Questions tagged [policy]

On the formulation and application of formal rules and regulations by a university, instructor, or publisher.

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2 votes
2 answers
321 views

Is it academic dishonesty and punishable if quizzes are reused in a retaken course (calculus)?

I am currently retaking a calculus course that I failed, and noticed that all the quizzes are exactly the same from when I took it. I do have the solutions to the quizzes, as I have looked over them ...
10 votes
2 answers
4k views

Where do we draw the line between suspicion, and evidence, of cheating on an exam?

Where do we draw the line between suspicion and evidence of cheating on an exam? For example, on an online timed essay exam, in a student's essay, 99% of the sentences are identical to sentences found ...
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15 votes
3 answers
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College policy change after grant awarded

What recourse is there to a faculty member if the university changes its policy after a grant has been awarded? I am a tenured professor and recently won a prestigious research grant. For years, my ...
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2 votes
0 answers
98 views

IEEE submission vs ArXiv Version with missing IEEE-statement

I've just got and corrected my revised paper. I submitted the revision to IEEE and I uploaded a newer version to ArXiv. BUT I made a mistake and the IEEE-disclaimer statement was regretfully missing ...
11 votes
2 answers
3k views

Last Course needed to graduate suddenly not being offered [closed]

I’m a master's student with soon to be 32 credit hours of the 36 needed to graduate. My university is suddenly not offering one of the last two courses I need to graduate. It was supposed to offered ...
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1 vote
0 answers
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Are University Policies and Procedures in (public) Canadian universities supposed to be public?

I recently attempted to access the current University Policies and Procedures for a (public) Canadian university from the university's website. But when I clicked on the link to the PDF the browser ...
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26 votes
8 answers
4k views

Is it common and a good idea to give PhD candidates access to examiners’ assessments prior to their defense?

At my university (in Germany), a discussion is going on for some months. The issue is that some (professors and PhD students) want to establish a policy that, prior to the oral defense of their PhD ...
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70 votes
5 answers
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Examples of successful push-backs against DEI (diversity, etc.) initiatives in academia?

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives became an almost overnight transformational success in academia beginning one or two years ago (in the US and several other countries such as Canada ...
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28 votes
3 answers
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Data used for analysis is not free. What should I do as a reviewer?

I'm doing a review of a paper (very well written, I think) for a journal with a fairly good reputation. This is my first review, and I have a question regarding data availability which is, according ...
37 votes
7 answers
8k views

Why not offer credit by exam to students who have failed a course?

Summary: Students who have never taken a particular course often can get "credit by exam". However, it's extremely common for credit by exam to be disallowed to students who have previously ...
59 votes
14 answers
10k views

What is a "Safe Space"?

My organisation has recently started advertising certain meetings as being "Safe Spaces" without describing what is meant by such a thing. Merriam-Webster describes it as: a place (as on a ...
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1 vote
2 answers
430 views

Is there the risk of repercussions after making a formal complaint?

If I make a formal complaint against my PhD supervisor, where I have evidence of them failing to comply with university policy in Australia, is it reasonable to be afraid that they could essentially ...
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6 votes
2 answers
442 views

A question for UK academics and students: How will UK universities respond to a professor showing controversial religious images to class?

Over a month ago, a group of Muslim parents protested for several days at Batley grammar school, in West Yorkshire, England, after a teacher at that school showed in a Religion Education class the ...
1 vote
2 answers
305 views

Are non-mandatory sensitivity trainings mandatory? [closed]

This is probably a very USA-specific question: My university is implementing a new sensitivity training framework. This is so new that no information about it can be found in faculty handbook, ...
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-1 votes
2 answers
441 views

Is a policy of asking questions covering material not covered by lectures common in universities? [closed]

I have come to know a prominent EU university in which it is an official policy that examination questions will be external to the lectures. For example, say, they are teaching Probability & ...
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1 vote
2 answers
438 views

Are university professors allowed to use any computer they want for work? [closed]

Do universities restrict the brand or manufacturer of computers their professors are allowed to use for work? May a PhD advisor ban certain computer brands? Are there any restrictions on using your ...
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32 votes
8 answers
6k views

Is it ethical for students to be required to consent to their final course projects being publicly shared?

