General Principles
The University of Iowa Code of Student Life, published each year as an insert to The Daily Iowan, governs student non-academic conduct (including graduate and postdoctoral students).
The Graduate College Manual of Rules and Regulations governs graduate and postdoctoral student academic conduct.
Research misconduct, such as the fabrication or falsification of data and plagiarism, is defined by the US Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Research Integrity (definition of misconduct). Egregious acts of research misconduct may also result in additional action by the University of Iowa as stated in section 27.6, Ethics in Research, of the University’s Operations Manual.
Graduate students in CCOM-affiliated departments and programs (including the Biomedical Science Program and its 7 subprograms; the Biochemistry and Microbiology Departmental Programs, and the 4 biomedical interdisciplinary programs (Genetics, Human Toxicology, Immunology, and Neuroscience) are expected to adhere to all sets of policy guidelines. Postdoctoral students in CCOM laboratories are expected to adhere to all sets of policy guidelines. Graduate students may be sanctioned or dismissed from their program in the event of policy violations. Postdoctoral students may be sanctioned or dismissed from their position in the event of policy violations.
Please contact the CCOM Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, your Graduate Program Director or Coordinator, or your Departmental HR Administrator, for further information about these policies.
Grievance Procedure
The grievance procedure to employ for a complaint will depend on the area involved (student life, academic difficulties, employment, faculty). Generally, students first explore how to pursue a grievance with their mentor, PI, or with program leadership (Director of Graduate Studies, Program Director, Program Coordinator/Administrator).
An attempt should be made to resolve grievances at the lowest level, before escalating to higher levels. Nearly all grievances can be resolved at the level of the faculty member and student, or at the level of the Department. However, if students are uncomfortable or dissatisfied using this route, the Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (ADGPS) can be contacted. (see figures at the end of this document for quick visual reference of grievance workflows)
If consultation with the Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies does not lead to an appropriate or satisfactory resolution, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Graduate College will counsel students on further options. The Graduate College has established two complaint procedures:
In addition, the Counseling Service, the Office of the Ombudsperson, and the Office of Civil Rights Compliance (OCRC) will counsel graduate students on a confidential basis and will assist students in selecting an appropriate grievance procedure. The UI Postdoctoral Association is a resource for postdoctoral students.
If a student has a grievance about a faculty member, they should first try to resolve the grievance directly with the faculty member, per the policies in II above. If that process is not available or successful, the grievance should be filed by emailing biomedgrad-postdoc@uiowa.edu in order to trigger a department-level review of the faculty member. If students are uncomfortable or dissatisfied using this route, the Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (ADGPS) can be contacted.
If consultation with the ADGPS does not lead to an appropriate or satisfactory resolution, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Graduate College will counsel students on further options, per II above. Beyond that, the grievance can be escalated to the Office of the Provost or the Board of Regents. In CCOM, grievances towards faculty members will also be reviewed by the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, and further follow-up from that Office may occur. HR sensitive faculty issues will remain confidential.
Integrity is a core value of the University of Iowa and the CCOM. At the University of Iowa, we hold ourselves to the highest standard of professional and scholarly ethics, are accountable for our decisions and actions, exercise responsible stewardship of the resources with which we are entrusted, and treat one another with honesty and fairness. Academic integrity embodies the principles of honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect, forming the foundation of ethical scholarship and intellectual growth. Upholding academic integrity is not only essential for maintaining the credibility and integrity of the academic community but also for nurturing individuals who contribute positively to society through their knowledge, skills, and ethical conduct. Academic and research misconduct undermine the efforts and achievements of other students, erodes the trust and credibility that society places in educational institutions and science, and can have lifelong consequences for the individuals involved.
Academic integrity is a teaching and learning issue, and our policies and procedures are written in that spirit. Academic misconduct can involve many gray areas. The ways that students are allowed to work with other classmates or utilize additional resources can differ between courses which can lead to confusion. Instructors are responsible for making expectations regarding academic integrity and academic misconduct clear and explicit to students in the course syllabus, assignment instructions, and exam instructions. Principal Investigators (PIs) are responsible for making expectations related to research misconduct clear to their trainees. Students are responsible for actively seeking clarification from their course instructors and principal investigators if they are uncertain about whether a situation might involve academic/research misconduct.
University of Iowa Colleges track offenses on a shared database, with academic/research misconduct reports thus shared across UI colleges and with more severe consequences for repeat violations.
