Florida University Student Conduct Hearings: How FAU, FIU, the University of Miami and Nova Southeastern Handle Misconduct Charges

A student conduct hearing at a Florida university is an internal disciplinary process, separate from any criminal case, that decides whether a student violated the school's code and what sanction applies, up to suspension or expulsion. Public universities such as FAU and FIU must follow Florida Statute 1006.60, which guarantees written notice at least 7 business days before a proceeding, a presumption that no violation occurred, the right to remain silent, and an advisor or lawyer who can participate. Private schools such as the University of Miami and Nova Southeastern set their own rules, and both bar attorneys from participating in ordinary conduct cases. Appeal deadlines range from 3 to 7 business days, so students must act quickly.

Key Takeaways

• Every student code lives in a specific document: FAU Regulation 4.007, FIU Regulation 2501, the University of Miami Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, and the NSU Student Handbook.
• All four schools can impose an interim suspension or no-contact directive before any finding, and each has a short window to challenge it.
• At FAU and FIU, an advisor or attorney may directly participate. At UM and NSU, advisors generally must be from the university community and may not speak for the student.
• None of the four schools waits for a criminal case to finish, and statements made in a conduct process can reach prosecutors.
• Since the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act, schools publicly report hazing findings against recognized student organizations, and hazing statistics appear in annual security reports starting October 1, 2026.

Public vs. Private: Why the School Matters

The single biggest factor in a South Florida conduct case is whether the school is public or private.

Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Florida International University in Miami are state universities. Under Florida Statute 1006.60, each state university must adopt its code of conduct by regulation, publish it online, and provide minimum due process protections. Those include timely written notice, a presumption that no violation occurred with the burden on the university to prove a violation by a preponderance of the evidence, an impartial hearing officer, the right to remain silent without that silence being used against the student, the right to present information and question witnesses, an advisor or legal representative who may directly participate, an appeal to a senior administrator, and a complete record of the proceeding.

The University of Miami in Coral Gables and Nova Southeastern University in Davie are private. Section 1006.60 applies to Florida College System institutions and state universities, so private schools write their own procedures. Students there are bound by the handbook they accepted on enrollment, and the protections are narrower in several important ways.

Where Each School's Student Code of Conduct Lives

Before anything else, download the current version of the code that applies to you. Schools amend these documents often, and the version in effect at the time of the incident usually governs.

• FAU: Governing document: Regulation 4.007, Student Code of Conduct; Administered by: Dean of Students, Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution; Last revised (as published): September 9, 2025.
• FIU: Governing document: Regulation FIU-2501, Student Conduct and Honor Code; Administered by: Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity; Last revised (as published): June 16, 2025.
• University of Miami: Governing document: Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook; Administered by: Dean of Students Office; Last revised (as published): Updated on the university's policy portal in 2026.
• Nova Southeastern: Governing document: Student Handbook 2025-2026, Code of Student Conduct and Academic Responsibility; Administered by: Dean of Students; Last revised (as published): 2025-2026 academic year.

The official documents are posted by each school: FAU Regulation 4.007, FIU Regulation 2501, the University of Miami Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, and the NSU Student Handbook.

Off-Campus Conduct Counts

All four codes reach beyond campus. FAU's regulation covers off-campus conduct in defined circumstances, including conduct that is prohibited by law. FIU's code applies regardless of geographic or electronic location. UM's handbook governs behavior on campus or anywhere off campus, and NSU's code applies whether conduct occurs on or off campus. An arrest at a Fort Lauderdale bar or a fight at an off-campus apartment in Boca Raton can open a university case.

Interim Suspensions and No-Contact Orders

Schools can act before they decide anything. These interim measures often cause the most immediate damage, because a student can lose housing, classes, and campus access in a single email.

FAU

FAU's Dean of Students can impose emergency measures when a student poses a danger of imminent or serious physical harm or an emergency affects health, safety, or welfare. Options include interim suspension, interim removal from housing, and restrictions on contact with specific people. The student must receive written notice and the reasons. If the student is later found not responsible, FAU must correct the enrollment record and, if the suspension lasted more than 10 business days, refund a pro rata share of tuition and out-of-state fees.

