Carnegie Mellon University

The Word

Student Handbook

Community Standards Records Retention and Reporting

Records of community standards proceedings are confidential and are not released without the consent of the current/former student or as otherwise required or authorized by law or court order. With the exceptions as noted below, records of community standards proceedings are retained for either the period of time required under the federal Clery Act (which in most cases is six to seven years after the date the incident was reported to the university), or three years after final separation of the student from the university, whichever is longer. For purposes of determining final separation from the university, a student must be separated for three continuous years. If a student re-enrolls in any student program within three years, the calculation of the final separation date will reset.

Consistent with the Student Privacy Rights Policy, for purposes of community standards record checks, information from these records is only provided, with appropriate authorization as necessary, for three years after final separation from the university (as defined above) provided the student has fulfilled all obligations to the university.

The file may be maintained indefinitely and reported longer than three years after the student separates from the university if a student has not fulfilled all obligations or has not resolved a pending Community Standards violation.

Records of community standards proceedings resulting in the permanent separation of a student from the university (e.g., expulsion) will be maintained and reported indefinitely.

Case-specific questions regarding timeframes for community standards record retention and reporting can be directed to the Office of Community Standards & Integrity.

Back to Community Standards and Procedures