Plagiarism policy

The University of Victoria Calendar defines what plagiarism and cheating are and explains the consequences of plagiarism and cheating in the Calendar. Every MPA Student should be familiar with the definitions by referring to this section within the calendar.

Plagiarism and cheating are misrepresentations of your own work in the program. They constitute an ethical breach of conduct and reflect poorly on you as a student and as a professional. The School takes plagiarism and cheating seriously and students who are caught doing either will be sanctioned. The University policy permits a range of actions up to and including expulsion from the program.

In the School of Public Administration, we include team assignments as a part of many MPA courses. Normally, teamwork is graded as such - one grade is assigned for the team's assignment. But within many courses there are also individual assignments wherein each student is expected to complete the assignment on their own. Those assignments will be described as such and any evidence of copying work, sharing tables or graphs or other forms of plagiarism will be sanctioned.

The minimum penalty for plagiarism or cheating is to repeat the full assignment to demonstrate your capacity to do the work. But if students are caught plagiarizing or cheating on a major assignment or an examination, a failing grade for that course may be assigned. In such a situation, the student's academic progress would be reviewed by the Admissions, Programs and Standards Committee and the minimum sanction would be to repeat the entire course.

If you are in any doubt about the guidelines for an assignment in any course, contact the instructor for clarification. Do not put yourself in a position where you thought collaboration was permitted, when it was not.

In an online program, it is essential that each student approach their involvement in courses with a high ethical standard. Each of you is learning at a distance, and you are responsible for ensuring that you are fully and fairly representing the work you contribute. Your program of studies is only meaningful if you invest the time and energy towards understanding and learning from the materials.

If you are experiencing stress and uncertainty about the time to complete an assignment or the instructions for an assignment, then reach out for assistance from your instructor or your teaching assistant, before the assignment is due.

Ethics approvals for research policy

All research involving human participants must receive approval from the University of Victoria Human Research Ethics Board (UVic HREB). This approval is required both prior to, and during, the recruitment and data collection phases of the study. The mandate of HREB is to ensure that all human research is conducted in accordance with the highest ethical standards and that the public, the researchers, and the University are all protected from harm.

Research Conducted as Part of an MPA Course

Course instructors will ensure that research conducted as part of an MPA course fulfills the university research ethics requirements. For further information, please see the University of Victoria guidelines on course based research that involves human participants.

Research Conducted as Part of ADMN 598 or 599

Most 598 projects involve contacting people and obtaining information from them. Many projects include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and other data collection methods which involve people. As the person conducting research, it is your responsibility to navigate the ethics approval process. The guidelines and forms can be found on the UVIC HREB website.

Before commencing any research, students need to inform their clients that they will be seeking ethics approval for their research from the UVic Human Research Ethics Board (HREB).

To assist you with the completion of your application for approval, copies of successful ethics applications are available from the School of Public Administration office.

Applying for an Approval or a Waiver

1. Read the General Guidelines for Completing HREB Forms and Applications.
2. If your research involves human participants as defined by the HREB, determine whether you will need to submit an Application for Ethical Review or an Application to Request a Waiver from Full Ethical Review.
3. Inform your clients that you will be applying for ethics approval or for a waiver from the HREB.
4. Complete the appropriate application form. Run the application by your supervisor to get her/his comments on the application.
5. Your supervisor will then instruct you to email the completed application form to the School’s ethics review officer.
6. The ethics review officer will ensure the form is completed properly. If no changes are required, the form will be forwarded to the Departmental Secretary who will arrange for the appropriate signatures and required copies of the application, before sending on to the Office of the VP Research, HREB.
7. The HREB will notify you, the principal investigator, of its approval. Depending on the volume of applications in process and the number of revisions required, the review process usually takes between two and three weeks from submission to HREB to e-mail notification of approval.

If you have any questions about the approval process, please contact the graduate administrative assistant (padm@uvic.ca).

Course sequencing policy

MPA Online students are expected to complete all available core courses before registering in MPA elective courses.

MPA On Campus students may choose to register in one elective during each of their two mandatory co-op work terms. The list of elective courses details which electives are suitable for each co-op work term.

The MPA On Campus is a full-time program and students are not permitted to hold a full-time job during the academic terms.

The MPA Online program is a part-time program. Students can register in no more than two courses per term. If an exception is required, please contact the Graduate Advisor. There may be fee implications if online students take more than two courses in one term.

Continuity of registration

All students admitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies must either register for credit in every term from the time of admission until the requirements of the degree have been met, or register for a temporarily withdrawn status, or formally withdraw in accordance with the regulations listed in the Graduate Studies Calendar.

Co-operative education policies

MPA students may not enroll in first and second Co-op terms consecutively. Students must successfully complete (B grade or better) all first term courses prior to commencing the first work term and all second term courses prior to commencing the second work term. Any exceptions must be approved by the Graduate Advisor. Similarly, the Graduate Advisor must approve all proposals to do consecutive second and third co-op terms; such proposals must be accompanied by a viable plan for completing outstanding elective courses. MPA students complete a minimum of two, and maximum of three, four-month work terms. All work terms must be completed prior to completion of degree requirements. 

Further information regarding the MPA Co-op program is available on the Public Administration Co-op website.

Grading policy

The School's grading policy is based on the policies of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. For further information on the evaluation of student achievement, please see the Graduate Studies Calendar.

If you have any questions about the policy, please contact your instructor or the Graduate Advisor (gradspa@uvic.ca).

Program transfer policy

The MPA Online and the MPA On Campus are based on the same curriculum but are administered separately. MPA On Campus students must complete all core courses on campus but may choose to register in one online course during each co-op work term.

If, after starting in one of the MPA programs, you wish to transfer to the other program, you can request a transfer through the MPA Graduate Advisor (gradspa@uvic.ca).

Transfers will only be permitted once during a student's program of studies. Approval of these requests is dependent on satisfactory completion of all courses taken to date, the availability of spaces in the preferred program and the capacity to make a seamless transition into the new program.