Guidelines for Student Conduct and Academic Responsibility

The guidelines for student conduct and academic responsibility seek to promote high standards of academic integrity by setting forth the responsibilities of students as members of the academic community. Abiding by the code ensures a climate wherein all members of this community can exercise their rights of membership.

The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to furthering scholarship, academic pursuits, and service to our society. Our purpose is to assure all students an equal opportunity to fulfill their intellectual potential through pursuit of the highest standards of academic excellence.

Certain rights and obligations flow from membership in any academic community committed to such goals:

The rights of personal and intellectual freedom, which are fundamental to the idea of a university;
A scrupulous respect for the equal rights and dignity of others; and
Dedication to the scholarly and educational purposes of the University and participation in promoting and assuring the academic quality and credibility of the institution.

Both faculty and students in the College of Arts and Sciences share certain essential duties, rights, and responsibilities in the search for knowledge. The following guidelines constitute a non-exhaustive summary of these academic duties, rights, and responsibilities as they pertain to students:

Areas for Faculty Performance
1. The relationship between faculty and students should be based on mutual respect and fairness, without prejudice based on gender, ethnic origin, or political or religious preference. All persons are judged to possess equal human dignity, and their ideas are to be respected.
2. Barry University adheres to the principle of academic freedom, which means that every person has the right to hold and respectfully express his or her own academic views, and that other people’s views are to be respected. No member of the academic community has the right to impose his or her own academic views on another, nor should he/she be penalized for not sharing someone else’s opinions.
3. Faculty will help students learn the subjects they teach to the best of their ability and help students develop and express their own understanding and perspectives. Faculty will maintain high levels of expertise and scholarship within their subject matters.
4. Students majoring in areas within the College of Arts and Sciences are to be evaluated on the basis on their understanding of the subject, their ability for scholarly and creative work, and their progress toward professional competence.
5. Instructors should be well acquainted with their students’ performance so as to be able to evaluate the quality of their work. Faculty should keep good records of their students’ performance, and the final grade should be based on an accurate and fair assessment of their work in the course.
Areas for Student Performance
1. The College of Arts and Sciences has identified four categories that constitute essential ingredients for students’ satisfactory performance:
  1. Academic ability
  2. Professional and scholarly ethics
  3. Respect for school policies
  4. Response to constructive criticism
2. Academic ability is usually measured by the student’s ability to obtain a minimum grade of c in all the courses for the major, minor, and related areas.
3. Professional and scholarly ethics is expected of every student. this includes academic honesty in every aspect of their work and the exclusion of plagiarism, cheating, and unruly, disrespectful, or disruptive behavior.
4. Instructors may use sanctions for such unruly behavior, ranging from a private reprimand to an unsatisfactory grade (f) in the course. if the matter is considered serious, an instructor may recommend to the chair and dean the academic probation or suspension of the student, or even the student’s dismissal from the program or the university.
5. Respect for policies includes proper regard for course requirements, including tests, term papers, class attendance, student presentations, and class participation, as required by the course instructor and expressed in course syllabi, as well as respect for college and university policies as contained in official documents such as the catalogue. unexcused absences to class meetings or tests, disregard for deadlines, and any form of disrespect for the instructor’s policies constitute a breach of responsible behavior.
6. Response to constructive criticism means that students should view the instructor’s respectful criticism and corrections of their academic work as a means to help students in their search for knowledge.
7. If faculty members concur that a student is exhibiting poor performance in one or more of the above areas, the faculty may request that the student attend a meeting for an informal resolution of the problem. the faculty member may make specific recommendations to the student for improvement. if the problem continues or if the issue is of sufficient concern, the faculty member or the student may communicate their grievance to the chair and request a formal review of the student’s status in the department. the chair shall investigate the situation and make a determination on the student’s continued participation in the program. conditions for continuing may be assigned, and, if the student does not comply with the conditions, the chair may recommend dismissal from the program.
  - Students may grieve policies, procedures, evaluations, and administrative actions having a direct impact on them. prior to initiating a formal appeal, a student must meet with the faculty member and department chair and attempt to resolve the situation. if this does not result in an acceptable resolution, the student shall bring the matter to the attention of the dean. the dean may continue efforts and informal -resolution.
  - If informal attempts fail to provide an acceptable resolution, the student shall file a written appeal to the dean. the document should contain a concise statement of all relevant facts regarding the manner in which the student believes he or she was unfairly treated. upon receipt of a written appeal, the dean shall review the appeal to determine whether the appeal presents a complaint upon which action should be taken. if the dean decides to investigate the complaint, the dean may then meet with the parties involved, interview others, convene a faculty or staff meeting, seek a recommendation from the faculty, and/or request a recommendation from other university administrators.
  - The dean shall make a final determination on the complaint and shall direct what, if any, further action shall be taken. the dean shall respond to the student in writing and explain the determination of the complaint. students who are not satisfied with the determination of the dean may contact the office of the vice-president for academic affairs.
Academic standards the college of arts and sciences expects its students to manifest a commitment to academic integrity through observance of standards for academic honesty. the academic honesty standards include:
1. Assignments, such as course preparations, exams, tests, projects, term papers, practicums, etc., must be the original work of the student. original work may include the thoughts and words of another author, but if that is the case, those ideas or words must be attributed in a manner consistent with a recognized form and style manual.
2. Work is not original that has been submitted previously by the author or by anyone else for academic credit. work is not original that has been copied or partially copied from any other source, including another student, unless such copying is acknowledged by the person submitting the work for credit at the time the work is being submitted or unless copying, sharing, or joint authorship is an express part of the assignment. exams and tests are original work when no unauthorized aid is given, received, or used prior to or during the course of the examination.
3. All academic work submitted for credit or for partial fulfillment of course requirements must adhere to accepted reference manuals and rules of documentation. standards of scholarship require that proper acknowledgement be given by the writer when the thoughts and words of another author are used. students must acquire a style manual and become familiar with accepted scholarly and editorial practice in their disciplines.
4. It is plagiarism to represent another person’s work, words, or ideas as one’s own without use of a recognized method of citation. deviating from these standards is considered plagiarism.
5. Violations of academic responsibility include, but are not limited to:
  1. Plagiarism;
  2. Any form of cheating;
  3. Conspiracy to commit academic dishonesty;
  4. Misrepresentation;
  5. Bribery in an attempt to gain an academic advantage;
  6. Forging or altering documents or credentials; and
  7. Knowingly furnishing false information to the institution.
Conduct standards
1. Students should not interfere with the rights, safety, or health of other members of the academic community nor interfere with other student’s right to learn. students are expected to abide by all program rules and -regulations.
2. Students are expected to comply with the legal and ethical standards of barry university, both as an institution of higher learning and as a catholic university, and with those of their chosen fields of study. each program may prescribe additional standards for student conduct as would comport with the letter and spirit of these guidelines.
Violation
1. Any violation(s) of any of the academic or conduct standards may result in a complaint being filed against the student.
2. Any student found guilty of a violation of the academic or conduct standards will be subject to disciplinary action, including expulsion from the university.
3. The dean has the duty and the authority to enforce these norms in the academic community.