General Description
Purpose:
Following the implementation of the Academic Honor Code for undergraduate students, the Academic and Professional Integrity Policy applies specifically to graduate students at Trinity University.
Academic integrity is fundamental to the pursuit of free inquiry and the free exchange of ideas. Intellectual honesty is an essential component of intellectual development. Professional integrity and professional conduct are the cornerstones of professional competence. Trinity University expects that all members of its academic community will act with honesty and integrity in academic and professional relationships and with consideration and concern for the academic and professional community and their members.
The academic integrity principle, broadly stated, means students have done or have prepared the work or research in or out of class that bears their names and that they have given proper acknowledgment for the use of materials and sources.
The professional integrity principle, broadly stated, means students exhibit integrity and honesty in any professional context or professional role.
The Academic and Professional Integrity Policy has been developed to provide students and faculty with guidelines to determine what behaviors violate the academic and professional integrity principle and procedures for dealing with behaviors alleged to be in violation of the academic and professional integrity principle. These procedures guarantee due process to all members involved in cases of alleged violation of academic and professional integrity and protect the rights of faculty and students involved in such cases.
Attempting to use or using unauthorized material or information as study aids in any academic exercise. Visually or verbally receiving or giving information during tests, quizzes, and examinations when not specifically allowed by the instructor, is a form of unauthorized assistance and is defined as cheating.
Includes work turned in as one’s own that was created, researched, or produced by someone else.
Turning in a report of another’s research, submitting a paper researched or written by someone else, having someone else take a test, and submitting joint projects as solely one’s own, are all forms of counterfeit work and are unacceptable.
Knowingly and improperly changing grades on transcripts, grade sheets, electronic data sheets, related documents, academic reports, tests, and projects is an act of academic dishonesty.
Is considered an act of academic dishonesty in research or experimental procedures.
Includes presenting as one’s work the work of someone else without properly acknowledging the source (for example, specific class assignments or submissions to campus publications). Plagiarism is theft — using words and ideas of another person as if they were one’s own. Exact copying should be enclosed in quotation marks and be appropriately documented in footnotes or end notes that indicate the source of the quotation. Paraphrasing, when the basic sentence structure, phraseology, and unique language remain the same, is also plagiarism. When in doubt about these matters, it is the student’s responsibility to seek guidance from the instructor of the course.
Communicating all or any part of tests or answer sheets, specifically prepared for a given course and as yet not used or publicly released by the instructor of a course, and theft of completed tests constitutes academic dishonesty.
Turning in the same work to more than one class without consent of the instructors involved constitutes academic dishonesty.
(The following definitions are not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive.)
A. Falsification of Records in a Professional Context
Knowingly misrepresenting one’s academic or professional experience in an application for admission, scholarship, licensure, or other professional context.
B. Misrepresentation
Misrepresenting oneself or another person or entity in a way that is incorrect, improper, or false. Moreover, misrepresentation occurs when one fails to correct an inaccurate, improper, or false representation made about oneself by another person or entity.
C. Inappropriate Conduct
Inappropriate conduct of oneself or the facilitation of such conduct in another person that is considered unacceptable based on the expectations of conduct in the professional field of the program. This includes personal conduct, interpersonal conduct, and the conduct of oneself in public situations, including social media.
A. Process
A member of the faculty who discovers in a student’s work, representations, or conduct what she or he judges to be a violation of academic or professional integrity will deal with the matter as follows:
The faculty member specifies the charge and assigns a penalty (see Section II.C: Classification of Penalties) to the student in writing. The faculty member also sends a copy of the letter marked “confidential” to the departmental chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. A copy of the faculty member’s letter reporting the offense will remain in a confidential file specifically created for this student and kept in the Office of Academic Affairs. The file will be destroyed upon the student’s graduation or four years after the student’s withdrawal from the University.
If the Vice President for Academic Affairs determines that this case constitutes a repeated offense for the student, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will so advise the faculty member and administer a penalty appropriate for a repeated offense.
Students charged with a violation of academic or professional integrity may not change their registration in a course in which the charge is pending, or in which a finding of academic or professional dishonesty has been made.
B. Appeal
If the student wishes to contest the faculty member’s action, the student can appeal to the Commission on Graduate Studies for a confidential hearing which will bring together Commission, professor, and student.
