Conduct Expectations & 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, when 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 that 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 Community Responsibility

Bucknell University is strongly committed to fostering a sense of social responsibility and nurturing an atmosphere of respect and integrity in all areas. Upon entry to Bucknell, students read and recite the following statement that mirrors expected conduct described in the Student Code of Conduct:

We are a community of learners who value personal and intellectual honesty.
Our actions reflect maturity, social responsibility, and respect toward others.
We value individual differences and will not tolerate harassment or discrimination.
Our actions show respect for our own health and well-being.
We honor Bucknell by upholding the policies that support our community standards.

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. 

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. In addition, faculty are strongly encouraged to include a statement about their individual expectations for class attendance in course syllabi.

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 meeting during their officially scheduled class hours should be given priority over other activities, including activities from other classes. “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, October 1993)
   3. Faculty should provide, on the first day of classes, a clear statement of:
      1. The consequences of any absences.
      2. Requested time commitments outside of class.
   4. Students should not be required to attend extra, additional, or rescheduled academic events that conflict with other classes or other important commitments that occur outside of registered meeting times for their classes unless those events are clearly described in the course schedule prior to registration.
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 a 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.
   4. The consequences of missing class, regardless of reason, remain at the discretion of the faculty member teaching the class, as articulated in their syllabus (see 1c).
3. General responsibilities:
   1. Because 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 must provide the information students will need to make informed decisions.  All parties are encouraged to communicate and to be as flexible as possible in addressing schedule conflicts.
   3. Students, faculty, and extracurricular advisers may seek advice in these matters from their College Dean or Provost.