METU STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT

 

INTRODUCTION

This is a term project for the course of “BA 4115 : Business Ethics”. Being a group consisted of three students; we tried to prepare a proposal of a Student Code of Conduct for METU. First, the existing examples of student conducts were studied and examined carefully. Afterwards, we selected the best wordings and the best meaningful synthesis of all students conducts, we adapted this synthesis to our university’s missions, goals and aims and wrote a Student Code of Conduct. Also it was essential our new Student Code of Conduct to be well adjusted to YOK’s Disciplinary Regulations since METU is a state university committed to YOK.  So this Student Code of Conduct is totally consistent with the preamble of METU and the regulations of YOK.

In the first part of the proposal we will cover listed issues: the preamble of METU, student rights and responsibilities and student conducts. Later, in the second part the implementation processes of the Student Code of Conduct will be mentioned.

 

PREAMBLE

Middle East Technical University is devoted to the pursuit and application of knowledge for the social, cultural, economic, scientific and technological development of our society and mankind through achievements in teaching, research and community service that are of highest international standards.

As an academic community, which committed to create and transmit knowledge, university is responsible for providing academic integrity so as to protect the quality of education. That is advancing knowledge through research, scholarship and related services to the community. The university is responsible for creating an environment in which intellectual growth, promoting free interchange of ideas and thoughts, intellectual and cultural diversity are guiding principles. In these terms the essential purpose of a university is, looking for truth, the discovery of new knowledge and transmission of it, the teaching, development of students, achieving academic excellence and the transmission of learning to the world in a broader perspective.

The University depends on individual freedom to inquire and explore ideas.  It is a place where there is freedom to teach, freedom to make research, freedom to learn, freedom to create, freedom to study, freedom to speak, freedom to write and to publish. Those freedoms rely on the good will and responsible and ethical behaviour of the members of the society. All people in the university community are obliged to respect these freedoms when others experience them. Implementation of those freedoms should be compatible with the orderly conduct of university functions and policies. For these purposes, the university defines the kind of behaviour that inhibits and disrupts the normal functioning of the university. It marks the boundaries of the members' rights and duties by governing rules, regulations, procedures, policies, and standards of conduct in order to maintain its functions and to protect the rights and freedoms of all members of the academic community. Those rules and regulations are based on the core values of honesty, integrity, responsibility, and respect for persons and property, which are essential for individual rights. Here the code of conduct is a kind of contract of all members in the university community sharing a mutual awareness and responsibility to share and adopt these values. Actually university standards of conduct are referring to the expectations about how its students should behave. The Student Code of Conduct defines behaviour expected of all METU students. Each student is responsible to know and comply with the University's Student Code of Conduct. And it is the responsibility of university to make the Student Code of Conduct available for all students.

 

STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Being a member as a student, or a faculty member or a staff member is a privilege in METU and carries with obligations to participate in and contribute to the educational mission of the institution. Concurrent with these obligations are rights and freedoms for each individual as guaranteed by the constitution of Turkey. The student and the university have reciprocal obligations to preserve the freedom and protect the rights of all members the METU community.

The University has established the rules and regulations found in the Student Code of Conduct to promote the University’s mission and also to protect the rights of both students and faculty members.

METU believes that all students should be free to exercise their constitutional freedoms and responsibilities without university interference or fear of the university disciplinary action for such activity. Students carry the ''responsibilities'' of being a citizen of the Turkish Republic. The university expects that each student will conduct him/herself in a manner compatible with the University’s function, rules and regulations as an educational institution.

All students share the following responsibilities:

1.        To read, become familiar with the University’s student code of conduct

2.       To respect the personel and property rights of others and to act in a responsible manner at all times

3.       To protect and foster the intellectual, academic, cultural, social, and other missions of the university

4.       To observe the local and general laws of the country

 

 

The basic ''rights'' of the student as a member of the University are set for:

1.        Speech and Expression: Students have the right to express themselves freely on any subject provided they do so in a manner that does not violate the Code of Student Conduct.

2.       Assembly and Protest: Students have right to assemble in an orderly manner and engage peaceful protest and demonstration which does not disturb the functions of the University, threaten the health or safety of any person or violate Student code of conduct.

3.       Non-discrimination: Students have right not to be discriminated because of race, age, colour, disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, national status, religion, sexual orientation or veteran status. A student has the right to be free from such discrimination arising from programs and activities of the university.

