Policies and procedures
Referrals and reporting
Young Harris College is dedicated to supporting students from the moment they tour campus to the day they walk across the stage at graduation. The below Referral and Reporting options are meant for students, faculty and staff to use to report concerns associated with YHC.
Please be aware that these forms are not to be used during an emergency. If this is an emergency, please call 911.
Online referrals may be made through the following links:
Incident Report form: This form is used to report incidents which occurred on campus or suspected violations of the Student Code of Conduct (PDF).
Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) Referral form: This form is for faculty, staff and students to voluntary report students who are experiencing crisis, displaying odd or unusual behaviors, or engaging in other behaviors that may be perceived as being harmful to themselves and/or others.
Sexual Misconduct Reporting form: This form is to be used for reporting information necessary to initiate an investigation of alleged Sexual Misconduct pursuant to the Sexual Misconduct Policy.
Academic Intervention form: This form is for faculty and staff to report students who are experiencing academic concerns.
Honor Code Violation form: This form is for faculty to report students who have allegedly violated the Honor Code.
General Student Complaint form: The General Student Complaint Policy is for complaints not covered by another institutional policy and process. All students have the right and the responsibility to address an issue that is unjust, causes harm or creates the potential of harm. The process for addressing a General Student Complaint is outlined within the Guide to Student Life (PDF).
Young Harris students who have exhausted the complaint process offered by the College may file a complaint with the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission. Further information on the Commission’s Complaint Procedure may be found through this link for GA residents or this link for online students that are not GA residents.
Traffic Appeal form: This form is for students, faculty, and staff to Appeal any traffic or parking violation they received from Campus Police.
Work Order Submission form: This form is for students to submit any maintenance concerns they are experiencing within their residence hall room assignment.
Honor Code
The Young Harris College Honor Code is an essential way to reach the college’s goals of academic excellence, personal growth for each student and a community life based on high moral standards, trust and mutual respect.
The Honor Council is a council that is charged with overseeing the continued development of the Honor Code to meet new moral and ethical challenges, promote honor and integrity campus-wide, and provide members to serve on appeals boards in cases where the code has been violated.
The Honor Council is comprised of a Chairperson, a Faculty Jury Pool, and a Student Jury Pool.
Substantive change policy
- Any change in the established mission or objectives of the institution
- Any change in legal status, form of control, or ownership of the institution
- The addition of courses or programs that represent a significant departure, either in content or method of delivery, from those that were offered when the institution was last evaluated
- The addition of courses or programs of study at a degree or credential level different from that which is included in the institution’s current accreditation or reaffirmation.
- A change from clock hours to credit hours
- A substantial increase in the number of clock or credit hours awarded for successful completion of a program
- The establishment of an additional location geographically apart from the main campus at which the institution offers at least 50% of an educational program.
- The establishment of a branch campus
- Closing a program, off-campus site, branch campus or institution
- Entering into a collaborative academic arrangement that includes only the initiation of a dual or joint academic program with another institution
- Acquiring another institution or a program or location of another institution
- Adding a permanent location at a site where the institution is conducting a teach-out program for a closed institution
- Entering into a contract by which an entity not eligible for Title IV funding offers 25% or more of one or more of the accredited institution’s programs
- Procedure One: SACSCOC procedure for a substantive change requiring SACSCOC notification and approval prior to implementation. Such changes require notification, a prospectus or application, and may involve an on-site visit.
- Procedure Two: SACSCOC procedure for a substantive change that requires only notification prior to implementation.
- Procedure Three: SACSCOC procedure for closing a program, instructional site, branch campus or an institution.
