Professional Education Conduct Board

One of the goals of the University Council on Teacher Education (UCTE) is to ensure “that the University of Delaware offers only professional education programs of high quality.” and the policies apply to all professional education programs.  Any student who is suspected of a violation of the Code of Conduct must go through a review process by the Professional Education Conduct Board to determine if further sanctions are warranted.  Following the Board Review, if a candidate is in violation of UD’s Student Code of Conduct they may be removed from their field placement and/or prohibited from future field placements.

When the Board Reviews Cases

Undergraduate and graduate candidates in professional education programs who are charged with a violation of the Code of Conduct receive due process through the Undergraduate Student Conduct System or the Graduate Student Conduct System, respectively. Candidates’ violation(s) will be reviewed by the Professional Education Conduct Board if they receive a sanction other than a Disciplinary Warning or a Notice of Reprimand by the Office of Student Conduct and meet at least one of the following conditions:

• The sanction was based on an incident related to academic dishonesty or possible or real harm to others. See Appendix A for the list of Office of Student Conduct charge codes that fall under this category.
• The candidate has at least two incidents on record with the Office of Student Conduct.
• The candidate has at least one incident on her/his federal criminal background check that is not on record with the Office of Student Conduct.

Professional Education Conduct Board Members

The Professional Education Conduct Board consists of the following members:

• One member from Early Childhood Education
• One member from Elementary Teacher Education
• One member from SOE graduate professional education program
• Two members from Secondary Education Program
• One member from CEETP

Student Conduct Advisors

Professional education candidates who have their cases reviewed at a Board meeting are welcome to attend the meeting to provide the context for the violation(s) of the Code of Conduct. They may invite a student, staff, or faculty member from the list of approved student conduct advisors to join them at the meeting. Click here for the list of approved advisors.

Appeal Process

The Board may remove candidates from their current field placement(s) and/or prohibit them from future field placements if the candidates’ conduct would prohibit them from being successful in a setting with children, youth, or adults (e.g., early childhood education program, school classroom, community center) and/or pose a risk to children, youth, or adults.

Should candidates wish to exercise their right to appeal, they may do so by submitting a written petition to appeal the decision to the Chair of the University Council on Teacher Education. Click here for the description of the appeal process.

Contact Information

Please contact Debbie Ziomek at dziomek@udel.edu or 302-831-2334 for questions about the Professional Education Conduct Board.