled Students: A student athlete convicted of a felony after enrollment, including a plea of nolo contendere on a felony charge, must be removed from the team and must not be allowed to participate again in intercollegiate athletics at any Idaho institution. Further, an institution may cancel any athletic financial aid received by a student who is convicted of a felony while the student is receiving athletic financial aid subject to the applicable athletic conference regulations and the institution’s applicable student judicial procedure. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit an institution from exercising disciplinary actions or from implementing student athletic policies or rules that go beyond the minimum requirements stated herein.
4. Drug Testing: Subject to applicable law, all institutions must implement a drug education and testing program and must require all intercollegiate student athletes to give written consent to drug testing as a condition of the privilege of participating in intercollegiate athletics.
5. Reporting: Failure to accurately disclose past and present conduct violations may result in immediate suspension from the team. Each institution is required to include the following elements as part of the reporting process:
   1. Student athletes must immediately report to their head coach any incident which may result in a student code of conduct violation, criminal investigation, or charges as soon as possible after learning of the violation, investigation, or charge.
   2. Coaches must report to the athletic director any knowledge of a student code of conduct violation, criminal charge, or criminal conviction of one or more of their athletes;
   3. The athletic director must report the same to the chief student affairs officer or the chief compliance officer and to the institutional president as soon as possible after learning of the charge or conviction; and
   4. The institutional president must promptly report to the Executive Director of the Board any known or reasonably discovered code of conduct violations, criminal charges, or criminal convictions involving student athletes whose charged conduct poses, in the reasonable and objective discretion of the athletic director and institutional president, a material reputational risk to the institution.

18. Student Conduct, Rights, and Responsibilities

1. Each institution must establish and publish a statement of student rights and a code of student conduct. The code of conduct must include the following:
   1. Procedures for behavioral misconduct and for academic misconduct;
   2. Procedures by which a student charged with violating the code receives reasonable notice of the charge and is given an opportunity to be heard and speak and provide information in his or her defense, and an opportunity to appeal any disciplinary action.
2. Statements of student rights and codes of conduct, as well as any subsequent amendments, are subject to review and approval of the institutional president or designee.
3. Sections 33-3715 and 33-3716, Idaho Code, establish criminal penalties for conduct declared to be unlawful.

19. Student Complaints or Grievances

The State Board of Education and Board of Regents of the University of Idaho, as the governing body of the state’s postsecondary educational institutions, has established the following procedure for review of institutional decisions regarding student complaints or grievances.

1. Scope: Board review is limited to a review of whether the institution substantially failed to follow its procedures or whether the decision was made in error. This review applies to the following areas:
   1. An institution’s final behavioral conduct decision; and
   2. An institution’s final academic conduct decision.

   In rare circumstances, a student may also petition the Board to review an institutional policy the student believes is not aligned with Board policy, provided the alleged policy misalignment directly impacts the student, the student has first raised the concern formally with the institution, and the student has received a written response from the provost or designee.

   The Board does not review other student-related matters, including the outcome of protected class harassment and discrimination complaints and Title IX proceedings.

2. Responsibility: The Board designates its Executive Director as the Board’s representative for reviewing student complaints or grievances and authorizes the Executive Director to issue the decision of the Board after reviewing the complaint or grievance. The Executive Director has discretion to refer any matter to the Board for the final decision.
3. Process: A current or former student at a postsecondary educational institution under the governance of the Board may request that the Executive Director review the behavioral conduct final decision or academic final institutional decision relating to a student’s attendance at the institution. Sanctions imposed by the institution remain in effect during Board review. The following conditions must be met before escalating a complaint or grievance to the board for review:
   1. The student must have reported the complaint or grievance to the institution;
   2. The student must have exhausted the complaint or grievance resolution procedures that have been established at the institution level;
   3. A request for review must be submitted in writing to the Board office to the attention of the Board’s Chief Academic Officer, using a concise format established by the Board’s Executive Director or designee;
   4. Such a request must be received in the Board office no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the student receives the institution’s final decision on a complaint or grievance;
   5. The student has the burden of establishing that the final decision made by the institution was made in error. A request for review must include a copy of the original complaint or grievance and all proposed resolutions and recommended decisions issued by the institution, as well as all other documentation necessary to demonstrate that the student has strictly followed the complaint/grievance resolution procedures of the institution;
   6. Throughout the review process, the institution and/or the student may be asked to respond or provide additional information to the Board office. In such event, the student and/or institution must provide respond within ten institutional business days;
   7. The Chief Academic Officer reviews the materials submitted by all parties and make a determination of recommended action, which is forwarded to the Executive Director for a final determination of the institution’s decision.
   8. The Board’s Executive Director issues a written decision as to whether the institution’s decision was aligned with established institutional policies and processes or was in error. The Executive Director may uphold the institution’s decision, overturn the institution’s decision, or the Executive Director may remand the matter back to the institution with instructions for additional review. Unless referred by the Executive Director to the Board for final decision, the determination of the Executive Director is final; and
   9. The Board staff members do not act as negotiators, mediators, or advocates concerning student complaints or grievances. The review by Board staff occurs as expeditiously as possible.