The Committee on Student Life (CSL) unanimously voted at the end of last month to eliminate record of Disciplinary Probation II (Pro II) after a student's term of probation is complete.
Pro II previously remained on students' transcripts throughout their four years at Tufts.
Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman originally suggested the change because keeping an offense on a student's transcript for years is not fair or in line with what other universities do, he said.
"I made the proposal to CSL to change the definition after research with other schools indicated that our policy was unusual," he told the Daily in an email.
Under the old system, students on Pro II as early as their freshman fall would have that demarcation on their transcripts when applying for entry-level jobs and graduate schools during their senior year, CSL Student Chair Brian Yi said.
"We wanted to look out for fellow Tufts students," Yi, a sophomore, said. "I think that most Tufts students share ambitions of either doing work that they're interested in after graduation or going to graduate school. We thought by implementing this new policy so they can find employment or go to graduate school and be successful in their endeavors."
The new system not only affects future disciplinary probations but also benefits alumni who were put on Pro II under the old system, according to Jamie Kirsch, director of choral activities and faculty chair of CSL.
"We're making it retroactive," he said. "The policy that was here while [alumni] were here maybe was unnecessarily harsh. We hope this alleviates some pressure for students who are in a difficult job market or applying to grad schools."
Tufts Community Union (TCU) Judiciary has the latitude to determine the length of a student's probation and how long it will be noted on the student's transcript, Kirsch said. The rest of the Pro II process will remain the same and retain its disciplinary value.
"We stand by Pro II," he said. "We're not trying to give anybody a free ride."
However, Judiciary Chair Greg Bodwin sees the change as a significant move toward a fairer disciplinary policy that students will receive well and benefit from.
"This is definitely good news," Bodwin said. "A lot of students got unfairly hurt."
Bodwin, a junior, said that the TCU Judiciary would now be able to adjudicate offenses on a more individualized, case-by-case basis - another positive aspect of the policy update.
"I know that is a power [CSL] really wanted [the TCU Judiciary] to have," he said. "There was a lot less room for human decision in the process before this change."
Although CSL began talks to change the Pro II demarcation last fall - and supplemented them with a preliminary vote that supported the idea in early December - the committee didn't finalize the decision until Feb. 28, according to an announcement from Reitman. Yi explained that CSL spent the time between the decisions tweaking the policy.
"We were very careful about the wording because it would affect students and alumni," Yi added. "It was a huge part of what we talked about because we wanted to make sure we covered all bases; we wanted to make sure we weren't leaving anybody out."
However, Kirsch said that because changing the definition of Pro II was the group's priority, they made sure it was implemented as quickly as possible.
"[We said], 'let's make this change because we all agree this change should be made,'" Kirsch said. "We wanted to make it fair as soon as possible."
Yi said CSL called and notified alumni who were affected by the change, but CSL has yet to announce the policy update to the greater Tufts community. When CSL makes the announcement, though, he anticipates a positive response.
"I think both by the people who were affected by it and by people who may not have even been affected by it at all, I think it will be favored by the majority of the Tufts community," Yi said.