Incidents of academic/research misconduct will be investigated and reported in a manner that ensures due process and fairness.
Instructors/PIs: Instructors/PIs are required to report incidents of academic/research misconduct by filing a violation report (email: biomedgrad-postdoc@uiowa.edu and notifying the accused student in writing and contacting the student’s program director. Instructors/PIs are encouraged to maintain documentation of all communication with students accused of academic misconduct.
Students: a student who witnesses an incident of academic/research misconduct is expected to report the violation to the course instructor/PI. During any investigation, the reporting student may be asked for additional information. The confidentiality of the reporting student will be protected to the greatest extent possible; however, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in all cases.
Reports of academic misconduct are shared with the Graduate College, the Associate Dean in OGPS, the Director of Graduate Studies or Program Director, and Departmental Executive Officer (DEO, Department Head) in the student’s home department. If the case involves founded allegations of research misconduct, the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) is notified. Misconduct investigation records are not transferred to the student record in MAUI. However, depending on the result of a case (e.g., dismissal/expulsion), a dean’s level note acknowledging misconduct as the reason for dismissal/expulsion may be added to the student’s MAUI advising notes. Access to dean’s level MAUI advising notes is highly restricted and campus advisors (e.g., DGS, DEO, Graduate Program Coordinator, faculty advisors) do not have access to these notes. Notes associated with misconduct are not recorded on the student’s transcript. Records of misconduct violation(s) will be kept for seven years or until the student graduates, whichever comes first.
In the event that academic/research misconduct is suspected, the following procedures will be followed:
Course-Level/Lab-Level Procedures
An instructor/PI who suspects a student of an incident of misconduct will investigate whether the suspected misconduct has, in fact, occurred.
Instructors/PIs who intend to report a student for misconduct should inform the student about their concerns. The instructor/PI will make reasonable attempts to arrange a meeting with the student as soon as is feasible to clarify the situation and to discuss specifics of the incident. The student should be provided the opportunity to respond to the allegation. If the student does not respond or chooses not to meet with the instructor, the instructor/PI should proceed with sanctioning the student (see below) and reporting the incident.
If the meeting between the instructor/PI and the student ultimately results in no sanction (e.g., grade reduction) because the allegation of academic misconduct is not supported, then the process will be considered completed. No additional reporting will be required, nor will there be any information related to the situation entered into the student’s record.
If after meeting with the student the instructor/PI determines that the allegation of academic misconduct is founded, then the instructor/PI will make a decision regarding whether or not a sanction (e.g., grade reduction) will be applied and report the allegation by filing a violation report.
If the instructor/PI decides not to apply a grade sanction (e.g., issues a warning or provides the student with learning opportunities to address any misunderstandings of misconduct), the incident must still be reported at the level of the program (program director and/or DGS).
Examples of Course-level Sanctions. In the case of academic misconduct that is related to a course, the instructor will determine the appropriate sanction. Sanctions may include but are not limited to:
Failing the assignment or assigning a lower grade than otherwise would have been given for the assignment.
Requesting a revision of the work in question and accepting the revision for grade assignment.
Failing a student for the course (must only be considered in consultation with the departmental/programmatic administrative home for the course)
The student may:
Accept responsibility and the instructor’s/PI’s sanction.
Accept responsibility but appeal the instructor’s/PI’s sanction. Reasons could include inequitable enforcement of the sanction, the sanction is too severe, or the sanction is out of alignment with stated policy in the syllabus.
Deny responsibility for the violation and appeal the instructor’s/PI’s sanction.
Sanctions are the responsibility of the instructor or department/program, and sanctions must be implemented, monitored, and enforced at the instructor or departmental/program level. If a case is appealed to a higher office (e.g., OGPS, Graduate College, Office of the Provost, Iowa Board of Regents), the decision reached by that office must be executed by the department/program (for department-level sanctions) or by the instructor/PI (for course-level/lab-level sanctions).
If the student has any questions about the appeals process, then they should contact their Graduate Program Coordinator or Program Director to learn their departmental/program appeals process. The student may also choose to discuss their situation confidentially with a representative of the Office of the Ombudsperson.
Appeals must be in writing to the DEO (Department Chair) of the department in which the course is offered within 30 calendar days of written notification of the instructor’s finding. An email to the DEO is sufficient.
The DEO will review the case and submit a decision letter to the student and to the Program Director of the student’s program.