The procedure in this instance is for the student to state his/her grounds of appeal in writing and send it marked “confidential” to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will send a copy to the faculty member involved and notify the Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies. This appeal must be initiated by the student within ten days of the faculty member’s written charge. A timely date for the hearing agreeable to all participants will be arranged by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
For the purposes of this hearing, the voting members of the Commission will include the faculty representatives on the Commission as well as the Registrar or his or her designee. The appellant may also request the Graduate Student Association to appoint one graduate student to participate in the hearing with full voting privileges. No student or faculty member who belongs to the department in question may participate in the Commission’s deliberation or decision-making.
The Commission will hear the testimony from the student and from the faculty member and, on the basis of such testimony, determine whether the faculty member’s charge was justified. The faculty member and the student are required to attend the hearing. The student may bring an individual from within the University community to the hearing whose role is primarily advisory, but who may speak when invited to do so by the committee Chair.
The Commission will determine whether the faculty member’s charge should stand or be reversed. The Chair of the Commission will report the decision in writing to the student and faculty member. The Chair of the Commission will also place a copy of the decision in a confidential file specifically created for this student that will be kept in the Office of Academic Affairs.
If during the appeal process a student presents manifestly counterfeit evidence in his/her defense, he/she will be considered guilty of a separate violation of academic integrity. The Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies would make the charge on behalf of the committee. This charge may be appealed to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Further appeal can be filed by the student to the President of the University within ten days of the decision by the Commission on Graduate Studies. Pending final action on the charges, unless deemed appropriate by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Vice President for Student Life, there shall be no alteration to the status of the student or to his/her right to be present on the campus, to attend classes, and to participate in University-sponsored activities. Notice of the final disposition of the case shall be given in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the student, the faculty member, and the Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies. In turn, the Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies will orally inform all committee members of the President’s decision. In cases of non-concurrence with committee decisions either by the Vice President for Academic Affairs or the President of the University, the Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies shall be provided with a written explanation of the non-concurrence action.
C. Classification of Penalties
II. DEFINITION
Records are defined in several ways. Permanent records are those records which are officially a result of a student’s enrollment at Trinity University, are kept in perpetuity, and are safeguarded in the Registrar’s Office. Temporary records are the supportive records of progress of enrolled students; such temporary records are kept in the various offices whose functions dictate the nature and length of storage of records. Ancillary records are records kept by the faculty and staff members regarding individual students, and are regarded as private records.
Under the provisions of Federal Law 93-380, the following records are open to inspection by students upon specific request according to procedure defined below:
The following indicates the official custody of supervision of records:
Academic integrity is fundamental to the pursuit of free inquiry and the free exchange of ideas. Intellectual honesty is an essential component of intellectual development. Professional integrity and professional conduct are the cornerstones of professional competence. Trinity University expects that all members of its academic community will act with honesty and integrity in academic and professional relationships and with consideration and concern for the academic and professional community and their members.
The academic integrity principle, broadly stated, means students have done or have prepared the work or research in or out of class that bears their names and that they have given proper acknowledgment for the use of materials and sources.
The professional integrity principle, broadly stated, means students exhibit integrity and honesty in any professional context or professional role.
The Academic and Professional Integrity Policy has been developed to provide students and faculty with guidelines to determine what behaviors violate the academic and professional integrity principle and procedures for dealing with behaviors alleged to be in violation of the academic and professional integrity principle. These procedures guarantee due process to all members involved in cases of alleged violation of academic and professional integrity and protect the rights of faculty and students involved in such cases.
I. VIOLATIONS OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
(The following definitions are not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive.)Attempting to use or using unauthorized material or information as study aids in any academic exercise. Visually or verbally receiving or giving information during tests, quizzes, and examinations when not specifically allowed by the instructor, is a form of unauthorized assistance and is defined as cheating.
Includes work turned in as one’s own that was created, researched, or produced by someone else.
Turning in a report of another’s research, submitting a paper researched or written by someone else, having someone else take a test, and submitting joint projects as solely one’s own, are all forms of counterfeit work and are unacceptable.
Knowingly and improperly changing grades on transcripts, grade sheets, electronic data sheets, related documents, academic reports, tests, and projects is an act of academic dishonesty.
Is considered an act of academic dishonesty in research or experimental procedures.
