Graduate Student Handbook

Faculty Responsibilities and Rights

Responsibilities

All instructors are expected to contribute to the creation of a community that follows the standards of academic integrity and to treat students as individuals and with respect. All instructors are responsible for promoting academic integrity by managing their classes, assignments, and examinations in such a way as to reduce temptation and opportunity for plagiarism and cheating. Students are more likely to respond positively when they see that assignments and examinations are original, challenging, and relevant and are administered and assessed fairly and in a secure environment.

Each instructor is expected to abide by the principles set forth in the Honor Code and to follow the procedures established in Bentley’s Academic Integrity System. An instructor who becomes aware of a possible academic integrity violation is expected to respond appropriately.

The Academic Integrity Coordinator is responsible for insuring that all faculty new to Bentley are familiar with the Honor Code and Academic Integrity System. This training is provided for instructors joining the faculty in the fall semester during the new faculty orientation. Each department is expected to develop a procedure to familiarize instructors joining in the spring or summer semesters with the Honor Code and Academic Integrity System, before they begin teaching.

At the beginning of each course, every instructor is encouraged to define clearly the expectations and procedures for academic work in the course, including guidelines for citing sources in written work, for collaborating and/or receiving outside assistance on homework and other assignments, and so on. The instructor is encouraged to provide academic integrity guidelines in writing in the syllabus and in assignments, and to facilitate a brief class discussion to explain how the Honor Code and the Academic Integrity System relate to issues of ethical and moral behavior in the particular field or discipline.

Rights

The instructor who first identifies an alleged offense is entitled to:

  • An opportunity to ask the Academic Integrity Coordinator for additional resources for support.
  • The right to question any student about an alleged violation (e.g., a student who completed the course before the violation became apparent or a student in a different section of the course).
  • A fair Board hearing within a reasonable amount of time.
  • Ample notice of the hearing.
  • Access to the Academic Integrity Coordinator to prepare for the hearing.
  • The presence of reviewed witnesses to give relevant and pertinent testimony.
  • The opportunity to hear all testimony presented in the hearing.
  • The opportunity to respond to all testimony presented in the hearing.
  • The presence of one person to provide support, who may not be an attorney (see Academic Board Hearings for further details).
  • Written notice, within a reasonable amount of time, of the Board’s findings and any sanctions.