Academic Area Concerns

• Electronic mail address

• Photograph • Date and place of birth • Major field of study • Dates of attendance

• Grade level

• Degrees, honors, and awards received • Student ID number, user ID, or other unique personal identifier used to communicate in electronic systems but only if the identifier cannot be used to gain access to education records except when used in conjunction with one or more factors that authenticate the user’s identity, such as a PIN, password, or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user • A student ID number or other unique personal identifier that is displayed on a student ID badge, but only if the identifier cannot be used to gain access to education records except when used in conjunction with one or more factors that authenticate the user’s identity, such as a PIN, password, or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user.

• Any student who wishes to file a written complaint about an academic issue such as grade related concerns or course-related concerns can do so through the Registrar’s Office. These procedures apply only to student complaints received in writing. • An Academic Area Concern Form is available from Office of the Registrar. • The Seminary will acknowledge all written student complaints within 10 business days of receipt of the complaint. The date of receipt should be marked on the complaint. • Within 15 business days after acknowledging receipt of the complaint, the appropriate administrative office will inform the complainant regarding the institutional response to the complaint. • Students have the right to appeal the Seminary’s decision in the event they are not satisfied with the Seminary’s response. Any complaint that is appealed will automatically become a part of the student’s permanent file with the Seminary. • All grade-related complaints must be submitted to the professor (or subsequently the dean) within one month of the posting of final grades. The student who has a course-related concern [e.g., timely and substantive feedback, late work, incomplete work, interpretation of course requirements, etc.] should talk first with the professor involved. If the professor is satisfied that the issue is one of fact, he/she may suggest a resolution to the concern. If the student agrees with the faculty member’s judgment, the matter shall be concluded. If the student and professor do not agree whether the issue is one of fact or judgment, the student may bring the concern to the Registrar’s Office to file the Academic Area of Concern Form.

Once the Academic Area Concern form is submitted to the Office of the Registrar, the complaint will be filed with the dean of the professor’s school. The dean, on the basis of a conference with the faculty member, will make a preliminary decision regarding whether the matter is one of fact or judgment and will inform the faculty member and the student of his/her decision, in writing. If the dean indicates that the issue is one of judgment and the student accepts the decision, the matter may be terminated. Or, if the dean’s preliminary decision is that the issue is one of fact, and the faculty member agrees and acts accordingly, the matter may be terminated. If the student or the faculty member does not agree with the dean’s preliminary decision, the matter may be presented to the Academic Council (chaired by an associate Provost) for discussion and recommendation. The council shall invite the faculty member and the student involved to participate in the discussion, though the final decision will be made in the executive session. If the Academic Council decides that the issue is one of fact, it shall

direct the faculty member regarding the resolution of the issue. The Academic Council shall tender its decision to all parties in writing. In the event that either the faculty member and/or the student does not agree with the decision of the Academic Council, the faculty member and/or the student may appeal to the Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost who shall be the final arbiter with respect to the resolution of the concern. Official documentation of all course-related concerns and resolution to the same shall be housed in the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost.

Academic Integrity

In addition to maintaining integrity in their own academic pursuits, faculty should establish and clarify academic integrity expectations for students’ work. Conduct that is considered academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: reusing previously and/or concurrently submitted material in another class without faculty permission, cheating by copying from another’s work, allowing another to cheat by copying from one’s own work, reading an examination prior to the date it is given without the instructor’s permission and similar types of conduct. Unlawful duplication of copyrighted material such as music, library materials and computer software are other examples of academic dishonesty. (Seminary guidelines related to acceptable duplication can be found in the Seminary’s Copyright Policy, which is part of the Seminary’s Copyright Manual, available online at guides.asburyseminary.edu/main/policies).

Plagiarism is yet another form of academic dishonesty and is defined as the presenting of another’s ideas or

writings as one’s own; this includes both written and oral presentations. Usually, plagiarism involves more than a simple lack of precision, accuracy or proper form in the use of citations. Cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be addressed through the following process:

1. The professor(s) teaching the course(s) at issue will meet with the student as promptly as possible to review the allegations and any supporting proof, and give the student a chance to address that information. The professor may arrange for a third person to attend and document the meeting. 2. If a professor concludes from the meeting that academic dishonesty has occurred, he/she will submit a written report to the appropriate school dean or program director (e.g. Director of Advanced

Research Programs, ARP) describing the incident and attaching supporting proof, and recommend one of the following consequences: a. allow the student to redo the same or comparable assignment, typically with the grade for that assignment being penalized to account for the act of academic dishonesty; b. record a failing grade for the assignment in question; c. record a failing grade for the entire course; or d. dismissal from the Seminary (required for repeat offenses of academic dishonesty; also see below concerning repeat offenses). 3. The dean/director will promptly provide the student with a copy of the professor’s written report, recommendation and supporting proof, and give the student five (5) business days to submit a written response, together with any supporting proof the student may wish to offer in his or her defense. The dean/director will include notice to the student concerning whether this allegation, if confirmed, will constitute a repeat offense that could require dismissal. 4. The dean/director will review the record and either affirm, modify or reverse the professor’s recommendation consistent with the options set out above, and provide written notice of that decision to both the student and the professor. If the dean’s/director’s decision is to affirm a recommendation of dismissal from the Seminary, the dean/director will refer the matter to the provost for review as described in this policy. All other decisions of the dean/director may be appealed by the student directly to the Academic Council by submitting a written request as stated in this policy. Failure to appeal within the time set out in this policy will result in the dean’s/director’s decision becoming final. 5. If the decision of the dean/director is to affirm a recommendation of dismissal from the Seminary, the provost will conduct a review of the case. The provost may affirm, modify or reverse the decision of the dean/director. (If the provost’s decision is to affirm a recommendation of dismissal, the provost first