College enrollment assumes maturity, seriousness of purpose, and self-discipline for meeting the responsibilities associated with the courses for which a student registers. Students are expected to attend each meeting of every course for which they have registered. Attendance is essential for normal progress in a college course. Under no circumstances will an absence, for any reason, excuse a student from completing assigned work in a given course. After an absence, it is the student’s responsibility to check with the instructor about the completion of missed assignments.

(For information on absences on religious holidays, see Religious Holidays.)

Students receiving Financial Aid assistance, please refer to the Withdrawal and Return of Title IV Funds link from the Financial Aid – Satisfactory Progress website for detailed information at csn.edu/withdrawal-from-classes.

Possession and Use of Medical and Recreational Marijuana

The Nevada System of Higher Education is sympathetic to the medical needs of our students, employees and visitors. A growing number of states, including Nevada, are enacting laws decriminalizing or legalizing the use, possession, delivery, manufacture, growth, distribution, production, and/or cultivation (hereinafter “use”) of medical and recreational marijuana.

However, federal law prohibits the use of medical or recreational marijuana on college and university campuses that receive federal funding, which CSN receives. The following briefly summarizes some elements of the policy regarding possession and use of medical marijuana on NSHE property:

The use, possession, or cultivation of marijuana, including for medical purposes, on any NSHE or NSHE foundation owned or leased property, or at any NSHE sponsored or authorized activity, is expressly prohibited.

Students, employees, faculty, guests, and/or visitors who violate this policy are subject to applicable disciplinary, legal and/or administrative action.

The Board of Regents recognizes the Nevada Legislature’s stated commitment to a program evaluating the use and distribution of medical marijuana to be conducted by the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine or the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Medicine. Any NSHE institution may engage in medical marijuana research that is conducted in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, provided that the following are obtained: (a) the prior written consent of the president of the institution, after consultation with the institution’s general counsel; and (b) legal authorization from the proper federal authorities for approved research purposes.
(B/R 9/18)

Privacy of Students’ Personal Information

In accordance with its policy and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), CSN protects the privacy of students’ personal information and academic records. Except under limited circumstances, CSN does not release students’ academic records without written consent of the student.

Directory Information

As permitted by FERPA, an exception to non-disclosure is the release of “directory” information considered to be public in nature and not an invasion of privacy. At CSN, the following are defined as “directory” information: name; address; telephone number; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; email address; degrees, honors, and awards received; major field of study; college; dates of attendance; date of graduation; undergraduate and graduate status; most recent educational agency or institutions attended; and enrollment status (full-time or part-time). Another exception under FERPA is that CSN may share education records, without the student’s consent, with the following parties or under the following conditions: college officials with legitimate educational interest; other schools to which a student is transferring; specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes; appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student; organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of CSN; accrediting organizations; to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena, provided CSN makes a reasonable attempt to notify the student in advance of compliance; appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and state and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific state law.

Request the Non-Disclosure of “Directory” Information

Students have the right to request non-disclosure of “directory” information. CSN uses “directory” information for non-commercial, educational purposes, such as to mail notices to students about changes in policies, services, or opportunities. It is important to consider carefully the potential consequences of restricting the release of your “directory” information. If a student restricts release for non-commercial educational purposes, the institution will be unable to place the student’s name in publications such as honors and graduation programs; to confirm graduation and dates of attendance to potential employers; to verify enrollment with organizations such as insurance companies; or to send notifications about specialized scholarships without the express written authorization of the student. “Directory” information may also be provided for commercial purposes to businesses affiliated with CSN, honor societies, CSN’s alumni association and Foundation, or other organizations for purposes beneficial to students. CSN exercises discretion in responding to requests for directory information from third parties and may or may not provide such information, depending on the intended purpose of the request and other criteria. CSN does not sell or rent student information for a fee.

If you wish to restrict the release of your directory information, logon to your MyCSN web page and scroll down to the “Personal Information” area. Select “Privacy Settings” from the pull-down menu. The Privacy Settings will list all options; select whichever option you prefer. This directive will apply permanently to your record unless you choose to reverse it in MyCSN.

Religious Holidays

It is the policy of the Nevada System of Higher Education to be sensitive to the religious obligations of its students. Any student missing class, quizzes, examinations, or any other class or lab work because of observance of religious holidays shall, whenever possible, be given an opportunity during that semester to make up the missed work. The make-up will apply to the religious holiday absence only. It shall be the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor in advance and in writing if the student intends to participate in a religious holiday that does not fall on state holidays or periods of class recess. This policy shall not apply in the event that administering the assignment at an alternate time would impose an undue hardship on the instructor or the institution that could not reasonably have been avoided.

Any student, who is denied a make-up option after appropriately noticing the instructor shall have the right to appeal that decision through the normal appeal mechanism in place at CSN.

Safety and Security

The Nevada System of Higher Education puts forth the following Environmental Health and Safety Statement for all institutions in the system in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

The NSHE Board of Regents declares that the development, implementation, and compliance monitoring of environmental health and safety programs is integral to the NSHE mission. The programs will be structured in such a way that they will become an essential part of campus life.

