|
|
|
Frequently Asked Questions
Academic Integrity
Q. What is considered a violation of Academic Integrity?
A.
The Student Conduct Code has three violations.
1.
“Plagiarism”- the submission of another work as ones own without
adequate attribution.”
2.
“Cheating”- the act or attempted act of deception by which a student
seeks to misrepresent that he/she has mastered information on an academic
exercise that he/she has not mastered.”
3.
“Fabrication”- the use of invented information or the falsification of
research or other finding in an academic exercise.”
Q. What is the penalty
(sanction) for committing an academic integrity violation?
A. First Offense- the faculty member may give a penalty of “F” on the
assignment or “F” in the
course.
B. Second Offense- the case is heard by the Academic Integrity Board. The board has the authority to suspend
or dismiss a student from the University.
Q.
Does a student sanctioned for an academic integrity violation pay the $35
Student
Administrative Fee?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Do I have the right to appeal sanctions imposed by a faculty member or
the
Academic
Integrity Board?
A. Yes.
See the Academic Integrity Policy for complete appeal procedures.
Q. What do I do with a Student who bought a paper off the internet?
A. Since buying
a paper is one of the forms of plagiarism follow the step by step procedure to a report
violation.
Q. Is there a difference between appeal hearings for Non Academic and
Academic Violations?
A. Yes. The committee hearing the appeal
for a non academic violations is made up of 3 to 7 students with the
assistants of an advisor. The appeal hearing for academic violations is made
up of 1 to 2
faculty members and 3 to 5 students.
Appeal Hearing
Q. Who is allowed in the hearing
room?
A. The Appellant, Appellant's Advisor, Witness,
Conduct Officer, Student Conduct Committee
Advisor, 3 to 7
Student Conduct Committee Members, and Observer (can be a parent only
if they are not the Appellant's Advisor). All Appeal Hearing are closed
hearings.
Q. How soon after my appeal
hearing do I find out the decision?
A. Conduct Committee
usually makes the decision the day of the hearing and informs all parties of
the decision that day. In one or two business days the appellant
will be mailed the decision.
Q. Is there a dress code for an appeal hearing if
I am a co complainant, accused student, or a witness?
A. The conduct
committee does not take under consideration of what any party is
wearing.
Student
Conduct Administrative Fee
Q. What is the Fee used for?
A. The money generated from the fee helps defray the cost of hiring
a second Conduct Officer.
Q.
What types of payment are accepted?
A. Cash, Cashiers
Check, VISA, MasterCard, and Discover.
Q.
How may I pay the fee?A.
You may pay in person, over the phone with a credit card or by mail.
In
Person: Office of Community
Standards
125 Upton Hall
Gorham Campus
8:am - 4:30 pm
Student Billing Office
110 Corthell Hall
Gorham Campus
(207) 780-5200
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
By Phone: Office of Community Standards (207)
780-5242
By
Mail: Office of Community
Standards
125 Upton Hall
37 College Ave
Gorham, Maine 04038
Q. What is a late
fee?
A.
Students are given 14 days from the date the bill is mailed to make
payment.
Due to the importance of paying the fee, the
late fee is in place to help encourage students to pay on
time.
Q.
What can I do if I can not afford to pay by the
deadline?
A.
Contact the Office of Community Standards 780-5242 immediately.
Arrangements can be made
to extend the deadline to avoid the late fee.
Q.
What is the fee
amount?
A.
Thirty-five ($35) dollars is charged for each incident for which a
student is sanctioned.
EX:
One incident on one bill = $35
Two incidents on one
bill = $70
Violations/Charges/Sanctions
VIOLATIONS
Q. WHAT IS A VIOLATION?
A. Violations are those activities which directly and significantly interfere with
the University's (1) primary educational responsibility of ensuring the
opportunity of all members of the community to attain their educational
objectives, or (2) subsidiary responsibilities of protecting the health and
safety of persons in the campus community, maintaining and protecting property,
keeping records, providing living accommodations and other services, and
sponsoring non-classroom activities such as lectures, concerts, athletic events,
and social functions.
