Schools approve judicial charter

After two years of wrangling, new charter finally implemented and Suzanne Albers After more than two years of argument over every point and the rewriting of every policy and procedure, the new Code of Academic Integrity and Charter of the Student Disciplinary System are now governing the University. The official code and charter went into effect July 1, following approval by the four undergraduate schools. The documents were printed in this week's Almanac. "We have already begun to implement the code," Provost Stanley Chodorow said. The School of Engineering and Applied Science was the last undergraduate school to adopt the new code and corresponding charter, in mid-June. One of the primary features of the new judicial charter is a mediation center, designed to handle conflicts between students. The Office of Student Conduct has already begun advertising for volunteers to serve as mediation advisors. An advisor can be a faculty member, staff member or student, according to the advertisement. The final charter has gone through countless drafts over the past two years. The most recent controversy surrounding the charter involved the insertion of a "gag rule," preventing students involved in disciplinary actions from discussing their situations with outsiders. But after taking heavy criticism, Chodorow removed this controversial rule. Members of the University community also scrutinized a clause that allowed the provost to bypass punitive recommendations made by a hearing panel or the Disciplinary Hearing Officer. That version gave the provost the power to increase or decrease any sanction. Objections forced Chodorow to change the charter to force the provost to implement whatever sanction the overseeing body deems appropriate. The charter and academic code will affect undergraduates differently from some graduate students because some professional and graduate schools are following the "disciplinary traditions of their professions," Chodorow said. The Law School and the School of Dental Medicine have adopted their own, school-based judicial systems and academic codes. Other graduate and professional schools plan to use only parts of the new charter, or have not yet made their final decisions. The Graduate School of Education has adopted the charter except for issues involving academic integrity, Associate Dean Nancy Streim said. She said the major difference is in the mechanics of the system. Associate Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine Charles Newton explained that his school has its own code on academic integrity, but may still adopt the judicial charter, "since we automatically use the University's procedure." The faculty of the Annenberg School for Communication is also "inclined to adopt the system" according to Communications Professor Larry Gross. Graduate School of Fine Arts Academic Affairs Associate Dean Susan Coslett cited the recent appointment of GSFA Dean Gary Hack as the reason for the school's delay in making a decision.