It is the intention of the NSHE Board of Regents that all CSN institutions be good neighbors in their communities in regard to environmental health and safety issues. Environmental health and safety programs should be administered at the institutional level. The NSHE Board of Regents delegates the authority for the development, implementation, and compliance monitoring of environmental health and safety programs to the Presidents of each institution. Each institution shall develop environmental health and safety programs that best address the problems specific to that institution.

Each institution shall develop an administrative structure to implement environmental health and safety programs in a manner that educates all employees and students to provide knowledge and understanding of the programs. These programs shall include but are not limited to:

Biological safety
Chemical safety
Fire and life safety
Industrial hygiene
Radiation protection
Sanitation
Occupational safety and accident prevention
Environmental protection/hazardous materials management
Relations with governmental agencies

Each institutional administrative structure shall establish oversight, advisory, and compliance programs for monitoring institutional operations and activities. The NSHE Board of Regents recognizes the right of institutions to enter into cooperative agreements with each other in order to address all environmental health and safety concerns.

Covert Video Surveillance Policy

The use of covert video surveillance for anything other than a criminal investigation on the campuses of the College of Southern Nevada is prohibited. This policy shall not interfere with the legitimate use of videotaping for academic purposes.

Emergency Procedures

The Emergency Preparedness Guide outlining “Emergency Procedure Actions” is available online at the CSN website for students, faculty, and staff. Instructors will ensure students are made aware of these procedures and, in the case of an emergency, take appropriate action to evacuate the classroom and/or building. Students should review this information on the first day of class and understand what actions they may be expected to take during an emergency.

Individuals with disabilities will be provided with information pertaining to this program from the Disability Resource Center. In case of a disaster situation, CSN will fall within the scope of the Clark County Emergency Operations Plan and its own emergency operations plan. Copies of this plan are located here: Emergency Preparedness Guide (21-22 Catalog) .

University Police Services

In 1965, Nevada revised Statute 396.325 became law, giving our Board of Regents the authority to create a police department for the Nevada university system. On June 11, 1965, the Board of Regents created the University of Nevada Police. Since that time, university police officers have served the campus community. In 2019, the Board of Regents consolidated the southern Nevada campus police departments, giving University Police Services, Southern Command jurisdiction across the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas (DRI), Nevada State College (NSC), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

University Police Services, Southern Command, is a full service Category I law enforcement agency that consists of 163 employees and has responsibility for the public safety needs of 80,000 students, faculty and staff over an 800 square mile service area. Law enforcement operations consists of 80 full and part time sworn peace officers, a full service 9-1-1 Dispatch Center, K-9 operations; emergency management operations with a fully functional EOC and oversight of major special events hosting more than a million visitors a year to various events.

The department is additionally supported by contracted security personnel across the College of Southern Nevada campuses. Security personnel provide support with monitoring of surveillance systems, alarm monitoring, safety patrols and other public safety related calls for service.

Community Policing

Our department subscribes to the community policing philosophy, which guides our interactions with our campus and local communities, in order to identify and solve problems. To strengthen the ties and build a partnership with our faculty, staff, students and residents, we encourage our community to participate in law enforcement events and engage with our officers. Our focus is to create a safe educational and social environment through proactive policing and a commitment to community relations and outreach.

The CSN Annual Security Report:

The Federal Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act of 1990, recently renamed “The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act”, (Clery Report) was enacted by Congress and signed into Law in November of 1990. In 1992, and most recently in 2013, Congress significantly amended the law, expanding the reporting criteria. It requires institutions of higher learning to prepare, publish, and distribute a report concerning campus crime statistics and security policies on an annual basis through appropriate publications, mailings, or computer network to all current students and employees, and to all prospective students and prospective employees upon request. This report contains the annual report concerning specific campus crime and arrest statistics as well as information about campus policies and practices intended to promote crime awareness, campus safety and security.

In order to comply with the provisions of this Federal Law, reports from the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), Nevada State College (NSC) and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), along with several local law enforcement agencies, are compiled and published annually by University Police Services. As public safety professionals responsible for providing and maintaining a safe and secure environment, we have an obligation to provide an accurate and comprehensive report describing the services we provide to the college community and accurate accounting of any incidents of crime, which occurred on our premises.

Crime Statistics for the three calendar years are also provided as is information regarding the number of arrests made for certain designated criminal offenses during these time periods. It should be noted that the crime statistics included in this report are organized by location that are identified as either owned or leased property. The statistics include incidents involving non-student, non-faculty, and non-staff individuals.

Copies of this report may be obtained in person at:

University Police Services (CSN Charleston, CSN North Las Vegas, CSN Henderson)

University Police Services (Headquarters)

The CSN Annual Security Report is made available to anyone upon request. It is also distributed annually via email to all students, faculty, and staff, posted on the University Police Services’ web page, to ensure campus-wide dissemination and to meet federal law mandates.

The report contains crime statistics about certain specified crimes/incidents that have been reported to Campus Security Authorities over the past three years, and that have occurred either on-campus, in off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by the College, or on public property adjacent to the campus.

