TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPENDIX
O
OFFICIAL
UNIVERSITY POLICY ON
ACADEMIC
INTEGRITY FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
The
following principles and procedures by which justice will be administered in
the instance of a graduate student accused of academic misconduct have been
reviewed and accepted by the Graduate Council and the Division of Graduate Studies;
they will take effect on 7/1/03.
The
full text of this document will be printed in the campus Student Policies and
Regulations Handbook and Graduate Student Handbook.
I.
Principles
1.
Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, fabrication,
falsification, research fraud, or facilitating academic dishonesty or as further
specified in campus policies and regulations, including the Campus Policy on
Research Integrity.
2.
Instructors of record of a course shall make a reasonable effort to explain
to students at the outset of the course the behavior expected of them when taking
examinations or preparing and submitting other course work. Similarly, faculty
or other academic appointees supervising graduate student research shall make
a reasonable effort to explain to students at the outset of the research activity
the behavior expected of them in properly conducting research. In the sequel,
the term "instructor" refers to the instructor of record of a course (including
courses numbered 297 and 299), to the chair of a qualifying examination committee,
and to the chair of a graduate dissertation or thesis committee.
3.
In the event that academic misconduct is suspected, due process shall be respected.
The procedures described below shall be invoked to determine the facts of a
case and to decide upon disciplinary sanctions where appropriate. All steps
need to be carefully documented in writing and should be completed in a timely
fashion [1].
4.
All members of the university community who suspect academic dishonesty should
report it to the instructor. If the instructor is unavailable, it should be
reported to the chair of the department of the student.
5.
The instructor is responsible for determining the academic consequences of academic
dishonesty. These may include reduced scores on assignments or non-acceptance
of work for satisfaction of course or degree requirements. The latter may entail
failure in the course, failure of the qualifying exam, or non-acceptance of
the thesis or dissertation.
6.
Disciplinary sanctions are determined by the Dean of Graduate Studies or, if
the student's case goes to a hearing, by the Graduate Academic Tribunal. The
Dean of Graduate Studies may delegate the determination of disciplinary sanctions
to the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. In the sequel, the term "Dean of
Graduate Studies" refers to the Dean of Graduate Studies or to the Associate
Dean of Graduate Studies, if the case has been delegated to the latter.
7.
The decision of the Graduate Academic Tribunal is final. Appeals to the Chancellor
will be considered only for alleged violation of due process.
8.
No grade notation or narrative evaluation will be issued until the process outlined
is completed and a final decision is made on the charges and the disciplinary
sanctions to be imposed. Likewise, the qualifying examination will not be certified
as passed or failed, nor a thesis/dissertation accepted or rejected, until the
process outlined is completed and the case has been adjudicated.
9.
In cases in which academic misconduct has been determined to occur, sanctions
may include dismissal, suspension for a specified period,
and notation of academic
misconduct on a student's transcript, including all external copies, for a specified
period.
II.
Process for disposition of academic dishonesty cases
An
instructor or advisor who has evidence of academic misconduct of one of their
students has discretion to decide whether that misconduct is sufficiently serious
to warrant formal action.
The
instructor initiates the process by making a formal request for a meeting with
the student to discuss the charges, evidence of misconduct and the academic
consequences. If the student refuses to meet with the instructor, that refusal
shall be reported to the Dean of Graduate Studies, and shall be taken as prima
facie evidence of guilt.
There can be one of three outcomes to the meeting of the instructor and the
student:
A. The
instructor and student mutually agree that there is no guilt. No report of the
incident will be issued (A.1).
B.
The student admits guilt (B.1). Then the faculty member must make a formal report
of the incident by completing a standardized form (available on the UCSC Academic
Integrity website and at departmental and Graduate Division offices), which
summarizes the charges and the academic consequences (B.2). This form requires
the signature of both the instructor and student and should be completed and
submitted within 3 working days of the initial meeting between student and instructor.
The charges letter must include:
•
The
date(s) of the offense
•
The
nature of the offense
•
The
instructor's analysis
•
The
nature of the physical evidence which supports the analysis, e.g., tests or
assignment papers or fabricated data.
•
Academic
consequences determined by the instructor and an explanation of the appropriateness
of these consequences. In cases involving a qualifying examination, thesis,
or dissertation committee, the charges letter must indicate whether the committee
members are in agreement concerning the offense and its consequences, or not.
The nature of any disagreements should be described.
The
completed form and copies of any physical evidence are sent to the Dean of Graduate
Studies who then determines what disciplinary sanctions may be appropriate (B.3).
The Dean of Graduate Studies will summarize the charges, the academic consequences,
and the disciplinary sanctions to be imposed, and will notify in writing:
1. The
originator of the charges, the student, and the chair(s) of the student's academic
department (B.3a.i). Only after receiving the formal report on the final disposition
of the case will the instructor submit the final grade and narrative evaluation
for the student. Certification of the outcome of a qualifying examination, or
of acceptance or rejection of a thesis or dissertation will likewise not occur
until the formal report is received (B.3a.ii).
2.
The campus judiciary officer (B.3b), who will notify the registrar and request
specific actions as appropriate.
C.
The student does not admit guilt (C.1). The instructor must send a completed
form to the Dean of Graduate Studies summarizing the charges and academic consequences,
together with a summary of the specifics of the disagreement by the student
(C.2). Both instructor and student must sign the completed form. This completed
form should be submitted within 3 working days of the initial meeting between
the student and the instructor.
