Academic Standards Committee 2005-2006 Annual Report

The Academic Standards Committee was involved in a number of initiatives during the 2005-2006 Academic Year. The first order of business was to continue the Committee’s review of the University Academic Integrity Code and the student appeals process. This comprehensive review was initiated during the 2004-2005 academic year. Of particular concern to the Committee was the issue of plagiarism as it relates to the Academic Integrity Code. During the fall semester, consideration of the plagiarism issue centered on strategies that could be initiated to assure that all UNF students have a thorough understanding of plagiarism and is knowledgeable of how to properly cite the work of others. Strategies discussed included:

1.)	All students enrolling in the University taking and passing a test on plagiarism prior to the end of their first semester.
2.)	Developing a formal program of instruction (e.g. seminar) that must be completed by all students enrolling in the University.
3.)	Identifying or developing a self-instruction tool (e.g. on-line instructional module with examination) for all students to complete during their first semester.

The Committee also solicited and received feedback from the faculty regarding plagiarism at the University. As part of the initiative to obtain faculty input, the Committee sponsored a university-wide faculty forum on plagiarism on October 7, 2005. Faculty attending the forum shared personal experiences in dealing with plagiarism as well as their thoughts on strategies to instruct students about plagiarism as well as possible strategies for enforcing university policies concerned with plagiarism. Consideration of the plagiarism issue continued into the spring semester and culminated with the Committee making two recommendations to the Faculty Association Executive Committee. The first recommendation stated: “The Academic Standards Committee recommends that the University should allocate appropriate resources to establish and support an ongoing initiative to educate all the University academic community on the nature of plagiarism.” The rationale for the recommendation was that the University can promote academic integrity through educating the academic community on the nature of plagiarism and scholarly documentation. The second recommendation was: “The Faculty Association Executive Committee appoints a task force to include representatives from administration, faculty and students to develop an initiative to address the plagiarism issue. The Academic Standards Committee further recommends that the task force include the following members:

1.)	Six faculty members, one from each of the University’s Colleges.
2.)	One undergraduate student member and one graduate student member appointed by the Student Government President or designee.
3.)	Student Affairs should be represented by the Student Affairs Vice President or designee.
4.)	Academic Affairs should be represented by the Academic Vice President or designee

The rationale for the second recommendation was that academic integrity must be a University priority that includes the education and support of the entire University academic community including administrators, faculty and students. A second issue the Committee was asked to consider concerned faculty having multiple options in assigning failing grades. The Committee recommended to the Executive Committee that faculty should have the following options for assigning a failing grade: F would mean an academic (earned) F FN would mean never attended FP would mean attended to a certain date (which would be provided by the Registrar) FO would mean attended at least one class. The rationale for the recommendation was thatthe University has been collecting this data which Financial Aid is required to report to the federal government for some time. We have done so by having faculty indicate, at the point of assigning an F grade, if the student never attended, attended at least once, or attended beyond a specific date. Now that we are implementing Banner we will still need to collect this data, but will need to change how the data is collected. The four letter grades will serve as internal codes only with the grade of F appearing on the official transcript. A third issue considered by the Committee concerned the number of majors that a student could be enrolled in simultaneously. The Committee recommended to the Executive Committee that students may be enrolled in more than two majors simultaneously, but only with the approval of the appropriate Dean(s). Enrolling in more than two majors simultaneously will not have a negative financial effect on the University. A fourth recommendation the Committee made to the Executive Committee was a proposed change in the University Appeals Committee Bylaws addressing the “Committee Charge.” The Committee recommended adding “ violations of the academic integrity code” to the list of items that the University Appeals Committee may consider. The rationale for the change was that the University Appeals Committee should hear all student appeals for variance from University Academic policies including violations of the University academic integrity code. Committee activities during the spring semester continued to focus on reviewing the University Academic Appeals Committee Bylaws and the process for appealing an academic decision. As part of this comprehensive review, the Committee has reviewed and discussed the following documents in detail: 1) The Academic Integrity Code including violations of the Code; 2) the University procedure for appealing an academicdecision; 3) the policy for Petitioning University Policies and Regulations, and 4) the new UFF Contract. Ms. Connie Corker of the University Academic Appeals Committee also joined the Committee during the review process. At the end of the 2005-2006 academic year the Committee was in the process of reviewing a second draft of the procedure for appealing an academic decision. It is anticipated that the Committee’s review of the University Academic Appeals Committee Bylaws and the process for appealing an academic decision will be completed early during the fall 2006 semester. Additional items that will be addressed in the fall semester include: 1) review of the reinstatement form, 2) review the policy for petitioning to extend a deadline, 3) review the policy for petitioning to waive a university policy, 4) consideration of the rule that no more than 20% of the graduates of a college can receive honors, and 5) consideration that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving be observed as a holiday. The Committee Chair for the 2006-2007 academic year will be elected at the September meeting. Jack Cummings Chair, Academic StandardsCommittee, 2005-2006