The college maintains a drug-free educational environment and requires all students to remain free of the unlawful and/or inappropriate use of controlled or illegal substances while enrolled as a student. Students will be held accountable for consuming illegal substances, regardless of state/local laws in the location where the substance was ingested. A student is subject to testing to show proof of a physical condition free from the unlawful and/or inappropriate use of controlled or illegal substances or the use of prescription medication for which the student does not have a valid prescription or which a student is using in a manner inconsistent with a physician's directions. Drug testing (at the college's expense) will be required whenever the dean of students, or his/her designee, suspect or have reason to believe that a student might be engaging in the unlawful and/or inappropriate use of a controlled or illegal substance, or the inappropriate use or abuse of a prescription medication, whether on or off campus.
Reasonable grounds for requiring a student to submit to a drug test may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Incoherent communication or inexplicable behavior
- A pattern of tardiness and/or absenteeism from class
- Suspicious odors on person, clothing, and/or other property
- Sudden, inexplicable decline in academic performance
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
- Prior positive drug test results
- Arrest, citation, or conviction for a substance-related offense by college or public law enforcement authorities
- Observation of substance use or physical symptoms or manifestations of impairment, incoherency, or erratic, inexplicable conduct
- A report of substance abuse or use provided by a reliable and credible source
A student who refuses to submit to a request for drug testing from an authorized college official, refuses to authorize the release of test results to the college, or tampers with a drug test sample will be disciplined up to and including dismissal from the college. A positive drug test that confirms that a student has engaged in the unlawful or inappropriate use and/or abuse of controlled or illegal substances, or inappropriate use or abuse of a prescription medication, whether on or off campus, will result in disciplinary action including, but not limited to, suspension or dismissal from the college.
Drug testing will be conducted at a lab selected by the college and certified to conduct drug testing.