The College of Social Science is a community of scholars dedicated to the highest standards of personal and professional conduct in research, teaching, outreach, and engagement by faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and academic staff. The College of Social Science Honor Code reflects these values. The academic hearing procedures of the College are designed to assure that those ideals are upheld for all members of our scholarly community when other efforts to resolve disputes have been exhausted. We ask that all parties to academic hearings conduct themselves in a manner that maintains the honor and integrity of the judicial process and advances the values of fairness, equity, and due process in the College.
The Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University (AFR) and the Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities (GSRR) documents establish the rights and responsibilities of MSU students and prescribe procedures for resolving charges of violations of those rights through formal grievance hearings. In accordance with the AFR and the GSRR, the College of Social Science has established the following College Hearing Board procedures for adjudicating academic grievances and complaints.
The University Bylaws for Academic Governance provide the system for participation by faculty and students in the development of policy on academic matters. Within that framework, the following Bylaws for Academic Governance set out the structures and procedures for participation by the faculty and students of the College of Social Science in the development and implementation of College policies.
The Division of Student Affairs and Services maintains the general MSU student regulations including information on students’ rights and responsibilities. Even though common sense should tell you what most of the rules are, please take time to read them; hearing panels do not accept “ignorance of the law” as an excuse. Students who violate these rules affect not only themselves but also the integrity, hard work, and honest effort of other students. As members of a university community of scholars, it is your collective obligation to join us in abiding by and enforcing the rules that make us a community.
The College of Social Science Honor Code applies to all citizens of the College.
We, the College of Social Science Spartans, in order to meet our responsibility to each other within the broader Michigan State University community and to align student and faculty professionalism in order to create an atmosphere for free and open exchange of ideas adopt this Honor Code to uphold the following values:
To respect individual and group diversity
We have much to learn from one another
To take pride in the university community
This is our home, not only our school
To work together to uphold the value of excellence
We hold ourselves and colleagues to a higher standard
To take accountability of one's own actions
Our integrity is worth more than our grade
To ensure that no individual has an unfair academic or personal advantage over another
Everyone's grade must reflect their work not their relationships with faculty or other students
We the faculty, students, and administration of the College of Social Science expect that these values will be demonstrated inside and outside of the classroom, and will be internalized and upheld in our lives beyond our time at MSU.
In the College of Social Science, allegations of academic dishonesty are taken very seriously. The procedures of the College and University are designed to ensure that our ideals are upheld for all members of our community when other efforts to resolve disputes have been exhausted. Information about “Student Rights and Responsibilities” is available to you in several places, including at Spartan Life Online.
The Office of the Ombudsperson at Michigan State University provides a wide range of resources to enable students to learn their rights and responsibilities.
As new members of our community of scholars, we ask you to join us in learning and understanding, and abiding by, the norms that guide us as a community.
Best wishes for success in your academic career at Michigan State University and in the College of Social Science.
The mission of the College of Social Science is to become a global leader in top-tier research while advancing engaged learning and societal well-being. A positive climate that prioritizes mutual respect is essential to advancing this mission. We resolve to achieve our mission by embodying the values of the College and celebrating those who advance our collective integrity. Consistent with the Faculty Handbook statement on Tolerance and Civility, our intent is that this code enables civil conversation and especially protects vulnerable individuals when they express diverse opinions.
We all have a responsibility to foster and maintain respectful relationships with others and to promote an equitable and supportive workplace environment. Civility does not imply homogeneity or the absence of conflict; intellectual exchange (even heated intellectual exchange) is pivotal to our academic mission. That said, we need to engage in reasoned exchanges that are professional, respectful, and considerate of individuals and their differences. Civility is a hallmark of a healthy intellectual community; bullying has no place in one.