Other actions which may be considered as
violations may be defined by other documents, as, for example, residence hall
contracts.
Q. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CHARGED WITH A VIOLATION?
A. Upon concluding the investigation, the Officer shall notify
the accused student in writing of the charge(s), the complaint(s), the date(s),
place(s), of alleged occurence(s), the Code Section(s) which is (are) alleged to
have been violated.
This letter shall indicate if the hearing is
to be before the Officer or Student Conduct Committee as well as the time and
place of hearing.
This notice may be delivered personally, or
mailed to the accused student to his/her last known address.
If the hearing is to be before the
Committee, this notice will afford the accused student the opportunity to meet
with the Officer prior to the hearing of the alleged violation(s).
SANCTIONS
Q. WHAT DOES A SANCTION MEAN?
A. If a Student admits to a violation of
the Student Conduct Code to the Officer or the Committee or upon determination
by the Officer of Committee that the Student has committed a violation of the
Code, one or more of the following sanctions may be imposed in accordance with
the provisions of the Code:
A. Disciplinary Dismissal - permanent separation
(subject to the right of review after five years) from the
University.
B. Disciplinary Suspension - separation from the
University for a stated period of time and/or until a stated condition(s) is
met.
C. Disciplinary Probation - a period of time
when a Student is under closer scrutiny of the University. It may include the
loss of one of more privileges.
D. Official Warning - official acknowledgment of
a violation and the expectation that it will not be repeated.
E. Deferred Sanction - a specific period of time
during which a Student continued enrollment or housing contract at the
University is clearly in jeopardy. Any further violation of the Code during
that time will minimally result in the imposition of the deferred sanction and
any additional sanctions deemed necessary.
F. Restitution - up to the replacement value of
the items damaged, stolen, removed or used without authority and damages
incurred.
G. Contract Termination - removal from a
particular hall or all housing.
H. Loss of Visitation Privileges - this loss of
visitation may be to any designated areas of campus.
I. Loss of Contact with a Specific Person(s) -
with this sanction, the person may not initiate direct or indirect contact with
a specified person(s).
J. Fine - Payment of Money. Students who are
unable to pay may discuss alternate payment arrangements with the
Officer.
K. Community Service - related to
violation.
L. Assigned Educational Projects - this may
include research projects, reflective essays, counseling assessments, sanction
seminars or other related assignments intended to promote learning.
M. Other Actions - as the Committee or Officer
may reasonably deem appropriate (e.g., suspension of organization's official
campus recognition or suspension from extracurricular activity).
The institution may
impose a harsher sanction on the Student when the Officer or Committee
determines that the Student intentionally selected the person or
organization against whom the violation was committed, or selected the
property damaged or stolen, because of the race, religion, color, sex,
sexual orientation, national origin or citizenship status, age,
disability or veteran status of that person, the persons in the
organization or the owner of the property.
Q. WILL THIS GO ON MY RECORD?
A. Violations, penalties,
and remedies are recorded in the Office of Community Standards for 7
years.
Person information from your records can be
released only to appropriate University
officials unless you give your
written consent or they are ordered released by the courts.
Hearings with Conduct Officer
Q. DO I HAVE TO ATTEND A HEARING?
A. No, you
do not have to attend a hearing .
Q. WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DON'T ATTEND A HEARING
WITH THE CONDUCT OFFICER?
A. The Hearing will be held
and you will receive the results in the mail.
Q. HOW LONG WILL A
HEARING TAKE?
A. A hearing could take as long as thirty minutes to
an hour or more. |
|
![University of Southern Maine [home page]](http://www.usm.maine.edu/images/header_left_bottom.gif){kind=small}
![USM: University of Southern Maine [home page]](http://www.usm.maine.edu/images/footer_right.gif)