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| FHSU 2008-2009 Student Handbook |
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Policies and Procedures
Fort Hays State University Statement on Student Rights and
Responsibilities |
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Preamble
Fort Hays State University exists for the transmission of
knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of students
and the general well being of society. Free inquiry and
free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these
goals. As members of the Fort Hays State University academic
community, students shall be encouraged to develop the search
for truth.
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets
of academic freedom. The freedom to learn depends upon appropriate
opportunities and conditions in the classroom, on the campus
and in the larger community. Students should exercise their
freedom with responsibility.
The responsibility to secure and to respect general conditions
conducive to the freedom to learn is shared by all members
of the Fort Hays State University academic community. FHSU
has a duty to develop policies and procedures, which provide
and safeguard this freedom. Such policies and procedures
should be developed within the framework of general standards
and with the broadest possible participation of the members
of the academic community. The purpose of this statement
is to enumerate the essential provisions for students' freedom
to learn.
I. Freedom of Access to
Higher Education
The admission policy of FHSU is a matter of institutional
choice provided that requirements for admission are clearly
stated and upheld. Under no circumstances will a student
be barred from admission on the basis of race, creed, color,
ancestry, national origin or political philosophy. Thus,
within the limits of its facilities, FHSU is open to all
students who are qualified according to admission standards,
and its facilities and services are open to all of its enrolled
students.
II. In the Classroom
The professor in the classroom and in conference will encourage
free discussion, inquiry and expression. Student performance
will be evaluated solely on an academic basis, not on opinions
or conduct in matters not related to academic standards.
A. Protection of Freedom of Expression
Students are free to take reasoned exception to the data
or view offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment
about matter of opinion, but they are responsible for learning
the content of any course of study for which they are enrolled.
B. Protection Against Improper Academic Evaluation
Students have protection through orderly procedures against
prejudice or capricious academic evaluation. At the same
time, they are responsible for maintaining standards of
academic performance established for each course in which
they are enrolled.
III. Student Affairs
A. Freedom of Association
Students are free to organize and join associations to promote
their common interests (with the stipulation that all campus
organizations must be lawful). Such organizations must be
registered by the Student Organizations Committee to be
eligible for the allocation of student fee resources from
the Student Government Association.
B. Freedom of Inquiry and Expression
1. Students and student organizations are free to examine
and discuss all questions of interest to them and to express
opinions publicly and privately. They are always free to
support causes by orderly means that do not disrupt the
regular and essential operation of FHSU. At the same time,
it is the responsibility of the students and student organization
to make clear to the academic and larger community that
in their public expressions or demonstrations; they speak
only for themselves.
2. Students may invite and hear any person of their own
choosing. The routine procedures required by FHSU before
a guest speaker is invited to appear on campus are designed
only to ensure that there is orderly scheduling of facilities
and will not be used as a device of censorship. It is the
responsibility of those sponsoring student organizations
to make clear to the academic and larger community that
sponsorship of guest speakers does not necessarily imply
approval or endorsement of the view expressed, either by
the sponsoring group or FHSU.
C. Student Participation in Institutional Government
As constituents of the academic community, students are
to be free, individually and collectively, to express their
views on issues of institutional policy and on matters of
general interest to the student body. The student body has
clearly defined means to participate in the formulation
and application of institutional policy affecting academic
and student affairs. The role of the Student Government
Association (SGA) and both its general and specific responsibilities
are explicit, and the actions of the SGA within the areas
of its jurisdiction are reviewed only through orderly and
prescribed procedures.
D. Student Publications
Student publications and the student press are a valuable
aid in establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free
and responsible discussion and of intellectual exploration
of the campus. They are a means of bringing student concerns
to the attention of the faculty and administration and of
formulating student opinion on various issues on the campus
and the world at large.
In the delegation of editorial responsibility to students,
FHSU must provide sufficient editorial freedom and financial
autonomy for the student publications to maintain their
integrity of purpose as vehicles for free inquiry and expression
in the academic community.
Institutional authorities, in consultation with students
and faculty, have a responsibility to provide written clarification
of the role of student publications, the standards to be
used in their evaluation and the limitations on external
control of their operation. At the same time, the editorial
freedom of student editors and managers entails corollary
responsibilities to be governed by the canons of responsible
journalism, such as the avoidance of libel, attacks on personal
integrity and the techniques of harassment and innuendo.