In a course, students were required to sign a consent form to share their final course project. There were two options that they could choose from: either anonymous sharing or sharing with attribution/...
3 votes
2 answers
590 views

Is it normal for universities to limit the number of PhD students a professor can supervise?

It came to my attention that one university limits the number of PhD students each professor can supervise simultaneously. The policy makes a vague reference to "legislative and regulatory ...
2 votes
1 answer
179 views

Academic policy does not let me earn credits from certain past courses. How can I challenge it? [closed]

I have read the policy below: No undergraduate courses taken to satisfy prerequisite requirements for admission to a graduate program may be included in the minimum number of units required for that ...
3 votes
1 answer
135 views

Am I allowed to give a gift to a fellow student for helping me in a very direct way?

Due to the COVID situation our lab course only allows one of two students in a partnership to run an experiment during a session while the other observes via Zoom. I can't make it to the next session ...
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2 votes
3 answers
270 views

Are there universities with policies that default intellectual property decisions to faculty?

For context, at a US-based institute there is a typical business-like policy stating intellectual property developed by faculty is owned by the institute. Likewise, faculty are required to submit ...
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3 votes
2 answers
336 views

Do instructors have the right to know how many students test positive for COVID-19?

My university tests every student. So they have the data. I can understand that for privacy, the names of the students who tested positive are not released to the public or the instructors. But do ...
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103 votes
10 answers
12k views

How can I address a student systematically boosting their grades by filing frivolous complaints?

I was recently accused of unfair grading by a student. The accusation is meritless, and it didn't take long to prove that I didn't do anything wrong. No damage, but a lot of time wasted. Later, I ...
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1 vote
4 answers
2k views

Can UK university require you email from @ac.uk, not OutLOOK? [closed]

I have children who attend UK universities. Because GDPR, the university forbids email forwarding or accessing @ac.uk on Outlook. However, the university's @ac.uk system is more user unfriendly than ...
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2 votes
2 answers
336 views

Do I have recourse if one professor's section has a higher average grade and "easier time" than my course's section?

From my observations comparing syllabi, grades, and coursework with a few of my peers, their professor's section of the same class has a significantly lighter work-load, more lenient grading policy, ...
24 votes
9 answers
15k views

Can a professor tell you that you can’t use your phone before or after their class?

So, I have this one professor who refuses to let anyone use their phone. I understand this during class hours but now he’s saying he will give a demerit to anyone using their phone even if it’s before ...
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1 vote
3 answers
313 views

Department policy possibly affecting inclusion and diversity

I am a last year PhD math student in an university in USA-Canada. The university I work in offers graduate students the option to teach first year calculus courses as a special kind of TA. The ...
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3 votes
1 answer
121 views

Is there common policy in universities about departments or faculty/staff intervening in the case of misconduct related to Title IX?

My understanding of Title IX is that it is a federal law that requires, among other organizations, universities, to ensure that women are not denied equal opportunities. In order to ensure compliance ...
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1 vote
1 answer
94 views

Where to find documents/information about research group policies

Due to different problems I have had in my research group (I am the PI) and in order to solve them I have decided to write down in a public document, what is our research group policy. I considered ...
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1 vote
0 answers
149 views

Can a degree be revoked for minor misconduct? [duplicate]

I was wondering how possible it would be that, after graduating, the university would investigate a minor misconduct during college. By minor I mean, if found guilty the worst punishment would be / ...
0 votes
1 answer
488 views

Where do all the essays go in college? [closed]

At my college I worked in the back room shredding graded essays from various subjects for hours. Some of them were very good and seems like a gross waste of data and labor. I wonder is this the ...
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2 votes
1 answer
165 views

Extension of international internship in France

I am an undergraduate student from India and I was offered a year long research internship in France for my undergraduate thesis. However, since the French government does not allow for internships ...
5 votes
4 answers
729 views

How can a phd student lobby against university wide publication restrictions?