Includes presenting as one’s work the work of someone else without properly acknowledging the source (for example, specific class assignments or submissions to campus publications). Plagiarism is theft — using words and ideas of another person as if they were one’s own. Exact copying should be enclosed in quotation marks and be appropriately documented in footnotes or end notes that indicate the source of the quotation. Paraphrasing, when the basic sentence structure, phraseology, and unique language remain the same, is also plagiarism. When in doubt about these matters, it is the student’s responsibility to seek guidance from the instructor of the course.
Communicating all or any part of tests or answer sheets, specifically prepared for a given course and as yet not used or publicly released by the instructor of a course, and theft of completed tests constitutes academic dishonesty.
Turning in the same work to more than one class without consent of the instructors involved constitutes academic dishonesty.
II. VIOLATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY
Professional integrity violations consist of behavior that is inconsistent with ethical standards in the professional roles for which the student is being trained and that is not covered by policies governing academic integrity.(The following definitions are not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive.)
A. Falsification of Records in a Professional Context
Knowingly misrepresenting one’s academic or professional experience in an application for admission, scholarship, licensure, or other professional context.
B. Misrepresentation
Misrepresenting oneself or another person or entity in a way that is incorrect, improper, or false. Moreover, misrepresentation occurs when one fails to correct an inaccurate, improper, or false representation made about oneself by another person or entity.
C. Inappropriate Conduct
Inappropriate conduct of oneself or the facilitation of such conduct in another person that is considered unacceptable based on the expectations of conduct in the professional field of the program. This includes personal conduct, interpersonal conduct, and the conduct of oneself in public situations, including social media.
III. PROCEDURES
All stages of the academic and professional integrity process — charges, appeals, hearings, and record-keeping — are to be conducted in strict confidentiality. As an exception to this principle, faculty members are encouraged to consult their departmental chair or program director when determining whether a violation of academic or professional integrity has occurred and when deciding which of the available penalties shall be assessed. In addition, as part of the fact-finding process, any person or entity that has information relevant to the case may be consulted.A. Process
A member of the faculty who discovers in a student’s work, representations, or conduct what she or he judges to be a violation of academic or professional integrity will deal with the matter as follows:
The faculty member specifies the charge and assigns a penalty (see Section II.C: Classification of Penalties) to the student in writing. The faculty member also sends a copy of the letter marked “confidential” to the departmental chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. A copy of the faculty member’s letter reporting the offense will remain in a confidential file specifically created for this student and kept in the Office of Academic Affairs. The file will be destroyed upon the student’s graduation or four years after the student’s withdrawal from the University.
If the Vice President for Academic Affairs determines that this case constitutes a repeated offense for the student, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will so advise the faculty member and administer a penalty appropriate for a repeated offense.
Students charged with a violation of academic or professional integrity may not change their registration in a course in which the charge is pending, or in which a finding of academic or professional dishonesty has been made.
B. Appeal
If the student wishes to contest the faculty member’s action, the student can appeal to the Commission on Graduate Studies for a confidential hearing which will bring together Commission, professor, and student.
The procedure in this instance is for the student to state his/her grounds of appeal in writing and send it marked “confidential” to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will send a copy to the faculty member involved and notify the Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies. This appeal must be initiated by the student within ten days of the faculty member’s written charge. A timely date for the hearing agreeable to all participants will be arranged by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
For the purposes of this hearing, the voting members of the Commission will include the faculty representatives on the Commission as well as the Registrar or his or her designee. The appellant may also request the Graduate Student Association to appoint one graduate student to participate in the hearing with full voting privileges. No student or faculty member who belongs to the department in question may participate in the Commission’s deliberation or decision-making.
The Commission will hear the testimony from the student and from the faculty member and, on the basis of such testimony, determine whether the faculty member’s charge was justified. The faculty member and the student are required to attend the hearing. The student may bring an individual from within the University community to the hearing whose role is primarily advisory, but who may speak when invited to do so by the committee Chair.
The Commission will determine whether the faculty member’s charge should stand or be reversed. The Chair of the Commission will report the decision in writing to the student and faculty member. The Chair of the Commission will also place a copy of the decision in a confidential file specifically created for this student that will be kept in the Office of Academic Affairs.
