The issue of appropriate academic conduct is of particular importance in the School of Pharmacy. The high level of public trust placed with pharmacists has been earned through adherence to the highest standards of ethics and honesty. These same standards are assumed and expected from students of our school in their development as professionals. Policies and procedures as outlined below state minimal student and faculty standards of behavior and are in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations of the University.

Instructors or students having a complaint or grievance concerning a particular individual are urged to discuss the problem in a timely fashion with the instructor or student concerned. If the student feels awkward or uncomfortable doing this, he or she should see the chair of the instructor’s department, or if need be, the Dean of the School. The chair (or Dean) will bring the matter to the instructor’s attention, preserving the student’s anonymity, to the degree possible, if so requested.

Every instructor shall make clear, at the beginning of each course, specific rules for the preparation of classroom assignments, collateral reading, notebooks, or other outside work, in order that students may not, through ignorance, subject themselves to the charge of academic misconduct.

Definitions of Academic Misconduct

The School of Pharmacy defines (but does not limit to) the following activities as Academic Misconduct:

1. Cheating, includes:

• Possessing and/or using any unauthorized aid during an examination.

• Giving or receiving information during an examination.

• Obtaining quizzes or examinations before the exam period without the knowledge of the instructor.

• Using the data from a previous lab and submitting it as if performed during the lab period.

• Misrepresenting your attendance or another’s in a course where a mandatory attendance policy is in effect.

• Using calculators to store answers, notes, or other materials that unfairly provide help on quizzes or examinations.

• Allowing others to see one’s work during quizzes and/or examinations.

• Altering answers on an exam that is being submitted for regarding after the exam has been returned to the class.

2. Plagiarism: submitting the work of another, as one’s own.
3. Falsifying documents, reports, or records of any kind or providing false information to University personnel.
4. Theft or destruction of library materials, computer hardware or software, or other academic resources.
5. Violation of patient confidentiality in any practice and/or learning setting.
6. Endangering patients, faculty, staff, or fellow students or damaging their property.
7. Harassment of fellow students or faculty /disruptive behavior inhibiting the ability of others to participate in class.
8. Violation of regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and animal subjects or otherwise acting dishonestly in research.
9. Intentional false accusation of academic misconduct by a student or faculty member.
10. Unprofessional conduct in any practice or learning setting.
11. Sabotage of experiments or other class related work.

Allegations of misconduct may originate from either students or faculty members against either faculty or students. The student and/or instructor suspected or accused of alleged misconduct shall be informed discreetly and in a timely fashion (e.g. within 7 to 10 days) of the occurrence of the infraction and the sanction or penalty to be imposed. This may be done orally but a sanction more serious than Admonition or Warning shall require that a written notice be given to the student(s) and/or instructor(s) whether or not an oral notice is given. Copies of all such written notices will be sent to the Academic Misconduct Committee and will be maintained in the student’s record file until such time as he/she graduates from the School of Pharmacy, whereupon the notice will be removed from the student file and placed in restricted archives.

One of the following courses of action may be taken:

Academic misconduct

1. Admonition: An oral statement that his or her present actions constitute academic misconduct.
2. Warning: An oral or written statement that continuation or repetition, within a stated period, of disciplinary actions, which constitute academic misconduct, may be the cause for a more severe sanction.
3. Automatic grade of zero credit for the specific exam, paper, project or activity that has resulted through academic misconduct.
4. Censure: A written reprimand for actions, which constitute academic misconduct. Censure may include a written warning.

 

Serious or repeated academic misconduct sanctions after an opportunity for hearing
The following sanctions will be applied according to the severity of the academic misconduct.

5. Automatic grade of "F" for the course involved.
6. Proposed suspension from the School recommended to the University Provost.
7. Proposed expulsion from the School recommended to the University Provost.

Appeal procedures may be used when the facts or the proposed sanctions or the grievance is not resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the student and/or faculty member. Students or faculty members may initiate appeals. Several guidelines apply to appeals:

A. Every effort should be made to resolve disputes at the earliest possible step in the appeal or grievance procedure.

B. As soon as possible, grievances should be filed following the action and appeals from any decision should be filed within thirty days.

C. All supporting documentation should be included in grievances and appeals. A written decision should be distributed to all persons involved in the grievance or appeal and should include the reason or basis for each decision.

Students or faculty who wish to appeal a decision or action concerning academic misconduct shall take the following steps:

Step 1. The student or instructor should seek an appointment with the chair of the department with whom the initial grievance or academic misconduct was filed to discuss the matter. Following a thorough discussion of the issues by those involved; the dispute may be resolved at this level.

Step 2. If still not satisfied, the student or instructor should seek an appointment with the Dean of the School to discuss the matter. The student may request that the dean try to resolve the matter or ask that the dean refer the matter to the ad hoc Academic Misconduct Committee. Although the Dean usually will honor an individual’s request that the matter be referred to such a committee, in some cases a referral may not be appropriate and the Dean may try to resolve the dispute without a referral.

If the matter is referred to an ad hoc committee, the following procedures apply:

1. The Dean advises the designated ad hoc Academic Misconduct Committee members of the parties involved. Members who consider themselves unable to objectively serve due to a close personal relationship with the student or faculty member shall be excused and the designated alternate student member will be activated or a faculty member will be appointed.

2. The committee meets with the student and faculty member separately to discuss the situation and tries to mediate a solution.

3. The committee reports to the Dean the results of the meeting and any resolutions agreed to by the parties or other recommendations for resolving the dispute.

4. If mediation does not resolve the situation, a hearing must be provided either at the School level or before the Judicial Board.

5. If the Dean is unable to resolve the situation, then the student has a right to have the matter reviewed by the Judicial Board.

If the matter is still unresolved after Step 2 processes, the student or instructor may choose to pursue a remedy under Step 3, below, or abandon the matter.

Step 3. The student may appeal the matter according to the University Senate Rules and Regulations, which provide for review of the case by the University Judicial Board (Defined in Article II, Section 6, of the Rules and Regulations of the University Senate).

The Academic misconduct Committee, hereafter called the Committee, shall consist of nine (9) members. Five (5) of the members will be full time faculty members representing each of the five school departments and appointed by the Dean. The other four (4) members will be students, one from each of the four classes. In the beginning of each year, each class will choose two students to serve. One student will be designated the "regular" member and the other will serve as the alternate, in the event the "regular" is unable to serve.

The term of appointment shall be one (1) calendar year. Student and faculty members may be reappointed.