FIU

FIU can issue a no-contact directive or a restriction of privileges in cases involving hazing, personal abuse, retaliation, stalking, or similar behavior. An interim suspension is imposed when the health, safety, or welfare of the community is in danger, and the code lists examples such as physical assault, hazing, firearm possession, and illegal drug possession. The student may petition the Student Conduct Committee in writing for review, and the committee typically meets within five business days.

University of Miami

At UM, the Provost or a designee may place a student on Temporary Suspension for a threat of harm, a threat to property, or disruption of university operations. A temporary suspension is indefinite. Within 24 hours of the notice, excluding weekends and holidays, the student may request that the underlying conduct be investigated and adjudicated. If the student does not ask in time, the suspension can continue indefinitely. UM also issues administrative no-contact orders, which apply to both students no matter who requested them.

Nova Southeastern

NSU's Senior Director of Public Safety can impose interim measures, including no-contact orders, trespass directives, interim residential or academic separation, and interim suspension. A student may request a meeting with the threat assessment team within five business days to challenge the measures. NSU warns that violating an interim directive can lead to additional charges, up to immediate expulsion.

What to Do in the First 24 Hours

1. Read the notice twice and calendar every deadline, counting business days carefully.
2. Follow the interim directive exactly, including no indirect contact through friends or social media.
3. Submit any written request for review on time, even if you are still gathering information.
4. Preserve texts, photos, ride receipts, and location data before they are deleted or overwritten.

Your Rights at a Conduct Hearing (Advisor, Evidence, Appeal)

The rights available at the hearing table differ more than most students expect.

• Advisor of choice: FAU: Yes, at the student's expense; may directly participate and question witnesses; FIU: Yes, at the student's expense; may participate in all aspects but not testify; University of Miami: Must be full-time UM staff, faculty, or student; may not speak for the student; Nova Southeastern: Generally must be full-time NSU staff or faculty; may not speak for the student.
• Attorney participation: FAU: Permitted as advisor; FIU: Permitted as advisor; University of Miami: Not permitted in ordinary conduct cases; Nova Southeastern: Not permitted in ordinary conduct cases.
• Standard of proof: FAU: Preponderance of the evidence; FIU: Preponderance of the evidence; University of Miami: Preponderance of the evidence; Nova Southeastern: Preponderance of the evidence.
• Right to remain silent: FAU: Yes, and silence may not be used against the student; FIU: Yes, under section 1006.60; University of Miami: May abstain, but the case proceeds; Nova Southeastern: May abstain, but the case proceeds.
• Appeal deadline: FAU: 5 business days; FIU: By 5:00 p.m. on the 7th business day; University of Miami: 3 business days; Nova Southeastern: 5 business days.

Notice and Evidence

At FAU, a respondent is entitled to a Student Conduct Conference no sooner than 7 business days after the notice of charges and a hearing no sooner than 7 business days after the notice of hearing, and may review the information to be presented at least 5 business days before the hearing. Those time frames mirror section 1006.60, which also requires public universities to provide a list of known witnesses and all known inculpatory and exculpatory information at least 5 business days before the proceeding.

At UM, the student receives a Notice to Appear and meets with a Student Conduct Officer, who investigates and decides the case. At NSU, the student must contact the Dean of Students within five business days of the notice to schedule a conference or proceeding, and may submit additional information for up to 48 hours after it concludes.

Sexual Misconduct Cases Follow Different Rules

Title IX sexual harassment cases run under separate procedures at each school, and federal rules for colleges require a live hearing where each party's advisor conducts cross-examination. That is why UM's Title IX procedures allow an advisor of the student's choice who may conduct cross-examination at the hearing, and why NSU's handbook allows an advisor of the student's choosing when the student is accused of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking, with Title IX matters handled under its separate sexual misconduct procedures. Our article on Title IX investigations and criminal sex crime charges explains how those cases differ.

When Conduct Charges Overlap With Criminal Charges

Many conduct cases begin with a police report. When the same incident is also a crime, the student is fighting on two fronts with different rules.