If during the appeal process a student presents manifestly counterfeit evidence in his/her defense, he/she will be considered guilty of a separate violation of academic integrity. The Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies would make the charge on behalf of the committee. This charge may be appealed to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Further appeal can be filed by the student to the President of the University within ten days of the decision by the Commission on Graduate Studies. Pending final action on the charges, unless deemed appropriate by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Vice President for Student Life, there shall be no alteration to the status of the student or to his/her right to be present on the campus, to attend classes, and to participate in University-sponsored activities. Notice of the final disposition of the case shall be given in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the student, the faculty member, and the Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies. In turn, the Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies will orally inform all committee members of the President’s decision. In cases of non-concurrence with committee decisions either by the Vice President for Academic Affairs or the President of the University, the Chair of the Commission on Graduate Studies shall be provided with a written explanation of the non-concurrence action.
C. Classification of Penalties
1. Academic Integrity Violations
The faculty member must select one or more of the penalties described in a.,b.,c.,d., or e. below. In the case of repeated or egregious offenses, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will impose additional and increasingly severe penalties described in f.,g., and h. below.
- Letter of warning indicating that the student is being held responsible for a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy and noting that additional penalties may be placed upon the student;
- Reduction of paper, examination, or assignment grade at the discretion of the instructor;
- A grade of F (zero credit) on the paper, examination, or assignment;
- Reduction of final course grade by a full letter grade;
- A grade of F for a course, effective immediately.
- Disciplinary dismissal from the University for at least one semester following the semester in which the offense has occurred;
- Immediate disciplinary dismissal from the University for not longer than the remainder of the current and the following semester;
- Permanent disciplinary dismissal from the University.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Vice President for Student Life, also may deny the student’s right to participate in University-sponsored activities
2. Professional Integrity Violations
The faculty member must select one or more of the penalties described in a., b., c., d., e., f., or g. below. In the case of repeated or egregious offenses, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will impose additional and increasingly severe penalties described in h., i., and j.below.
- Letter of warning indicating that the student is being held responsible for a violation of the Professional Integrity Policy and noting that additional penalties may be imposed upon the student;
- Corrective consequence(s) to address the specific infraction (e.g., ethics training, counseling, restorative meeting or conference with parties affected, research or paper addressing the infraction and acceptable behavior);
- Withholding or withdrawal of recommendations and other forms of professionally related support;
- Reduction of paper, examination, or assignment grade at the discretion of the instructor;
- A grade of F (zero credit) on the paper, examination, or assignment;
- Reduction of final course grade by a full letter grade;
- A grade of F for a course, effective immediately;
- Disciplinary dismissal from the University for at least one semester following the semester in which the offense has occurred;
- Immediate disciplinary dismissal from the University for not longer than the remainder of the current and the following semester;
- Permanent disciplinary dismissal from the University.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Vice President for Student Life, also may deny the student’s right to participate in University-sponsored activities.
IV. AMENDMENTS
The following procedure will be followed if at any time the faculty, Graduate Student Association, or administration believe that an amendment to the Academic Integrity Policy is necessary.- Whichever group wishes to propose an amendment must present it in writing to the Faculty Senate, along with a statement outlining the reasons for the amendment.
- When the Faculty Senate has approved an amendment to the Academic Integrity Policy, the Faculty Senate will submit the amendment as a motion for consideration at a stated meeting of the Academic Faculty Assembly; the Faculty Senate will circulate the proposed amendment in writing to the Academic Faculty at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting at which it will be considered. The Academic Faculty Assembly must approve the amendment by a majority vote.
- The Graduate Student Association must pass a Resolution of Adoption of the amendment by a majority vote.
- The administration must approve the amendment.
- If the amendment receives a favorable vote from the Academic Faculty Assembly, the Graduate Student Association, and the administration, it shall become a part of the Academic Integrity Policy.
- The Board of Trustees will be advised of any amendment to the Academic and Professional Integrity Policy.
STUDENT RECORDS
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of record keeping at Trinity University is to advance the education of its student constituents and to serve their need for records in perpetuity.II. DEFINITION
III. AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS
Under the provisions of Federal Law 93-380, the following records are open to inspection by students upon specific request according to procedure defined below:
- Educational Records
- Personal Records
- Teacher Education Records
- Financial Records
- Admission Records
- Financial Aid Records
- Health Professions Advisory Committee Records
The following indicates the official custody of supervision of records:
- Academic Records: Registrar
- Personal Records: Vice President for Student Life
- Financial Aid Records: Assistant Vice President, Student Financial Services
- Financial Records: Comptroller
- Teacher Education Records: Chair, Department of Education
- Pre-Medical Students’ Records: Chair, Health Professions Advisory Committee
- Admissions Records: Vice President for Enrollment Management
IV. GENERAL RULES OF POLICY
- A student may waive the right to inspect any record but may not be required to waive his/her right as a condition of any decision.
