Student Behavior
Honor Code
Personal integrity, honesty, and honor are essential qualities of an ideal student and a developing leader. The University has established an Honor Code that sets forth the standards of academic honesty and personal integrity expected of all students.
Honor Code Guidelines
The purpose of observing the traditional standards of academic honesty is to promote an ideal learning experience. Students find confirmation and support of their academic efforts when they represent their achievements honestly. At the same time, faculty can provide proper guidance and feedback when they have an accurate assessment of the student’s progress.
- Any work represented as one’s own must be the product of one’s own thinking and research. This applies to all assigned work, including papers, examinations, quizzes, and oral presentations. In composing papers, students are encouraged to seek feedback from others on the work in progress, but are expected to do the writing themselves.
- Any ideas drawn from other scholars must be properly credited. This includes not only direct quotes, but also ideas drawn from course syllabi, videotaped lectures, and other University-related publications.
- If a student knowingly allows another student to copy his or her work, that student will be subject to the same remedial consequences as the student who copied.
- Students may not enlist other students to participate in any activities which violate the policies and procedures of the University.
- Students who take responsibility for attendance or any other records contributing to the final course grade are required to be faithful and accurate in their reporting.
- Students who become aware of a failure to uphold the standards of the Honor Code are required to notify the faculty member teaching the course.
- As Development of Consciousness is a requried program, the standards of the Honor Code apply. Thus, any action which unfairly increases a student’s attendance is not honest. Some examples of dishonesty in this area are as follows:
- passing your badge through the bar code scanner and not attending program or event
- leaving program or event early without signing out
- having another student pass your badge through the scanner
- passing another student’s badge through the scanner
Consequences of Honor Code Violations other than Plagiarism
For reported Honor Code violations other than plagiarism, the student will meet with the course instructor and/or the department head, at the discretion of the course instructor, and, for more severe or repeated violations, with the Academic Standards Committee or a subcommittee thereof ('the Committee") and the course instructor.
A course instructor may decide to lower a grade on an assignment, even to an NC, and the department head may decide to give a student a "No Credit" for a course. Decision to suspend a student can only be made by the Committee which will review the situation and determine on the outcome.
Definitions and Consequences of Plagiarism
It is of the utmost importance that students reference any and all textual material used in their writing done for class, and that specific words borrowed from other writing are footnoted—in homework assignments, examinations, and projects completed for a class.
Consequences for plagiarism vary with the levels of severity described below. Three factors considered in the determination of severity are length of the citation, whether the misrepresentation was intentional or not, and whether the plagiarism was substantive or semantic only (using others' words but not their ideas)
Level 1. Accidental, involving two or three sentences at mos
Definition: Plagiarism that involves lifting anything from a phrase to a few sentences from another source and neglecting to cite that source, not realizing the significance of the offense or simply forgetting to cite the source.
Consequence: Leads to a warning and a meeting with the professor.
Deciding Agency: Classroom professor
Level 2. Accidental, but longer passages; or contributions intentionally misrepresented, from a phrase or a sentence to a paragraph or two; or an idea that is claimed as one's own; or a repeat of a level one mistake.
Definition: A full paragraph or more, even when claimed to be accidental, requires more attention to accomplish and therefore has more serious consequences. A more severe instance is when a student inserts several sentences or a paragraph without any attempt to reference it to another author. Or the student presents an idea as his or her own when the same idea is clearly presented elsewhere by another writer.
Consequence: Anything from NC on the assignment, and a warning letter from the Dean of Teaching and Learning, to an NC in the course and academic probation, depending on the length, intentionality, and substantive nature of the offense. A faculty facing this kind of violation will present the reported offense to his or her department which then makes the determination in consultation with the Dean.
Deciding Agency: The Department in consultation with the Dean of Teaching and Learning for an NC on the assignment, and the Department with the Committee for an NC in the course.
Level 3: Submitting another's paper or work as your own; a repeat of a level two offense, while a student is on academic probation for a prior offense.
Definition: A student presents a paper, project, or other intellectual property as his or her own, which is subsequently established to be borrowed, stolen, or purchased from another author.
Consequence: Suspension immediately and continuing for two semesters subsequent to the semester in which the student is enrolled; student has to leave campus within 48 hours unless given a shorter or longer period by the deciding agency in which to leave campus.
Deciding Agency: The Department with the Committee.
Honor Code Violations Referred to Academic Standards Committee
The Committee's decision will be communicated to the student in writing, and will include the reasoning behind the decision. If the student is placed on either probation or suspension, the terms and period will be noted. A copy of the letter will be placed on file in the Department of Student Life. A memo indicating that a student has been suspended will be given to the student's advisor and placed in the student's file in the Enrollment Center. However, warning, probation, and suspension information will not be placed on the student's transcript.
In case of suspension, any student residing on campus generally must move off campus within 48 hours, however, the Committee may require an earlier departure or approve a later departure in light of the circumstances
Students suspended from the University must check out with the Housing Office, the Graduation Director, and the Financial Aid Office and are subject to the University’s refund policies.
Once the Department of Student Life finds that all terms are met of a suspension of two blocks or less, the student may resume studies at MUM unless otherwise stated in the suspension letter. In general, students who have been away from the University for one semester or longer have officially withdrawn from the University, or who have been suspended for three or more blocks must apply for readmission by completing an application for admission. Readmission is not automatic; applicants are subject to admissions review.
Appeals
A student may appeal a decision regarding an Honor Code violation within 72 hours of receiving the committee’s written notification. Appeals must be in writing. Appeals of decisions made by the course instructor are submitted to the department head for final review. Appeals of decisions made by a department head are submitted to the Academic Standards Committee for final review. Appeals of decisions made by Academic Standards Committee or a subcommittee thereof are submitted to the Dean of Faculty of the University for final review.
The content of this page was reviewed in August 2011.
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