Student Conduct and Discipline

Students are responsible for knowing and observing the University regulations concerning student conduct and discipline (including scholastic dishonesty) as set forth in the University of Texas Board of Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 50101. Copies of the Regents' Rules and Regulations are available in the Dean's Office and the HAM-TMC Library.

STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT

Principles
Scientific research is the search for truths about our physical and natural world. This search can succeed only if it is carried out with the highest levels of integrity and honesty. Simply put, the search for truth must itself be truthful.

These same principles apply to students preparing for careers in scientific research. Their studies and their research must be conducted with absolute honesty and integrity. This Code of Conduct describes the behaviors that characterize academic honesty and integrity and, conversely, those behaviors that violate the standards of both The University of Texas System and the Faculty of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Further information is provided on the consequences of unacceptable behavior and what responsibilities students have for encouraging appropriate behavior on the part of others.

The University of Texas System Rules on Student Conduct
The University of Texas System Board of Regents has promulgated, in its Rules and Regulations (Rule 50101), a set of guidelines concerning student conduct and discipline. These guidelines include the following:

"The component institutions shall adopt rules and regulations concerning student conduct and discipline....Each student is responsible for notice of and compliance with the provisions of the Regents' Rules and Regulations and the rules of the component institution."
"Any student who commits an act of scholastic dishonesty is subject to discipline. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts."

MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
In compliance with the Regents' Rules, MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences has set forth the following definitions and regulations concerning scholastic dishonesty:

Confirmed cases of cheating, plagiarism, or dishonesty in research are grounds for dismissal from the Graduate School.
Unless a professor specifically states it is acceptable, it is considered academic dishonesty to either receive or give help on class papers and assignments.
Plagiarism means: 1) knowingly submitting work as one's own when it contains direct or paraphrased quotes from another source; 2) knowingly using someone else's ideas and presenting them as one's own.
Dishonesty in research includes deliberately fabricating, falsifying or distorting data and/or research protocols.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior
Once an allegation has been made that a student has committed an act of scholastic dishonesty, the Rules of the Regents are followed. These Rules specify the manner in which the investigation is conducted, the rights of the student concerning due process, the appeals that the student may make, and the disciplinary actions that may be taken. Penalties may range from disciplinary probation to a failing grade in a course to expulsion from the school.

Students' Responsibilities for the Conduct of Others
In addition to ensuring that their own work is above reproach, researchers and scholars have a collective responsibility for the integrity of the scientific enterprise. One aspect of this responsibility entails an intolerance for academic dishonesty on the part of their colleagues. Students, as future research scientists have the same responsibility. Accordingly, GSBS students should not hesitate to report what they believe are instances of scholastic dishonesty to the appropriate instructor or Dean. However, under this Code of Conduct, a GSBS student has no formal or binding obligation to report such incidents.

Acknowledgement and Pledge
GSBS students are expected to read this Code of Conduct and sign the pledge below before starting classes in the Graduate School and at the time of petitioning for advancement to candidacy: I acknowledge that I have read the Code of Conduct for GSBS students and understand its objectives and principles.

I understand that I am responsible for knowing and obeying the rules and regulations of The University of Texas Board of Regents and the UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston
I understand that if I am found guilty of an act of scholastic dishonesty, the penalties can be severe, including expulsion from the School.
Accordingly, I pledge that I will neither give nor receive unauthorized help on any examination, paper, or assignment that requires individual responsibility and that I will be scrupulously honest in the conduct of my research and the presentation of my research results.