Academic Integrity
The School of Graduate Studies at Clark University maintains standards of academic conduct that have preserved integrity and excellence in institutions of higher learning over the centuries. All graduate students are expected to adhere to all parts of Clark University’s Graduate School Code of Conduct. Under these standards of conduct, all work submitted to fulfill course requirements is presumed to be the student’s own, unless credit is given for the work of others in a manner prescribed by the course instructor. Cheating, plagiarizing, and falsifying data constitute violations of the Code of Conduct, as does submitting the same paper in different courses without prior approval of the instructor to do so. It is the student’s responsibility to consult the faculty when in doubt whether a particular act constitutes academic misconduct.
To ensure academic integrity and safeguard students’ rights, all suspected violations of the Graduate School Code of Conduct are reported to the Dean of the Graduate School. Graduate Judicial procedures will be used to hear cases of alleged violations of the Graduate Student Code of Conduct.
Several violations of academic integrity are outlined below. If you have questions concerning academic integrity, contact the professor teaching a course and/or your academic advisor.
- Cheating has three principal forms:
Unauthorized use of notes, text, or other aids during an examination or in performance of course assignments
Copying the work of another
Handing in the same paper for more than one course unless the faculty members involved gives their explicit permission to do so.
- Plagiarism refers to the presentation of someone else’s work as one’s own, without proper citation of references and sources, whether or not the work has been previously published. Submitting work obtained from a professional term paper writer or company is plagiarism. Claims of ignorance about the rules of attribution, or of unintentional error are not a defense against a finding of plagiarism.
- Unauthorized collaboration refers to work that students submit as their own that was arrived at through a process of collaboration without the approval of the professor. Since standards on appropriate or inappropriate collaboration may vary widely among individual faculty, students should make certain they understand a professor’s expectations before collaborating on any class work.
- Alteration or fabrication of data includes the submission or changing of data obtained by someone else or not actually obtained in the performance of an experiment or study, except where allowed by the professor. It also includes the changing of data obtained in the performance of one’s research.
- Participating in or facilitating dishonest activities includes, but is not limited to:
Stealing examinations
Forging grade reports or grade change forms, or altering academic records
Sabotaging the work of another student
Selling, lending, or otherwise distributing materials for the purpose of cheating
Forging or altering senior clearance forms
Forging letters of recommendation
Forging signatures on any official university document
When a student is found responsible for violating the Code of Conduct, sanctions will be imposed. Sanctions for a first offense may include but are not limited to one or a combination of the following responses:
- Letter of warning
- Grade of zero for the particular assignment
- Grade of F (failure) for the course
- Academic Probation
- Notation of sanction on the student’s academic record
- Suspension from the University
- Expulsion from the University
If a student is found responsible for a second offense, harsher sanctions will be imposed. These include one or a combination of the following:
- Grade of F (failure) for the course
- Suspension from the University
- Expulsion from the University
Academic Standing
Academic Good Standing is subject to regulations regarding minimum levels of achievement set by the Graduate Board, departments determine their own regulations for good standing. Failure of two graduate courses will, in all cases, result in required withdrawal from the graduate program. Students who do not maintain academic good standing are required to withdraw from the graduate program. Departments determine their own minimum standards for number of courses passed, grade point averages, timely passing of preliminary or qualifying examinations, written theses or dissertations, and oral defenses. It is the department’s responsibility to act as judge of standards of performance. Departments shall develop regulations for the number of times a student may attempt the various qualifying examinations, but this shall not normally exceed two attempts. Failure to achieve satisfactory progress will result in required withdrawal from the program. Appeals against the department’s decision should be addressed to the Dean of Graduate Studies, clearly stating the grounds for appeal. The Dean may choose to convene a subcommittee of the Graduate Board to consider the appeal. Minimum standards for retention of graduate appointments (i.e. Scholar, Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant) are set by the individual departments with the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Audit Status
With the permission of the instructor, full-time undergraduate and full-time resident graduate students are eligible to audit one undergraduate course per semester. There is no additional charge for this privilege. Part-time matriculated students also may register as auditors with the permission of the instructor and payment of tuition. In limited or sectioned courses, regularly enrolled Clark students are given preference for available openings. For students who choose to audit a course, a final grade of “AU” will be reflected his/her transcript; the grade doesn’t count as earned units and does not get factored into the GPA.
