Academic integrity and misconduct

College of Engineering Academic Conduct Policy

College of Engineering students are subject to review and possible removal from the College for repeated violations of the UW Student Conduct Code.

The College administers this review for the following purposes:

• To fulfill accreditation responsibilities under ABET, including ethics education.
• To ensure graduates meet the NCEES Model Code of Professional Conduct and the ethical standards of their discipline.
• To recognize the heightened responsibility of engineering education, after which graduates will be entrusted with the public good.

First Finding of Academic Misconduct

1. Engineering students found responsible for academic misconduct through the centralized UW conduct process will be required to complete an educational activity on engineering ethics.
2. Failure to complete this requirement within the mandated timeframe may result in a registration hold being placed on a student’s account until the time of completion.
3. Graduate students will be placed on Final Academic Alert status after their first academic misconduct finding.
4. If the behavior is deemed egregious, the College of Engineering Office of Academic Affairs may, at its discretion, initiate College review on the first offense.

Further Findings of Academic Misconduct

1. Students found responsible for any additional academic misconduct must undergo College review, regardless of sanctions assigned by the central UW process (except in cases of dismissal from the UW).
   1. The review must be waived if, at the time of the new violation, the student had not received written notice that the prior conduct investigation had been opened.
2. The College must inform the student of this review. The student must have fourteen days from notice to submit a written response addressing their perspective on the incident and what they have learned.
   1. If the student appeals the UW finding of misconduct, College review pauses until the appeal is resolved.
3. The case will be advanced to administrative review. 

Administrative Review

1. The College of Engineering Office of Academic Affairs must review the student’s academic misconduct history and written response.
2. If it is found that the student’s behavior does not merit consideration of College removal, the student will remain in the College.
3. If such a consensus is not reached, the case must be advanced to CEP review.

CEP Review

1. The Council on Educational Policy (CEP) must convene a subcommittee that includes at least two faculty and two students.
2. An anonymized case file will be compiled. The subcommittee will have fourteen days from the date they were convened to review and discuss the file, including 1) the student’s written response and 2) a statement from the conduct officer who adjudicated the most recent case, if provided.
3. The subcommittee must recommend a decision to CEP: either the student remains in the College or is removed. In case of disagreement within the subcommittee, the threshold will be majority vote. CEP must vote in the context of the subcommittee’s findings.
4. If the vote is to remove, the College must take necessary steps to remove the student from their program effective the next academic quarter.
5. A student who remains in the College may be reviewed again if found responsible for future academic misconduct.

Appeals

1. A student removed from the College under this policy may appeal within fourteen days of receiving the written decision. They may appeal by emailing a request for reconsideration to the Dean of the College of Engineering.
2. Within fourteen days of receiving the request, the Dean (or their designee) must review and issue a written decision. The decision must include any actions to be taken, and must be shared with all parties. 
3. A student may only appeal once under this policy during their time at UW.

Relationship to UW Conduct Process

1. The College must not initiate a review under this policy until the student has been found responsible through the centralized UW conduct process. 
2. College review outcomes will not supersede sanctions assigned via the centralized process.
3. This review process, and any associated appeals, will not overturn the original misconduct finding made through the centralized process. Students seeking to challenge a misconduct finding should submit an appeal through the Community Standards & Student Conduct appeals process.

Factors Considered During College Review

The review considers the student’s entire history of academic misconduct at UW. Factors may include number and severity of violations, similarity between incidents, prior sanctions, whether the incidents prevent faculty from assessing the student’s mastery of essential concepts in their field, the student’s adherence to engineering ethical codes, and the reflection displayed by the student.

College of Engineering Statement of Principles

The UW College of Engineering prepares students to enter the engineering profession and to hold themselves to the highest standards of integrity and honesty – including a commitment to the health, safety and well-being of the communities they serve. Therefore, we are committed to promoting integrity in our teaching, learning and research endeavors.

As a member of the UW College of Engineering and in preparation for entering the engineering profession students are expected to:

• Adhere to the University of Washington Student Code of Conduct and related policies.
• Hold yourself to highest standards of ethics, integrity and accountability in line with becoming a professional engineer.
• Promote academic integrity by:
  • Only submitting your own work -- neither giving nor receiving unauthorized aid on exams or assignments.
  • Always crediting the intellectual work of others by providing proper citations or acknowledgements.
  • Only using or submitting accurate and verifiable data, records or other information.
  • Upholding the standards of conduct established by an instructor or outlined in a course syllabus.
  • Always observing strict standards of laboratory, fabrication and experimental safety to protect yourself and others.

As a UW engineering student, you are expected to follow these conduct codes:

• Code of Ethics for Engineers
• University of Washington Student Conduct Code

Academic misconduct

The full Student Conduct Code is described in Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 478-121. The University has developed a companion policy on academic misconduct, Student Governance Policy, Chapter 209, which explains how student academic misconduct proceedings work and a student’s rights in the process.

Per the conduct code, all alleged academic misconduct by College of Engineering students must be reported to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Student conduct process

A brief overview of the process for reviewing reports of possible academic misconduct is outlined below. More information is available from Community Standards & Student Conduct: 

• An instructor submits information and documentation about a case of possible academic misconduct to Community Standards & Student Conduct and the COE Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs using the online reporting tool.
• The report is forwarded to a Conduct Officer. A conduct proceeding will be initiated by the Conduct Officer. The fact finding process will focus on gathering all of the pertinent information necessary to determine whether or not a violation of the Student Conduct Code occurred.
• An investigative interview will be scheduled for the respondent to review the alleged violation(s) of the Student Conduct Code and the report with the Conduct Officer.
• During the investigative interview, the respondent is provided with an overview of the Student Conduct Process and their rights.
• The respondent has the opportunity to provide their account of what occurred, present relevant evidence, and provide names of witnesses for further consideration by the Conduct Officer during the fact finding process.
• During the fact finding process, the Conduct Officer may initiate a full hearing and the respondent will be notified of this decision. The respondent will then receive further information from the Hearing Officer.
• At the conclusion of the fact finding process, the Conduct Officer will make a decision regarding whether there was a violation of the Student Conduct Code based on a “preponderance of evidence” standard, and if so, the Conduct Officer will also determine what sanctions are appropriate for the violation(s). This written decision is called an Initial Order.
• The respondent has the option to request an administrative review of the decision within 21 days of service of the Initial Order.
• If an administrative review is not requested the Initial Order is considered final.
• Actions taken by the College of Engineering under "College of Engineering Academic Conduct Policy" (above) occur only after a finding is reached.