/Institutions/University-of-Maryland-Baltimore-Graduate-School/json/2022-2023/Graduate-Catalog-local.json

/Institutions/University-of-Maryland-Baltimore-Graduate-School/json/2022-2023/Graduate-Catalog.json

Policies

The following are the major policies related to graduate students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). This citation is not all-inclusive. A general index of University System of Maryland (USM) and UMB policies and procedures governing the University community is available on the University’s website: www.umaryland.edu/policies/#student.

Appeal of Academic Dismissal

An appeal of academic dismissal must be submitted to the office of the dean of the Graduate School in writing within 10 working days of the student’s receipt of the notice of dismissal. The letter of appeal should include: (a) the basis for the appeal; (b) a summary of discussions, if any, between the student and representatives of the student’s program, such as the student’s mentor and the student’s graduate program director (GPD); and (c) the outcome or remedy proposed by the student. The letter may include additional relevant evidence or information.

The dean of the Graduate School will inform the GPD of the appeal by transmitting the student’s letter of appeal within five working days of receipt of the appeal.

Grounds. The following are grounds for appeal: (1) incorrect calculation of grade-point average; (2) misapplication of standards for academic performance and satisfactory progress by the graduate program of the Graduate School; (3) differential application of standards for academic performance and satisfactory progress for the student appealing compared to other similar students; or (4) circumstances that had not been known and that might be relevant to the dismissal.

Disposition. The dean of the Graduate School may: (1) act on the appeal; (2) appoint a designee to collect additional information for the dean of the Graduate School; or (3) constitute a three-person ad hoc review committee from the Graduate Council Grievance Committee (GCGC). The purpose of the ad hoc committee is to provide an opinion and recommendation to the dean of the Graduate School regarding the appeal.

The dean of the Graduate School will inform the student and the GPD in writing of the method of disposition of the appeal. If a dean’s designee is appointed, the student and the GPD will be informed of the name and contact information for the dean’s designee. If a GCGC ad hoc committee is constituted, the approved guidelines will be followed.

The dean of the Graduate School’s decision with respect to a student’s appeal shall be final. The student and the GPD will be informed in writing of the dean’s decision.

(Approved and adopted by the Graduate Council, Oct. 19, 1995; revised Nov. 25, 2003; revised May 31, 2005; revised January 2008)

Policy on Arbitrary or Capricious Grading

Purpose

These guidelines describe how allegations of arbitrary or capricious grading are handled in coursework at the Graduate School. Arbitrary or capricious means: (a) the assignment of a course grade to a student on some basis other than performance in the course; (b) the assignment of a course grade to a student by unreasonable application of standards different from the standards that were applied to other students in that course; or (c) the assignment of a course grade by a substantial and unreasonable departure from the instructor’s initially articulated standards.

These procedures apply only to grades assigned in coursework. Qualifying and comprehensive examinations and defense of theses or dissertations during the progression toward the master’s or doctor’s degree are to be handled under the Academic Progression* policy.