4.       Right to Privacy: Students have the right to privacy and free from unreasonable searches or unlawful arrest on University property and within their campus residences. Students have the same rights of privacy as any other citizen and surrender none of these rights by becoming members of the academic community.

5.       Academic Pursuits: Students have the right to be acknowledged information relating to maintenance of acceptable academic standing, graduation requirements, and individual course objectives and requirements. Students can expect instruction from instructors at appointed class times and reasonable access to those instructors.

6.       Quality Environment: Students have the right to expect a reasonably safe environment supportive of the University’s mission and their educational goals. Students have the responsibility to protect and maintain that environment to protect themselves from all actions that can be harmful to avoid risks. 

7.       Governance and Participation: Students have right to establish representative bodies and participate University governance in accordance with the rules and regulations of the University.

8.       Fundamental Fairness: Students have right to search for fundamental fairness before the University for the violations of Student Code of Conduct imposes formal disciplinary sanctions.

9.       Confidentiality: Students have the right to access and control access to their educational records to control disclosure of personal and academic information to the third parties.  

 

CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All students are expected to have academic integrity principle in all academic works. That is, a student must submit work only the student’s own. Students shall comply with academic integrity codes and shall avoid situations likely to violate this code since academic dishonesty diminishes credit to the academic community.

 

 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Academic dishonesty is defined as any activity, which tends to undermine the academic integrity of the university. Academic integrity is one of the major factors that determines the image and dignity of the university. So not only academic people are responsible to maintain the duration of academic integrity, all members of the university including students should obey the rules and regulations of the university.

 

I. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCTS

Behaviour considered as misconduct or violation in academic terms are defined so:

1. CHEATING

Cheating means giving or receiving any unauthorized aid in any academic exercise. It includes but is not limited to the following actions:

  • Copying from someone else’s test or examination paper

  • Using external assistance like the use of tutors, books, lecture notes and calculator in any in-class or take-home examination although it is prohibited

  • Possessing, buying, selling, removing, receiving or using a copy or copies of any materials to be used as an instrument of academic evaluation

  • Using another person as a substitute in an academic evaluation

  • Working with other persons on a particular project although the instructor has required indivudial  work

  • Copying a report or homework assignment prepared by someone else or using records or laboratory results obtained by someone else as it is your work

  • Attempting to influence or change any academic evaluation by unfair means which includes altering exam results or grades or changing anything on exam papers hiddenly while they are shown by the instructor for control and objections

 

2. PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism means using a part or whole of  a written material without proper acknowledgement of source. A student should pay attention to the originality of any material he or she uses  for such situations:

  • Whenever he or she quotes another person’s actual words,

  • Paraphrases another person’s words,

  • Uses another person’s idea, opinion or theory,

  • Whenever he or she uses internet sources, borrows facts, statistics or any information which is not common knowledge.

As a whole, theses, essays, term papers, and other academic project requirements must be the original work of the student who is submitting them. And while using other materials, the source should be properly and clearly defined by references.

 

3. FABRICATION

Fabrication is defined as intentionally misrepresentation of any academic information or citation in order to deceive. A student must not falsify or invent any information or data in an academic exercise including, but not limited to, records or reports, laboratory results, and citations to the sources of information.

 

4. INTERFERENCE

Interference is defined as trying to get advantage in any academic evaluation by unfair ways. This includes but is not limited to the following: 

  • A student should not steal, change or destroy another student’s work. This includes theft, defacement, harming or collecting all sources so as to prevent others to reach the information they contain.

  • A student should not give or offer bribe, promise favors, make threats to any academic staff  to change or affect any grade or result of any academic evaluation.

 

5. FACILITATING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

This means aiding or abetting others to cheat, to plagiarise or to commit any academic dishonesty. A student must not intentionally or knowingly help or attempt to help another student to commit an act of academic misconduct.  It includes but is not limited to the following:

  • Giving unauthorized assistance to another or others during an academic evaluation like allowing  students to copy from each other or lecture books or notes.

  • Substituting for another student in an academic evaluation.

  • Permitting one’s academic work to be represented as the work of another.

  • Providing any information about any academic evaluation before it takes place to a student such that that person gains an advantage for academic evaluation. 

6. RESPONSIBILITY TO REPORT ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Universities are academic entities which are devoted to innovate and transmit new knowledge for the scientific, technological, economic, cultural and social improvement of the society through scholarly research and related community services. The responsibility is to maintain an environment in which it members should behave in a good manner.