IV. Off-Campus Freedom of StudentsExercise of Rights of
Citizenship
College students are both citizens and members of the academic
community. As citizens, students shall enjoy the same freedom
of speech, peaceful assembly and right of petition that
other citizens enjoy, and, as members of the academic community,
they are subject to the obligations that accrue to them
by virtue of this membership. Faculty members and administrative
officials will ensure that institutional powers are not
employed to inhibit such intellectual and personal development
of students as is often promoted by their exercise of the
rights of citizenship both on and off campus.
V. Policy Statement on the Use of Controversial Material
in Instruction, including the Use of Sexually Explicit Materials
Students are entitled to an atmosphere conducive to learning
and to even-handed treatment in all aspects of the teacher-student
relationship. Faculty members may not refuse to enroll or
teach students on the grounds of their beliefs or the possible
uses to which they may put the knowledge to be gained in
a course. Students should not be forced by the authority
inherent in the instructional role to make particular personal
choices as to political action or their own social behavior.
Evaluation of students and the award of credit must be based
on academic performance professionally judged and not on
matters irrelevant to that performance, whether personality,
race, religion, degree of political activism or personal
beliefs.
It is the mastery teachers have of their subjects and their
own entitles them to their classrooms and to freedom in
the presentation of their subjects. Thus, it is important
for an instructor persistently to intrude material that
has no relation to the subject, or to fail to present the
subject matter of the course as announced to the students
and as approved by the faculty in their collective responsibility
for the curriculum.
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| ACADEMIC
POLICIES/PROCEDURES |
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ACADEMIC APPEALS
Policy
Membership in the FHSU learning community imposes upon the
student a variety of commitments, obligations and responsibilities.
It is the policy of FHSU to impose sanctions on students who
misrepresent their academic work. Appropriate classroom instructors
will select these sanctions or other designated persons consistent
with the seriousness of the violation and related considerations.
Examples of academic dishonesty include but are not limited
to: (1) Plagiarism, taking someone else's intellectual work
and presenting it as one's own (which covers published and
unpublished sources). Using another's term paper as one's
own, handing in a paper purchased from an individual or agency,
submitting papers from living group, club or organization
files, or using another's computer program or document are
all examples of plagiarism. Standards of attribution and acknowledgment
of literary indebtedness are set by each discipline. Members
of the faculty are encouraged to include disciplinary or class-specific
definitions in course syllabi. Students should consult with
their department or with recognized handbooks in their field
if in doubt. (2) Cheating is unacceptable in any form. Examples
include consultation of books, library materials or notes
during tests without the instructor's permission; use of crib
sheets or hidden notes; intentional observation of another
student's test; receipt of a copy of an exam or questions
or answers from an exam to be given or in progress; substitution
of another person for the student on an exam or another graded
activity; deliberate falsification of lab results; submission
of falsified data alteration of exams or other academic exercises;
and collaboration on projects where collaboration is forbidden.
(3) Falsification, forgery or alteration of any documents
pertaining to assignments and examinations. (4) Students who
(cooperate or in other ways promote) participate in promoting
cheating or plagiarism by others (or who take credit for the
work of others) will also be in violation of this policy.
Students participating in any violation of this policy must
accept the consequences of their actions. Classroom instructors
and/or university review/appeals committees and administrators
will assess the sanctions for violation of this policy. The
seriousness of the violation will dictate the severity of
the sanction imposed. Academic sanctions may include but not
be limited to any of the following:
o Verbal or written warning
o Lowering of grade for assignment/activity
o Lowering of term grade
o Failure of class assignment
Administrative sanctions may include but not be limited to
either of the following:
o Suspension from the university
o Dismissal from the university
Procedures
The university guarantees students the provision of due process.
Students are first expected, however, to avail themselves
of the university's established tradition of informal appeal.
Steps 1-4 describe the informal process. Steps 5-7 describe
the procedures designed to implement a formal appeal at the
graduate/undergraduate levels.
Step 1: The faculty member decides whether a violation of
the Academic Honesty Policy has occurred.
Step 2: The faculty member informs the student and the department
chair that an alleged violation of the Academic Honesty Policy
has occurred. It is the faculty member's obligation to select
or devise an academic sanction consistent with the severity
of the violation.
Step 3: The faculty member informs the student of the academic
sanction and the process of appeal. If the sanction involves
a lowering of a term grade, the faculty member informs the
Registrar of the change.
Step 4: If the student disagrees with the faculty member's
allegation and/or recommended sanction, the student pursues
the university's longstanding tradition of informal appeal
by consulting with the faculty member and, if the student
still disagrees, by appealing to the department chair.
Step 5: If, after the informal appeal, the student still disagrees
with the faculty member's allegation or recommended sanction,
the student may appeal in writing to the academic department
no later than the end of the first week of the following semester.
