UI president, regent back use of student conduct code

IOWA CITY -- University of Iowa President Sally Mason and a member of the state Board of Regents said they support the process by which the university investigates and determines if a student has violated the Code of Student Life or the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct.

The university should not do anything to suggest it is giving special treatment to a student-athlete, Regent Bob Downer, an Iowa City attorney, said. But Downer said nothing he has read about the December suspension of star running back Marcus Coker suggests impropriety on the university's part.

"I have not seen anything in that regard that causes me to believe there was anything inappropriate, insofar as the timing," Downer said. "I have confidence, in the way that this has come out, that it's been handled appropriately."

The UI on Dec. 20 announced Coker's suspension from the Insight Bowl for a violation of the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct. On Tuesday, Coker asked for and was granted his release from the UI. Also Tuesday, Coker was named as a subject in a Iowa City Police Department investigation of an assault that occurred Oct. 28, though no charges were filed. A woman who accused Coker of sexual assault later said she didn't want to press charges, police and Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said this week. Police said they told UI officials about their investigation within days of the Oct. 28 report.

UI officials, citing federal student privacy laws, have declined to say if the police investigation and Coker's game suspension were related. They say those laws also prevent them from discussing the specific process details of Coker's suspension.

But in general, a student accused of a crime or under investigation for criminal activity would go through a process handled by the Dean of Students office to determine any Code of Student Life violations, UI officials said.

The Code of Student Life applies to all UI students. The Student-Athlete Code of Conduct goes above and beyond that in governing athletes, officials said. The athletics department has higher standards for student-athletes and can impose sanctions such as game suspensions, UI Spokesman Tom Moore said, so the department is kept informed of investigations by the dean of students regarding student-athletes.

"The UI has very high standards of conduct and behavior to which we expect all University of Iowa students to adhere, which is the reason why we have a prescribed Code of Student Life. The privilege of representing the university as a member of an athletic team carries additional responsibilities that are best defined and administered by the athletic department and individual coaches," Moore said via email. "President Mason supports that structure and the integrity by which it is administered."

The UI Dean of Students office is the only office on campus that investigates alleged Code of Student Life violations, Moore said in an email, and student-athletes are treated in the same way as other students.

The athletic department or the Dean of Students office may impose sanctions "any time sufficient and credible evidence is received," he said.

The athletics department resolves cases covered by the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct, because some violations of that code may not necessarily involve a violation of the UI Code of Student Life, such as missing team curfew before a game, Dean of Students David Grady said.

In some cases, students can continue to be involved in campus activities, including athletics, while the internal UI process is playing out, though interim sanctions can be imposed at any time, Grady said.

The mere fact that there is a police investigation would not necessarily automatically trigger a UI investigation, Grady said. The real question is: do the underlying facts indicate a possible violation of the Code of Student Life.

"It's possible that a violation of UI policies could have occurred even if no criminal charges are filed," Grady said in an email.

The timeline of a UI investigation depends on the complexity of the allegations and the availability of information and witnesses, Grady said, but every effort is made to complete an investigation within 60 days.

According to UI policy, university proceedings may occur before, during or after the criminal court process, though the dean of students may elect to delay the resolution of a complaint if criminal charges are pending. In sexual misconduct complaints, the administrative complaint investigation will not be delayed except in extraordinary circumstances, the UI policy states.