Quest University Canada - Quest Honour Constitution

Quest Honour Constitution

I. Authority

A. Ultimate authority for student discipline related to violations of the Honour Code is vested in the Board of Governors. It may be delegated to University administrators, faculty, students and committees as set out in this Constitution.

B. Students may be accountable to both external authorities and to the University for acts which constitute violations of law and this Code. Action under the Code will normally proceed during the pendency of administrative, civil or criminal proceedings arising out of the same or other events, and shall not be subject to challenge on the ground of the outcome or ongoing nature of those proceedings.

C. It is the responsibility of all students to familiarize themselves with this Code and all other policies, rules and regulations of the University. Ignorance of the Code or other policies shall not constitute a defense against their application.

II. Scope

A. The Code shall apply to all students - current and former - with whom the University maintains an affiliation as learners in its academic community.

B. The Code shall apply to cases of plagiarism that occur when an individual presents work as his or her own that has been created in whole or in part by another. In particular, students are expressly prohibited from submitting:

the works, ideas, images or data of any other person as the student's own in any academic work which is a component of a course or program at the University;

information or data which have been altered or contrived in any way that is intended to mislead;

work which includes misleading references to material or references that do not accurately reflect the sources used by the student.

C. The Code shall apply to cases of cheating that deprives students of the right to be assessed fairly and honestly. Violations of the Honor Principle include, but are not limited to, the following:

possessing through any means, at any time or in any manner not prescribed by a tutor, a copy or copies of any materials, in whole or in part, intended to be used as an instrument of academic evaluation, in advance of its administration;

obtaining or attempting to obtain information from another student or unauthorized source (e.g. notes, crib sheets, PDAs) during an examination or other assignment;

without the tutor's prior permission, collaborating with another, knowingly assisting another or knowingly receiving the assistance of another in writing an examination or in satisfying any other course requirement(s). This includes working together on a laboratory or computer program when the tutor requires that the task be performed independently;

completing assignments, tests or examinations for another student or obtaining unauthorized assistance on any assignment, test or examination;

submitting material for academic evaluation which has been procured in whole or in part from other sources, including the internet or other agencies or individuals, except where the material has been fully and properly attributed to those sources;

permitting another person to substitute for one's self in an activity related to academic evaluation or to substitute for another in a similar situation;

misrepresenting information, in whole or in part, on a record, report, paper, examination or other course requirement to be submitted or in the possession of any tutor;

altering grades or answers and submitting an assignment or test to be re-graded;

altering or forging a document related to academic status or progress;

submitting all or a substantial portion of academic work for which previous credit has been, or is in the process of being, obtained in another course without the prior approval of the course tutor;

willfully interfering with or damaging the academic work of another student;

failing to comply with a specific condition of academic integrity which has been clearly announced in a particular course;

assisting others to cheat or plagiarize.

D. The Honour Pledge

Students shall affirm their commitment to the Honour Code by publicly signing a pledge that states:

On my honour, I pledge that I will not engage in any dishonest or unethical behaviour in the conduct of my academic work at Quest University Canada, nor will I condone such behaviour in others.

Upon completion of each academic assignment or examination, students shall reaffirm their commitment to the Honour Code by signing an attached or incorporated statement that says:

On my honour, I have neither given nor accepted unauthorized assistance in any form in the completion of this assignment (examination, paper, report, etc. ).

Failure to sign such a statement shall not absolve the student of the responsibility to comply with the Code.

E. Tutor Responsibilities

All examinations shall be given by the course tutor in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution and in a manner which promotes the Honour Code.

The faculty tutor shall specify all requirements pertaining to examinations, including time, place and permissible resources. A student's failure to adhere strictly to these requirements, without explicit permission, shall constitute a violation of the Honour Code.

The faculty tutor shall inform students of the precise application of the Honour Code to each course. If the tutor does not provide this information or if a student is unclear about what is expected, it shall be the student's responsibility to request such information.