- A copy of the University policy on records is to be made available to all students upon request.
- Letters of recommendation written by faculty members are regarded as ancillary records unless copies are furnished to the Office of Student Life, the Graduate Admissions Office, or other offices, and are made a part of records in this manner.
- Where student names are part of a list of names, public posting of names may violate the rights of others. Posting of grades is forbidden unless the right of privacy in this manner is waived in writing. The right of any student who does not waive the right of privacy must be respected.
- Records may be released to school officials and instructors within the University without specific student permission, provided that the purpose of inspection of the student’s records is specifically related to his/her educational progress.
- Release of records to others without student request of approval is expressly forbidden except to certain officials of the United States as defined in the law and to financial aid officers or representatives of agencies administering financial aid grants which the student holds or for which the student has applied. (As a matter of practice, the student should be encouraged to approve the release of records for financial purposes.) Other exceptions include parents of a student claimed as an exemption under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, law enforcement officers or officers of courts armed with a legally issued subpoena (provided that the student is notified of the legal order before the record is released), and accrediting agencies and others involved in improving instruction and validation of testing programs, provided that such studies avoid personal identification of students.
- Information may be released in bona fide emergencies involving student health and safety provided that due consideration is given to the seriousness of the threat to health and safety, the necessity of records in meeting the emergency, the ability of the person to whom release is made to deal with the emergency, and the extent to which time may be a factor in the emergency. Responsibility for the release of such personal information is that of the President of the University, who may delegate such authority to the Vice President for Student Life as part of his/her regular duties.
- Federal or state officials may have access to records for the purpose of evaluating and auditing the effectiveness of federally supported educational programs.
- A written record shall be made of each inspection of a student’s record by a government official or representative of an accrediting agency. The listing shall include the name of the person inspecting the record, the reason for viewing the record, and the date of viewing. The written record shall become a part of the student’s record folder in the appropriate office.
- When a transcript of an academic record is released to a third party, even at the student’s request, extra precautions shall be made to guard against unauthorized release of information to other parties, and a statement regarding the requirement of limited access to the record and forbidding further release shall be made a part of the record.
- Student listings may be recreated in whole or in part from computer files. Extra precautions are required to guard against unauthorized access by any party using the services of the Office of Information Technology Services or employed by Information Technology Services. Student records of any kind should be run by Information Technology Services only by proper authorization by a University officer, and the careful disposition of all copies should be made to avoid unauthorized circulation.
- Students may gain access to their records in the appropriate Trinity University office by signing an official request to see their own records, allowing adequate time (not to exceed 45 days) for reply from the custodian of the records. Such viewing of the records must be in the presence of the designated custodian or his/her deputy, who will ensure that the student does not alter or remove any part of the record. If the student desires to copy any part of the Trinity University record, he/she must pay the established charge for copying.
- Academic transcripts used in registration or advising or in applying for a major should bear an appropriate stamp to indicate that the record was released to a student for his/her personal use.
- Challenge to any part of a record must be made in writing and addressed to the appropriate custodian, specifying the point of challenge and the justification for such challenge. The custodian of the records must immediately notify the Associate Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students, who shall arrange a hearing to be held within 10 class days from the date of challenge. The hearing shall be conducted before a committee composed of one representative from the Office of Academic Affairs and one representative from the Office of Student Life, the Chair of the Faculty Senate (who shall preside), a faculty member named by the student, and a faculty member named by the Associate Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students. Decision shall be made by simple majority, and a record of proceedings shall be made. Appeal of the decision may be made to the President of the University with further right of appeal to the Review Board set up by the Secretary of Health and Human Resources.
Revision Management
Revision History Log:
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| v1.0 | 8/5/2020 9:49 AM | Sarah Perales |
Vice President Approval:
Enter Vice President(s) that are responsible for approving this document
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| Deneese Jones | Vice President for Academic Affairs |