The department chair will provide the student with formal
(a) departmental appeal procedures for undergraduates and
special students or (b) departmental graduate appeal procedures
for graduate students. (See specific written departmental
appeal process.)
Step 6: (a) Graduate students:
If a graduate student disagrees with the allegation(s) or
recommended sanction in the informal procedure, the graduate
student may formally appeal through the Graduate School's
graduate student appeals procedures. This appeal procedure
begins with a written appeal to the department chair no later
than the first week of the following semester. The written
appeal should state the specific reasons for the formal appeal
to the department.
(b) Undergraduate/special students:
If the student is an undergraduate or special student and
disagrees with the allegation or recommended sanction, the
student may appeal in writing to the Provost no later than
15 working days following the decision.
Step 7: For undergraduate and special students, an administrative
hearing panel will be formed by the Provost to hear the undergraduate
or special student appeal. The administrative hearing panel
will consist of an academic administrator, assistant vice
president for student affairs (assigned to work with student
judicial affairs), four faculty members and a student. The
administrative hearing panel procedures for undergraduate
and special students are available in the Provost's Office.
WITHDRAWING COURSES
Students may withdraw full-semester courses through 11:59:59PM
CT on the 35th day of the semester. Students withdrawing during
this time period will not receive any notation on their transcript.
Students who withdraw after this period and thru 11:59:59PM
CT on the 70th day of the semester will receive a notation
on the transcript of withdrawal (W). No withdrawals after
the 70th day of the semester. Students receiving financial
aid have additional responsibility and should contact the
Office of Student Financial Assistance
Procedure for Course Withdrawal
Log into your TigerEnroll account:
1. Select the semester.
2. Click on the "Pre-Enroll/Schedule Changes" tab
2. Select the course you would like to drop and place a check
in the box to the left of the course
3. Click on the "Remove/Drop Selected" button.
Your request will then be sent to your Academic Advisor for
approval prior to processing.
For refund information or drop deadlines refer to the Academic
Calendar.
It is important to check with the office of Financial Assistance
prior to dropping or withdrawing from a course to verify how
it will affect your Financial Aid status.
Procedure for Totally Withdrawing from the University. Students
who desire to totally withdraw from all semester or term courses
should review the "Withdrawal Policy Statement"
and follow procedures four course withdrawal. Students who
leave the university without officially withdrawing are considered
to be enrolled to the end of the semester and subject to a
grade of unsatisfactory "U." Financial aid recipients
who totally withdraw may be responsible for federal repayment
of aid based on the last date of attendance and/or academic
participation.
DEAN’S HONOR ROLL
All undergraduate students, including those enrolled in continuing
education classes and those enrolled in a second undergraduate
degree program, are eligible for the Deans Honor Roll distinction
subject to enrollment and successful completion of 12 or more
undergraduate credit hours (excluding pass/no credit hours
and incompletes) with a GPA for that academic term of at least
3.60. Second undergraduate degree candidates should have declared
a second major and have a degree summary on file in the Registrar's
Office.
GRADES
Mid-semester grade reports for the fall and spring semesters
are distributed to students through their advisors and are
available to students on TigerTracks. Final grade reports
are available to students on TigerTracks. Faculty members
are responsible for entering mid-term and final grades by
the deadlines posted on the on-line Academic Calendar. The
following chart lists each grade and notation, its definition
and, where appropriate, the point value assigned to the grade.
Grade Definition Grade Points
A Superior Achievement 4
B Good Achievement 3
C Average Achievement 2
D Minimum Passing Ach. 1
U Unsatisfactory Ach. 0
P Pass (D or above)*
NC No Credit* (not used in calculating GPA)
CR Credit
AUD Audit**
I Incomplete (assigned at the discretion of the instructor
when work is otherwise of passing quality but incomplete,
usually for reasons beyond the student's control)
W Withdrawal from a class up to six weeks before the end of
the semester or three weeks before the end of summer term.
WF Withdrawal Failing (not used in calculating GPA)
WP Withdrawal Passing
WC Cancellation (non-payment of fees)
* To learn about taking a course Pass/No Credit, please consult
the University Catalog.
** To learn about auditing a class, please consult the University
Catalog.
The grade point average (GPA) is calculated by dividing the
total number of points earned by the total number of credit
hours in which grade points were recorded.
