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The university has barred the fraternity from holding any parties until November. The university chose not to suspend the fraternity because the majority of its current members were not affiliated with SAE at the time of Jake Stiles' death.

"SMU has concluded that the use of illegal drugs by members of the fraternity was not isolated to the student who died," the university said in a statement released Monday. "Statements made by several SAE members indicate there was drug use by additional fraternity members in the SAE house or as part of fraternity activities."

The fraternity now must adhere to certain stipulations or face possible removal from the university.

Stiles, a 20-year-old sophomore from Naperville, Ill., was found dead in his bedroom at the SAE house on Dec. 2, 2006. The cause of death was a prescription painkiller called fentanyl, even though preliminary tests had showed traces of cocaine and alcohol.

Since his death, Stiles' family had raised questions and pushed for further investigation.

"We accept the fact that Jacob made the wrong and unfortunate choice to take these drugs," Stiles’ father, Tom Stiles, told the SMU Daily Campus in July 2007. "However, we don't understand why SMU has not aggressively investigated the case and has not been forthcoming with the media and our family. All we ask is that the university discloses the truth and that those involved in our son's death be held accountable."

In its February edition, Texas Monthly published an article that questioned the university's handling of the investigation and said the school described Stiles’ death as an "isolated incident." S. Leon Bennett, the school's general counsel and vice president for legal affairs and government relations, told Tom Stiles in a letter: "(Jake) Stiles' death was not a result of any other person's involvement, directly or indirectly."

Tom Stiles could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday morning.

The university said in a statement Monday that it faced obstacles during its investigation.

"Following the death, some members of the fraternity did not fully cooperate or were not forthcoming with SMU officials, and such actions have hampered efforts to investigate this tragedy," the school said.

The fraternity is being placed under a deferred suspension that would prohibit any social events with or without alcohol, according to the university. The deferred suspension will last for the remainder of the spring semester and until Nov. 1, the equivalent of one semester, SMU said in a news release.

SAE must participate in a community service project that focuses on substance abuse prevention and education. The $5,000 fine will be given to the university's drug and alcohol education and prevention fund.

SAE adviser Don Donnally declined to comment Tuesday.

Within six months of Stiles’ death, two more SMU students had died abusing either drugs or alcohol. On May 2, 2007, a freshman named Jordan Crist was found unconscious in a dorm room. Two hours later he was dead, his blood-alcohol level was five times the legal limit. Two weeks later, senior Meaghan Bosch was found dead, her body discovered in a portable toilet in a construction site in Waco. She had overdosed on cocaine, methamphetamine and oxycodone.

After these deaths, the university formed the SMU Task Force on Substance Abuse Prevention in June 2007. The task force made a dozen recommendations to curb substance abuse on campus. Among the recommendations were registering of certain social events, extended health center hours, parental notification after a student’s first offense for a substance-abuse.

In February, SMU’s Kappa Alpha Order was suspended until the 2011-2012 academic year for violating terms of its deferred suspension when it hosted an off-campus event with alcohol. And Kappa Sigma was put on probation for various offenses committed during the fall semester.

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