New Faculty Orientation Community Standards & Conflict Resolution

Location: 413 Academy St. (New location, effective August 12, 2024!)

Website homepage: www.udel.edu/communitystandards

Email: communitystandards@udel.edu

Phone: 302-831-2117

Mission: "Through fair, equitable, and restorative processes, we encourage students to explore how decisions impact themselves and others. We educate the UD community on standards of behavior, conflict resolution, and commitment to personal and shared accountability."

Community Standards & Conflict Resolution (CSCR) works to ensure the campus is safe, welcoming and academically-focused, primarily by establishing behavior standards for all students, as outlined in the Code of Conduct, educating students on these standards and responding when these standards are not upheld.

For faculty, this pertains primarily to concerns regarding academic dishonesty and classroom disruptions.

Per the Faculty Handbook, "Academic integrity is a fundamental responsibility of all members of the University community" (p. 45). Community Standards & Conflict Resolution can assist faculty in this fundamental responsibility in a number of ways, including:

Suggested syllabus statements
Proactive strategies to decrease incidents of dishonesty
Consultation when possible academic dishonesty occurs
A well-organized conduct process to evaluate allegations of academic dishonesty

Faculty are encouraged to review the CSCR website for more details.

The Faculty Handbook also states "It is the official policy of the University of Delaware that all acts or attempted acts of alleged student academic dishonesty be reported to [Community Standards & Conflict Resolution]. At the faculty member's discretion and with the concurrence of the student or students involved, some cases, though reported to the Office of Student Conduct, may be resolved within the confines of the course. All others will be adjudicated by [Community Standards & Conflict Resolution]" (p. 45).

Academic dishonesty incidents may be resolved via either of the following processes:

As detailed in the Faculty Handbook, a faculty meets with a student to discuss an academic dishonesty incident and proposes an academic penalty. If the student accepts the proposed academic penalty, the faculty would inform CSCR. No further action would be needed by the faculty or student. Cases resolved via this process would not become part of a student's conduct record.
As detailed in the Student Guide to University Policies, a faculty submits details about an academic dishonesty incident, as well as a proposed academic penalty, to CSCR. A member of the CSCR staff would meet with the student to discuss the incident and explain recommended sanctions, both academic and other. The student has right to accept, reject or appeal. Faculty would participate in the case resolution and appeal processes. If it is determined a student violated the Academic Honesty Policy, the academic penalty assigned as a consequence is the responsibility of the reporting faculty member. The CSCR process would not override the choice of penalty made by the faculty. Cases resolved via this process would, in most instances, become part of a student's conduct record, which are maintained only until the student graduates.

Faculty are encouraged to contact CSCR to discuss possible academic dishonesty incidents and explore which of the above resolution options are most appropriate.

Similarly, if faculty experience classroom disruptions, they may contact CSCR for suggestions on how to respond, restore a positive academic environment and discuss the process for formally adjudicating the behavior, as appropriate.

Finally, Community Standards & Conflict Resolution provides a variety of options to assist students in resolving conflicts. These alternative dispute resolution methods are employed when students are experiencing conflict outside the academic classroom setting, but may be impacting their academic, personal or overall success at the University. Faculty are encouraged to refer students to CSCR if the faculty becomes aware of these conflicts.