Recently, my university has expressed that it wishes to enforce compliance with Plan S, an European-wide initiative to 'transition' towards open access publications, for all researchers employed by ...
4 votes
2 answers
116 views

Dependence of EU universities on external funding

Are EU universities as of 2019 more dependent on external funding than 20 or 40 years ago? Is there any EU policy on increasing external private funds and reducing public funding?
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3 votes
1 answer
327 views

My university blocks leaking/whistleblowing emails related to an internal investigation

A number of top academics in my public university have been suspended by its registrar pending an internal investigation. This was related to alleged involvement of those academics in a large scale ...
8 votes
5 answers
1k views

Is staring into the cover sheet of the exam paper and looking at the second page considered cheating?

Whenever I receive an exam paper, I usually stare at the cover page. I use the word "stare" instead of just "see" because the cover page is translucent and I could faintly see the page behind if my ...
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35 votes
8 answers
12k views

Is listing annexed territory listed in author details a valid reason to decline to review?

I recently accepted a paper review based on an abstract. On seeing the paper, at least one of the authors has listed their address as being within an unrecognized annexed territory, like this: ...
0 votes
1 answer
80 views

Is it legal to publicly share questionnaires from research articles?

I've found articles on the development of diagnostic questionnaires that I only have access to through my university. I'm interested in sharing some of them publicly online so more people can have ...
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13 votes
5 answers
3k views

Assignment extensions for no apparent reasons (USA)

I recently started teaching activities in an American institution. I have had a couple of students asking for extensions for problem sets / project deadlines for medical or family reasons, which is ...
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60 votes
23 answers
29k views

My university requires that I take attendance. How should I treat students who arrive late to class?

I might soon teach at a university which requires that I record attendance of students, as follows: Attendance is a requirement for the course. A person with at least 75% of attendance is eligible to ...
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1 vote
2 answers
704 views

NIH grants - moving to another institution as PI [closed]

If you submit an NIH grant (e.g. RO1) as PI and then move to another institution prior to study section review, or after an award is made, what are your options under both scenarios? Also, what is ...
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59 votes
20 answers
26k views

What should I do when my students use their phones in class?

On the first day of class, I told my students that they are not allowed to use their phones in class. However, a lot of them use their cell phones and don't pay attention in class. How should I deal ...
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35 votes
14 answers
12k views

What is the appropriate response to students who peek at the exam questions before the exam starts?

I have been an invigilator for several exams for large classes. I am not formally affiliated with the classes. One thing I routinely notice is that, despite warnings, there will always be some ...
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22 votes
3 answers
3k views

A female professor was found responsible for sexual harassment – what can happen to the signatories of a letter in support of her?

The New York Times article reported a female professor at New York University was found to be responsible for sexual harassment of a male student. There's a letter of support for this professor, sent ...
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13 votes
6 answers
1k views

Grant "pre-approval" issue

Background: I work in a public university as a staff member, and also a part-time lecturer, allowed to teach only 1 class (per Union). Last year, I applied and received multiple grants/awards for my ...
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5 votes
2 answers
287 views

Unequal pay between grad students, enforcing a more egalitarian policy

In my department, students can be paid quite differently, and accumulate multiple fellowships and assistantships. Departmental fellowships are provided upon acceptance to some top applicants. Students ...
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2 votes
0 answers
119 views

Retaking a Course in Phd that I Took During the Master [closed]

I took a course in my Master degree and I got (B). After I got my degree I applied to the Phd program in the same campus. When I started my Phd program I retook the course and got (A). I submitted my ...
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1 vote
0 answers
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How can I politely request that an authority figure respected protocol?

I am in a postgraduate program, part of which is to do an internship at an organization or school recommended by the program, mostly by observing a class or by shadowing a professor at his job. ...
6 votes
3 answers
548 views

Online Quiz Times Given Last Minute

I am an Engineering undergraduate student at a Canadian University and have had trouble in a course with regards to time to complete online quizzes. The course syllabus says there are 4 quizzes worth ...
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11 votes
9 answers
4k views

Missing final exam due to exhaustion?

A student is asking for an alternative exam because he was "completely exhausted" due to overwork the last month or so of the semester, including the exam day. He provided a doctor's notice ...
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