Class Attendance
There is no university-wide class attendance policy. However, many individual instructors do set attendance requirements for their courses.
Courses in COPACE
Graduate-level courses taught through COPACE must be approved by the COPACE Curriculum Committee. Department chairs must approve all COPACE courses to be used for credit in the Graduate School before a student registers for the course. Chairs of graduate departments must gain approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies before a graduate student registers for any COPACE course. COPACE courses are not eligible for tuition remission without prior approval from the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Courses in GSOM
Graduate-level courses taught through GSOM are approved by the department. Department chairs must approve all GSOM courses to be used for credit in the Graduate School before a student registers for the course. Chairs of graduate departments must gain approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies before a graduate student registers for any GSOM course. GSOM courses are not eligible for tuition remission without prior approval from the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Graduate Grading
Valid letter grades are A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, F. The faculty has determined that the grade of “A” indicates work of distinction (exceptional quality), and the grade of “B” indicates good work, but not of distinction. The grades of A and B (with “+” and “-“) are acceptable for graduate credit; anything lower than a B- is not acceptable. While grades of C+, C, and C- are recorded as is, they are not accepted for academic credit toward a graduate degree. P/F (Pass/Fail; P=B- or better): May be used in lieu of letter grades at the instructor’s discretion. This option should be uniform for all graduate students in that course. IN (incomplete): Instructors may assign incomplete grades to graduate students at their discretion. Incompletes that remain unchanged will be converted to F grades by the Registrar’s Office. IP (In progress): Instructors may enter In Progress (IP) grades only for master’s thesis or dissertation courses. W (Withdrew): The grade of W is recorded by the Registrar’s Office upon receipt of a Course Withdrawal Form from the student or approval from the Dean of the Graduate School. WR (Withdrew with Reason): The grade of WR is recorded by the Registrar’s Office upon approval from the Dean of the Graduate School. End-of-course grades may only be changed with the permission of the Dean of the Graduate School when a professor has made a computational error or has reevaluated work submitted before the grading period ends. Unless an incomplete has been previously authorized, grades may not be changed on the basis of work submitted after the grade period or rewritten papers turned in after the grades are due.
Leave of Absence
A student may request a leave of absence for a period up to 180 days (typically one semester at a time) during periods of enrollment, defined at Clark as Fall and Spring, in writing from their department. Students taking voluntary leaves of absence are still considered degree students who will automatically resume their studies after a short time away from school. Leaves of absence may be granted by the Dean of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the department for a designated period, not normally exceeding one year. For special reasons, leaves of absence may be extended beyond one year by the Dean of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the department. Students on leave of absence are not eligible for loan deferment or any Clark benefits. If a student fails to re-enroll or file for an extension, the student will be withdrawn from the university.
Repeating Courses
It is the policy of Clark University to allow you to repeat a course. However, you will only get credit for one of the courses (except in cases where the faculty designate a course as one that can earn credit more than once). Both courses will appear on your transcript but only the higher grade will be computed into your GPA. Students receiving any kind of federal or institutional aid should consult with the office of Financial Aid to determine if the repeated course/s will affected their aid eligibility.
Required Withdrawals
Students may be required to withdraw from the University due to failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, for financial reasons, failure to register or for failure to adhere to University rules and regulations. Students who are required to withdraw from the University may not be eligible for reinstatement and in some cases may not be eligible for a refund.
Transfer Credit
A maximum of two full units (equivalent to 8 semester hours) of graduate course work at another institution may be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the department for candidates in a Master’s program. Approved courses for transfer are posted on the transcript, however grades for course work completed at another institution are NOT posted on the student’s Clark transcript or calculated into a student’s Clark GPA.
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