Fox College: Student Discipline, Dismissal & Federal Court

How do student discipline and dismissal cases work at Fox College?

Fox College, at 18020 Oak Park Avenue in Tinley Park, Cook County, is a small private, proprietary college founded in 1932 and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bradford Schools LLC of Pittsburgh. The Higher Learning Commission accredits it to award associate degrees, and its four programs — Medical Assisting, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapist Assistant and Veterinary Technology — carry their own programmatic accreditation. Everything runs from one campus document, the 2026–2027 Academic Catalog effective July 1, 2026. Its dismissal rule turns on a unit most students have never had to count: a dismissed student has three class days to appeal to the President — and a student dismissed for conduct can never reenter.

Fox College is a private institution. There is no state action, so there is no constitutional due process claim, and arguing one wastes an appeal. The theory is contract: Illinois holds that a college and its students have a contractual relationship whose terms come from the catalog and the handbook — Raethz v. Aurora University, 346 Ill. App. 3d 728 (2004), restated by the Fourth District in Urso v. Bradley University, 2023 IL App (4th) 230165 — while adding that the relationship “is unique and cannot be strictly categorized or characterized in purely contractual terms.”

The limit is the standard of review, and it decides most of these cases before anyone reaches the facts. A student has a remedy for an adverse academic decision only if it was made arbitrarily, capriciously, or in bad faith. Frederick v. Northwestern University Dental School, 247 Ill. App. 3d 464 (1993), puts it bluntly — courts have been loath to review, much less overturn, academic dismissals — and Bosch v. NorthShore University Health System, 2019 IL App (1st) 190070, holds that a school which departs somewhat from its handbook still wins unless the departure was material. The federal courts in Chicago apply the same test: in Doe v. Columbia College Chicago, 933 F.3d 849 (7th Cir. 2019), the Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of a student’s contract claim where the college had investigated and reasoned its way to a decision, and in Gash v. Rosalind Franklin University, 117 F.4th 957 (7th Cir. 2024), it held that calling a process arbitrary or predetermined, without specific facts, is not enough. What survives is specific: in Liu v. Northwestern University, 78 F. Supp. 3d 839 (N.D. Ill. 2015), a former law student’s claim went forward where the school imposed what amounted to an integrity charge while denying her the handbook procedure for contesting one. Federal law does not care that the school is private: Title IX, Title VI and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act apply because it takes federal funds, and the ADA applies to it as a place of public accommodation.

A federal claim arising at Fox College is filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois — Cook County sits in its Eastern Division under 28 U.S.C. § 93(a), and the statute fixes the places of holding court for that division at Chicago and Wheaton. I am a member of the general bar of that court, admitted on my Florida license under its Local Rule 83.10, which opens the general bar to an attorney in good standing before the highest court of any state. That means a Title IX, Section 504 or ADA complaint for a Fox College student is one I file and litigate under my own name, with no pro hac vice motion. The Northern District abrogated its local-counsel designation rule in July 2023, so a member of its bar with no office in the district no longer has to designate local counsel. One limit, stated plainly: the court keeps a separate trial bar, and under Local Rule 83.12 a general-bar member who is not on it — that is me — appears alone in everything except testimonial proceedings, meaning evidentiary hearings and trial, where a trial-bar member must sit as advisor unless the judge grants the rule’s narrow waiver.

Three class days to appeal a dismissal

The catalog lists four grounds for dismissal: academic (failing coursework or progress standards), attendance (“excessive absences”), misconduct (“behavior unbecoming of a professional person” or a listed offense) and financial. Any of them can be appealed to the President, “who will make the final determination.” The appeal must be in writing, “must fully document the circumstances,” and is due “within three (3) class days” of on-site notice — or, if you are told off-site, within a reasonable time “generally not to exceed five [5] class days.” The catalog does not define a class day; the safe reading is any day classes are held, which can mean three days inside a single week.

The stakes on reentry are uneven. Readmission is “at the discretion of the college,” limited to two attempts, and closed outright to a student who “was dismissed for a violation of the conduct policy” or has a loan in default. A student dismissed at the end of an academic probationary period may return “only in exceptional circumstances,” while one who withdrew because of a disability, pregnancy or parental status “will generally be readmitted.” Returning OTA and PTA students must prove retained competency by examination, audit or practical. See readmission after dismissal.

The conduct list, including the kennel

Fox expects students to conduct themselves “as professional, responsible adults” and lists fifteen offenses that can bring expulsion, suspension or a lesser sanction — among them “academic cheating, plagiarism, or copyright infringement, including inappropriate use of artificial intelligence tools,” online assault, hazing, stalking and, for a college with an on-site kennel, “significant cruelty to animals or posting pictures of the college’s animals to the internet including social media.” The fifteenth is open-ended: any other offense that, “in the opinion of the administration,” may be disruptive or against the interests of the college community. See AI academic integrity accusations.