Academic Dishonesty is a serious threat to the dignity of the university. It decreases the quality of education and causes loss of confidence in terms of university premises. That’s why it is the responsibility of all students to report any witnessed academic dishonesty. If  one does not comply with university rules and regulations and academic misconducts stated above and  if another one sees or realises this and does not report it to any academic unit, he or she will be a part of  the violation committed against university’s integrity. 

 

NON-ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

University is not the place where only academic measures takes place, it is also the place where strong communities formed. In that sense within the sprit of freedom, the members should behave in a manner of respect, responsibility and cooperation. Thus the purpose of the code is not only to perform academic integrity but also to ensure its members the continuing tradition of the community.

II. NON-ACADEMIC MISCONDUCTS

Examples of the behaviors that defined as threats to the dignity of the personality of the University is listed but not limited to:

 

1. CONTEMPT

It is failure to respect University lawful orders; to appear for a meeting or a hearing and it is any wilful disrespect or disobedience to any University legislative and regulatory body. This misconduct includes also knowingly violating disciplinary sanctions and decisions of the University.

 

2. DISORDERLY CONDUCT

It means acting in a manner that disturbs the serenity and peacefulness of the university and interrupting wilfully the day-to-day business in the university campus. It is including, but not limited to, making big noise, screaming, singing in a disturbing manner without a valid reason and intentionally interfering studying, researching, emergency, teaching services.

 

3.  PHYSICAL ASSAULT

Action including but not limited to:

§         Physical attack upon or physical interference with a person which prevents the person from conducting his or her daily affairs, puts the person in fear for his/her physical safety, or causes the person to suffer actual physical injury including but not limited to hitting, kicking or biting

§         Conduct less than a physical attack or physical interference which interferes with a person in the conduct of his/her daily affairs, such as posting of threatening letters directed to the person, the use of threatening language directed to another, harassing or threatening telephone calls, or vandalism of person’s room

 

4. Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse or misconduct toward any member of the institutional community. This is defined as subjecting another person to sexual contact without latter’s consented. Sexual contact without full and free consent by the person is considered as sexual offence.

 

5. Sexual Harassment

Is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature if:

§         Constitutes an express or implied condition to another person’s academic pursuits

§         Submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for evaluation in making employment or academic decisions affecting the individual.

§         Such conduct has the purpose or effect of reasonably interfering with an individual’s academic work performance or creating hostile, or offensive University environment.

 

6. Hazing

Any action or situation in the course of a person’s initiation, admission into the affiliation with the organisation which:

  • Irrespectfully or intentionally endangers his/her emotional or physical well-being, and/or

  • Is intended to humiliate another person, and/or

  • Destroys, or removes public or private property.

 

7. FAILURE TO SUBMIT IDENTIFICATION

It is defined as failures to comply with university directions about identify one to any University officials when requested to do so.  Through the code of conduct no student shall refuse to provide identification upon request by a university official or employee in the cause of that person’s duties.

8. TRESPASS

Trespassing is unauthorised or not allowed entry to the University property, building, room, area or structure.

9.  FALSE INFORMATION

This misconduct is representing oneself dishonestly in either oral or written statements and falsifying any information to other students, faculties or university official staff and employers. It includes but not limited to, lying to university employers about background in resume, misrepresenting any fact about oneself, such as when filling scholarship form, registration form.

10.  MISUSE OF UNIVERSITY SUPPLIES AND DOCUMENTS

Without authority no student shall knowingly use, alter, receive or possess university supplies and documents, including, but not limited to, keys, records, equipment and books.

11. UNAUTHORIZED USE OF FACILITIES/EQUIPMENT/MATERIALS/SERVICES

No student is allowed to use knowingly any facilities, equipment, material and services in contrast to instruction and without property authority.

12. PERSONAL PRIVACY

It is prohibited to enter into, use, alter and damage personal documents, personal belongings, university documents and university belongings without permission, it includes but not limited to, entry into individual’s or university’s papers, files, computer files, e-mail accounts, altering these belongings and documents or losing them, listening to one’s telephone.

13. Theft

Theft or abuse of information technology, eg. computer, electronic mail, voice mail, telephone, fax, including but not limited to:

§         Unauthorised entry into a system (voice/data/video/mechanical/security), to use, read or change the contents, or for any other purpose.

§         Unauthorised transfer or distribution of a file. 

  • Unauthorised use of another individual's identification and password.

  • Use of information technology to interfere with the work of another student, faculty member or University official.

