Practice area
UF Student Conduct Defense
A University of Florida conduct case is separate from criminal court. Juan C. Calama helps students and parents understand both before a response is locked in.
A criminal defense practice, applied to a UF conduct letter
Juan C. Calama has practiced law for more than 20 years. After graduating from the University of Florida College of Law, he spent seven years as a public defender, and in 2013 he moved to private practice. He is admitted to The Florida Bar (2005) and is a member of its Criminal Law Section. Call 352-535-0940 for a free phone consultation.
Awards and honors shown for the firm include the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association.
A University of Florida student who is arrested, questioned, or referred to Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (SCCR) can be looking at a police report and a University file from the same event. The two files do not decide each other.
The University process is UF Regulation 4.040, the Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code. The index at regulations.ufl.edu points to the current text on the Regulation and Policy Hub. The Hub copy reviewed for this page was last amended on December 8, 2023. If the University amends it, that page controls.
Conduct allegations that often travel with a criminal case
Section (4) lists Student Conduct Code violations. A notice may charge more than one. These are the groups that most often arrive with a police investigation.
Alcohol and driving
Section (4)(a) covers underage possession or consumption, furnishing alcohol to someone under 21, certain common-source containers, and defined alcohol abuse. Section (4)(d) separately covers driving under the influence, including impaired driving or an unlawful blood or breath alcohol level. The criminal charge is on the DUI defense page. The University charge is still its own charge.
Drugs
Section (4)(e) covers use, possession, manufacturing, distribution, or sale of a controlled substance, inhaling or ingesting a substance that alters mental state, medication used outside its authorization, someone else’s prescription, and drug paraphernalia. The criminal charge is on the drug offense defense page.
Violence, threats, and disruption
Section (4)(f) covers unwanted physical contact causing injury and other endangering conduct. Section (4)(k) covers harassment by threats, intimidation, or coercion, and it excludes First Amendment conduct. Section (4)(c) covers disruptive conduct, including disorderly conduct and public intoxication that disrupts a University activity. Related criminal accusations are on the violent offense defense page.
Property, off-campus incidents, and alleged crimes
Section (4)(n) includes theft and damage to property. The code is not limited to a residence hall. Section (1)(b) applies it on University-controlled property, at University-sponsored events, and off campus as sections 3 and 4 provide. Section (1)(c) says the University may apply the codes to conduct that may adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of people, property, the University community, or the University’s objectives, wherever the conduct occurs. Section (4)(t) reaches behavior that allegedly violates an ordinance or a law. The regulation uses “allegedly.” A conviction is not an element of that section.
Honor Code matters, stated briefly
Section (3) covers cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and outside-source work, resolved under section (6)(g)(1). Levin College of Law honor cases follow Regulation 4.041, which this page does not describe. Title IX sexual harassment that meets the Gender Equity Policy is handled under that policy. Other alleged sexual misconduct stays in this regulation. Section (14).
How the UF student conduct process works
SCCR describes its work as educational and restorative. The Director or a designee may instead use an educational meeting, conflict resolution, collaborative resolution, or a mutual agreement. Section (6)(e). When the case stays on the formal path, four points matter.
1. Report and notice
Information may arrive as a police report forwarded through the University of Florida Police Department, a written narrative to SCCR or Housing, or a report from the Office of Accessibility and Gender Equity. Section (6)(b). SCCR, Housing, or that office may investigate. Section (6)(d). A Notice of Charges is sent only if the information would let a reasonable hearing body find a violation under the preponderance standard. It names the charges, describes the allegation, points to the student’s rights, and invites an information meeting. Sections (6)(e) and (6)(f).
2. Information meeting
The meeting is with a student conduct administrator and is not a disciplinary proceeding. That term means an administrative review, a collaborative resolution, or a hearing. The student reviews rights, charges, and possible outcomes. A Student Conduct Administrator may adjust or withdraw charges at that meeting, before the student chooses “Responsible” or “Not Responsible.” Section (6)(g). If the student does not attend, the University may pick a hearing body, set a hearing, or place a service indicator that can block registration. Section (6)(f)1.c.
3. Review or hearing
Accepting responsibility when separation is not a potential outcome can lead to an administrative review, with no witnesses called, or to a restorative dialogue if everyone volunteers. Separation means suspension, expulsion, or disaffiliation. A hearing is required for a “Not Responsible” choice and whenever separation is possible, even after an acceptance. The student selects an individual hearing officer or a Student Conduct Committee, or, if separation is possible, a University Officials Board or a Student Conduct Committee. Disagreement in a sexual-misconduct case means a University Officials Board. Sections (5)(a)18 and (6)(g)2. With reasonable efforts, hearing notice goes out seven class days ahead. A student may submit one request to postpone the hearing for up to 30 calendar days if a legal case from the same incident is pending. Sections (6)(f)2 and (5)(a)5.
4. Decision, sanctions, and appeal
Hearings are private and decided by majority vote. The student may decline to answer and may be absent, in which case the decision, including any sanctions, is made on the information available. An individual hearing officer decides the case. A committee or board recommends to the Dean of Students or a designee, who may adopt, change, reject, or return it. The letter includes appeal information. Sections (5)(a)6, (6)(h), and (6)(i). Section (7) includes reprimand, probation, suspension, expulsion, educational conditions, residence-hall removal, and no-contact directives. Section (9) allows a written appeal, within ten class days, of a decision from an administrative review or a hearing. A collaborative resolution may be appealed on the same ground as an administrative review. A conflict-resolution agreement, if one is reached, is final and cannot be appealed. An educational meeting or a mutual agreement is not an appealable decision under section (9).
