Four schools approve revised charters

The University's four undergraduate schools have approved a new judicial charter and a new Code of Academic Integrity which will be implemented on July 1. The newly-approved judicial charter, which was proposed last May, will not provide for the splitting of the Judicial Inquiry Officer's job into a "prosecutorial" JIO and a "settlement" JIO as was called for by student leaders last spring. At the time, students said the system makes it uncomfortable for them to negotiate settlements with the same person who could use any admissions of guilt to prosecute them. The changes in the charter state that revealing information on pending cases is punishable. In addition, the changes state that the charter should be reviewed regularly. The charter also creates standing judicial panels and provides for advisors for respondents in each case at all times during the judicial process, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Science Professor David Pope, chairperson of the Oversight Committee, said yesterday. Changes in the Code of Academic Integrity clarify what constitutes a violation of the code and encourage greater student input in both enforcing the code and altering it in the future, Pope added. Pope said he is pleased that the policies have been approved by the undergraduate schools and said he hopes this is the first step toward greater student involvement in the judicial process in the future. "[My hope is that] at some point we would get to this state of grace where the system is almost entirely student-run," Pope said. Pope also said the new Code of Academic Integrity gives professors greater leeway in punishing students for code violations. For example, the code allows faculty members to fail students for cheating, even if the violation occurred on a minor class assignment. Pope added that he believes this option will encourage more professors to utilize the judicial system, which he said currently frustrates faculty. "I think it benefits everybody," Pope said. "There is a widespread belief . . . that in order for the [student] to be punished, the faculty member is put on trial." Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson said yesterday the University community will be able to judge how the codes work when they are implemented. "I think that it is the result of an awful lot of work, and we have to put it into place to see how it works," Morrisson said. The School of Arts and Sciences and the Nursing School and the Wharton School approved the policies last semester and the Engineering School notified Provost Michael Aiken earlier this semester. The Code of Academic Integrity had to be voted on by the faculty of each school, while the judicial charter was accepted by the dean of each school in the manner that school deemed correct. Only some of the University's 12 graduate schools have approved the codes. 'There is a widespread belief . . . that in order for the [student] to be punished, the faculty member is put on trial.' David Pope Oversight Committee chairperson

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