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4.1 Academic Honesty and Intellectual Property

The purpose of this policy and set of procedures is to promote academic honesty in all research and scholarly activities. The policy assumes that academic honesty is fundamental to a healthy and productive environment for learning. Professors, administrators, and professional staff members are responsible for upholding high standards of academic honesty in all of their academic endeavors. Failure to live up to this responsibility is a breach of ethics and will be dealt with appropriately.

  1. Misconduct in this chapter is defined as the deliberate fabrication or falsification of research data or results: plagiarism; failure to appropriately credit colleagues, students or research assistants who have participated in a project; or any other serious deviation, such as stealing, cheating, or sabotage, from practices commonly accepted in the academic and scientific communities for proposing, conducting, or reporting results of research or scholarly activities. Misconduct also refers to retaliation against a person who, acting in good faith, reports or provides information about an instance of suspected or alleged academic dishonesty.
  2. Inquiry is defined as a stage of preliminary information-gathering and initial fact-finding to determine whether an allegation or apparent instance of misconduct warrants an investigation.
  3. Investigation is defined as a formal examination and evaluation of facts to determine whether misconduct has taken place or, if misconduct has already been confirmed, to assess its extent and consequences and to determine appropriate action.

4.1.1 Policy

All research and scholarly activities under the auspices of UHV in which employees engage shall be conducted according to the recognized high ethical standards of the academic and scientific communities. Such standards include, but are not limited to, faithful representation of data and results, appropriately crediting one's sources, appropriately crediting one's colleagues and assistants who have participated in the research or scholarly activity and accepting responsibility for the quality of work to which one's name is attached. Academic honesty also includes the obligation to report activities which one believes to violate the ethical standards of the academic and scientific communities. UHV’s policies are based in part on the UH-System Board of Regents Policies, Section III, 21.08 Intellectual Property.

4.1.2 Procedures

Suspicions or allegations of misconduct shall be reported in writing to the provost for review and action. If the provost has a possible conflict of interest, the allegation shall be reported to the president. In such instances, duties assigned to the provost in implementing these procedures will be assigned to the president. Any faculty member accused of misconduct will be notified immediately by the provost, who will be responsible for promptly keeping the faculty member apprised of each recommendation and/or decision throughout the process. If the allegation on the face of it is not worthy of an inquiry, the provost will notify the person making the allegation of this determination within 10 calendar days.

If the allegation is judged worthy of an inquiry, the provost will conduct an inquiry into the alleged misconduct and determine whether it warrants investigation as a violation of this policy. The inquiry will last no longer than 60 calendar days and must include a meeting with the subject(s) of the suspicion or allegation. The results of the inquiry will result in a provost's Inquiry Report containing the following information:

  1. Name of the person(s) suspected of misconduct;
  2. General nature of the suspicions or allegations;
  3. The application/grant number (if government-funded);
  4. Evidence reviewed and persons interviewed; and
  5. Conclusion (i.e., a decision to dismiss the suspicions or allegations, or to proceed with an investigation).

If the suspicions or allegations are dismissed, the provost will notify the relevant parties within 10 working days. A detailed record of the inquiry shall be maintained in the Office of the Provost for at least three years so that reasons for not conducting an investigation may be ascertained as needed.

If the decision is made to begin an investigation, the provost will notify the relevant parties and, in cooperation with the Executive Committee of the Faculty Council, will appoint an Investigating Committee (IC). The IC will consist of at least one tenured faculty representative from each academic college.

The IC will receive the provost's Inquiry Report within 10 days of completion of the inquiry. It will complete its investigation and reach its conclusion within 60 days of its initiation.

The IC shall ensure the confidentiality of the proceedings. It may request the advice and appearance of individuals familiar with the nature of the research or scholarly activity. If the committee does, it shall maintain their confidentiality to the extent allowed by law.

The subject of the allegation may submit information and/or personally appear before the IC to present his or her case. Prior to such an appearance, the subject of the allegation has the right to receive a preliminary written report from the IC detailing all the evidence relevant to the allegation. At this appearance, he or she may bring legal counsel or an advisor but shall speak for himself or herself. If either the IC or the subject of the allegation wishes to have legal counsel or an advisor present during the hearing, the chair of the IC and/or the subject of the allegation shall be notified at least one week in advance.

A record of the proceedings and all related documentation shall be maintained by the IC's chair throughout the investigative process. Breach of confidentiality will be grounds for a charge of misconduct or other appropriate personnel action.

Once the investigation has been completed, the IC shall issue a formal report summarizing its findings and conclusions, and this report may include majority and minority views. Copies of the investigative report, the record of the proceedings and all related documentation will be forwarded to the provost and to the subject of the allegation. Within 10 working days of receiving this report, the provost will notify the person making the allegation.

All documentation related to the inquiry and investigation proceedings shall be stored in the Office of the Provost.

4.1.3 Penalties and Appeals

If a faculty member is found guilty of misconduct, the following considerations will apply within ten working days of receipt of the report. The provost may impose sanctions, if appropriate, including a written reprimand, withholding of pay raises for a period of time, notification of the offense to pertinent organizations and publishers, or initiating termination or dismissal procedures according to the regulations of the university.

Retaliation against the person reporting the suspicions or allegations of misconduct is prohibited and shall be treated as misconduct.

Interim administrative action may be taken by the university upon receipt of allegations of misconduct.

The subject of the investigation may appeal the IC's ruling and/or sanctions imposed by the provost or the president. The appeal shall occur within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the ruling and/or sanctions being appealed. The president's decision will be final and binding. (This set of policies and procedures uses the concepts and most of the wording of PS 06.A.47, "Ethical Conduct in Research and Government-Sponsored Activities," of the University of Houston-Downtown. We gratefully acknowledge their willingness to share the results of their work.)