Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
The university shall have a policy on research misconduct ("the
policy") issued and maintained by the university research committee. "research
misconduct" means fabrication, falsification or plagiarism in proposing,
performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. Research
misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion.
(A) Objectives.
(1) The policy shall aim to protect both the
integrity and the reputation of research and scholarship produced by members of
the university community.
(2) The
policy shall aim to protect the integrity and reputation of the university and
its scholars from false or unproven allegations of research misconduct. For
this reason, the university assumes that a person accused of research
misconduct is innocent of any allegations until the contrary has been
established by a final decision reached under the policy and the applicable
disciplinary rules or procedures. The procedures undertaken pursuant to the
policy are intended to be investigatory, not adversarial.
(B) Jurisdiction.
(1) The policy shall apply to all university
personnel who may be involved with research activities, including faculty
members, staff, students, research associates and fellows, post-doctoral
fellows, and other research trainees.
(2) The policy shall therefore apply to all
research and scholarship conducted within the university community,
irrespective of the funding source, if any, which supports the research or
scholarship.
(3) The terms
"research" and "scholarship" shall be broadly construed, including activities
ranging from scientific experimentation to artistic expression to research and
scholarship in the humanities.
(4)
All persons to whom the policy applies, including those accused of research
misconduct, have a duty to cooperate with all proceedings under the policy as
well as any subsequent investigations. Such cooperation shall include providing
research records and other relevant information to the vice president for
research and/or their designee.
(C) Confidentiality.
To the extent possible within the law and in accordance with
the need to conduct a thorough inquiry, all participants in the actions
initiated pursuant to the policy shall keep confidential all information
regarding allegations and proceedings until the university process, including
any disciplinary action, has concluded and all avenues of appeal under the
university rules (if pursued) have been exhausted. The vice president for
research shall be the university official responsible for determining when a
release of information is necessary or appropriate.
(D) Administration of the policy.
(1) The vice president for research shall be
responsible for disseminating the policy to the research community and handling
all allegations of research misconduct. In order to foster broad familiarity
with the policy, as well as its flexibility regarding changing standards
external to the university, the full policy document shall be publicized by the
office of academic affairs, the graduate school, the office of human resources,
the office of research, the university research committee, the office of
undergraduate research, and the university senate.
(2) The vice president for research shall
designate a coordinator to assist in administering the policy. The person
appointed as coordinator shall not be university counsel acting in that
capacity, but shall consult with university counsel to ensure that the
requirements of the law and university policy are being satisfied.
(E) Administrative actions.
The vice president for research may, during proceedings under
the policy or any subsequent investigation, take whatever administrative
actions that are in
their judgment needed to ensure the integrity of
the investigation and to protect research funds or equipment or the legitimate
interest of patients or clients.
(F) Definitions.
The key terms for the policy shall be defined in the policy
document.
(G) Procedures.
(1) The policy shall describe procedures
pertaining, but not limited to: assessing whether an allegation has been made
in good faith and has merits; investigating pursuant to such findings; the role
of administrators and other individuals in the process; the time line for such
investigations; protecting data; reporting to sponsors and clients; and
sanctions.
(2) A finding of
research misconduct requires that:
(a) There
be a significant departure from accepted practices of the relevant research
community;
(b) The misconduct be
committed intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly; and
(c) The allegation be proved by a
preponderance of the evidence.
