Rights and Responsibilities of the Northwestern Community
Statement of Community Values*
Northwestern is a place where faculty, staff, and students engage in COLLABORATION, partnering to achieve success together.
- Disagreement and conflict are acknowledged in respectful discourse.
- Listening to and incorporating diverse perspectives allow us to achieve better outcomes.
- Partnering with others expands the reach of our success.
Northwestern University is a place where we learn through DISCOVERY, growing ourselves as we seek to enrich our community.
- Commitment to truth and knowledge is unwavering.
- Lifelong learning is expected.
Northwestern is a community where we embrace our DIVERSITY, affirming identity and fostering inclusion.
- Individual differences and unique perspectives are respected.
- Our common humanity is the basis for community relations.
- Unique cultural and ceremonial practices are affirmed.
- Inclusion is the foundation for decisions.
Northwestern University is a place where we connect with EMPATHY, building trust and respect for each other.
- Social responsibility and an ethic of care to others are extended to all members of the community.
- Accurate self-awareness is the foundation for empathy, compassion, and understanding others.
- Emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being is cultivated in academic and extracurricular life.
Northwestern is a community where we strive for EXCELLENCE, instilling rigor and a sense of pride.
- Missteps provide important feedback for innovation.
- Disciplined habits we build in small things lead us to excellence in our larger goals.
- Celebrating our accomplishments and resilience provides fuel for future endeavors.
Northwestern University is a community where we act with STEWARDSHIP, creating a better University for the future.
- Integrity, honesty, and accountability are expected.
- Pride and accountability for our past, reflection on our current
endeavors, and visionary thinking helps us build a better Northwestern.
*Northwestern’s six Community Values were developed by a committee representing students, faculty, and staff. The committee was co-led by senior level administrators from the Office of the Provost, Student Affairs, and HR, and included student representatives from the Associated Student Government (ASG) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA). Between 2018-2019, the committee worked to identify the values that define the strengths and aspirations of our community, and today these values underlie multiple facets of University life and the student experience.
The Student Handbook contains the standards for behavior and conduct in the Northwestern community. It includes Academic Conduct Policies, Student Code of Conduct, Office of Civil Rights & Title IX Policies, University Housing Policies, and other University policies and resources. Its companion, The Student Handbook Appendix: University Hearing and Appeals System, outlines the procedures that are followed when these standards are not met. Students should read and familiarize themselves with both documents, including the rights and responsibilities outlined below.
STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Northwestern University does not discriminate or permit discrimination by any member of its community against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ethnicity, caste, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, marital status, age, disability, citizenship status, veteran status, genetic information, reproductive health decision making, height, weight, or any other classification protected by law in matters of admissions, employment, housing or services or in the educational programs or activities it operates. Northwestern’s notice on non-discrimination can be read in full here: https://www.northwestern.edu/civil-rights-office/about/ statements/non-discrimination-statement.html.
- Student records may be released to persons outside the University only on request of the student or through compliance with applicable University policies and laws.
- Students have a right to be secure in their possessions subject to law and University policy.
- Student publications are free from any official action controlling editorial policy. Publications shall not bear the name of the University or purport to issue from it without University approval.
- Subject to University policy and applicable law, students are free to form, join, and participate in any group for intellectual, religious, social, economic, political, or cultural purposes.
- A student is free, individually or in association with other individuals, to engage in all campus activities, provided they do not in any way purport to represent the University and comply with applicable laws and University policies, including but not limited to time, place, and manner restrictions imposed by the University.
- Students are free to use campus facilities for meetings of registered student organizations, subject to University policies, including reservation and other time, place, and manner policies governing the space or facility.
- Subject to University policy and applicable law, students may invite and hear speakers of their choice on subjects of their choice, and approval will not be withheld by University officers for the purpose of censorship.
- Subject to University policy and applicable law, students are free to assemble, to demonstrate, to express their views, and to protest, recognizing that freedom requires order, discipline, and responsibility and further recognizing the right of all faculty and students to pursue their legitimate goals without interference.
- Students will be exempt from disciplinary action or dismissal from the University except for academic failure, failure to pay a University debt, or violation of law or University policy. Policies shall be fully and clearly communicated in advance of the alleged violation. A student is subject to local, state, and federal statutes.
- Every member of the Northwestern community has the responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner that does not violate the rights and freedoms of others.