The sanctions are a written warning, suspension or expulsion, and the catalog makes a promise worth holding the College to: “In general, the college will issue at least one written warning prior to dismissing a student for poor conduct.” The exception is a serious offense, defined as one that directly affects “the physical well-being of other persons.” The Chief Academic Officer or the Chief Administrative Officer investigates and decides the sanction, and any decision may be appealed to the President, whose decision is final. No hearing, standard of proof or advisor rule is published. Failing a placement drug test, or termination for cause by an externship, fieldwork or practicum site, “may result in dismissal from the program.” See conduct code charges.

Grades, cohorts and the one-time restart

Progress is checked each semester: completion of 25, 33, 67 and then 75 percent of attempted credits, a GPA of 1.80 at the first evaluation and 2.00 after, all inside a 150 percent maximum time frame. An unsatisfactory-progress notice can be appealed to the Chief Academic Officer “within 5 days of notification” — the catalog does not say calendar or business days — explaining the mitigating circumstances and what has changed. An appeal at the end of a warning period is, in the catalog’s words, “highly unlikely” to succeed; a student whose appeal fails “may not continue,” and the decision is final. See SAP appeals.

The therapy programs add a harder rule. PTA students need a C (70 percent) and OTA students a C (75 percent) in every technical course. Missing that grade in a prerequisite course means withdrawing and restarting later, or moving to a later cohort — and either option may be used “only once.” Only one non-prerequisite technical course may be repeated, and OTA students must finish Level II Fieldwork within 24 months of the didactic portion. Separately, a student who accumulates 10 consecutive days of absence is considered withdrawn; the catalog does not say whether these are calendar or class days. See PT and OT program dismissal.

Sexual misconduct, and one office with three roles

For sexual misconduct, the federal rule is the 2020 Title IX regulation: the 2024 rule was vacated nationwide on January 9, 2025, in Tennessee v. Cardona, and on September 29, 2026 the Department of Education formally repealed it and restored the pre-2024 text (91 Fed. Reg. 61,308). And as Fox’s own policy reflects, the 2020 regulation requires postsecondary institutions to hold a live hearing at which each party’s advisor conducts cross-examination. Fox’s Title IX process page says it follows the 2020 regulations: after the investigative report the parties have at least 10 days to respond (the page gives no unit), then a recorded live hearing before a trained decision-maker at which each party’s “qualified advisor” may cross-examine; findings use preponderance of the evidence; and either party may appeal on procedural irregularity, new evidence or conflict of interest, to someone not involved earlier. No appeal deadline is published there. One structural point is worth knowing: the Chief Academic Officer is at once the Title IX Coordinator, the Section 504 coordinator for accommodations and one of the two officials who decide conduct cases.

What a student defense lawyer can do here

Most of the value is early and quiet. It is reading Fox College’s policy against what the school actually did and finding the gap; writing the response or the appeal so it argues the grounds the policy recognizes rather than the ones that feel most unfair; preserving the federal issues — Title IX, Section 504 and the ADA, FERPA — so they are in the record if the case ever leaves campus; and identifying comparators, because a sanction far outside what similar cases drew is one of the few arguments that reliably moves a decision-maker.

At Fox two moves are specific. First, the dismissal appeal letter is the case: it must “fully document” the circumstances and reach the President within three class days, so draft it the day the notice arrives, with the documents attached rather than promised. Second, in a conduct matter that does not involve anyone’s physical safety, hold the College to its statement that it generally issues at least one written warning before dismissal — and weigh the label, because a conduct dismissal bars reentry entirely while an academic or attendance dismissal does not.

What a lawyer cannot do is turn a campus process into a trial. The rules of evidence do not apply, there is no discovery, and the school decides its own case at first instance. That is exactly why the written record built during the campus process is the whole ballgame: by the time a court looks at it, the record is closed.

The one Illinois statute that gives you procedure

Illinois has no general statute setting notice periods, hearing formats, standards of proof or appeal rights for college students. The Illinois School Code, 105 ILCS 5, has a detailed suspension and expulsion scheme, and it applies to elementary and secondary schools, not here. The exception is the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act, 110 ILCS 155, and it is a real one. It reaches every higher education institution in the state — public universities, community colleges, and private not-for-profit and for-profit institutions alike — and it requires timely written notice of the allegations to all parties, an investigation that is adequate, reliable and impartial, written notice of the outcome, and appeal rights. It requires the school to make confidential advisors available, trained to a statutory standard and kept separate from the people deciding the case. Both parties are entitled to an advisor of their choice, and that advisor may be an attorney — although the institution may limit how far an attorney-advisor participates in a hearing, which is why Fox College’s own rule on that, set out above, still governs what your lawyer may do in the room. The standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence, applied the same way to both sides.