The criminal case and the University case are not the same case
Section (1)(b) says the conduct process is educational and that the University will address alleged Honor Code or Conduct Code violations independently of any criminal or civil court process. A decision not to file, a dismissal, or a resolution in criminal court does not, under that section, end the University matter.
The standards are different. In a Florida criminal case, the State has to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Regulation 4.040 uses Preponderance of the Information in every case under the regulation: more likely than not, on the information as a whole. The student is presumed not to have committed a violation, the University has the burden, and court rules of evidence do not apply. Sections (2) and (6)(h).
The same report, messages, and video can matter in both files. A false or misleading statement to the University can itself be charged under sections (3)(c), (4)(j), or (4)(p). Sealing or expungement, when Florida law allows it, is a later court process for an eligible criminal-history record. UF keeps its own disciplinary record under section (10). The regulation does not treat a sealing or expungement order as the University’s decision.
How this office approaches the file
The about page says “there is no such thing as a cookie-cutter criminal case” and that “every case requires its own strategy,” including examining the evidence and police reports. A conduct letter gets that reading: the cited section, whether separation is treated as possible, the information the student has a right to see under section (5)(a)8, the advisor notice, and, once a decision letter exists, the section (9) deadline.
What to do after UF makes contact
- Read the letter and write down the meeting date. Missing the information meeting does not stop the process. Section (6)(f)1.c.
- Keep messages, photos, video, and receipts. Do not delete or change them. Distorting information in the process is its own violation. Section (4)(p).
- Be careful with a detailed account. You may decline to answer the hearing body. A false statement to the University can be charged on its own.
- If you want a lawyer or another advisor present, identify that person at least two class days ahead and complete the privacy waiver. The University will not move the meeting to fit the advisor’s calendar.
- Do not treat “Responsible” as a courtesy answer. A Student Conduct Administrator may still adjust or withdraw charges at that meeting, before you choose, and the choice sets the path.
Call 352-535-0940 for a free phone consultation.
Schedule a Free ConsultationQuestions students and parents ask about UF conduct cases
Yes. Section (1)(b) of UF Regulation 4.040 says the University addresses alleged Honor Code or Conduct Code violations independently of any criminal or civil court process. A decision not to file, a dismissal, or another criminal-court result does not by itself close the University case. UF uses Preponderance of the Information: whether the information, as a whole, makes it more likely than not that the charged violation occurred.
Yes. An accused student may choose one advisor, including a lawyer, at the student's own expense. The student must identify that person to the Director of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution or a designee at least two class days ahead and provide the required privacy waiver, or the advisor may be barred. UF will not move a meeting for the advisor's schedule. An advisor may attend meetings and may participate in an administrative review, collaborative resolution, or hearing, but may not testify or attend without the student. A support person may not speak for the student or present the case.
It can. Section (1)(c) says UF may apply the codes to conduct that may adversely affect health, safety, welfare, or the University's objectives, wherever it occurs, including off campus. That is not an automatic violation and not an automatic suspension or expulsion. Those outcomes are sanctions under section (7) only if the student is found responsible.
The regulation does not pick the answer. The student may choose Responsible or Not Responsible after reviewing the rights, the charges, and the possible outcomes. A Student Conduct Administrator may adjust or withdraw charges at that meeting, before the student chooses. Accepting responsibility when separation is not a possible outcome can lead to an administrative review. A Not Responsible choice, or any case in which separation is possible, requires a hearing. Review the notice and any related legal case before choosing.
A decision from an administrative review or a hearing may be appealed in writing within ten class days of the decision letter. A class day is a weekday when UF is holding classes, not a holiday or break. An administrative-review appeal is limited to whether the sanctions were appropriate given prior Conduct Code violations and mitigating circumstances. A hearing appeal is limited to a rights violation that materially affected the outcome, new relevant information unknown at the hearing, or sanctions that were not appropriate given prior misconduct and mitigating circumstances. The Appeal Authority's decision is the University's final decision. Classes generally continue unless an interim restriction applies or the sanction is separation, in which case privileges may be revoked immediately, even during an appeal. A collaborative resolution may be appealed on the same ground as an administrative review. A conflict-resolution agreement, if one is reached, is final and cannot be appealed. An educational meeting or a mutual agreement is not an appealable decision under section (9).
UF Regulation 4.040 calls it Preponderance of the Information: the information presented by the University, as a whole, supports a finding that it is more likely than not that the charged violation occurred. Some of that information must be of a kind that would not be inadmissible hearsay in court. The student is presumed not to have committed a violation, and the University has the burden. Formal rules of evidence do not apply. In a criminal case, the State must prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Yes, under section (11). The Dean of Students or a designee may impose a no-contact directive, a limited access or activity directive, or an interim suspension after assessing safety. Otherwise an accused student's University status stays the same until the outcome. A limited-access directive or an interim suspension may be taken to the Vice President for Student Life or a designee within three class days. If the sanction itself is separation, class attendance and other privileges may be revoked immediately even while an appeal is pending.
No. Sealing and expungement, when Florida law allows them, are court processes for an eligible criminal-history record. UF keeps conduct records under section (10). After any required privacy waiver, the Dean of Students or a designee releases those records to another school, a graduate program, an employer, or a similar requester when the sanction was deferred suspension, suspension, or expulsion, or when an interim restriction is in place, and when the law otherwise requires release. The two records are decided separately.
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