The Graduate College and the University of Illinois have established policies and standards for academic, professional, and personal conduct. Students are responsible for being familiar with these policies and standards (see the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, the Dean of Students, and the Student Code). Conduct that violates these policies and standards may result in serious consequences including dismissal. In addition to the information in this chapter, also see the Graduate College website for resources on problem solving and conflict mediation.
Academic Integrity
Coursework-based charges of academic integrity infractions against graduate students will be handled according to applicable procedures in the Student Code. The Graduate College and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation work collaboratively to ensure commitment to principles of academic integrity and responsible scholarly conduct. Several campus policies outline ethical and professional standards applying to faculty, students, and staff, and prescribe procedures to be followed when unethical conduct may have occurred.
The term “intellectual property” refers to property that includes patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and trademarks. Any individual using university facilities, equipment, funds, or resources needs to be aware of university policies and procedures related to sponsored research and intellectual property issues, including rights to inventions and copyrightable works developed at the university. Students should also see Chapter 4.2 Graduation Requirements for more details about patents and copyrights related to theses.
Grievance Policy and Procedures
Some graduate programs have established grievance procedures and students should be aware of whether their program has such a procedure in place. The Graduate College has a grievance policy and procedure in place to assist students and programs. A student may elect to file a formal grievance within the unit in which a problem has arisen if the department has a written grievance procedure approved by the Graduate College. The student may also choose to file the grievance directly with the Graduate College. Students should be aware of differences between the Graduate College and departmental grievance policies, as well as what types of grievances are appropriately addressed by these policies.
All graduate students may use the Graduate College Grievance Policy to file a grievance. Students in the following programs may choose to file a grievance at the departmental level, following the procedures of that unit’s grievance policy (see 9.2 Overview of the Graduate College Grievance Process): Anthropology, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Communication, French, Materials Science and Engineering, and Political Science.