Procedure

1. If a student alleges that a grade has been given in an arbitrary or capricious manner, the student must first discuss the situation with the faculty member responsible for the course within 10 business days of receiving the grade. The student also should contact the department chair or graduate program director if the issue is not resolved within 20 business days of receiving the grade.
2. If a student remains dissatisfied after the discussions required by paragraph 1, the student may file an allegation of arbitrary and capricious grading with the dean of the Graduate School. Allegations should be made in writing in the form of a letter to the dean of the Graduate School within 30 calendar days of the student’s receipt of the grade. An allegation should include: (a) the course, program, and semester in which the grade was awarded; (b) the basis for the allegation; (c) the date the student was advised of the grade challenged; and (d) a summary and the dates of any conversations held pursuant to these procedures.
3. Upon receiving an allegation, the Graduate School dean’s designee shall forward a copy of it to the faculty member who assigned the grade in question and to the chair or graduate program director.
4. The dean of the Graduate School or designee shall review each allegation of arbitrary and capricious grading and shall dismiss the allegation if: (a) the student has submitted the same, or substantially the same, complaint through any other formal grievance procedure; (b) the allegation does not allege actions that would constitute arbitrary and capricious grading as defined in these procedural guidelines; (c) the allegation was not filed with the dean of the Graduate School within 30 calendar days of the student’s notice of the grade; or (d) the student has not conferred with the instructor and the graduate program director or department chair of the program offering the course before filing the allegation. The dean of the Graduate School or designee shall notify the student, faculty member, and chair or graduate program director in writing within one week of receiving the allegation of the disposition of the allegation.
5. If an allegation is not dismissed, the faculty member involved will have two weeks from receipt of the allegation to submit a written response to the dean of the Graduate School.
6. The dean of the Graduate School or designee shall submit the allegation of the student and the response of the faculty member to a grade hearing committee (GHC) consisting of three members (two faculty, one student) appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. The GHC may decide to hear statements from the student and the faculty member, or it may deliberate on the basis of written materials. GHC review may be waived with the consent of the student and the faculty member, in which case the dean of the Graduate School or designee will review the matter and make a determination. If the matter is considered by the GHC, following deliberations, the committee will give its recommendations in writing to the dean of the Graduate School or designee. If the GHC finds arbitrary or capricious grading did occur, its report should include recommendations for action, specifying whom they recommend be responsible for those remedy actions.
7. The dean of the Graduate School or designee will receive the GHC recommendation and make a decision. The decision will be forwarded in writing to the student, faculty member, and program director within two weeks of receiving the GHC recommendation or within two weeks of the waiver of GHC review.

Appeals

1. The student, faculty member, or program director may appeal to the dean of the Graduate School for reconsideration of the decision by submitting an appeal in writing to the dean of the Graduate School within 10 days of receipt of a decision.
2. The dean of the Graduate School’s decision with respect to an appeal shall be final. The dean will endeavor to make a decision on the appeal within 10 days after its receipt. The dean’s decision will be communicated in writing to the student, faculty member, and program director.

(Approved by the Graduate Council, Jan. 18, 1995; revised by a University of Maryland, Baltimore committee, February 1995; approved in revised form by the Graduate Council, April 20, 1995; revised July 2003)

*Policies, guidelines, and standards related to academic progression are outlined in the Academic Standards and Degree Requirements section of this catalog.

Student Academic Misconduct

This document sets out the basic University of Maryland Graduate School, Baltimore (UMGSB) policy and procedures for dealing with various forms of student academic misconduct primarily in coursework. Such misconduct involves significant breaches of integrity that may take numerous forms such as, but not limited to, those listed below:

• Fabrication: The intentional and unauthorized generation or altering of data, information, citation, or result in an academic exercise.
• Falsification: The intentional and unauthorized altering of any information, citation, or result in an academic exercise.
• Plagiarism: The intentional or knowing representation of the words, ideas, or work of others as one’s own in an academic exercise — the appropriation of the language, ideas, or thoughts of another and representation of them as one’s own original work.
• Cheating: The intentional or attempted use of unauthorized material in an academic exercise.
• Improprieties of authorship: Improper assignment of credit or misrepresentation of material as original without proper referencing of the original authors.
• Facilitating academic dishonesty: The intentional or knowing assistance or attempted assistance of another student to commit an act of academic misconduct.

Student misconduct in research and scholarly work falls under the purview of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County document Policy and Procedures Concerning Misconduct in Scientific Work or the University of Maryland, Baltimore document Policy and Procedures Concerning Misconduct in Scholarly Work.

All graduate students of the University of Maryland Graduate School, Baltimore (UMGSB) are subject to the standards of academic integrity required by the UMGSB and standards of academic integrity specific to a graduate program approved by the Graduate School. For example, the master’s in science nursing programs have additional standards. Students also are subject to the possible penalties for academic misconduct described in this document. Students also must observe any additional standards announced by faculty members for particular courses.

Each faculty member is responsible for maintaining academic integrity in their courses and has the authority, using proper procedures and reasonable judgment, to determine whether a student has engaged in academic misconduct. The faculty member must decide whether the misconduct involves a less serious infraction susceptible to resolution by informal methods or a more serious infraction requiring severe and stigmatizing penalty, such as suspension or expulsion. Once the faculty member has made an initial determination of academic misconduct, they shall initiate the process explained as follows. The faculty member should make initial determination of academic misconduct within two weeks of the infraction, if possible, and the entire process should be completed within 90 days, if feasible.