If the student is not satisfied with the DEO’s decision, the student may then request a review by the Associate Dean in OGPS in CCOM. The request must be written within 30 calendar days of receiving the DEO’s finding. An email to the Associate Dean is sufficient.
The Associate Dean will review the case and submit a decision letter to the student and to the Program Director of the student’s program.
If the student is not satisfied with prior decisions, then the student has the right to appeal to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Graduate College, followed by the Office of the Provost, and finally up to the Iowa Board of Regents.
The instructor should send copies of the final determination document to the student, the department/program. The instructor should send a copy of the final determination document to biomedgrad-postdoc@uiowa.edu and they should notify any additional offices that have been involved in the appeals process that a decision has been reached.
When a conflict of interest in the chain of appeals is identified (e.g., the DEO or Associate Dean is also the student’s instructor, advisor, or supervisor), then an appropriate substitute to hear the appeal will be made.
NOTE: The course-level policies and procedures described above can be extended to non-course or lab-based situations, such as but not limited to the qualifying exam, comprehensive exam, prospectus defense, dissertation defense, seminars, and poster presentations. In these instances, the supervising faculty member, the committee, or others may report the alleged misconduct according to the procedures noted above. If the misconduct is founded, then the supervising faculty member and/or the student’s committee will determine the appropriate sanction. Sanctions may include but are not limited to:
Requesting a revision of the work in question and accepting the revision in order to receive a passing grade on the assessment.
Failing a student on the assessment.
Supervising faculty members and/or committees are responsible for making expectations regarding academic integrity and academic misconduct clear and explicit to students.
In the event that academic misconduct is founded, the student’s home department/program will make a determination as to whether or not additional sanctions will be applied by the department/program according to the following procedures:
Following a report of academic misconduct, a review committee of 2-3 primary faculty members will be appointed by the DEO, with one member designated as the chair. A meeting will be convened to allow the student an opportunity to discuss the alleged misconduct. The committee will meet to review the available evidence. After the committee has reviewed the report, the committee may assign the student additional sanctions (see below for examples) based on the severity of the offense and the number of previous offenses by the student reported to the department.
Examples of Departmental Sanctions. Academic misconduct can involve many gray areas and borderline situations. In these cases, the department might combine or change the sanctions listed below so that they better fit the situation. At the department’s discretion, egregious acts of misconduct may lead to more severe sanctions than suggested below even for a student’s first or second report of misconduct.
For first report – The student receives a warning letter in which they are notified of the consequences of any additional offenses related to academic misconduct. The student is required to meet with the Director of Graduate Studies and/or Department Chair (DEO) to discuss the alleged violation(s) and departmental expectations regarding academic integrity. A summary of the violation report will be provided to the student. During the meeting, the DGS and/or DEO will review the sanction imposed by the instructor, review departmental sanctions, and review the appeal process and the deadline to appeal.
For second report – The department may require the student to enroll in a non-credit academic integrity seminar. The seminar is completed online, and most students complete the assigned readings and assignments in about 5-15 hours. The student will be charged a course fee of between $100 and $200.
For additional reports – In addition to any penalties listed above, the department may dismiss the student from the graduate program or recommend expulsion from the University. Decisions to dismiss a student from the graduate program or expel the student from the University are made in consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Graduate College. Dismissal from the program/department may not automatically dismiss a student from the Graduate College.
Students who fail to complete any of the assigned sanctions may be restricted from course registration in future semesters. Degree conferral may be held for students in their final semester of enrollment until they complete their assigned sanctions.
If the student has questions about the appeals process, they should contact the Graduate Program Coordinator or Program Director. The student may also choose to discuss their situation confidentially with a representative of the Office of the Ombudsperson.
Appeals must be in writing to the Associate Dean for OGPS in the CCOM within 30 calendar days of written notification of the department’s finding. An email to the AD is sufficient.
The AD will review the case and submit a decision letter to the student and to the Program Director
If the student is not satisfied with the AD’s decision, then the student has the right to appeal to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Graduate College, followed by the Office of the Provost, and finally up to the Iowa Board of Regents.
The AD will send copies of the final determination document to the student, the department, and any offices that have been involved in the appeals process. In addition, the AD will file the final determination document.
When a conflict of interest in the chain of appeals is identified (e.g., the AD is also the student’s advisor or supervisor), then an appropriate substitute to hear the appeal will be made.