None of These Schools Waits

• FAU states that a student who allegedly violates both criminal law and the code may face university proceedings without regard to pending civil or criminal litigation, and the school is not required to postpone.
• FIU addresses alleged violations independently of any criminal proceeding and regardless of whether charges are dismissed or reduced, although it may delay at the request of law enforcement or a prosecutor.
• UM may use reports from law enforcement agencies, but information about prosecutorial decisions is not considered. A dropped charge does not end the UM case.
• NSU requires students to disclose arrests, convictions, and pending criminal charges, and failure to disclose is itself a code violation.

Statements Travel

A conduct hearing is not confidential from prosecutors. Federal privacy rules allow schools to release education records to comply with a lawfully issued subpoena, and what a student says to a conduct officer may be offered as evidence in criminal court. At a public university, the right to remain silent under section 1006.60 protects the student from having silence used against them in the conduct case. At UM and NSU, a student may decline to speak, but the officer can still decide the case on the available evidence.

Choosing whether to speak, what to submit, and when is a strategic decision that should be made with a criminal defense lawyer, ideally before the first meeting. Our article on why you need a lawyer even when you are only under investigation covers that early window.

Common Overlapping Charges

• Underage possession of alcohol and fake identification.
• Drug possession in residence halls.
• Battery and disorderly conduct after off-campus parties.
• Theft and criminal mischief.
• Hazing, which is a third-degree felony under Florida Statute 1006.63 if it results in serious bodily injury, permanent injury, or death, and a first-degree misdemeanor if it creates a substantial risk of physical injury or death.

Florida's hazing statute also says consent of the victim is not a defense. Under the provision known as Andrew's Law, a person who is the first to call 911 or campus security for someone who needs immediate medical help, gives their name and location, and stays to cooperate cannot be prosecuted for hazing.

Hazing Findings Now Published Under the Federal Stop Campus Hazing Act

The Stop Campus Hazing Act, Public Law 118-173, was signed on December 23, 2024. It amends the federal Clery Act and applies to every college that participates in federal student aid programs, which includes all four schools discussed here.

What the Law Requires

1. A Campus Hazing Transparency Report. Beginning July 1, 2025, schools must collect information on hazing incidents. Within 12 months of enactment, meaning by December 23, 2025, each school had to post a public Campus Hazing Transparency Report summarizing findings that a recognized student organization violated the school's hazing standards. The report must be updated at least twice a year and kept for five calendar years.
2. What the report shows. Each entry must include the name of the student organization, a general description of the violation and sanctions, whether alcohol or drugs were involved, and the dates of the incident, the investigation, the finding, and the notice to the organization. Personally identifiable information about individual students may not be included.
3. Hazing statistics in the annual security report. The law adds hazing incidents reported to campus security authorities or local police to the crime statistics in each school's annual security report, starting with the report for the calendar year two years after enactment. Federal regulations require that report to be distributed by October 1 of each year, which makes October 1, 2026 the first annual security report deadline that includes hazing statistics.

FAU's Report

FAU already publishes its Campus Hazing Transparency Report on its Dean of Students website, with updates posted several times since June 2025 and the latest edit dated August 12, 2026. For January 1 to June 30, 2026, FAU reported no recognized student organizations found responsible for hazing. The page also lists an earlier case and posts "mutual agreements" with organizations that resolved hazing allegations through an alternative process.

Why This Matters to Students

A public finding names the organization, not the individual student. But an individual student whose conduct leads to an organizational finding still faces personal charges under the code and possibly under section 1006.63. Organizational resolutions, including alternative agreements, can create a public record that prosecutors and reporters read.

Appealing a Suspension or Expulsion

Appeals are narrow and fast. Missing the deadline usually ends the case.