1. Less Serious Infractions

Examples of infractions that can be considered less serious are:

• Minor instances of plagiarism or cheating on examinations or papers required for a course.
• Minor fabrication or falsification of data for a laboratory report for a course.
• Facilitating academic dishonesty by students in an academic exercise.

After identifying academic misconduct and providing written notification and obtaining written authorization from the associate dean or the dean’s designee, the faculty member has authority to resolve less serious cases of academic misconduct by means of informal methods such as warning, counseling, additional assignments, or grading. A typical penalty that has been exacted is to assign a zero grade for the exercise and compute the course grade including the zero grade for the exercise. The student may be reprimanded by the instructors, and the Graduate School can send letters of reprimand with the threat of dismissal should there be further occurrence. Such informal methods shall not be considered to be severe or stigmatizing. Confidential records of authorized informal actions shall be kept by the associate dean or the dean’s designee for use of the Graduate Council Grievance Committee*. The GCGC may release only general statistical summaries of such information and may not release identifying information.

Having made an initial determination of academic misconduct involving a less serious infraction and having consulted the associate dean or the dean’s designee for authorization, the faculty member shall observe certain rights of the student. The faculty member shall notify the student in writing within five days, if feasible, of the initial determination of academic misconduct and provide the student an opportunity within five days of notification to give explanation. Should the student fail to offer an explanation within the time frame, seek an extension for a good faith reason, or make a written request to the associate dean or the dean’s designee for a full hearing before the GCGC, the informal action shall become final.

The faculty member’s informal action shall be final and conclusive and not subject to appeal within the University System of Maryland on grounds related to academic misconduct.

2. More Serious Infractions

Infractions that can be considered more serious include:

• Major instances of plagiarism or cheating on examinations or papers for a course.
• Fabrication or falsification of data for publication, thesis, or dissertation.
• A pattern of, or repeated occurrences of, less serious infractions.

Having made a final determination of more serious academic misconduct, the faculty member shall notify the student in writing within five days, if feasible. The student shall have an opportunity within 10 days to respond and give an explanation to the faculty member before the determination of more serious academic misconduct can be made final by the faculty member.

After making an initial determination of an instance of more serious academic misconduct requiring severe and stigmatizing penalty, the faculty member shall within five days send a letter to the associate dean or the dean’s designee. The faculty member’s letter shall describe the academic misconduct and recommend suspension, probation, expulsion, or other action commensurate with the seriousness and circumstances of the misconduct. The faculty member shall send a copy of the letter to the student, to the graduate program director, and to the department chair. The associate dean or the dean’s designee will notify the registrar, if appropriate, to prevent the student from dropping the course, thereby evading a penalty. The letter to the student shall include a copy of this policy. The faculty member also shall make reasonable efforts to preserve any evidence that might be needed by the GCGC in the event of an appeal by the student.

3. Appeals and Hearings

When the faculty member has filed with the associate dean or the dean’s designee a letter establishing academic misconduct requiring severe or stigmatizing penalty, the student shall have the right to a hearing before the GCGC. The student must file a written request for a hearing with the associate dean or the dean’s designee within 10 days of notification. When a student requests a hearing in a case involving severe or stigmatizing penalty, the UMGSB administration shall provide facilities and personnel requested by the chair of the GCGC for the purpose of providing due process. If the faculty member recommends suspension or expulsion, the GCGC shall (unless the student waives the right to a hearing) automatically conduct a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence of misconduct, or history of misconduct, to justify suspension or expulsion.

