The recently-revised Academic Code of Integrity will give faculty the option to punish students in violation of the code with educational sanctions as opposed to prescribed sanctions.

“”It is now a little more friendly to students and faculty. We added some rights and protection for both students and faculty, and what my office is most excited about is to be able to offer educational sanctions,”” Dean of Students Keith Humphrey said.

As of Feb. 3, if a university student is caught in violation of the Code of Integrity, these educational sanctions would give instructor the opportunity to offer students a choice of attending a workshop or accepting one of the older sanctions.

According to Humphrey, the five course workshops will inform and educate students about plagiarism and academic expectations. The instructor still has the option to impose a sanction like reduction of a course grade, notation on transcript or failure of course.

Humphrey said the workshops are currently taught by staff of the Associate Deans office and will eventually be taught by graduate students.

Students who commit Code of Integrity violations fund the $80 workshops. This is the same amount that students who violate prescribed sanctions of the Code of Integrity would have to pay.

Humphrey said the reason for recent revisions in the Code of Integrity is because the Student Code of Conduct was updated in September 2008. The two are connected because the Code of Integrity derives its authority from the Code of Conduct.

“”The overall goal is to promote an environment where students do their own, individual work, a community that has ethical principles, academic freedom. Students are here to get their education and to learn. They do that by doing their own work, essentially not doing the work of others,”” Humphrey said.