Standards of professional behaviour

Students and members of the faculty often complete projects and assignments as part of a group. It is important to remember certain guidelines when placed in this situation.

• Credit work to all members of the group, especially when using the work for other purposes (e.g. when submitting a group report to a potential employer as a sample of your writing ability, you should cite the names of the other students who worked on the paper).
• It is unprofessional to let one or two members of the group do most of the work when the final grade or reward will be shared by the entire group as it circumvents the learning process.  The group should attempt to resolve any misallocation of workload early in the process, and if difficulties persist, should seek advice from the professor or instructor as soon as possible.
• Collaboration on class assignments is only permitted with the instructor's permission and then only to the extent stipulated by the instructor. Be sure you understand the acceptable level of collaboration in each of your courses.
• We should each be a responsible and professional part of the group. This means delivering on work commitments, being prepared and on-time for meetings, and carrying an equitable workload share.
• We all deserve respect, consideration and common courtesy as members of the Gustavson School of Business. Deal with anger, tension and personality conflicts in constructive ways. Rude, insulting or disrespectful language or actions is neither professional nor appropriate.
• If group members reveal anything about themselves in confidence to other group members, and do not wish this information to be divulged outside the group, this should be respected. This would also apply to any confidential information about a third party or organization (e.g. a previous employer) that a member may divulge for group work purposes only.
• Any instances of physical, verbal, and/or emotional abuse, including harassment, racism, and intimidation that threaten a safe environment are not tolerated and may result in remediation (e.g., EDI training) and in extreme cases being removed from the program.
• Failure to meet any of the above expectations may result in being removed from the program or other academic penalty. 

What to do if there is a problem in your group or if some of the above expectations are not met:

If you feel there is a problem with the way your group is functioning, it is your responsibility to follow this step-by-step process:

1. Discuss with your whole group first, and refer to your program-specific team documents and guides as a basis for conversation and feedback.
2. If still unresolved, then discuss with your instructor/supervisor.
3. If still unresolved, then escalate to Program Director for initial meeting and further investigation as needed.

Course materials, assignments or discussion material are crucial elements of a teaching pedagogy. Cases and problem solving assignments may be used in successive semesters because they make a unique or valuable contribution by helping you learn by doing. Trying to shortcut this approach hinders both your learning, and that of your classmates, in classroom case discussions. It is unfair to classmates and seriously undermines the instructor's course objectives.

How to know what's allowed:

Your instructor or professor determines the use of outside materials in his/her course.  They may encourage the use of all available sources or want you to rely on your own problem-solving skills and knowledge.   If you are not sure whether a certain activity is allowed, do ask your instructor or professor. Otherwise, it is best to assume the use of outside material isn't permitted.

Examples of circumventing the learning process in this way may include, but are not limited to:

Cheating and Plagiarism:

As a program that helps to foster responsible business and government leaders, the Gustavson School of Business has an obligation to ensure academic integrity of the University’s highest standards.

A student who violates academic integrity standards will fail the assignment and potentially fail the course, with a letter of reprimand placed in the student’s record in the Registrar’s office.

Students are expected to carefully review the following points discussing academic integrity and group projects that have been adopted by our School. Acts of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:

Students should be aware that all instructors reserve the right to use any plagiarism detection software program(s) to detect plagiarism for essays, term papers and other assignments.

What to do if you observe or are aware of a violation:

You may report the cheating or plagiarism to the instructor of the course. If, for any reason, you are uncomfortable doing that, the Ombudsperson is available to help.

What happens if there is a violation?

All violations will immediately be referred to the Associate Dean, Programs.

The co-op partnership involves students, employers and UVic working together to provide experiential education in the workplace.  Every student in a co-op placement must recognize his or her responsibility to UVic Co-op and the co-op employer, and adhere to relevant co-op program requirements. As part of the Co-op agreement, students will be expected to sign a Terms and Conditions Agreement relevant to their degree program.

Prior to a work term:

Students must honour the acceptance of co-op employment as a contractual agreement with the employer. Once you accept a confirmed job offer for a term, you must withdraw from other interviews and applications. If you have pending interviews, you must notify the Gustavson Co-op office about the confirmed offer.

During a work term:

You are expected to be a productive, motivated and responsible employee, and respect the employer’s policies and confidentiality. You must notify the Gustavson Co-op office of any confirmed or pending future co-op work terms with an employer, including extensions.

Work Search Deadlines & Responsibilities:

You are required to familiarize yourself with the program and job application deadline dates and to meet these deadlines during the application process. Gustavson Co-op uses UVic email accounts. You are expected to monitor the Learning in Motion website and your UVic email on a daily basis during the co-op term.