Upon its notification of a hearing request, the dean of the Graduate School will appoint a three-person committee from among members of the GCGC. The GCGC should conduct an investigation, gather evidence, and interview witnesses to determine the facts. The investigation shall include a statement from the faculty member describing the situation and action, a statement from the student including reason for the hearing request, and all statements by witnesses. The associate dean or the dean’s designee shall circulate the statements to GCGC members, noting that confidential items must be kept in a secure location. The GCGC also shall obtain any additional information requested by the faculty member, student, or committee members. If requested by the chair of the GCGC, the associate dean or the dean’s designee shall provide the GCGC the record of academic misconduct of any student requesting a hearing. The GCGC should, if necessary, hold a pre-hearing meeting of committee members to discuss the investigation. Copies of all items of evidence should be sent to the faculty member and the student or, if the evidence cannot be copied, the associate dean or the dean’s designee should arrange for the evidence to be inspected by these parties at a convenient time.

The GCGC then shall schedule a hearing, conducted by the chair of the GCGC, allowing sufficient time — including continuations if necessary — for the committee to be satisfied that further inquiry would turn up no new material. If feasible, the hearing should be scheduled within 30 days of the GCGC’s notice of a hearing request. At least three members of the GCGC must attend a hearing to form a quorum. Hearings will be held in closed session and will be tape recorded. Accidental erasure of the tapes, failure of the recording equipment, or poor quality of the recording will not be grounds for appeal. The faculty member and the student shall attend the hearing. Witnesses may be present at the hearing only during their own testimonies except with the permission of both the student and the chair of the GCGC. Legal counsel for the student or the University may be present at the hearing in an advisory role. Legal counsel shall not function as an advocate. The student shall have the right to state their case, offer explanations and interpretations of each item of evidence and testimony, and ask questions of the faculty member and witnesses. The faculty member may offer interpretations of the evidence and testimony and ask questions as necessary. Each committee member may ask questions. The proceedings of the hearing are to be confidential and are not to be discussed outside the hearing.

Members of the GCGC who are present throughout the hearing shall discuss the case in closed session as soon as possible after the hearing. They then vote on whether to uphold the faculty member’s initial determination of academic misconduct. When a faculty member’s recommendation of suspension or expulsion is involved, the GCGC also votes whether to uphold the recommendation. No votes in absentia shall be counted.

The GCGC shall send its findings and recommendations in writing to the associate dean or the dean’s designee within 10 days of the hearing, if possible. (A dissenting opinion may be submitted and filed by any GCGC member.) The associate dean or the dean’s designee will act upon the recommendations of the report and notify the student, faculty member, and other necessary parties of the results of the determination. If the GCGC determines that the faculty member acted improperly or mistakenly in their initial determination of more serious academic misconduct, it may recommend that the associate dean or the dean’s designee expunge the notice of academic misconduct or attach a letter of explanation to the notice. The GCGC may, in its report to the associate dean or the dean’s designee, include other penalties. While the GCGC may not impose grade alterations based on the content of the student’s work, it has the authority to uphold the grade sanctions recommended by the faculty member if the student is found to have engaged in academic misconduct. The associate dean or the dean’s designee’s notification letter shall direct the student to the dean of the Graduate School should he or she want to appeal the decision. The GCGC also shall send the dean of the Graduate School the documents and records used as evidence in the case.

The student has the right to appeal to the dean of the Graduate School. The appeal must be in writing and must be filed within 10 days of receiving the GCGC report. The dean will review the GCGC report and may uphold the decision, reverse the decision, modify the decision or penalties, or refer the case back to the GCGC. In any case, the decision of the dean of the Graduate School is final.

The dean of the Graduate School shall maintain a confidential file of academic misconduct communications that shall constitute the student’s record of academic conduct. The dean of the Graduate School may place appropriate notations on the student’s transcript and provide the academic misconduct record of any student to outside institutions making inquiry appropriate under the federal Buckley Amendment laws.

