Code of Professional Conduct
The College of Business includes in its core values “maintenance of high-level professionalism” and “Integrity in all we do.” These two core values of professionalism and integrity are the cornerstones of the COB Code of Professional Conduct. Students enrolled in COB, as well as COB faculty and staff, pledge to uphold these values.
Professionalism Expectations – Students
A career in business is a professional career. Professionalism is not only about how you dress. It is about how you act and interact with others. When in meetings or gatherings, professionals pay attention to one another, listen, and actively engage in discussions. They work towards a goal and avoid being distracted and working off-task. Class sessions and meetings outside of class should be approached in the same way.
Students are expected to act professionally in all COB courses and in their contact with faculty members, other students and University personnel. Faculty and staff members of the College of Business are dedicated to helping students achieve their professional career goals. To accomplish this, it is essential that students respect each other’s right to pursue their education in the most beneficial atmosphere possible. All students are expected to adhere to the following standards of professional behavior.
In the classroom:
- Arrive on time to class, prepared to engage in the day’s topics,
- Keep cell phones and other electronic devices turned off during class,
- Respect your colleagues by refraining from disruptive behavior, including leaving class before the end and engaging in non-class related activities during the class session,
- Participate fully in all in-class activities, and
- Foster academic honesty.
Outside the classroom:
- Treat email correspondence as professional communications,
- Be a responsible group member, attending group meetings and fully contributing to the group’s discussions, work products, and presentations,
- Be respectful and gracious when a working professional takes time to interact with you in or out of class,
- Care for the Gallagher Business Building and its technologies,
- Honor appointments with employers, advisors, and faculty,
- Dress appropriately when interacting with professionals at COB events, and
- Foster academic honesty.
Academic Conduct Expectations – Students
The University of Montana Student Conduct Code specifies definitions and adjudication processes for academic misconduct and states, “Students at the University of Montana are expected to practice academic honesty at all times.” (Section V.A., available here).
The College of Business endorses academic honesty as a pillar of integrity crucial to the academic institution. Academic honesty is an important step towards developing an ethical backbone needed in a professional career.
Failure to practice academic honesty is considered academic misconduct. Academic misconduct will be penalized to the fullest extent. Students are expected to:
- Be knowledgeable of activities that are considered academic misconduct, as defined in section V.A. of the UM Student Conduct Code,
- Practice academic honesty on all exams, quizzes, homework, in-class assignments, and all other activities that are part of the academic component of a course,
- Encourage other students to do the same.
Confusion may arise in what is and is not academic misconduct. Students should ask their instructor if they are unsure if a behavior will be viewed as academic misconduct. A good rule of thumb is that any credit-earning activity in a course should represent the true skills and ability of the person receiving the credit.
A partial list of situations that are considered academic misconduct includes:
- Plagiarism – using another’s words, ideas, data, or materials and representing them as your own. This includes lifting anything from the Internet and embedding it in your work without proper citation of the source. It also includes using your own work previously graded for another class, unless explicitly permitted to do so by the current course instructor.
- Cheating on an Academic Exercise – using a source that the instructor did not explicitly authorize, regardless of how you came across the source. This would include:
- using solutions manuals, test banks, graded material from another semester, information from another student (with or without their consent), and online essays or analyses (free or purchased),
- sharing information about exam content with a student who has not yet taken the exam,
- removing exams from the room without authorization,
- consulting any unauthorized source during an exam, such as a cell phone, notes, the Internet, or another student’s paper,
- receiving assistance on an academic exercise without instructor permission.
- Improper Influence – calculating to influence the instructor to assign a grade other than the grade actually earned. This includes lying to the instructor in pursuit of extensions, leniency, or grade alterations.
- Facilitating Academic Dishonesty – knowingly helping another person engage in academic misconduct.
Professionalism Expectations – Faculty
Likewise, faculty are expected to act professionally, have a deep interest in students’ progress and welfare, and provide effective instruction. Faculty strive to fulfill their professional obligations by having enthusiasm for their fields and creating an environment that stimulates imaginative thinking. Faculty will maintain a responsible, professional relationship with the student. All faculty are expected to adhere to the following standards of professional behavior.
In the classroom:
- Arrive on time to class, prepared to engage in the day’s topics,
- Have a depth and breadth of knowledge in the field and be able to communicate this knowledge to students,
- Treat all students fairly, ensuring equal application of class standards and requirements,
- Promote academic honesty.
Outside the classroom:
- Be available for posted office hours, unless changes to the hours are communicated to students,
- Maintain adequate grade records for one academic term,
- Counsel and advise students on their program of study and other academic matters,
- Promote academic honesty.