If a student feels that a grade on the final report is inaccurate
or unfair, he/she may appeal the grade through the university's
prescribed appeal process. That process is described in greater
detail in the "Policies and Procedures" section
of this handbook and also in the University Catalog.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT GRADE APPEALS PROCESS
Membership in the FHSU learning community imposes upon the
student a variety of commitments, obligations, and responsibilities
(e.g., preparation for class, attendance, completion of reading
assignments, participation in the governance of student affairs,
etc.). One of these responsibilities includes the appropriate
and prescribed use of the grade appeals process. Students
are expected to first avail themselves of the university's
established tradition of informal appeals which may involve
one or more consultations with the instructor(s) involved.
The reciprocal obligations which bind the members of the university
learning community to one another require that all grade disputes
must be initially addressed and discussed at this level. Failure
to recognize this obligation to the instructor(s) on the part
of the student must bring into question the appellant's commitment
to the learning community and seriously prejudice further
petitions for a resolution of the problem. If a grade dispute
is not informally resolved at this level through consultation
with the instructor, the department chair, or the college
dean, the student is obliged to consult next with the appropriate
department chair who will inform the student in writing of
formal departmental appeal procedures and the student's entitlement
to formal university-level appeals procedures and options.
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| OTHER UNIVERSITY POLICIES/PROCEDURES |
CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN
Guided by our paramount concern to protect and preserve human
life, Fort Hays State University follows policies and protocols
that are designed to deal with crises of all types, and also
to head off crises before they occur.
The Crisis Management Team depends upon every member of the
FHSU community to support these policies and procedures. If
you have been involved in an incident or witnessed an incident
that might be considered a crisis, call 911 immediately. Let
the trained professionals decide what action, if any, should
be taken. In addition to dealing with actual events, university
personnel are trained to prevent crises. If you believe a faculty
member, staff member or student may pose a threat to himself
or herself or to others, contact University Police, the Kelly
Center, the Office of Student Affairs or any other university
official to express your concerns. Your confidentiality will
be protected, and professional steps will be taken to deal with
the situation.
A major feature of the FHSU Crisis Management Plan is an emergency
notification system. Please keep your information current so
that you will be notified in the case of an emergency.
To provide your contact information, go to TigerTracks (http://tigertracks.fhsu.edu),
log in, and go to the Contact Information page under the Online
Services tab. Enter your emergency telephone number and e-mail
address. If you have never activated your TigerTracks account,
see the CTC HelpDesk Web site (www.fhsu.edu/ctc/helpdesk) or
call them at 628-5276 for assistance.
For a quick and easy introduction to the Crisis Management Plan,
please see the Crisis Flow Chart at http://www.fhsu.edu/crisis/flowchart.php.
The entire Crisis Management Plan is available online at http://www.fhsu.edu/crisis/plan.php.
ETHICAL USE OF COMPUTING
RESOURCES POLICY
Introduction
Fort Hays State University (FHSU) provides computing resources
and worldwide network access to its faculty, staff, and students
for legitimate administrative, educational, and research efforts.
As a member of the FHSU electronic community it is your responsibility
to use computing resources ethically and responsibly. Members
of the FHSU electronic community are expected to exercise
reasonable care in the utilization of FHSU information systems
or their components.
Privacy
There are limitations on the amount of privacy that can be
expected for individuals utilizing computer resources. Complaints
or exceptional circumstances may result in investigation.
The Electronic Communications Act of 1986 provides no protection
for employees using company online systems.
Users should exercise extreme caution in using e-mail to
communicate confidential or sensitive matters, and should
not assume that e-mail is private and confidential. It is
especially important that users are careful to send messages
only to the intended recipient(s). Particular care should
be taken when using the "reply" command during e-mail
correspondence.
Because the contents of such e-mail are subject to laws governing
public records, Users will need to exercise judgment in sending
content that may be deemed confidential. Furthermore, e-mail
transmissions may not be secure, and contents that are expected
to remain confidential should not be communicated via e-mail.
Common examples of confidential contents include: student
grades, personnel records, individual donor gift records,
and data subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act (FERPA) regulations, and the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA).
Responsibilities
In making appropriate use of the FHSU computing resources,
users must accept the responsibility for their behavior and:
~ o Protect their user IDs and passwords from unauthorized
use, recognizing that individuals are responsible for all
activities on his/her user IDs.
~Access only files and data that they own, they have been
given authorization for, or that are publicly available.
~Use only legal versions of copyrighted software in compliance
with vendor license requirements.
~Be considerate in their use of shared resources. Refrain
from monopolizing systems, overloading networks with excessive
data (spamming), and wasting computer time, connect time,
disk space, printer paper and toner, and other computing resources.
