Undergraduate Policies

I. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Faculty in the Department of History take academic integrity seriously, and departmental policy is to pursue all violations of academic integrity as provided for in the UNC Charlotte Code of Student Academic Integrity. In particular, students should be aware of the following:

• Unless explicitly informed otherwise, students should assume that all written work required as part of a history course should come with complete citations.
  
• Students in any doubt as to correct citation practices should consult with their instructor.
  
• Many faculty avail themselves of electronic means for checking papers for academic integrity, and the final papers submitted in all 4000 level courses are checked in this manner.

The following brief outline of issues is taken out of the catalog:

The UNC Charlotte Code of Student Academic Integrity governs the responsibility of students to maintain integrity in academic work, defines violations of the standards, describes procedures for handling alleged violations of the standards, and lists applicable penalties.

The following conduct is prohibited in the Code as violating those standards:

A. Cheating. Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other devices in any academic exercise. This definition includes unauthorized communication of information during an academic exercise.

B. Fabrication and Falsification. Intentional and unauthorized alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification is a matter of altering information, while fabrication is a matter of inventing or counterfeiting information for use in any academic exercise.

C. Multiple Submission. The submission of substantial portions of the same academic work (including oral reports) for credit more than once without authorization.

D. Plagiarism. Intentionally or knowingly presenting work of another as one's own (i.e., without proper acknowledgment of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when the ideas, information, etc. are common knowledge.

E. Abuse of Academic Materials. Intentionally or knowingly destroying, stealing or making inaccessible library or other academic resource material.

F. Complicity in Academic Dishonesty. Intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty.
Full details on the UNC Charlotte policies on Academic Integrity can be found at http://www.uncc.edu/unccatty/policystate/ps-105.html

II. STUDENT GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

Students who feel they have received unfair or improper treatment in the Department of History must address the grievance through the appropriate department procedures, as follows:

1. The student will first seek an informal resolution of the matter with the appropriate faculty member or staff person.

2. If not satisfied with informal resolution, the student may discuss the grievance with the Chair. Before making any judgment on the matter, the Chair will discuss it privately with the faculty member or staff person involved. If the complaint involves the Chair, the student may go to another faculty member, who will then follow the procedures outlined herein for the Chair.

3. If the problem cannot be resolved by informal discussion among the principals and the Chair, the student will then prepare a statement of grievance, written, dated, and signed by the student. The statement must:

a. describe succinctly the grievance and the facts related to the grievance;
b. identify the individual(s) against whom the grievance is directed;
c. state the relief sought with respect to the grievance;
d. describe steps previously taken to resolve the grievance.

4. The Chair will review the grievance, make such investigations as he or she deems appropriate, and provide the student with a written response to the grievance within 10 working days. This statement, with the chair’s assessment and the faculty member’s response, will be placed in the faculty member’s permanent personnel file. If still dissatisfied, the student may appeal to the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. However, the appeal must be filed with the Dean within 30 calendar days of the department response.

5. If the complaint involves the Chair, the written statement described in 3. above should be presented directly to the Dean of the College.

III. GUIDELINES FOR REVIEW OF A FINAL COURSE GRADE IN HISTORY

Students requesting a grade review assume the burden of proof. Therefore, the written "Request for Review" must include:

a. A statement of the reasons the student believes the grade was impermissibly or arbitrarily assigned;
b. The steps taken to resolve the disagreement over the assigned course grade; and
c. The resolution sought.

The "Request for Review" shall be accompanied by any evidence the student believes supports the conclusion that the grade was impermissibly or arbitrarily assigned. Evidence might include papers, tests, syllabi, or written documentation from witnesses. The student must demonstrate that the instructor applied irrelevant or impermissible criteria in evaluating the student’s academic performance, that the instructor failed to follow his or her course evaluation standards, or that the course grade was assigned as the result of a clear and material mistake in calculating or recording grades. That the student disagrees with the assigned grade does not constitute a basis for a review. Students can obtain advice and assistance from the Dean of Students on how to request a grade review.