III. Honour Council

A. There shall be an Honour Council, consisting of Quest students and faculty, which shall have the following functions:

interpret the policies and procedures related to the Honour Code, in accordance with this Constitution;

hear and take action on all cases arising from alleged infractions of the Honour Code;

promote academic integrity and the Honour Code through educational programs and materials;

recommend policy and procedural changes to appropriate governing bodies;

report annually on the University's experience in promoting academic integrity.

B. The Honour Council shall consist of four (4) regular student voting members, two (2) student alternates and one (1) faculty advisor who only votes in the event of a tie. Members of the Honour Council shall be selected in the following manner:

student applications accompanied by a statement of interest will be solicited by September 15th;

a panel consisting of three (3) students selected at-large and two (2) faculty appointed by the Chief Academic Officer will review the applications and interview students, as necessary;

the panel will announce the student membership by September 30th.

The Chief Academic Officer will appoint the faculty member for a one-year term.

The term of office for student members of the Honour Council shall be until a member resigns, is removed from the Honour Council or graduates from the University.

The Honour Council shall have the authority to fill vacancies as they occur, and such vacancies will be filled by selecting members from the initial list of applicants or, if necessary, by soliciting additional applications as outlined in B.1 to 3 above.

C. A member of the Honour Council may be removed by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the regular student voting members, after being told the cause for removal and being given an opportunity to be heard. Causes for removal shall be:

a breach of confidentiality regarding any matter concerning the Honour Council;

a conviction for violation of the Honour Code;

a serious failure to carry out the responsibilities of a member of the Honour Council.

D. The Honour Council shall elect from among the student members a chairperson whose duties shall include establishing the agenda for, and presiding at, all meetings and hearings. The Council may elect other officers and delegates as it deems necessary. Unless otherwise specifically required by this Constitution, a simple majority of the regular voting members of the Honour Council shall constitute a quorum for purposes of a meeting.

E. The Honour Council shall be responsible for investigating the alleged violation, hearing the case, rendering a decision, applying sanctions, as appropriate, and recording and communicating the outcome.

F. The names of the complainant(s) and respondent(s) and the evidence in connection with the case shall not be revealed by any member of the Honour Council, witnesses or members of the appeal board to anyone except the complainant(s), the respondent(s), the faculty advisor to the Honour Council, and appropriate University Officers.

G. The Honour Council shall have the right to adopt by-laws which shall not infringe upon or contradict this Constitution. A vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the regular voting members of the Honour Council shall be necessary to adopt or amend a by-law.

H. The Honour Council shall adopt a Guide to Conducting Hearings as a means of ensuring fairness and consistency in all proceedings. The Guide shall also serve as a training manual for members of the Honour Council.

I. Advice about procedural matters may be passed along from one Honour Council to the next, but shall not be binding.

J. The Honour Council shall have the right to submit to the Board of Governors written petitions to amend this constitution if, and only if, all Council members unanimously agree to the proposed amendments. Final authority for amendments rests with the Board of Governors.

IV. Procedures

A. Reporting

If an instructor believes there is a cause to suspect an incident of academic dishonesty with respect to a student's participation in the respective class, the instructor shall investigate thoroughly the alleged dishonesty and establish a reasonable level of certainty that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred before proceeding.

The instructor may confer with the student and, if a resolution can be reached on the occurrence of an incident, the instructor and student shall record their understanding of the incident and the agreed-upon sanction. At his or her discretion, the instructor may forward all documents to the Honour Council, which shall constitute the report of an offense; or the instructor may keep these documents for as long as one year without forwarding them to the Honour Council. If they have not been forwarded after one year, they shall be destroyed.

In the event that the instructor and student cannot come to a mutual agreement regarding the alleged violation or the proposed sanction, the matter shall be referred to the Honour Council for resolution.

If upon referral the Honour Council determines that the student has a record of previous academic dishonesty, the Council shall undertake its own review of the alleged violation and the proposed sanction. The sanction agreed upon previously by the student and instructor shall be void and is not binding upon the Council.

