Student/University Relationships

Freedoms and Responsibilities. The university assumes that graduate students have intellectual maturity and a sense of commitment to the academic community. The freedoms and responsibilities listed below are general guidelines for your relationship to the university.

As a graduate student you are FREE:

• to express yourself freely in the classroom and take reasoned exception to the data and views presented in any course.

• from prejudiced or capricious academic evaluation.

• from disclosure of views or beliefs presented to an instructor during graduate study, except with your consent.

• to organize and join associations to promote your common interests.

• to examine and discuss questions of interest both publicly and privately.

• exercise the rights you enjoy as citizens (the freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and rights of petition) without interference from the university.

As a graduate student you have the RESPONSIBILITY:

• to help maintain the atmosphere of free inquiry and free expression inherent in the academic community.

• to respect the right of other members of the community to express themselves freely.

• to observe scrupulous standards of intellectual honesty.

Graduate Study Academic Ethics. Only work that is solely yours may be submitted to a professor in the form of an examination paper, weekly coursework, term paper, class project, research project, or thesis, unless the instructor specifically authorizes group work. This expectation applies to all work submitted.

Cheating and plagiarism are prohibited. Plagiarism is the process of stealing or passing off as your own someone else’s words or ideas, or presenting as your own an idea or product obtained from an existing source. To avoid any appearance of plagiarism or accidental plagiarism, it is important that you learn correct citation procedures for your discipline and your classes. The plea of ignorance regarding citation procedures or of carelessness in citation is no defense against allegations of plagiarism.

You may not:

• purchase papers from commercial sources.

• use a single paper to meet the requirements of more than one course unless the professors of the courses approve.

• submit a paper or project completed by someone else.

If you engage in academic misconduct, you will be subject to UW System disciplinary procedures.