Once the form is received, the Dean of Graduate Studies will schedule a meeting
with the student to begin the formal hearing process (C.3). At this meeting
the Dean of Graduate Studies serves as a procedural advisor to the student,
advising the student of his or her options, the consequences of various options,
and the procedures that are open to the student.
After meeting with the Dean of Graduate Studies, the student may agree to the
charges (C.4a). In this case, the Dean of Graduate Studies will then determine
disciplinary sanctions (B.3) and formally report the decision to the appropriate
parties (B.3a-b).
If the student does not admit guilt (C.4b), the case is referred to a formal
hearing by the Graduate Academic Tribunal (C.5). The Dean of Graduate Studies
will schedule this hearing to occur in as timely a manner as possible. Every
effort will be made to schedule this hearing within 30 days of the Dean’s
receipt of the initial charge.
In
cases involving multiple accused students, it will be up to the discretion of
the Graduate Academic Tribunal whether to hear the cases separately or jointly.
The Graduate Academic Tribunal will hear the originator and student's case[2],
decide upon disciplinary sanctions, and report their decision to the Dean of
Graduate Studies, who informs all other parties (B.3a-b) and the originator
of the charge. The instructor may then impose the academic consequences originally
determined or may modify these consequences based on the findings of the Graduate
Academic Tribunal. Each year, five standing departmental Directors of Graduate
Studies will be appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies to serve on the Graduate
Academic Tribunal; every effort will be made to ensure continuity in the composition
of the Tribunal between different academic years. Any case will be adjudicated
by three of the five members, to enable Graduate Directors from the same department
as the instructor or the student to be excused from the proceeding.
Procedural Appeal Process: The decision of the Graduate Academic Tribunal with
respect to verdict and disciplinary sanctions will be final.
Appeals to the Chancellor or to the Chancellor's designee (C.6) will be considered
only for alleged use of improper criteria as well as for procedural violations.
Appeals shall be limited to the following:
•
Whether
there is substantial evidence to support the finding(s) of violation of university
policies or campus regulations for which the discipline was imposed;
•
Whether
there is evidence which could not be adduced at the time of the original hearing
and which is likely to change the result;
•
Whether
there was procedural unfairness at the conduct of the hearing;
•
Whether
the disciplinary sanctions imposed were inappropriate given the findings of
fact. Any appeal to the Chancellor must be made in writing and received by the
Chancellor's office within five business days after the student receives the
decision of the Graduate Academic Tribunal. The decision of the Chancellor or
Chancellor's designee is final and shall be conveyed to the student and the
Dean of Graduate Studies, who will formally inform all other parties involved
in the case (B3a-b).
III.
Assignment of grade and submission of narrative evaluation, certification of
outcome of qualifying examination, thesis, or dissertation
Until
a final decision is made regarding the case and disciplinary sanctions to be
imposed, the instructor will not assign the grade (or when the option becomes
available from the registrar, they will assign the notation DG for deferred
grade). Assignment of a final grade and submission of a narrative evaluation
shall not occur until the case is finalized and the instructor has received
a written summary of the case's outcome from the Dean of Graduate Studies. The
same sequence of events shall govern certification of the outcome of a qualifying
examination and acceptance or rejection of a thesis or dissertation. The student
may appeal the academic consequences imposed by the instructor through the process
outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
IV.
Annual Report and Procedural Instruction
The
Dean of Graduate Studies shall compile an annual public summary (omitting names
and other material that would identify the concerned parties) of the disposition
of cases that have been reported to that office. This report shall contain the
Dean of Graduate Studies' summary and assessment of the effectiveness of the
procedure. In particular, cases of multiple offenses shall be noted. Copies
of the report will be sent to the Graduate Council, the Committee on Educational
Policy (CEP), the Committee on Teaching (COT), and the Committee on Research
(COR), and to all deans.
The
Division of Graduate Studies is responsible for providing web-based and paper
copy information to the campus community on all procedures regarding academic
integrity for graduate students.
V.
Sunset Provision
These
procedures shall be assessed by the Graduate Council after being in effect for
five years and a report of the assessment shall be made to the Academic Senate.
At the end of the third year, the Dean of Graduate Studies shall prepare for
the Graduate Council an addendum to the annual report with recommendations for
any modifications to these procedures.
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Footnotes:
[1].
All attempts should be made to complete cases within the academic quarter in
which the incident occurred or within the quarter or summer immediately following
the incident.
[2].
The procedures of the Graduate Academic Tribunal will provide for both the instructor
and the student to be present and present their cases. Both parties will be
allowed to bring appropriate witnesses if agreed in advance by the hearing of
the Graduate Student Academic Tribunal. In addition, the Graduate Student Academic
Tribunal may seek the testimony of additional appropriate witnesses.
University officials include members of the Student Affairs professional staff,
university police, provosts and academic preceptors.
University officials include but are not limited to: Vice Chancellors, Deans,
Dean of University Extension, Director of Summer Session, Provosts, Department
Chairs, Department Undergraduate/Graduate Adviser, Department Assistant/Manager,
College Administrative Officers, Manager of Family Student Housing, Manager
of Graduate Housing and Camper Park, Housing Officers, Unit Heads, Program Directors,
Supervisors, University Police, Ombudsman, Rape Prevention and Education Coordinator,
Preceptors, Director Student Judicial Affairs, Residential Life Coordinators,
College Proctors, Coordinators for Residential Education and Area Coordinators[.]