Ethics, Conduct, and Special Accomodations

Academic Integrity:

 

Students enrolled all UT Arlington courses are expected to adhere to the UT Arlington Honor Code:

• I pledge, on my honor, to uphold UT ArlingtonÕs tradition of academic integrity, a tradition that values hard work and honest effort in the pursuit of academic excellence.
• I promise that I will submit only work that I personally create or contribute to group collaborations, and I will appropriately reference any work from other sources. I will follow the highest standards of integrity and uphold the spirit of the Honor Code.

UT Arlington faculty members may employ the Honor Code as they see fit in their courses, including (but not limited to) having students acknowledge the honor code as part of an examination or requiring students to incorporate the honor code into any work submitted. Per UT System RegentsÕ Rule 50101, 2.2, suspected violations of universityÕs standards for academic integrity (including the Honor Code) will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Violators will be disciplined in accordance with University policy, which may result in the studentÕs suspension or expulsion from the University.

Ethics:

 
As your instructor, I expect you to be completely honest. Industry experience proves that many projects, and even businesses, have failed due to the dishonesty and poor ethical behavior of individuals and/or groups of individuals. As a result, I will not tolerate any hint of dishonesty among my students. The UTA College of Engineering ethics policy will be strictly enforced. One of the ABET outcomes involves ethical behavior. This means that you should not do anything that raises any question of violating our ethics policy. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Cheating:

This includes looking at others' tests, attempts to communicate with others during an exam, use of unauthorized reference materials, etc.

Plagiarism:

Copying of code or assignments, or failure to acknowledge the actual sources of information in a paper. Copying anotherÕs code also constitutes plagiarism.

Collusion:

Sharing code or assignments with another student, even temporarily.

All cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be dealt with appropriately: because of the effect on the academic community, all cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be referred to the Vice President for Student Affairs for disposition. Punishment may result in failure of the individual assignment or exam, failure of the course, or expulsion from the university. Last, but not least, if you are aware of academic dishonesty, you should report it to me. I regard knowing about cheating and not doing anything about it the same as being academically dishonest yourself.

Class Conduct:

 
It is important that you refrain from disrupting the class with discussions with your fellow students; you can talk with them after class. Bottom line: unless otherwise specifically encouraged, as in a class exercise or open discussion session, if you're not talking with the instructor, don't talk. Any disruptive behavior that continues after the instructor has warned against this behavior will result in expulsion from the classroom. If you have a laptop/portable computer, you may not use it for anything other than note-taking during classroom lectures and lab sessions. If I suspect that you are using it to do your email, chat, play games, or any other such activity, I will ask you to turn it off. If you are running late, do not skip class to avoid coming in late. Simply enter the room as unobtrusively as possible. You will gain more information from attending the last five minutes of class in person than you will by skipping it. However, remember that being excessively late is considered to be the same as an unexcused absence when it comes time to grade.

Lab Safety Training:

 
Students registered for this course must complete all required lab safety training prior to entering the lab and undertaking any activities. Once completed, Lab Safety Training is valid for the remainder of the same academic year (i.e., through the following August) and must be completed anew in subsequent years. There are no exceptions to this University policy. Failure to complete the required training will preclude participation in any lab activities, including those for which a grade is assigned.

Disabilities and Special Accommodations:

 
If you require an accommodation based on disability, please see me in the privacy of my office, during the first week of the semester, to make sure you are appropriately accommodated. If you need to take exams at the ARC, you must schedule them to overlap with the normal exam time. You may not take the exam before or after the normal exam time except under extremely exceptional circumstances. Please note that this will require you to schedule exams as soon as they are announced.

Americans with Disabilities Act:

 
The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of all federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). All instructors at UT Arlington are required by law to provide "reasonable accommodations" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Any student requiring an accommodation for this course must provide the instructor with official documentation in the form of a letter certified by the staff in the Office for Students with Disabilities, University Hall 102. Only those students who have officially documented a need for an accommodation will have their request honored. Information regarding diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining disability-based academic accommodations can be found at www.uta.edu/disability or by calling the Office for Students with Disabilities at (817) 272-3364.

Title IX:

 
The University of Texas at Arlington is committed to upholding U.S. Federal Law ÒTitle IXÓ such that no member of the UT Arlington community shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity. For more information, visit http://www.uta.edu/titleIX.