2005-07 SMU Graduate Catalogs -

The following are University procedures and standards with which every student must become familiar. The University considers matriculation at SMU an implicit covenant and a declaration of acceptance on the part of the student of all University regulations. Judicial Affairs (www.smu.edu/studentlife), part of the Office of the Dean of Student Life, assists students in their personal development by providing a fair judicial system that issues consistent sanctions for behavior that is incongruent with the University's expectations for students.

Conduct. Standards of conduct are established through faculty, student, and administrative efforts and are under continuous evaluation by the entire University community in order to assure reasonable and fair limits. At SMU, the student is assumed to have a high degree of loyalty and responsibility to the University and its well-being, as well as to himself or herself in personal, social, and intellectual pursuits; the student's behavior both on and off campus is evidence of this.

Students at SMU will discover that they are encouraged to exercise a great amount of personal freedom as well as accompanying responsibilities. Through their personal capacities for intelligent thought and action, mature students understand that there are situations in which certain behavior must be modified for the benefit of others. The University stands firm in its commitments to the rights and freedoms of students, expecting in return the same respect and concern.

The University expects all students to be responsible citizens and to abide by all federal, state, and local laws. Personal irresponsibility including, but not limited to, that evidenced by dishonesty, gambling, hazing, irresponsible conduct, and the misuse of drugs and alcohol renders a student subject to disciplinary action. Although most specific regulations pertain to a student's behavior while on campus, a lack of personal responsibility and integrity is always considered grounds for discipline no matter where it occurs. Due respect for the entire University community, faculty, staff, and one's fellow students is always expected.

Students are required to identify themselves when asked by a properly identified faculty or staff member, or by another student serving as a University staff member. Persons who are not members of the University community and without business on campus may be asked to leave.

Disciplinary Action. Clear disciplinary procedures are an important part of the mission of SMU as an educational institution. The intent of the system of due process at SMU is to be educational and not merely punitive for students. The goal continues to be to produce quality citizens. It is pertinent to the purpose of discipline to remember that self-discipline is part of the entire educational process, whereby the student becomes more fully aware of the importance of responsibility for oneself and others. Anytime a student displays irresponsible behavior, that student will be subject to discipline.

The Office of Judicial Affairs assists students in their personal development by providing a fair judicial system that issues consistent sanctions for behavior that is incongruent with the University's expectations for students. Depending on the degree of misconduct, a student may be subject to judicial sanctions ranging from a judicial reprimand to expulsion from the University. Should a student be asked to leave the University, he or she should do so in an expeditious and peaceful manner. The student should remain off campus until he or she receives written permission from the Dean of Student Life Office to return to campus. In the event of such separation, a student is still responsible for University financial obligations.

The University believes in student representation on all disciplinary bodies. To ensure fair due process for all students in the judicial process, the student is granted an impartial hearing and the right to appeal to the University Judicial Council. A student who is appealing a sanction may remain in school until the decision and penalty are reviewed, unless considered harmful to the University, to any individual, or to himself or herself. All actions by the council are subject to presidential review.

Students are expected to read and abide by all policies outlined in the SMU Student Handbook Student Code of Conduct. This book is available from the Dean of Student Life Office, third floor, Hughes-Trigg Student Center, or online at www.smu.edu/studentlife.

Loss of Personal Property. The University is not responsible for the loss of personal property belonging to students in any building or on any grounds owned by the University, whether the loss results from theft, fire, or unknown cause.

Academic Integrity

The Honor Code of Southern Methodist University

Intellectual integrity and academic honesty are concepts fundamental to the processes of learning and evaluating academic performance; without them, the process of inquiry is dismantled at its base and further positive educational progress is almost certainly prevented. The maintenance of the highest level of academic integrity is the responsibility of all members of an educational institution. The inculcation of personal standards of honesty and integrity is a goal of education in all disciplines of the University.

University faculty members serve as the gatekeepers of academic integrity in a university setting. Through direct interaction with the student in the classroom, they witness firsthand the state of inquiry exhibited by the student and the process utilized by that student. Through their own actions, they represent the standard of inquiry in American higher education. Faculty bear the responsibility of encouraging and maintaining an atmosphere of academic honesty by being certain that students are aware of the value of it, that they understand the regulations defining it, and that they know the penalties for departing from it. The faculty should assist students in avoiding the temptation to cheat. An instructor who is unwilling to act upon discovering an offense assumes the role of accessory to the student offender in facilitating the corrosion of integrity of the University and the individual's character.

The student, however, bears the primary responsibility for creating and maintaining an atmosphere of honesty and integrity. Students should be aware that personal experience in completing assigned work is essential to learning. Permitting others to prepare one's work, using published or unpublished summaries as a substitute for studying required materials, and giving or receiving unauthorized assistance in the preparation of work to be submitted for credit are directly contrary to the legitimate process of learning. Students who are aware that others in a course are cheating or otherwise acting dishonestly are responsible for informing the professor and/or bringing an accusation to the Honor Council.

Students and faculty must mutually share the knowledge that any dishonest practices permitted will make the legitimate evaluation of honest students almost impossible and will cheapen the integrity of the entire University. Students must recognize that their own interests, and their integrity as individuals, suffer if they condone dishonesty in others.

The Honor System

All students at SMU, with the exception of those enrolled in School of Law, Perkins School of Theology, and Cox M.B.A. School, are subject to the jurisdiction of the Honor Code and as such will be required to sign a pledge to uphold the Honor Code (www.smu.edu/studentlife). The Honor Council is composed of approximately 27 students selected through an application and interview process by the Honor Council Executive Board and five faculty members nominated by the Faculty Senate. The council's responsibility is to maintain and promote academic honesty.

Academic dishonesty is defined broadly as a student's misrepresentation of his or her academic work or of the circumstances under which that work is done. This includes plagiarism in all papers, projects, take-home exams, or any other assign-ments in which the student submits another's work as being his or her own. It also includes cheating on examinations, unauthorized access to test materials, and/or assisting another student in gaining any unfair academic advantage. Failure to prevent or report academic dishonesty by another may be considered participation in a dishonest act.

Suspected cases of academic dishonesty may be handled administratively by the appropriate faculty member in whose class the alleged infraction occurred or referred to the Honor Council for resolution. Suspected violations reported to the Honor Council by a student or by an instructor will be investigated and, if the evidence warrants, a hearing will be held by a Board composed of at least five members of the Honor Council.

Any appeal of an action taken by the Honor Council shall be submitted to the University Judicial Council in writing no later than 96 hours after notification of the Honor Council's decision. Any appeal of an action taken by instructors independently of the Honor Council may be made through the traditional academic routes.