The report also contains policies and practices pertaining to campus security, crime reporting, alcohol and drugs, victims’ assistance programs, student discipline, campus resources, community safety alerts, crime prevention, access to campus facilities as well as personal safety tips. The report encourages the reporting of all crime occurrences. The report tells how and to whom to report crimes.

University Police Services Offices

University Police Services has offices located at each of the three main campuses:

CSN North Las Vegas Campus-Building P
3200 E. Cheyenne Ave.
North Las Vegas, NV 89030

CSN Charleston Campus – Building M
6375 W. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89146

CSN Henderson Campus
700 College Dr.
Henderson, NV 89002

The Department takes proactive measures to create and maintain a safe environment for all members of the college community and our guests. Individuals are encouraged to participate in maintaining this safe environment, by immediately reporting anything unsafe, irregular or suspicious. If you see something, say something.

University Police Services: 24 Hour Coverage and Crime Reporting Procedures

Public Safety personnel are on patrol 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including holidays. We encourage all students, faculty, staff and visitors of the college to report actual or suspected criminal behavior or other emergencies that occur on campus to University Police Services in a timely manner. To report a crime or emergency, call:

Administrative Front Desk: 702-895-5575
Non-Emergency:	311 (campus landline) or 702-895-3668
Emergency:	7-911 (campus landline) or 702-895-3669

Additionally, reports and crime tips may be filed online at updsouth.nevada.edu

CSN Mobile Safety App

The CSN MobileSAFETY will send important safety alerts and provide instant access to campus safety resources and emergency contacts. MobileSAFETY is the official mobile safety app of CSN. University Police Services disseminates CSN Alert messages to students, faculty and staff during an emergency.

Campus Security Policies

In cases of off-campus criminal activity, the complainant is encouraged to report the incident to the proper law enforcement authorities. University Police Services advocates prompt and accurate reporting of all crimes. Every report of a criminal incident received is recorded in an Incident Report and assigned a sequential number for that reporting period. All crimes that are reported are logged in the daily crime log. This daily log contains the nature of the crime, date, time, general location, and disposition of the complaint.

Illegal Weapons

In accordance with NRS 202.265, it is illegal to carry or possess a firearm on any NSHE property unless the owner has written permission from the College President.

Crime Prevention

University Police Services personnel are available to provide seminars on a host of topics: workplace violence, sexual awareness and responsibility, crime prevention/personal safety, domestic violence and acquaintance rape, and active assailant safety. The college makes every effort to advise and update students about public safety procedures and security conditions on campus. Some of the media utilized to notify and inform students are:

Emergency Alerts

Disseminated via SMS text, voice call, and/or e-mail alerts
Audio and visual warnings to desktop computers
CSN Mobile Safety App
Posts to campus and University Police Services’ Facebook & Twitter pages: @UPDSouth, @CSNCoyote

General Safety Information

updsouth.nevada.edu
Posts to campus and University Police Services’ Facebook & Twitter pages: @UPDSouth, @CSNCoyote

University Police Services Links:

Social Security Number Statement

In accordance with the Federal Privacy Act of 1974, applicants for admission and enrolled students at CSN are advised that disclosure and use of their social security number is voluntary. All students will be assigned a Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) number. The assigned NSHE number may be used:

To identify student records at CSN.
For registration and course enrollment.
For recording grade information.

Students who are employed full-time by CSN or who receive federally funded educational aid must disclose their Social Security numbers for payroll and other mandatory reporting purposes. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, gives the United States Department of Education (and parties authorized to assist them in administering the student aid programs) the authority to collect a student’s Social Security number for federal student assistance purposes. A Social Security number is required for the 1098T Tax Credit, federal financial assistance, Millennium scholarship and the National Clearinghouse for enrollment verification.

Unregistered Persons in Class

Only students officially registered by the College in a class may attend the class. This applies to physical or virtual classroom sessions. By way of example only and not limitation, this includes students not registered in that class or session of the class, friends, or family members (adults or children) of registered students, or members of the general public. Students must attend the section of the class for which they are officially registered. It is each student’s responsibility to ensure they are enrolled in each of their courses, and are listed on their respective class rosters. Attending a section for which a person is not enrolled, either accidentally or purposefully, is not a valid reason to request a change of grade, reinstatement, or course refund. Exceptions to this policy are departmental/college evaluations of the class or similar administrative issues, authorized disability services, and the invitation of the instructor. Students registered for one section of a course may attend a different section of the course with the consent/invitation of the instructor for a period of time to be determined by the instructor.

Western Undergraduate Exchange Program (WUE)

Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a program coordinated by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Students from the following states may be eligible for reduced WUE tuition rate - AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, ND, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY, Guam and Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands. Admitted CSN students can apply for WUE. If approved, students will be charged current in-state fees plus 50% of that amount. Nevada students may also take advantage of this reciprocal program. Students must apply for WUE prior to matriculating at the institution and must comply with Instate Application Deadlines. WUE students must declare a major prior to matriculation. Students who are not pursuing a degree are not eligible for WUE status. A student enrolled under WUE must withdraw in writing from the program and pay full nonresident tuition for at least 12 months after which she or he may apply for reclassification to resident student status.