Hazing policy
Young Harris College upholds the position on hazing adopted by the Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA) and Fraternal Information and Programming Group (FIPG). However, for brevity the following policy should be the guideline used by all student organizations. Enforcement of this policy comes under the jurisdiction of the Vice President for Student Development or a designee. In this regard, the College defines hazing as follows:
Any activity or situation, intentionally or unintentionally created, with or without consent, whether on or off the organization’s premises, which endangers the mental or physical health of participants; which provides physical discomfort; which subjects the individual to embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule; which creates excessive fatigue, physical, or psychological shocks to the individual; which requires participation by the individual in quests, treasure/scavenger hunts, stunts, morally degrading or humiliating games and activities, road trips or any other such activities; which requires late or early work sessions or any activity which is not consistent with the academic achievement, laws, rituals, and/or policies of the organization or the regulations and policies of the College or applicable state law.
Any individual member or members of the organization participating in hazing activities will forfeit the organization’s campus privileges, including its right to license or exist on campus.
Examples of hazing activities and conduct:
- Actions that recklessly or intentionally endanger the physical and mental health or safety of students;
- Forced or required consumption of any food, drug, or any other substance;
- Forced or required participation in physical activities, such as calisthenics, exercises, or so-called games;
- Exposure to the weather;
- Excessive fatigue resulting from sleep deprivation, physical activities, or exercises;
- Assignment of activities that would be illegal or unlawful, or might be morally offensive to the individual;
- Physical brutality, including paddling, striking with fists, open hands, or objects, and branding;
- Kidnapping, transporting, or stranding of individuals (“road trips”);
- Verbal abuse including “line-ups” and berating of individuals;
- Forced or required conduct that could embarrass or adversely affect the dignity of the individual, including the wearing of apparel that is conspicuous or extraordinary, or the performance of public stunts and activities;
- Forced servitude including errands and clean-up activities;
- The intentional creation of clean-up work or labor for new members by active members or alumni;
- Denial of sufficient time to study;
- Nudity or lewd behavior;
- Any activity, ceremony, or ritual using live animals;
- Any other activities not consistent with the philosophy and policies of the College.
State of Georgia hazing law — OCGA16-5-61
As used in this Code section, the term:
- “Haze” means to subject a student to an activity which endangers or is likely to endanger the physical health of a student, regardless of a student’s willingness to participate in such activity.
- “School” means any school, college, or university in this state.
- “School organization” means any club, society, fraternity, sorority, or a group living together which has students as its principal members.
- “Student” means any person enrolled in a school in this state.
- It shall be unlawful for any person to haze any student in connection with or as a condition or precondition of gaining acceptance, membership, office, or other status in a school organization.
- Any person who violates this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
Is it hazing? 5 questions to ask
- Will active/current members of the organization refuse to participate with the new members and do exactly what they’re being asked to do?
- Is there risk of injury or a question of safety?
- Would you object if the activity were featured in the newspaper or on a local TV news program?
- Would you have any reservation about describing and justifying the activity to your parents, to a professor, or to the President of the College?
- Would you have any reservations informing the Office of Campus Activities what you are doing?
If the answer to any one of these simple questions is “yes,” the activity is probably hazing. You should be proud of all the activities you ask your new members to do.
State Authorization for Distance Learning
All U.S. States require post-secondary educational institutions to be legally authorized to provide post-secondary educational instruction in their states. Many of these state laws and regulations also apply to online, distance and correspondence educational instruction offered in that state. As such, Young Harris College and its online/distance educations programs must be authorized in certain states prior to offering those courses or programs to students residing in those states.
State of Georgia
Young Harris College is authorized to operate as a Georgia non-profit corporation, per the restated articles of incorporation dated November 11, 2011.
Other States
Institutions offering postsecondary education through distance (online) education to students in a state in which it is not physically located must meet that state’s requirements to legally offer postsecondary distance education to students in that state.
Young Harris College has been approved by Georgia to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements. NC-SARA is a voluntary, regional approach to state oversight of postsecondary distance education
At the present time, students living within the State of Georgia, within a NC-SARA participating state, or outside the United States at the time of a scheduled course are eligible to take online courses through Young Harris College.
