Standard 6: Integrity
In the conduct
of its programs and activities involving the public and the constituencies it
serves, the institution demonstrates adherence to ethical standards and its own
stated policies, providing support for academic and intellectual freedom.
Relative to this standard, an accredited institution is expected to possess or
demonstrate the following attributes or activities:
Processes for
addressing student grievances including violations of institutional policies,
are described in the University Policies and
Procedures section of the university’s student catalogs. These include procedures for student complaints about
grades, the university’s policy for
prohibiting harassment, its policy against verbal
assault, defamation, and harassment, and its nondiscrimination
policy.
Specific policies on academic standing for graduate
students are published in the graduate catalogs; these include policies on student review, due
process, and student academic appeals.
The Office of the
Ombudsperson for Students is a recently created position – a direct
result of the President’s student services initiative (see standard 2 element 6). The mission of the office is to provide
students with a high level of assistance in dealing with various academic and
student life issues.
For faculty recruitment, evaluation, and dismissal procedures see standard 10, element 6. For review of Deans, see standard 10, element 7.
Collective Bargaining Agreements between the university and unions representing various segments of university staff describe the conditions for hiring as well as the dismissal of unionized staff employees.
University Human Resources provide guidelines and information for the hiring of staff employees. Information on disciplinary actions is also provided by University Human Resources (see also Employee Discipline - Information For Supervisors).
For appraisal of Administrative/Professional/Supervisory (A/P/S) employees, see the Pay for Performance guideline.
The Office of Employment Equity is a universitywide resource for information on laws, regulations, and university policies regarding equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, harassment and disability matters.
The Rutgers Policy on Academic
Freedom includes a statement of professional ethics.
For Conflict of
Interest-Faculty - Professional Activities Outside the University and
Outside Employment for Academic Personnel, see
section 60.5.8
of the University Policy Library; section 60.5.9 presents guidelines for
Faculty or Staff Involvement with Commercial Enterprise – Contracts with the
University.
For ethical behavior in
research and scholarship, see
·
the
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the
For considerate and ethical use of university resources see the various information technology policies of the university. These policies include Rutgers Acceptable Use Policy for Computing and Information Technology Resources and its associated Guidelines for Interpretation and Administration of the Acceptable Use Policy for Computing and Information Technology Resources; Email and NetID Policy; Surplus Property Policy (section 20.1.12 of the UPL); and Wireless Lan Policy.
For the university’s policy on
political activity using university resources, see Electoral Political Activities and the Use of University Resources (section 50.3.4 of the UPL).
For student discipline, see the Code of Student Conduct (section 10.2.11 for the UPL). Student catalogs also publish the University Code of Student Conduct Summary in the Academic Policies and Procedures section of each school catalog. The Code and its implementation are administered by the Office of Compliance, Student Policy and Judicial Affairs in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. The Code is also available online. The Office of Compliance, Student Policy and Judicial Affairs also develops and applies student life policies including the University Policy on the Use of Alcoholic Beverages, Policy Against Verbal Assault, Defamation and Harassment, and Policy Prohibiting Harassment. The student catalogs also publish the Policy on Academic Integrity Summary. For student evaluation and grievances see the response to element 1 above.
For faculty promotion, tenure,
retention and compensation, see the response to element 2 above.
Regarding administrative
reviews, Deans, Chairs, and academic units are reviewed. See the response to standard 10, element 7.
Institutional governance and
management is discussed at length in the various elements and materials
presented in standard 4. (see standard 4)
For curricular improvement see
the response to standard 10, element 2.
Since the very nature of a
university and its value to society depend upon the free pursuit and
dissemination of knowledge and free artistic expression, all members of the
faculty of this university are expected, in the classroom, laboratory, and
studio, in research and professional publication, freely to discuss subjects
with which they are competent to deal, to pursue inquiry therein, and to
present and endeavor to maintain their opinions and conclusions relevant
thereto.
This Policy on Academic
Freedom incorporates by reference the Statement on Professional Ethics as
adopted by the American Association of University Professors in 1966 and
revised in 1987 which proclaims that “As teachers, professors encourage the
free pursuit of learning in their students. . . . They protect their academic freedom.”
The Preamble of another
Board-approved policy, the Code of Student Conduct, opens with the
affirmation that “A university in a free society must be devoted to the pursuit
of truth and knowledge through reason and open communication among its
members.”
Likewise, the Code of Ethics
for Administrative and Professional Staff Members observes that “It is
an administrator’s obligation to provide an environment in which each person
has an opportunity to develop talents and broaden horizons, enhance personal
and professional growth . . .”
The university’s vision of
itself has been most recently reviewed by senior administrators and deans, and
it is reflected in the vision statement of
August, 2006 of the new capital campaign.
