Director of Community Standards

Director Of Community Standards

Tufts University Student Life supports dynamic co-curricular learning, engagement, and belonging for all undergraduate and graduate students within the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA@Tufts). Consistent with the University's mission as a student-centered research university committed to transformational experiences in an inclusive and collaborative environment, Student Life cultivates a community in which students grow as ethical leaders, engaged scholars, and active citizens of the world.

Community Standards, a unit within Student Life, contributes to the holistic development of the student experience at Tufts by educating students about university expectations of behavior; administering university policy in a manner that is fair, consistent, and educational; and managing the student conduct program so that students who participate in the process learn from their experience. The office emphasizes a developmental, care-centered, and restorative philosophy that balances individual accountability with community repair, while ensuring procedural fairness, safety, and compliance with applicable law.

Community Standards partners closely with colleagues across the University including Residential Life & Learning, the Office for Campus Life, Tufts University Police Department, the Office of Equal Opportunity, Health Service, Counseling & Mental Health Service, Health Promotion, the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), the Office of the Provost, and academic deans — on prevention, education, and response.

The Director of Community Standards is responsible for designing and implementing a robust, educationally grounded system to prevent and address student misconduct in alignment with best practices in the field, applicable law, and Tufts' values of integrity, self-discipline, and respect for ourselves and others. The Director oversees the investigation and resolution of cases involving alleged violations of community standards at Tufts, including behavioral and academic misconduct, with particular attention to emerging issues such as the misuse of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies.

In addition to supervising all student conduct cases (including those assigned to direct reports and to colleagues in partner departments), the Director personally handles designated cases, including complex matters with high legal risk, media exposure, or safety implications. The Director leads the integration of restorative practices and other forms of dialogue-based, alternative resolution into the conduct system, ensuring that processes promote learning, accountability, repair of harm, and the strengthening of community.

This is a hybrid position with some evening and weekend work required to respond to incidents, support hearings, or participate in University events. On-call responsibilities during student crises. Occasional travel for professional development.

Triage all incoming incident reports and complaints submitted to the Office of Community Standards, assign reports to appropriate staff, and direct staff in the handling of cases. Coordinate a holistic, school-wide response to incidents, including consultation with academic, residential, and wellbeing partners. Track turnaround time, learning outcomes, student feedback on process, equity in outcomes across student populations, and other relevant metrics.

Follow up as needed to ensure prompt, fair, and educational resolutions of all cases, and use data to continually improve the system.

Regularly update standards for managing cases (e.g., procedures, timelines, decision-making criteria, etc.) that are consistent with the developmental philosophy of student conduct practice, relevant legal standards, restorative practices, and best practice in the field as articulated by the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) and similar bodies. Train staff in the Office of Community Standards, Residential Life & Learning, and other partner areas in these standards, including the application of restorative approaches such as restorative conferences, circles, and shuttle dialogue.

Oversee cases so that established standards are met. Serve as an escalation point for all conduct officers when cases unexpectedly become challenging; provide ongoing coaching and instruction to staff members handling cases. Regularly review and update processes to increase efficiency, educational impact, and consistency.

Personally resolve very complex and highly sensitive conduct cases, including matters involving threats to community safety, alleged academic misconduct with significant institutional implications, and cases involving the unauthorized or improper use of generative AI and related technologies. Interview, maintain ongoing communication with, and provide appropriate educational intervention and resource referrals to complainants,…