If any member of the University community, not serving as the respective instructor in an incident of alleged academic dishonesty, in good faith believes a case of academic dishonesty may have or has occurred, that member shall report his or her belief to the appropriate instructor or to the Honour Council. In either case, the instructor shall investigate the allegation thoroughly before proceeding, as outlined above.

If on the basis of the evidence at hand, the Honour Council determines that there is a basis for proceeding with a hearing, the student shall be notified in writing of the nature of the allegation. The student shall notify the Honour Council within forty-eight hours of delivery of the notification whether the student agrees with or wishes to contest the allegation. Failure to respond or to appear at a scheduled hearing shall not constitute a defense and shall result in a violation being noted and communicated in writing to the student.

If the student elects to contest the allegation, the Honour Council shall inform the student and the complainant (s) of its intention to proceed according to the process outlined in the Guide to Conducting Hearings.

All proceedings of the Honour Council shall be predicated upon the duty of natural justice and procedural fairness in which the following principles shall be followed:

a person has the right to know the case against him or her and have an adequate opportunity to present his or her side of the case;

no person shall be a judge in his or her own cause;

a person has a right to unbiased judges;

a person may decline to answer questions on the grounds of self-incrimination.

B. Hearings

Four (4) student voting members and one (1) faculty advisor shall be present throughout the proceedings.

The complainant(s) and respondent(s) shall be present throughout the hearing.

The respondent(s) may be accompanied by an attendant who, without leave of the Honour Council, shall not question any participant in the process or make submissions during any hearing or appeal.

Witnesses may be proposed by either party to the dispute; however, the Honour Council reserves the right to limit the number of witnesses as well as to call any witnesses it deems material to the case. Normally, witnesses are only present while they are providing testimony. The Honour Council reserves the right to question any or all of the participants in the hearing.

The Honour Council shall establish the procedures for conducting the hearing and notify all parties of the process in advance. These shall be incorporated into the Guide to Conducting Hearings. Prior to the hearing, the Honour Council shall ensure that it:

clarifies the mandate of the Council to establish that it has jurisdiction in the case;

confirms the composition of the hearing panel and ascertains that all members are impartial in the case;

frames the task and the issues to focus the hearing on essential elements of the case; and

establishes the rules by which the hearing will proceed.

In conducting the hearing, the chairperson shall introduce everyone present, clarify the purpose of the hearing, outline the procedures, confirm the logistics, entertain procedural questions, and initiate the proceedings.

The Honour Council shall meet in private to:

fully deliberate the case by recapitulating the facts and arguments, and then proceed to consider what interpretation is best supported by the facts;

decide the issue by considering all the facts and arguments and then concluding, on the balance of probabilities, that one party's argument is more compelling than the other's; or that there is insufficient evidence to proceed with the case;

document the process;

write the decision, including the sanction; and

communicate the decision in writing to both parties and University Officers, as necessary.

Decisions of the Honour Council shall be by consensus or simple majority. All members of the Council shall be bound equally by the final decision.

At the close of a proceeding, all copies of all materials shall be collected, and all but the official file copy shall be destroyed. All evidence and the procedural record shall be retained for a period of six months.

C. Appeals

Any decision and resulting sanction by the Honour Council may be appealed by the respondent(s) or complainant(s) to the Appeals Board only on the following grounds:

alleged bias of the Honour Council or one of its members;

alleged failure by the Honour Council to comply with the principles of natural justice or procedural fairness; or

substantial new evidence unavailable to the Honour Council at the time of its deliberations.

Appeals by either party must be directed in writing to the Honour Council within 72 hours (excluding intervening block breaks) of the receipt of its decision. The statement of appeal shall include the grounds for appeal and the remedy sought on behalf of the appellant.

The Chairperson of the Appeals Board shall respond to the request for appeal, with a final decision, within 72 hours of receipt of the written appeal.

The Chief Academic Officer shall appoint four (4) students, chosen from the student body, and one (1) member of the faculty or administration, to form the Appeals Board. The member of faculty or administration shall be a full voting member, and shall be the chairperson, of the Appeals Board. No individual with prior involvement or a potential conflict of interest shall serve on the Appeals Board. The Appeals Board shall review the record of the Honour Council and allow for further appropriate presentation of material by the relevant participants.