The university’s Research Grant and Contract Administration, Support, and Management Policy establishes the commitment of the university to protecting intellectual property rights through the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate & Professional Education. The ownership of as well as the rights to use and practice inventions and patents, and the respective responsibilities of personnel, students, and the university with regard to inventions and patents are set forth in the Rutgers Patent Policy. Section 50.3.6 of the UPL establishes the university policy for licensing and royalties of college music performances. The university’s copyright policy “sets forth the rights and responsibilities of the university, its faculty, students, and employees in their roles as members of the university community in creating and using copyrighted works”.
The university offers related
academic programs on the Camden Campus including the B.A. in African American Studies
and other undergraduate programs in European Studies, Latin American Studies,
Religion,
and Women's Studies. Also offered at
Related research and service efforts are conducted by the Center for African Studies, the Center for American Women and Politics, the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience, the Institute for Hungarian Studies, the Center for Race and Ethnicity, the Institute for Research on Women, the Institute for Women and Art, the Center for Women and Work, the Center for Women's Global Leadership, and the Institute for Women's Leadership.
Cultural centers at Rutgers include the Asian American Cultural Center, the Center for Latino Arts and Culture, and the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. The Office of Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities provides educational, social, and leadership development programs and activities for LGBT students and others.
A visit by the Dalai Lama
was a major event for
The Office of Employment Equity provides information about issues of harassment, discrimination, diversity, and disabilities in the workplace. It is a universitywide resource for all faculty and staff.
The university’s website provides links to information of all
kinds concerning the institution. The About Rutgers webpage
provides a universitywide gateway for all online
The admissions web page
provides links to a comprehensive set of materials concerning the
admissions process and available financial aid.
As required under the Jeanne
Clery Act of 1998, the university provides a comprehensive annual
security report, titled Campus Matters. The report is published for each regional
campus (Safety Matters – New Brunswick; Safety
Matters – Newark; Safety Matters – Camden
) The university also complies and
publishes comprehensive crime statistics for each campus (New Brunswick; Newark; Camden).
The university discloses
pertinent information as required by federal and state authorities.
The Office of Scheduling and Space
Management publishes a complete listing of all courses available each
semester. These listings are published
in both hard copy and online. Each school and department is responsible for
the courses that are offered by their faculty (see section 10.2.1 of the UPL for
Academic Regulations Controlling the Education Divisions of the
University). Each unit makes every effort
to have a comprehensive offering of courses each semester so that students can
progress in their studies within a respective published program’s length. The degree requirements are published in the
course catalogs for
each school. In addition, the Policy
on the Suspension or Discontinuance of Programs, Departments, and Centers
(as approved by the Board of Governors on May 10, 1991) assures that when a
program is discontinued, courses will be available for students to graduate.
While
All school catalogs for
undergraduate and graduate students are updated and published on a biennial
schedule. Each campus and or school of
the university has its own published catalog and each is available online in a
navigable format (Current Catalogs). As of July 2006, in an effort to reduce
costs, the university's updated catalogs will not be available in print
format. However, archives for past catalogs
are available online in PDF format.
President Richard L. McCormick
frequently sends letters to the Rutgers
community on important issues including the state budget, major
appointments and initiatives, significant plans, and administrative
changes. The institution’s community is
further informed by Focus, the faculty and staff
publication of
The Office of Institutional Research
and Academic Planning website provides links to a comprehensive set of
factual information about the university.
See, for example, the University Fact Book,
the Common Data Set Survey,
and the New Jersey State Accountability Report. Also included on the website are links to the
most recent Periodic
Review Report and Response (year 2003). Links to the last 1998 Self Study
and the recommendations made by the Middle States Commission at that time are
also provided.
Graduation Rates are published online and in the University
Fact Book. Sites such as the NCAA and IPEDS Cool
also contain graduation and retention rates of the university. The Common Data Set Survey
also has data on the graduation and retention rates. Teacher education certification and Title II
reports are also published online.
The university’s homepage
provides the main portal through which students and the public can access a
variety of sources of information about the university.
The Office of the Vice
President for University Relations is the central focal point of the
dissemination of information about the university. This office’s news/media operation disseminates
news in a variety of formats including newspapers, websites, search
engines, email, directories, expert
databases, etc.
Online catalogs and schedule of classes
provide basic information about scheduling, academic rules and regulations,
deadlines, and finance. Throughout the
university’s website, information is presented about the university in a
logical and navigational format.
This documentation roadmap and
the Self-Study report are meant to demonstrate this.
The University Senate and its
committees are continually addressing the adequacies of these policies and
procedures, and working with the senior administration to modify them as
appropriate. Lists of senate reports and
resolutions regarding institutional processes and practices produced and passed
by the senate since 1999 are found here.