UCSF School of Pharmacy

Policy on Student Misconduct in Academic Studies

Preamble

Students are expected to meet all course requirements ethically and responsibly. A student who in any manner engages or assists in any form of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, theft or forgery, whether in an examination or other course obligation, is guilty of academic misconduct and shall be subject to discipline.

Student Misconduct in Academic Studies

Any student who observes academic misconduct before, during or after an examination or in any of the requirements established by the instructor for a given course is obliged to take personal responsibility for the situation by immediately reporting the matter to the instructor or course assistant. Any faculty member who observes or receives notice of alleged academic misconduct is required to take appropriate steps. Steps faculty members shall take are to gather the relevant information and whenever feasible meet with the student to discuss/review what appears to be a breach of this policy. If, following this initial fact finding process, the faculty member believes that the accusation has merit, the faculty member shall, depending on the seriousness of the offence, either:

1. verbally admonish the student; or
2. issue a written notice to the student that his or her behavior may be in violation of campus policy and that, if repeated, such behavior will be subject to the disciplinary process;¹ or
3. submit a written description of the incident and supporting materials, if any, to the Dean or Dean's designee for consideration of formal discipline.2

Upon receipt of written materials, the Dean shall meet with the accused student. At the meeting, the student shall be presented with the allegation, as well as copies of any supporting documentation provided by the instructor. The Dean shall review the materials with the student, discuss any applicable University or campus policies and explain the disciplinary sanctions which the student may face if s/he is found to have violated the Student Academic Misconduct Policy. The accused student shall be provided with an opportunity to respond.

After considering the accused student's response, the Dean shall determine whether there are sufficient grounds to believe that the allegation has merit. If merit is found, the Dean shall request that the student enter a plea which shall be one of the following: "guilty," "not guilty" or "no contest". If the plea is "guilty" or "no contest," the Dean's determination shall become final and discipline shall be imposed.

If the plea is "not guilty," in accordance with Section 52.120 as listed in the UCSF Campus Supplement to the University of California Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations and Students, the accused student or the Dean may request a hearing. If no hearing is requested, the Dean's determination shall become final and the discipline shall be imposed.

If a hearing is held, its purpose shall be to weigh the evidence and to determine by majority vote of the hearing committee whether the student is guilty of misconduct. The hearing shall be held within 30 business days of the time the Dean has met with the accused student. The accused student shall be given a minimum of 10 business days advance written notice of the time and place of the hearing. The notice shall include a brief statement of the factual basis of the charge(s), and the policies alleged to have been violated. If the Dean determines that either previous accusations or previous discipline involving the same student(s) is relevant to the case, all documents relating to same shall be made available for consideration at the hearing. The accused student shall be provided with copies of these documents prior to the hearing.

An ad hoc committee composed of two members of the faculty, two students, and the president of the student body shall be appointed to hear the case³. The faculty members shall be appointed by the Dean and shall not:

• Be instructors in the course(s) in which the alleged incident(s) of misconduct occurred, or
• Have been instructors in a course in which a previous accusation of misconduct has been made against the student(s) currently accused.

The student members shall be appointed by the president of the student body and shall not be classmates of the accused student unless the alleged misconduct involves students from more than one class.

The president of the student body shall serve as presiding officer and shall not have voting power except in a tie vote. It will be his or her responsibility to forward to the Dean a report of the committee's findings and conclusion, as described in this policy.

The Assistant or Associate Dean for Students Affairs shall:⁴

• Notify the president of the student body, set the time and place of the hearing, and facilitate the scheduling of witnesses, where possible. Once the hearing is scheduled, the accused student is ultimately responsible for the appearance of his or her witnesses at the hearing.
• Hold a pre-hearing meeting with the accused student and counsel, if any, in order to discuss the charge(s), the hearing process, the rights of the accused student, the list of witnesses, the hearing schedule and the date prior to the hearing by which the parties will exchange exhibits.
• Meet with the ad hoc committee and provide it with a description of its responsibilities. Included shall be a description of accusations that have been considered by past ad hoc committees as well as their findings.

