Academic Honesty

Graduate students are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity. Having completed their undergraduate degrees, they are expected to have a clear and concrete understanding of plagiarism and all other forms of academic dishonesty; thus, there is no forgiveness policy for commissions of any kind of academic honesty. Academic honesty extends to knowingly furnishing false information to the university or misrepresentation of information about oneself or others to university officials acting in performance of their duties.

Students who engage in academic dishonesty may be subject to immediate dismissal from the program. Students have a right to appeal if they believe an academic dishonesty allegation is unfounded. A written appeal must be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs within 30 days of receiving notice regarding the allegation. Appeals will be heard by the Office of Academic Affairs or his/her designee. The final determination in any academic dishonesty case lies with the Office of Academic Affairs. Questions regarding academic dishonesty or the appeal process should be directed to the Office of Academic Affairs.

Security Violations and Misuse of Computer Resources
Mercyhurst University reserves the right to take serious action against any student who willfully releases restricted computer information; misuses the University’s computer resources and/or violates the code of conduct for use of information technology. Such action may include (but is not limited to) the cancellation of computer privileges, immediate dismissal from work positions if applicable, academic suspension or dismissal (to be determined by the Office of Academic Affairs), and/or criminal prosecution.

With reference to library conduct:
Reading and audio-visual materials provided for the enrichment of the university community should be treated with respect by all students. Willful destruction of library materials, including but not limited to books, periodicals, manuscripts, CDs, videos and records constitutes academic misconduct.

Institutional Review Board
All research involving human subjects falls under the purview of the Mercyhurst University Institutional Review Board. If the proposed researcher wishes to submit for publication or to present collected data involving human subjects anywhere other than solely within the confines of the classroom the research must be approved by the IRB prior to collection of data, even if the submission for publication or presentation may be in the future. Researchers may find required IRB information and forms on the Mercyhurst portal under Academics.

Mercyhurst will be requiring CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) by the beginning of the Fall 2018 term. CITI required modules information will housed be on the MU IRB site. Researchers must complete all modules that are required by the University AND any additional modules required by the researchers' department and attach CITI certifications to the proposal prior to submitting to the IRB for review.