Conduct Expectations and Regulations

Faculty members, administrators, and students of Bucknell University believe that the educational aims and purposes of Bucknell must be upheld and promoted by the personal integrity and responsibility of each individual member of the University. The University values a constituency composed of individuals with varied interests and diversity of opinion, and also recognizes that its members must be bound together by respect for the individual and collective rights of other members of the academic community.

Rules and regulations to promote necessary order and unity stem from the corporate authority of Bucknell University. That corporate authority, in turn, stems from both public law and the Charter of Bucknell, which was approved by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1846 and which remains under the charge of the University’s Board of Trustees. Rules and regulations governing conduct, and procedures necessary for their implementation, express Bucknell’s corporate authority for its members and are consistent with the Joint Statement of Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure (1940), endorsed by the Association of American Colleges and the American Association of University Professors, and the Joint Statement on Rights and Freedom of Students (1967), endorsed by the Association of American Colleges, the American Association of University Professors, and the National Student Association.

In general, an individual’s actions off campus are subject only to sanctions of civil authorities; however, whenever its interests as an academic community are clearly involved, the University may take disciplinary action independent of civil authorities. It should be understood that the University may have the responsibility of advising appropriate authorities of violations of civil or criminal law committed by anyone on its campus when a request is made by those authorities for specific information, or when there is a danger to life and/or property.

Acts which will subject a person to University disciplinary action are specified in the Student Handbook. Disciplinary procedures, rights, and censures as established for violations of University regulations are defined in the same publication.

Statement of Student Responsibility

Bucknell University’s educational program stresses the preparation of its students for the exercise of high responsibility in all phases of society ... Because our society presents continuing challenges to values, students are encouraged to cultivate respect for other individuals and cultures, enhancing in the course of this pursuit their own moral sensitivity, personal creativity, and emotional stability. At the same time, Bucknell’s residential character provides a matrix within which institutional programs and practices that exemplify compassion, civility, and a sense of justice form an aspect of the educational experience. [Mission Statement, page 1]

Bucknell University is accordingly strongly committed to fostering a sense of social responsibility and nurturing an atmosphere of civility and integrity in all areas of student and community life. The following principles guide Bucknell’s expectations of its students at all times:

• As responsible individuals, students are fully and personally accountable for their actions and the consequences of those actions, both on and off campus; inherent in this accountability is the obligation for knowing the policies, procedures, and rules that govern student conduct.
• As active participants in an educational community, students are expected to give the highest priority to academic opportunities and commitments; specifically, this expectation includes regular class attendance and participation, as well as the timely, responsible fulfillment of class assignments.
• As members of a social community, students are expected to respect individual differences and the rights of all others; the Bucknell community does not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or violence against any person.
• As citizens, students are expected to show respect for the property and physical environment of one another, the University, and the local community.
• As persons with a duty to protect and promote the health and safety of others as well as themselves, students are expected to be free of substance abuse; alcohol and other drug use is never an excuse for unacceptable behavior.

Academic Responsibility

Bucknell University students are responsible for the preparation and presentation of work representing their own efforts. Acceptance of this responsibility is essential to the educational process and must be considered as an expression of mutual trust, the foundation upon which creative scholarship rests. Students are directed to use great care when preparing all written work and to acknowledge fully the source of all ideas and language other than their own.

In cases of alleged academic dishonesty, procedures involving the student, the instructor, the department chair, the appropriate dean, and a Board of Review on Academic Responsibility have been established to assess the facts and determine appropriate penalties, which range from a grade of F on the work to permanent dismissal from the University. Refer to the Student Handbook or Faculty Adviser Handbook for more detailed information.

Class Attendance

The academic goals and achievements of individual students are the University’s primary purpose. The University also recognizes the significant contribution of other activities to the academic and personal development of Bucknell students. It is inevitable that conflicts will arise between the pursuit of extracurricular activities and students’ academic schedules. With the emphasis on active learning, class attendance has taken an even more vital role in the instructional goals of the University.

It is desirable, when conflicts do occur, that students have a policy available to guide their decisions concerning class attendance. The present policy states the expectations placed on faculty members, students, and extracurricular advisers, so that students may know their options and the ramifications of their choices.

Policy

1. Responsibilities about class attendance:
   1. Students are expected to attend the regularly scheduled meetings of the courses for which they are enrolled.
   2. Classes scheduled during class hours should be given priority over other activities. “No student who participates in an extracurricular event, team, or program can be penalized solely for missing such extracurricular activities when they are scheduled in conflict with regularly scheduled meeting times of the student’s courses.” (Action of the faculty, September 1993)
   3. Faculty should provide, on the first day of classes, a clear statement of:
      1. The consequences of any absences.
      2. Scheduled time commitments outside of class.
   4. Students should not be required to attend extra or rescheduled academic events that conflict with other classes or other important commitments.
2. Responsibilities about non-class activities.
   1. Extracurricular advisers should, during the first week of classes, inform students of those dates upon which they will be asked to miss a class due to an extracurricular activity.
   2. Students should give faculty as much advanced warning of class absence as possible.
   3. University units regularly sponsoring extracurricular activities are urged to develop guidelines about the appropriate level of demands to place upon student participants with respect to missing class.
3. General responsibilities:
   1. Since students are ultimately responsible for their education at Bucknell University, they must be the ones to weigh the consequences of missing classes or other activities, and make their choices accordingly.
   2. Both faculty and advisers of extracurricular activities are encouraged to be as flexible as possible in addressing attendance requirements.

Students and faculty may seek advice in these matters from their college dean.