The accused student shall have the right to:

• Have access to any document relating to the charge.
• Be represented by counsel. Students exercising this right must notify the Assistant or Associate Dean for Student Affairs no later than five business days before the scheduled date of the hearing. Failure to do so may result in delay of the hearing date and will extend the period in which the hearing must be held from 30 to 45 business days. If the student chooses to be represented, the School of Pharmacy shall have the right to be represented by University counsel.
• Testify on his/her own behalf, including the presentation of relevant testimony and/or exhibits. Present his/her own witnesses.
• Be present during all testimony. (If the accused student does not appear at the time of the scheduled hearing, s/he shall have waived the right to be present at the hearing, and the hearing shall be held in the accused student's absence.)
• Cross-examine all School of Pharmacy witnesses.

The School of Pharmacy has the right to present its case, including the presentation of relevant testimony and/or exhibits, and the right to cross-examine the accused student and his or her witnesses.

The chair of the hearing committee has the discretion to limit each party to those witnesses whose names were disclosed to the other party as arranged at the pre-hearing meeting.

The hearing shall not be subject to the technical legal rules relating to evidence and witnesses. However, subject to the approval of the majority of the hearing committee, the chair of the hearing committee has the discretion to limit evidence to that which is relevant to the issues before the hearing committee, and to exclude evidence which is unnecessarily repetitive or cumulative.

The School of Pharmacy shall bear the burden of proof.

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the School of Pharmacy shall present its case first.

Findings shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence.

No inference shall be drawn from the silence of the accused.

The University shall make an audio recording of the hearing.

Upon completion of the hearing, the hearing committee shall prepare a written report which includes findings and a conclusion regarding guilt or innocence. The hearing committee shall not make recommendations regarding disciplinary action.

The hearing committee shall submit its report to the Dean after the hearing is completed. A copy of the report shall be provided to the student.

If the hearing committee concludes that the accused student is guilty of the charge(s), the Dean shall determine such disciplinary action as he/she deems appropriate in accordance with School and University policies relative to student conduct and discipline. Under no circumstances shall the discipline imposed be more severe than that proposed prior to the hearing. The Dean shall communicate his/her decision in writing to the student.

Regardless of the findings and conclusion of the hearing committee, a full set of records (including all written statements regarding the accusation, the decision of the committee and the Dean's subsequent action, if any) shall be maintained by the Office of Student and Curricular Affairs in a manner consistent with University records retention policies.

Final authority for student discipline rests with the Chancellor. The accused student therefore may submit a written appeal to the Chancellor within ten (10) business days of his/her receipt of the Dean's decision. The Chancellor shall provide a copy of the appeal to the School of Pharmacy. The School of Pharmacy shall be given an opportunity to file a written response with the Chancellor within ten (10) business days of receipt of the appeal. The Chancellor shall issue a written decision within fifteen (15) business days of receipt of the School of Pharmacy's response.

If as a result of an appeal, the Chancellor determines that the accused student is innocent of the charges, the Chancellor shall, upon the request of the accused student, have the record of the hearing sealed, and have any reference to the disciplinary process removed from the student's record. In such case, the record of the hearing may be used only in connection with legal proceedings or as otherwise required by law.

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Footnotes

1. The faculty member shall provide a copy of the written notice to the Dean or Dean's Designee. Although the notice will not be placed in the student's file at that time, evidence of the behavior as detailed in the written notice may be introduced in any subsequent disciplinary action in order to enhance the penalty. (See University of California Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations and Students, Policy on Student Conduct and Discipline, Section 104.80.)
2. Henceforth, all references to the Dean are intended to include the phrase "or Dean's designee".
3. If the president cannot serve, or if the accused student is a member of the same class as the president, the president shall appoint a member of the Student Council to serve in his or her place.
4. If the Assistant or Associate Dean for Student Affairs cannot serve, the Dean shall appoint a member of the faculty to serve in his or her place.

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