*The GCGC is composed of three graduate faculty members from each campus — the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. GCGC members may be members of the Graduate Council and are appointed by the respective deans of the Graduate School to a term of two years. The initial appointment of one year for two members assures continuity of membership on the committee. Monthly meeting times will be set for the GCGC and any grievances that are filed will be heard at these times. Additional meeting times may be scheduled as needed. When a grievance is filed, all parties of the grievance and the members of the GCGC will be asked if there would be a conflict of interest with members of the committee or any party filing the grievance. The dean of the Graduate School will select three members of the GCGC who have no conflict of interest with any party affected by the grievance to serve on a panel to hear the case. Two members of the panel will be from the campus of the person filing the grievance. A panel may be augmented by two Graduate Student Association members of the Graduate Council (or other selected students) for the deliberation of academic misconduct grievances. The GCGC panel will serve as an informal fact-finding body, taking written statements from all participants and interviewing witnesses. The investigation may take the form of a hearing in which statements from all participants may be reviewed and the participants questioned. Legal counsel may be present at the hearing in an advisory role but shall not function as an advocate. Every consideration will be taken to ensure the confidentiality of witnesses. The GCGC panel will deliberate in closed session and make its recommendations to the associate dean or the dean’s designee. Original documents of the proceedings and records of the hearing also will be submitted to the associate dean or the dean’s designee.

(Approved and adopted by the Graduate Council, September 1993; revised July 23, 1998; revised Nov. 25, 2002)

Ombuds-Committee

The purpose of the Graduate School Ombuds-Committee (GSOC) is to provide mediation services when disagreements or differences of opinion arise between a graduate student and their advisor or graduate program that: (a) cannot be successfully resolved at the program level; (b) are serious enough in nature to jeopardize the student’s ability to complete their training; and (c) do not relate to issues that fall under other policies.* The GSOC will consist of three experienced faculty members appointed by the dean of the Graduate School for a period of two years.**

Rationale: It is recognized that disagreements between students and their advisors occur during training. In most cases, such problems can and should be worked out by the student, advisor, and program, possibly with the assistance of the student’s dissertation committee. If this is not possible, however, the situation should be brought to the attention of the associate dean or the dean’s designee, who will, in turn, inform the GSOC. The GSOC will assist the student, advisor, and program to develop a strategy to resolve the situation. The GSOC will provide all parties an opportunity for full consideration of their positions and ensure that all relevant Graduate School rules and guidelines are followed.

Procedures:

• The student must first inform the director of their graduate program that a serious problem exists. It is the director’s responsibility to review the situation and attempt to resolve it according to the rules and guidelines of the program and any Graduate School rules or guidelines that are applicable.
• In the event that the advisor is also the program director, the program should select another faculty member or form a committee of faculty members from within the program to mediate the problem.
• If efforts at the program level fail to resolve the situation, or if the program fails to act, the student may contact the associate dean or the dean’s designee. The student should present the problem to the associate dean or the dean’s designee in writing, describing the situation in detail and outlining what was done at the program level to attempt to resolve it.
• The associate dean or the dean’s designee will provide the student’s information to the GSOC. The GSOC will request information, also to be submitted in writing, from the program director, stating the program’s position and describing efforts that were made to resolve the situation. The advisor also may provide input at this time, but such input must be submitted through the program director.
• The GSOC will review all relevant material provided by the student and program director. The GSOC may request additional information and meet with the parties involved. Upon completion of its review, the GSOC will make recommendations for resolution of the situation in writing to the student, advisor, program, and associate dean or the dean’s designee.
• The final decision as to the appropriate resolution of all cases will rest with the dean of the Graduate School.
• If a GSOC member has been involved in a matter before it reaches the GSOC, the member will not participate in the deliberations. The associate dean or the dean’s designee will name one alternate member to the GSOC for the matter.

*Note, for example, that instances of alleged arbitrary and capricious grading, sexual harassment, student academic misconduct, and other misconduct are dealt with under other Graduate School policies or University policies.

**Initially, the three faculty members will be appointed to staggered terms, as follows: one to a term of one year and two to a term of two years. This will provide for overlapping terms in subsequent years.

FERPA Notice

Pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the UMB Confidentiality and Disclosure of Student Records Policy, this notice is given to students to advise them that the following information about a student is directory information subject to disclosure by the University upon request: name; address; telephone listing; date and place of birth; photograph; major field of study; dates of attendance; degrees and awards received; and most recent previous educational institution attended. The directory information concerning a student may be disclosed even in the absence of consent unless the student, within three weeks of the first day of the semester in which the student begins each school year, files written notice informing the University not to disclose information in any or all of the categories. Notice not to disclose may be filed with the office of student affairs at the student’s school.