What to do first

1. Count class days from the notice. A dismissal appeal is due within three class days of on-site notice; a progress appeal within 5 days of notification.
2. Ask in writing which ground the dismissal rests on — academic, attendance, misconduct or financial — because only a conduct dismissal bars reentry for good.
3. Write the appeal with the evidence attached: medical records, documents from your placement site, attendance records.
4. Save the 2026–2027 Academic Catalog and your Program Guide, which holds the detailed attendance and make-up rules, as dated PDFs.
5. Put any disability on record with the Chief Academic Officer as Section 504 coordinator. See Section 504 and ADA accommodations and the Illinois student defense hub.

One honest caveat about geography. Illinois has three federal districts. I am admitted to two of them, the Northern and the Southern. A federal claim arising at a school in Springfield, Peoria, Champaign-Urbana or the Quad Cities falls in the Central District; I am not a member of that bar, and those matters I handle with local counsel in that district or by pro hac vice admission. Appeals from the Northern District go to the Seventh Circuit, which keeps its own bar; my appellate admission is in the Eleventh. I say so before a retainer rather than after.

Where I am licensed. I am licensed to practice law in Florida. I am admitted to the bars of the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, the District of Colorado, the Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois, the District of Nebraska, the District of New Mexico, and the Western District of Wisconsin, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Federal court admission is not a license to practice the law of the state in which the court sits. I am not licensed in Illinois and do not advise on Illinois state law or appear in Illinois state court.

The federal money on the line at Fox College

Fox College students and families took on $2.0 million in federal Direct Loans in the 2025–26 award year.

Every dollar of it rides on academic standing. A dismissal, a failed Satisfactory Academic Progress evaluation, or a mid-term withdrawal sets off federal rules that decide whether aid continues, whether money already disbursed has to go back, and — under the borrowing caps in effect since July 1, 2026 — whether a student who leaves can still finance a return. The academic fight and the financial aid fight are the same fight, and the windows are short. How those rules work: SAP appeals and academic dismissal.

On the Department’s financial responsibility test, Fox College’s most recent published composite score is 3.0 (fiscal year 2022–23) — a passing score on the –1.0-to-3.0 scale, where 1.5 and above passes. How to read that number: the federal warning signs guide.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid Data Center, Direct Loan volume by school, award year 2025–26 (cumulative through June 30, 2026). Institution-wide federal Direct Loan totals.

Other schools in the Northern District of Illinois

Every school writes its own dismissal, appeal and conduct rules, and the deadlines are rarely the same from one campus to the next. These pages set out the procedure at other schools in the Northern District of Illinois:

• Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
• Generations College
• Governors State University
• Hebrew Theological College
• Illinois College of Optometry
• Illinois Institute of Technology

Common questions about Fox College student cases

How long do I have to appeal a dismissal at Fox College?

Three class days if you are told on-site; if you are notified off-site, a reasonable time that generally does not exceed five class days. The appeal goes to the President in writing and must fully document the circumstances; the President’s decision is final. The catalog does not define a class day, so count conservatively and file early.

Can I come back to Fox College after being dismissed?

It depends on why you were dismissed. A conduct dismissal, or a defaulted loan, bars reentry. A student dismissed at the end of academic probation may return only in exceptional circumstances; one who withdrew for disability, pregnancy or parental status will generally be readmitted. Readmission is limited to two attempts, and returning OTA and PTA students must demonstrate competency first.

Can Fox College dismiss me without a warning?

Generally the College says it will issue at least one written warning before dismissing a student for conduct. It may skip the warning for a serious offense — one that directly affects the physical well-being of others. The Chief Academic Officer or Chief Administrative Officer decides, and you may appeal to the President, who makes the final decision.

What grade do I need in the PTA or OTA program at Fox College?

A C in every technical course — 70 percent in PTA courses and 75 percent in OTA courses. Missing it in a prerequisite course means withdrawing and restarting, or joining a later cohort, and you may use that option only once. Only one non-prerequisite technical course can be repeated, so a second miss can end the program.

Can I bring a lawyer to a Fox College hearing?

Conduct cases at Fox are investigated and decided by an administrator, with an appeal to the President; the catalog describes no hearing and no advisor rule. In a Title IX case there is a recorded live hearing at which each party’s qualified advisor may cross-examine. Outside Title IX, a lawyer’s work is the written appeal, which at Fox is due within days.