Grounds and Timing at Each School

• FAU: Appeals go to the Vice President in writing within 5 business days of the Notice of Decision and Sanction. Grounds are a failure of minimum process or procedural irregularity that affected the outcome, severity of the sanction, new evidence not reasonably available before, and conflict of interest or bias. The student's status generally stays the same during the appeal unless safety is involved. The Vice President's decision is final, and the student may then seek review in an external judicial forum.
• FIU: The appeal form must reach the Chief Student Affairs Officer by 5:00 p.m. on the seventh business day after the decision letter is delivered. Grounds are a rights or procedural violation that substantially affected the outcome, new information, or a disproportionate sanction. Appeals are a document review, not a new hearing, and a written decision is due within 21 business days. The appellate decision is final agency action, with notice of the right to an external judicial forum for suspensions and expulsions.
• University of Miami: Appeals must be emailed within 3 business days of receiving the sanctioning decision, to the Dean of Students for University Level cases and to the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs for Major Level cases. Grounds are new evidence, a procedural error that is more than insignificant, or an excessive sanction. Only one appeal per case is considered, and suspensions or expulsions may be made retroactive to the date of the incident.
• Nova Southeastern: Appeals must be filed in writing within five business days of the written disposition, based on new evidence, a procedural deviation that would substantially alter the outcome, or a sanction that does not fit the violation. After an administrative judicial proceeding, the Vice President for Student Affairs issues a written decision within 30 calendar days.

Writing an Effective Appeal

1. Identify the exact ground you are relying on and quote the code language.
2. Point to the record: missing notice, an evidence file you never saw, a witness you were not allowed to question.
3. Attach new evidence with an explanation of why it was not available earlier.
4. Keep the tone professional. Appeal officers read for process errors, not frustration.
5. Do not include admissions that could be used in a pending criminal case.

Example Scenarios

These hypothetical examples show how the school, the deadlines, and the criminal case interact.

An FAU Sophomore Arrested After an Off-Campus Party

A student is arrested for battery at a Boca Raton apartment. FAU receives the police report and issues a notice of charges. Because FAU is public, the student is entitled to 7 business days' notice, the evidence 5 business days before the hearing, the right to remain silent, and an attorney who can question witnesses. The criminal lawyer and the conduct strategy must be aligned so that nothing said at FAU undermines the battery defense in Palm Beach County court.

A UM First-Year Placed on Temporary Suspension

A University of Miami student receives a Temporary Suspension notice on a Thursday afternoon. The 24-hour clock to request an investigation excludes the weekend, but it is still short. The student's advisor must be a full-time UM staff member, faculty member, or student, so an outside lawyer works behind the scenes, preparing the student and drafting written submissions.

An NSU Student Facing a Pending Charge

An NSU student is charged with drug possession in Broward County and does not tell the university. When NSU learns of it, the student faces a separate charge for failing to disclose. Prompt, carefully worded disclosure, prepared with counsel, would have avoided the second problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bring a lawyer to my student conduct hearing in Florida?

At FAU and FIU, yes. Section 1006.60 gives students at public universities the right to an advisor or legal representative who may directly participate. At UM and NSU, attorneys are not permitted to participate in ordinary conduct proceedings, though a lawyer can still advise you outside the room. Different rules apply to Title IX cases.

Will a conduct finding show up on my criminal record?

No. A conduct finding is an education record, not a criminal conviction. It can still affect transfers, graduate school applications, professional licensing, and financial aid.

Does a dismissed criminal charge end the university case?

No. Each of these schools proceeds independently. UM's handbook says prosecutorial decisions are not considered at all.

Can parents attend?

At UM and NSU, parents are not permitted to participate in or observe ordinary conduct proceedings. At public universities, a parent may receive notice if the student is under 18, and the student may choose an advisor.

How long does the process take?

It varies by case type, but deadlines inside the process are measured in business days. Interim suspension challenges and appeals can expire within 24 hours to a week.

Protecting Your Education and Your Record

A university conduct case can move faster than any courtroom and carry consequences that last as long as a conviction. Knowing which code applies, which rights you actually have, and how your words could be used in a criminal case is the difference between reacting and planning.

Rossen Law Firm was founded by Adam Rossen, a former Broward County prosecutor, and our team defends college and university students throughout South Florida. We coordinate criminal defense with conduct strategy so students can protect both their record and their degree, and we do it without judgment. Whether you attend FAU, FIU, the University of Miami, or Nova Southeastern, our Boca Raton student defense lawyers, Fort Lauderdale student defense lawyers, and Kendall student defense lawyers can help you prepare. We offer a free, confidential strategy session and answer 24/7.