The complete Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act policy — including terms and guidelines of student rights of access to educational records — is published in UMB’s Student Answer Book and is available at www.umaryland.edu/policies/#student.

Graduate Council Grievance Committee Guidelines

Appeal of Academic Dismissal and Academic Misconduct

This is a formal hearing for academic cases that have not been resolved at the department level. After the hearing, which takes place as set forth under “Format,” which follows, the GCGC will deliberate in closed session and recommend a decision and action to the dean of the Graduate School. The hearing is chaired by a member of the GCGC. The committee is staffed by the nonvoting administrative assistant of the dean of the Graduate School who will record the hearing for archival purposes only.

Format

1. Chair’s introduction and summary of issues and process overview.
2. Department representative’s presentation of issues (15 minutes maximum).
3. Student presentation of issues (15 minutes maximum).
4. Optional: Presentation by witnesses (limited to three per side and a maximum of 15 minutes per side)
5. Questions by committee members.
6. All presenters and witnesses are excused.
7. Deliberations by committee members.
8. Written recommendation to the associate dean or dean of the Graduate School (within 15 calendar days, unless extended by the associate dean or dean of the Graduate School, with notice of the extension given to all parties — the grievant(s) and the department — in writing.

Preparation

All materials that the grievance committee are to review must be submitted to the Graduate School at least two weeks (14 days) in advance of the hearing, at which time such materials will be distributed to all parties to the grievance and to the members of the GCGC. Thereafter, to the extent that any of the parties wish to have additional materials considered by members of the committee, such materials must be received by the Graduate School no later than one week (seven days) in advance of the scheduled date of the hearing, at which time all such additional written materials will be distributed to the parties as well as to the members of the GCGC. The Graduate School will pay for reasonable reproduction costs, but the cost of reproducing voluminous packets (i.e., those exceeding 50 pages) will be charged to the submitting party (the student or the department).

The proceedings will be recorded for archival purposes only.

If witnesses are to be called by either side, their names must be received by the Graduate School, in writing, at least one week (seven days) before the hearing.

Presentation of the issues should be concise and relevant. Obviously, the case is complex, or it would not have reached this stage. The points of dispute or ambiguity may be summarized or illustrated by anecdote. Experience suggests that the best approach is to minimize formalized presentations and allow the committee members maximum time for questions.

Attorneys

An attorney is neither necessary nor recommended. The GCGC described herein operates as part of an academic hearing, not a judicial proceeding. However, if the student elects to have counsel present, the University’s attorney also must be afforded an opportunity to attend. Accordingly, the student must notify the Graduate School, in writing, at least two weeks (14 days) before the hearing if the student intends to use an attorney. Once a lawyer has contacted the Graduate School on behalf of a student, all contact, written and oral, must be with approval of the Office of General Counsel. The lawyer(s)’ presence at the hearing does not change the proceedings. The lawyer(s) will not be able to examine witnesses, ask questions, or otherwise take part in the proceedings, except in an unobtrusive manner, in an advisory capacity to their clients.

ADA Policy

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is committed to the principles of equal access and opportunity for persons with disabilities, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. UMB will not discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified person with a disability in regard to application, acceptance, grading, advancement, training, discipline, graduation, or other aspects related to a student’s participation in an academic program of the University of Maryland, Baltimore. This applies to all University students, postdocs, and applicants for admission to the University.

The UMB Accommodation Process is an interactive process between the student, the Office of Educational Support and Disability Services, and the school. UMB will make a reasonable accommodation for a qualified person with a disability to allow the performance of the essential requirements of an academic program. UMB will not make an accommodation if the accommodation alters the academic nature of the program or if it would result in undue hardship to the University or threaten health or safety. For more information, please see www.umaryland.edu/disabilityservices.

Technical Standards

The Graduate School does not have uniform technical standards and guidelines for admission and progression. Each school — and in some cases each program — may have its own standards and guidelines. A prospective or enrolled graduate student must consult the appropriate school/program student handbook or website for information about the standards students must satisfy, with or without reasonable accommodation, to be qualified.

Nondiscrimination

The University of Maryland, Baltimore does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran’s status, or age in its programs and activities. For more information, please see http://umaryland.edu/academicaffairs/policies.