The Faculty Senate approved an amended Code of Academic Integrity at the semester's last Faculty Senate meeting yesterday afternoon.
The revised policy calling for "honesty in all class work and ethical conduct in all labs and clinical assignments" was expanded to prohibit violating professional ethics rules in student handbooks, health, safety or ethical requirements to gain any unfair advantage in labs or clinical assignments and assisting or attempting to assist another to violate the code.
Alexis Hernandez, associate dean of students, said the sanctions for a student with multiple violations of the Code of Academic Integrity will now be decided by the academic dean of the student's college, whereas single violations are still handled by the faculty member filing the offense.
In turn, the student may now appeal their accusal or punishments to their dean instead of their department head, who will decide if the violation occurred and if the punishment is appropriate. After this, a student may appeal to a hearing board only if sanctioned with expulsion, suspension or by notation on a transcript.
The hearing board is comprised of three faculty members and two students from the respective department. Graduate and Professional Student Council members announced to the Faculty Senate their surprise at having to soon pay additional Social Security taxes and asked for their assistance in "solving the problem."
GPSC President and member of the Faculty Senate Amanda Brobbel said graduate students received an e-mail from the university's payroll office Thursday announcing that to be exempted from Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes, graduate assistants and graduate students involved in work study must be enrolled in at least three units during first and second summer session.
Brobbel said a main problem is there are few summer classes offered to graduate students. Graduate students proposed a 100 percent tuition remission for graduate assistants to compensate for the additional taxation.
The Faculty Senate approved a document outlining the Risk Management and Loss Prevention Program. The program "adopts business policies necessary to manage operational risk exposures through safety and loss prevention programs, combined with strategies to finance losses involving property, liability and worker injuries."
Lawrence Aleamoni, department head of special education, rehabilitation and school psychology, presented the document. Aleamoni said it was important to recognize the document to ensure safe, efficient practices at the university in every area of operation.