§         Use of computing facilities to interfere with the operation of any computing system.

§         Use of electronic mail to send threatening letters, harassing messages, etc. or for other non-educational purposes.

  • Use of information technology to interfere with normal operations of the University's systems

14. ALCOHOL VIOLATIONS

No student shall possess or consume alcoholic beverages in the university campus. It is also prohibited for a student to go to classes, conferences and facilities as drunken.

 

15. SMOKING POLICY

Smoking is prohibited inside areas, including, but not limited to, during classes, examinations, laboratories, in cafeteria. Students are allowed to smoke in the restricted areas only.

METU has recently joined to a collective project, named University without Cigarette, in cooperation with University Sports Federation, Cigarette Fighters’ Foundation, Hacettepe University, Gazi University and Ankara University. The aim of this project is to diminish and eliminate the smoking habit, badly affecting the common health and the economy, within time in the universities, which are the institutions of a consciousness and awareness for common good. This project is also thought to create a better university student model for the young population preparing themselves for the university life.

 

16. ILLEGAL/CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

Any activity to use, consume, possess, manufacture, distribute or sell any dangerous drug, narcotic or controlled substance by any student or university staff who does not have a license or prescription, is prohibited.

The violation of any rules and regulations above will result in disciplinary action.

 

 

IMPLEMENTATION

We have already defined the Student Code of Conducts in detail however this project does not stop at the regulation point. After explaining what students should not or must not do, it is also very important to clarify the implementation processes of ethical conducts. That is, the hardest part of this project is not to define ‘do’s or ‘do nots, but to be able to make students comply with these conducts properly.

We searched for the organisations dealing with student misconducts and we figured out that, there are some deficiencies in the implementation procedures. At this point we reckon that an administrative office including students and consulting with academics, may help the implementation process to be realised in the best way, with minimum misconduct and maximum compliance.

 

OFFICE OF STUDENT CONDUCT

Being an administrative office of the discipline system, the Office of Student Conduct is an organ which tries to provide and control the following regulations and prohibitions in order to protect the common good in the university.

We set up the Office of Student Conduct as a subunit of The Ethics Committee which is now consisted of all academics and interested with the ethical and unethical issues at METU. It is known that the Ethics Committee aims to develop student conduct and academic code of conduct. It tries to achieve a mutual awareness for  the University’s mission through these conducts, among both academics and students. These efforts are quite crucial for METU to reach the global standards in education quality. On the other hand, we think that this committee needs another dimension which could be provided by the contribution of students into these future projects. Our projection is the Office of Student Conduct to fill up the lacking part of this committee.

Office of Student Conduct aims to pursue the student improvement through student involvement at METU. This aim is also one of the preconditions of the University’s Total Quality Management project in education. Such an organ will probably ensure an environment of less tension and conflict and more harmony and agreement between the students and administratives and academics since it makes possible students to be involved in the education processing.

This office is consisted of two students from each faculty, a secretary and a president. All of the members are students. The application dates and procedures are announced by Ethics Committee at the beginning of each academic year. The members of this office should be selected by the Ethics Committee evaluating the applications from all Faculties of the University.

The officers of the Student Conduct Office should do their activities in association with academics from Ethics Committee and academics from all of the University in general. For instance, they may organize the common projects with academics like courses and conferences, or at least consult with them about their projects.

The Student Conduct Office is formed of such departments:

Communication Department: This department is needed to publish special handbooks and write announcements for bulletins and inform the university students and staff about the student code of conduct through regular university bulletins, student e-mail accounts and distributing handbooks at orientation programs. And furthermore the department of communication is the organ to make documentation of everything about student conducts: their own publications, brochures, recorded presentation casettes, others’ articles or researches published, etc.

Communication department should also announce the changes made in the student conduct and declare the new ones which are modified to recent conditions.

In addition, this department serves as an information desk in the office room when it is requested by the students or the university staff.

Training and Orientation Department: Education department officers have the duty of educating the students, university employees and staff by organizing seminars, conferences, congress, training programs and special courses about the student code of conduct. For example, Education Department may prepare a course named “Ethics in University” during the orientation program of METU and give lectures in cooperation with the academics.

 It is also defined as a responsibility of this organ to create an environment to discuss on the issues covered in student conduct, with the students through these activities. Such interaction will probably help students to internalize these codes and comply with the regulations and rules more easily ,since they will be given the chance to join the process, at least by discussing.