Confidentiality:

When you go out on work terms or interview companies for the purposes of class assignments, you may be exposed to confidential or sensitive information related to the job or assignment.

Be sure you understand how much confidentiality your host company expects when it comes to information about an organization, its structure and activities. Some information may only be shared with your professor or co-op coordinator. If your assignment requires that you share information with classmates during a group presentation, the employer/contact should be made aware of this prior to providing you with the information in question. As an added safeguard, obtain permission to use information from the contact, in writing, before proceeding with the assignment.

In cases of flagrant abuse, which might include disclosing an employer's plans to a competitor or using classified information for personal gain, disciplinary proceedings may result. If the breach of trust causes an employer to lose profit or potential profits, you could be held liable for damages. Other legal penalties could apply.

Confidentiality and Co-op Work Term Reports:

Before using any information as part of a work term report or class assignment, consult with your employer or work supervisor. In some cases, the work may be classified as a proprietary document and may not be removed from your employer's premises without specific permission. In this instance, the employer may prefer to assess and assign any grades for the work. This is the procedure for co-op work term reports that are confidential. This may not be applicable to other class assignments.

It is also important to remember that information gained while on a work term should not be used for subsequent assignments without the permission of the employer.

Withdrawal From or Failing a Work Term:

A student may be assessed a ‘Fail’ for his or her work term for any of the following reasons:

What happens if you fail a work term?

The assessment of a fail for a co-op work term may result in the student’s withdrawal from his/her co-op program.

It is important that students assess personal interests, activities and relationships before accepting a co-op position or embarking on a class assignment to ensure that being in a certain environment or participating in an activity does not invoke a potential or real conflict of interest.

An example of a conflict of interest would be working for a company that is a competitor to a company in which you hold a controlling interest.

What to do if there is a problem:

If you are unsure about whether accepting a co-op job or class assignment would place you in a potential conflict of interest, discuss the issues with your supervisor, co-op coordinator, or instructor.

In order to go on a Gustavson exchange, students must read and sign an International Exchange Contract. This agreement covers the terms and conditions of program acceptance, participation and termination.  It includes many items pertaining to students’ professional behaviour and their commitment to being suitable representatives and ambassadors of the Gustavson School of Business.

The Gustavson School of Business provides faculty and staff with electronic information resources; students have access to UVic computing and library resources in various locations on campus. These resources are a privilege and must be shared by a large number of people. In addition, the information they contain or produce often has commercial value and should be handled as below:

Appropriate use of these resources:

Appropriate use of these information resources is specified by law, University policy and fair practice. To that end, students are expected to abide by the following standards:

• All members of the Gustavson School of Business community must comply with the University of Victoria's policy on "Acceptable Use of Electronic Information Resources" (University Policy IM7200).   
• School of Business equipment and resources are for use only for course work, school activities, or work related to one's role in the School of Business. Using school or university resources for commercial purposes or providing access to the resources to friends, relatives or employers is strictly prohibited.
• Photocopying or electronically reproducing material extracted from online databases is expressly prohibited under the terms of the permission. We are allowed one copy of such material for personal use, but may not give that copy to anyone for copying or copy it ourselves.
• Copying of other material is governed by copyright laws. All members of the School of Business community are bound by those laws. Copies of the laws, regulations and restrictions are available from the Library and posted near photocopiers.

What happens if there is a violation?

Violation of these standards will be referred to the Associate Dean, Programs for discipline and potential legal actions. Specific sanctions will depend on the severity of the violation and whether or not this is a first violation. Possible sanctions include (but are not limited to):

What to do if you observe or are aware of a violation:

You may report the problem to the computer staff, or any instructor or administrator. If, for any reason, you are uncomfortable doing that, the Ombudsperson is available to help. 

Unprofessional behaviour may be resolved by the instructor in the course, or referred to the Academic Program Director. In the event that behaviour is referred to the Program Director, that Director will appoint an individual to collect all material and information relevant to the breach. All involved parties will be entitled to speak to or provide written submissions to a hearing. The Program Director will render a decision in writing as advice to the Associate Dean, Programs, who will advise the candidate of his or her final decision.

In all cases, privacy of information, due process and procedural justice will be adhered to with respect to the individuals involved. Furthermore, any discipline will be based on clear and convincing evidence of guilt. No sanctions or disciplinary action shall be taken against any individual who brings a complaint on a good faith belief in its validity, even if the complaint is later dismissed.

This guide was approved by Faculty Council on May 13, 2015

It was original approved by University of Victoria Senate, January 1997