~Be cautious about e-mail messages because the information
is public and may be retrieved and used in a court of law.
~Comply in all respects with any request by the University
to retain certain information, recognizing that information
stored on the University's network is ultimately the responsibility
of the University.
Individuals Will Not…
In making appropriate use of computing resources, individuals
should avoid:
~ o Accessing another person's files or data without permission.
~Using computer programs to decode passwords or access control
information.
~Engaging in any activity that might be harmful to systems
or to any information stored thereon, such as creating or
propagating viruses, worms, trojan horses, or disrupting services,
spamming or damaging files.
~Making or using illegal copies of copyrighted software or
other copyrighted materials (such as digitized artistic productions
and music or video files), store such copies on FHSU systems,
or transmit them over FHSU networks.
~Using e-mail or message services to harass, intimidate, threaten,
or otherwise annoy another person by use of sexual or bigoted
content or content which poses an imminent threat to the life
or safety of the person or persons receiving the communication.
~Disclosing their passwords or using another person's user
IDs or passwords.
~Using FHSU systems for commercial use, such as performing
work for profit or advertising in a manner not authorized
by FHSU.
~Posting web pages that contain material that is illegal or
promotes illegal activity (e.g., gambling or child pornography).
~Masking the identity of an account or machine. This includes
sending mail that appears to come from someone else.
~Using computer and telecommunications systems for personal
use (as regulated by Kansas law and regulations on misuse
of state property; see KSA 75-2949 F(d) and the State Department
of Administration policy on Internet use).
Use of E-mail for FHSU business
The official Fort Hays State University e-mail account is
the only electronic mail platform for communicating university
business. Official e-mail communications are intended only
to meet the academic and administrative needs of the campus
community. All electronic notifications from the university
are transmitted through this e-mail account and are not forwarded
to other non-FHSU e-mail accounts. Users are expected to read,
and shall be presumed to have received and read, all Fort
Hays State University e-mail messages sent to their Official
Fort Hays State University e-mail accounts. The university
expects that such communications will be received and read
in a timely fashion.
Assignment of Student E-mail
Official University e-mail accounts are available for all
enrolled students. The addresses are all of the form [Name]@e-mail.fhsu.edu.
These accounts must be activated before the University can
correspond with its students using the official e-mail accounts.
An Account website available through the Tiger Tracks Portal
has been designed for this purpose. Students' official e-mail
addresses will be included in directory information. As with
other directory information, any student may request that
access to his or her official e-mail address be restricted.
Expectations about Student use of E-mail
Students are expected to check their e-mail on a frequent
and consistent basis in order to stay current with University-related
communications. Students have the responsibility to recognize
that certain communications may be time critical. Failure
to check e-mail, error in forwarding mail, or e-mail returned
to the University with "Mailbox Full" or "User
Unknown" are not acceptable excuses for missing official
University communications via e-mail.
Educational uses of E-mail
Faculty will determine how electronic forms of communication
such as electronic mail will be used in their classes, and
will specify their requirements in the course syllabus. This
will ensure that all students will be able to comply with
e-mail-based course requirements specified by faculty. Faculty
can therefore make the assumption that students' official
FHSU accounts are being accessed.
Redirecting of E-mail
If a student wishes to have e-mail redirected from their official
FHSU address to another e-mail address such as @aol.com, @hotmail.com,
or an address on a departmental server, they may do so, but
at their own risk. The University will not be responsible
for the handling of e-mail by outside vendors or by departmental
servers. Having e-mail redirected does not absolve a student
from the responsibilities associated with official communication
sent to his or her FHSU account.
Authentication for Confidential
Information
It is a violation of University policies for any user of official
e-mail addresses to impersonate a University office, faculty/staff
member, or student. To minimize this risk, some confidential
information may be made available only through the password-protected
Tiger Tracks Portal. In these cases, students will receive
e-mail correspondence directing them to the appropriate Tiger
Tracks Portal link, where they can access the confidential
information only by supplying their student ID and personal
identification number (PIN). The confidential information
will not be available in the e-mail message.
Consequences of Misuse
Misuse of FHSU computing resources is unacceptable, and users
will be held accountable for their conduct. The staff of the
FHSU Computing and Telecommunication Center handles student
infractions in an informal manner. Those that cannot be resolved
in an informal manner will be referred to the Office of Student
Affairs for disciplinary processing. Furthermore, student
infractions that are considered serious in nature may be reported
directly to the Office of Student Affairs. Students found
to have committed infractions of this policy may lose FHSU
computing privileges, and additional sanctions may be imposed.
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