Implementation and Research Department: The department is responsible for implementation of codes and checking related activities and it supervises the applications involved in the student discipline.  Implementation and Research Department officers prepare and make researches ,including but not limited to periodic surveys, questionnaires, forums, evaluation sheets, in order to review the implementation of codes and get the students' ideas about these codes. Afterwards the officers evaluate the results so that they could see whether the results are valid and reliable or not. The aim of such research is to identify the disruptions and problems in the  application process and  improve methods to enable smooth application of the codes as well as prevent the potential problems with carefully taken precautions.  This department  also reports the misconduct cases to the Disciplinary Committee and the Dean’s Office if it reveals one.

 

In Relation with Disciplinary Bodies

As we have mentioned before, this Office of Student Conduct’s prior aim is to develop an awareness and mutual respect for student conducts by informing the students. From this perspective, it should not be an organ which is included in the process just in the case of a misconduct. Its basic role is to prevent the misconducts as possible as  it could be and to send less and less cases to the Discipline Committee of the University. So the Office of Student Conduct is not a disciplinary body, but a proactive body.

 On the other hand in case of a misconduct or a violation, the Student Conduct Office should deal with the investigation and punishing processes. After our examinations of disciplinary bodies at METU, we saw that there is no student involvement at all. So we suggest that the member composition of the Discipline Committee should be transformed into a new composition involving two selected students from the Student Conduct Officers. Moreover there may be some cases in which the Dean’s office charge an academic with the investigation of the misconduct and make a decision. There should be a student involvement to make observations in these kinds of investigations also. We offer this as a future target in the direction of METU’s integrity management goal in education. But this does not mean that  these selected students will have a vote during the decision process. Since punishing is not consistent with the ultimate goals of this organ, this student involvement is just to bring a different approach to disciplinary sanctions at METU, make officers to see where misconduct are violated most, what the student committed misconduct experience during the investigation and decision processes and then give feedbacks to the Office of Student Conduct. We think that this change will be very useful since the student involvement will provide academics to gain a different perspective of students. Beside this, if students are involved, they will comply with the University rules and regulations more easily by witnessing the penalty process, they will internalize the  conducts and they will feel themselves a real part of the University structure.  Also when participating this investigation and decision processes the selected students will find the chance of making  great observations. And these observations could be used for devoloping better policies on the student conduct issue. This means they will prepare better information materials for students ,especially when explaining the processes to the students and when giving them consultations about the decision making procedures.

 

 

THE UNIVERSITY APPEAL BOARD

Any student found guilty by the Discipline Committee has the right to appeal the decision. The appeal process is outside of the University at METU and there is not an Appeal Board. So if any student wants reconsideration, the case will be sent to the courts. We reckon that sending a case to a court may decrease the credibility of the University since it will be published or broadcasted through media channels. It may be better to submit a request for reconsideration of a decision or recommended sanctions firstly to the Appeal Board. The Appeal Board may search the event in more details for reconsideration. The Appeal Board gives the final decision for the case, which is closed, to any objection by means of university offices. But if there is a second rejection the decision will send to the court.

The Appeal Board is a committee like Disciplinary Committee. It should have a member spectrum from academic and administrative staff and students as observers.  Its member distribution should be homogeneous, one academic from each faculty and one student from the Office of Student Conduct.

 

CONCLUSION

We understood from our findings that one of the fundamental needs of a contemporary Turkish University culture is to develop awareness and consciousness about the meaning and application of the Student Code of Conduct. This should be a principal responsibility of all universities through our mission commitment to searching for and applying of new knowledge for the social, economic, cultural, technological, scientific and ethic development of our society and humankind through good teaching methods, researches and community services at international quality. However it is obvious that in order to apply the student conducts for reaching these goals, a conscious of ethics in university is strongly required. There is no doubt that making the students ethical beings and making them behave in desired ways is not always possible by forcing them to do so. That's why we offered an “Office of Student Conduct” for university. We believe that it could be very useful to help in solving problems between the university administration and the students, fostering an environment in which trust, learning, devotedness to university's educational mission, traditions of mutual respect and responsibility and civil behaviour may occur. And the reason for student involvement offering is to decrease the ancient tension between ‘students’ and ‘academics and administrative’ and make each side to realise that the other side is not the enemy. It will be able to provide the students to comply with the regulations and rules to protect common good, since it will make the students to discuss, evaluate and require changes sometimes for student conducts, but ultimately accepting and obeying them with negotiation.

 

References

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