The Appeals Board shall follow the procedures outlined in the Guide to Conducting Hearings. The Appeals Board shall reach a determination on the admissibility of the appeals and shall inform the appellant in a timely manner of the outcome. If the Appeals Board decides to grant the appeal, the Appeals Board shall consider all relevant material before the Board and make a decision as to whether, on a balance of probabilities, the student has committed academic dishonesty. If there is a finding of academic dishonesty, the Board shall determine which sanction, if any, is appropriate.

The decision of the Appeals Board shall be final.

D. Sanctions

A student who has been found to have committed an act of academic dishonesty under this Code shall receive one of the following sanctions. Without limiting the discretion of the tutor, Honour Council or Appeals Board, the University has developed the following guidelines with respect to choosing an appropriate sanction:

A minor sanction is most often appropriate where there has been no previous finding of academic dishonesty and the act of dishonesty is not grievous.

A suspension or rescission of credential will often be appropriate where the student is no longer enrolled at the University and received a credential wholly or partially as a result of academic dishonesty. The decision between suspension and rescission will depend on the severity of the act of dishonesty and whether the student has a prior finding of academic dishonesty.

A major sanction is most often appropriate where the act of academic dishonesty is grievous.

1. Minor

Warning/Admonition - Written notice that continuation or repetition of prohibited conduct may be cause for additional disciplinary action.

Grade Reduction - A reduction in grade or a failing grade for any particular aspect of student evaluation with which the academic dishonesty was associated and any accompanying reduction in the grade for the course. If a grade reduction results in a failing grade for the course, this failing grade does not amount to a "Failing Grade with Transcript Notation."

Failing Grade with Transcript Notation - A failing grade for the course in which the student was involved in academic dishonesty, and a notation on the student's transcript that the failing grade was received as a sanction for a finding of academic dishonesty.

A copy of the letter of a minor sanction shall be kept on file for five years.

2. Intermediate

Suspension of Credential - Temporary suspension of a credential pending satisfaction of conditions or a course of action agreed to with an instructor or imposed by the Honour Council or Appeals Board.

A copy of the letter of an intermediate sanction shall be kept on file for five years.

3. Major

Unlike minor and intermediate sanctions, all major sanctions require final approval from the President or designated University Officer, and only major sanctions shall be recorded on a student's transcript. A copy of the letter of a major sanction shall be kept on file permanently.

Rescission of Credential - irrevocable rescission of a credential previously granted by the University when it is discovered that the credential has been earned through fraudulent means.

Suspension - A student may be prohibited from accessing any or all of the University premises or any or all University services for a prescribed period of time or until prescribed conditions are satisfied. Following expiry of the suspension, the student will normally be readmitted with restoration of full rights and status as a student.

Dismissal - A student may be prohibited form accessing any University premise or service for a prescribed period of time. Following expiry of the dismissal, the student may reapply to the University and will not necessarily be granted a place in the initial program of study.

Expulsion - A student may be permanently prohibited from accessing any University premise or service.

V. Definitions

Attendant - means an individual selected by the student under investigation for academic dishonesty to consult with, accompany or assist the student at any meeting, conference, informal procedure, formal hearing or appeal related to the investigation or allegation. Without leave of the Honour Council or Appeals Board, the attendant shall not question participants or make submissions during any part of an academic dishonesty procedure.

Balance of probabilities - means the standard achieved where the evidence as a whole shows that the fact sought to be proved is more probable than not.

Complainant - means any member of the University community who alleges that a student has committed an act of academic dishonesty and who initiates a procedure under the Constitution of the Honour Code.

Record - means the collection of documents, tapes, discs or other such recordings that are considered by the Honour Council or Appeals Board along with any decision arising out of that hearing.

Respondent - means any student against whom an allegation of academic dishonesty has been made under the Constitution of the Honour Code.

Student - means any person for whom the University maintains an affiliation as a learner in the University community.