Student Conduct
Students are expected to take personal responsibility for their personal and professional actions. Every student is responsible for completing their own work and following the directions given by the course instructor.
Academic Misconduct
Sacred Wandering expects each student to be honest in academic performance. The most common forms of academic dishonesty are cheating and plagiarism, but others will apply. It is your duty to understand those forms of misconduct and communicate with your instructor any lack of understanding.
Cheating includes:
- Obtaining and using unauthorized material, such as a copy of an examination before it is given; or,
- Fabricating information, such as data for a lab report; or,
- Violating procedures prescribed to protect the integrity of an assignment, test, or other evaluation; or,
- Cooperating with or helping another student to cheat, such as giving answers to questions on tests; or,
- Other forms of dishonest behavior, such as having another person take an examination in your place.
Plagiarism includes:
- Directly quoting the words of others without using quotation marks or indented format to identify them; or,
- Using sources of information (published or unpublished) without identifying them; or,
- Paraphrasing materials or ideas of others without identifying the sources.
Some instructors use plagiarism checkers. If plagiarism is found, a report will be given to the Student so they may explain their actions. If the student is unable to explain their actions, a formal complaint will be filed against the student, a copy of which will remain in their permanent school record.
Academic Integrity means honesty concerning all aspects of academic work. Students are encouraged to consult with faculty to develop:
- Correct procedures for citing sources of information, words and ideas.
- Ways to properly credit collaborative work with project team or study group members.
- Strategies for planning and preparing for exams, papers, projects and presentations.
- Alternative procedures for quiz/exam conditions in classroom environment where cheating has been observed.
If a student is charged with academic misconduct, they may be barred from Courses at Sacred Wandering depending on the severity of the infraction.
Appeals
The instructor for a course has the responsibility for evaluating a student’s work and assigning grades (or pass/fail) for that work. On certain occasions, students may experience actions on the part of an instructor that cause the student to consider filing a grievance or grade appeal. In that case, the student must first seek informal resolution by discussing the matter with the instructor. Many such situations arise as the result of misunderstanding or incomplete information.
If the difficulty cannot be resolved informally, the student has thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the instructor’s action to initiate a formal appeal as indicated below. Therefore, efforts to reach an informal resolution should be initiated as quickly as possible.
Formal Grievance/Grade Appeal Procedure
Within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the action prompting the appeal or grievance, the student may file a written statement of appeal. The statement should describe relevant facts surrounding the appeal/grievance and identify actions that will resolve the problem to the student’s satisfaction. In response to this statement, the instructor or program director will meet jointly or individually with all parties in an effort to resolve the problem and will prepare a written “mediation report” of the results of their investigation. The report will be given to both the student and the instructor (if prepared by the director), and both the statement of appeal and the mediation report will be retained in the School’s files.
If a proposed resolution is agreeable, the student and instructor will be asked, in writing, to indicate formally that the matter is resolved.
Following evaluation at this level, the decision of the instructor/director of the Center is final.
Failure by the student or the instructor to meet any of the prescribed deadlines for an appeal to the next step terminates the appeal procedure.
Contract Agreement / Syllabus
The syllabus is a “contract between faculty members and their students, designed to answer students’ questions about a course, as well as inform them about what will happen should they fail to meet course expectations” (Merriam-Webster, 2013). It is also a “vehicle for expressing accountability and commitment” (Habanek, 2005). All syllabi used at the Center are considered contracts between the student and the teacher of the course. Checks shall be put in place to ensure the student understands the requirements of the course.
Students are expected to take personal responsibility for their personal and professional actions. Every student is responsible for completing their own work and following the directions given by the course instructor.
Complete Understanding
This Student Code of Conduct, together with the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy, constitutes the sole and entire agreement between Student and Company with respect to the Courses and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, warranties or terms and conditions, both written and oral, with respect to the Courses.