Personal and Academic Standards, and Disciplinary Procedures

Personal Conduct and Academic Integrity Standards

1. Personal Conduct Standards
   YSE prohibits the following forms of behavior by its students:
   1. Physical restriction, assault, or any other act of violence or use of physical force against any member of the community, or any act that threatens the use of violence or physical force.
   2. Acts of harassment, intimidation or coercion, including the harassment of a University community member on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, status as a veteran, disability, or national or ethnic origin.
   3. Disruption of a legitimate function or activity of the University community, including disrupting classes and meetings, blocking entrances and exits to University buildings, unauthorized occupation of any space on the Yale campus, or preventing the free expression or dissemination of ideas.
   4. Refusal to comply with the direction of a University police officer or other University official, including a member of the faculty, acting in the performance of their duties.
   5. Misuse, alteration, or fabrication of University credentials or documents, such as an identification card or transcript, including grade lists submitted by teaching fellows.
   6. Misrepresentation or lying to University officials, including during a formal inquiry.
   7. Misrepresentation in applying for admission or financial aid.
   8. Recording course lectures without explicit permission of the instructor, or selling or distributing for commercial purposes notes, transcriptions, or outlines of class lectures, or any course materials, in any course of instruction.
   9. The misuse of funds, or willful damage of University property. 
   10. Misuse of the materials or facilities of the University libraries.
   11. Unauthorized use of University services, equipment, or facilities, such as telephones and photocopying equipment. 
   12. Violation of University rules for using information technology services and facilities, including computers, the University network, software systems, and electronic mail. 
   13. Trespassing on University property to which access is prohibited.
   14. Possession or use of explosives, incendiary devices, or weapons on or about the campus.
   15. Interference with the proper operation of safety or security devices, including fire alarms, electronic doors or gates, fire extinguishers, and sprinkler systems.
   16. Unlawful manufacture, possession, use, or distribution of drugs or alcohol, including serving underage minors, on University property or as part of any University activity. Yale is a drug-free campus.
   17. Use of tobacco products on any location on campus, including outdoor spaces.  Yale is a tobacco-free institution.
        
2. Academic Integrity Standards
   

   YSE prohibits academic dishonesty, a term that encompasses making any claim within or about your research or scholarship that is untrue. The following are some forms of academic dishonesty:

   1. Plagiarism is the failure to acknowledge ideas, research, or language taken from others, whether intentional or unintentional.  YSE requires citations whenever students either directly quote or indirectly draw upon and benefit from the scholarship of others.  This requirement applies equally to all scholarly work by students, including a paper or an exam for a course, a presentation in class or at a conference, or a manuscript for publication.
   2. The unauthorized collaboration with others on graded course work (including problem sets, lab reports, take-home exam questions, and papers) without express permission from the instructor.
   3. Cheating on examinations, problem sets, or any other form of assessment. 
   4. The falsification, fabrication, or misuse of data.
   5. Submitting work from one course for a grade or credit in another without obtaining express written permission from both course instructors.

   These standards for academic integrity apply to in-person, online, and remote forms of education. All students should familiarize themselves with the following resources:

   • This webpage – Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism – from Yale’s Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning
   • The two videos found on this webpage from Yale’s Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning
   • Yale’s policies and expectations concerning Academic Dishonesty (this information is housed with Yale College)

   If you have any questions or concerns about the principles of academic integrity outlined above, please contact YSE’s Academic Affairs team at academicaffairs.yse@yale.edu.

3. Sanctions for Violations
   Violations of any of the above Personal Conduct and Academic Integrity Standards may be referred to the Dean’s Office for investigation by the Disciplinary Committee.  The YSE Disciplinary Procedures apply to all such investigations.  A separate process and policy applies to reports of sexual misconduct, the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct Policies and Procedures, and the Title IX Office coordinates all such investigations.  

   Students found responsible for violating the Personal Conduct and Academic Integrity Standards may be subject to penalties, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following: a monetary fine, a requirement to pay restitution, reprimand, probation, suspension, or dismissal.  Penalties of suspension or dismissal will be noted on the student’s transcript.  Pending disciplinary charges will be noted on a student’s transcript if the student withdraws from YSE after being formally charged but before such charges have been resolved. A student who has petitioned for a degree will not receive the degree while charges are pending or while serving a suspension.

   In addition to imposing penalties for offenses subject to disciplinary action, YSE may refer students for prosecution, and students found guilty of unlawful possession, use, or distribution of drugs or alcohol on University property or as part of any University activity may be required to complete an appropriate rehabilitation program.

Disciplinary Procedures

The Yale School of the Environment (“YSE”) has adopted the following procedures for addressing reports that its students have violated its Personal Conduct and Academic Integrity Standards. The Standards are available above. Yale University has developed a separate process for addressing reports of sexual misconduct, the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct Policies and Procedures.

1. The Dean and the Disciplinary Committee
   The Dean of YSE oversees the implementation of these procedures.  The Dean may delegate any of the Dean’s responsibilities to other faculty or staff members at the University as needed.    
   
   The Dean will appoint a special Disciplinary Committee consisting of members of the YSE community (faculty, staff, or students).  The Dean will appoint a faculty member to serve as Chair of the Committee.
   
   Both the Dean and the Committee Chair have discretion to modify these procedures to meet the needs of a particular case.
     
2. The Written Complaint
   The disciplinary process begins when the Committee Chair receives a written complaint of conduct which, if true, would violate the YSE Standards and which, in the Chair’s judgment, warrants investigation (a “Report”). 
    
3. Notification to the Respondent
   The Committee Chair will provide the Report to the student alleged to have violated the YSE Standards (the “respondent”).  After reviewing a Report, a respondent may elect to admit the alleged misconduct, in which case either the Dean or the Committee Chair may impose a sanction.
    
4. The Case Panel and the Investigatory Meeting 
   When a case requires investigation, the Committee Chair will appoint three members of the Disciplinary Committee to serve as a case panel.  The panel must include at least one faculty member and either a second faculty member or a staff member.  A faculty member will act as panel chair.
   
   If a respondent believes that a member of the panel may not be able to judge a case fairly, the respondent may provide the Committee Chair a written explanation of the concern.  The Chair will then decide whether the panel member should be recused from the case and, if necessary, name a replacement.
   
   The case panel will investigate the Report by reviewing documents it deems relevant and meeting with the respondent and any other witnesses that the panel identifies as having potentially relevant information.  With the permission of the panel, the respondent and the individual who made the Report may be present while the panel is questioning witnesses.  A respondent may provide the panel with documents and ask the panel to call additional witnesses who may have relevant information about the facts of the case.  The panel has discretion to grant or deny such requests.   
   
   A respondent may attend the investigatory meeting with an advisor, who must be a member of the Yale community (faculty, staff, or student).  An advisor is not appointed by YSE.  The respondent must ask a community member to act as an advisor and make arrangements for the advisor’s attendance at the investigatory meeting.  The advisor is not an advocate, but rather a source of support.  The advisor may not question witnesses, make statements, or otherwise participate directly in the meeting on the respondent’s behalf.
    
5. Factual Findings
   After the investigatory meeting, the panel will decide by a preponderance of the evidence whether the conduct alleged in the Report violated the YSE Standards.  The panel’s decision will be made by a simple majority vote, with no abstentions permitted.
    
6. Sanctions
   In the event that the panel decides that a respondent violated the YSE Standards, the panel will determine the sanction.  The panel may consider prior violations of the YSE Standards by a respondent when determining sanctions.   The panel will reach its sanction determination by a simple majority vote, with no abstentions permitted. 
    
7. Appeal to the Dean
   A respondent who is sanctioned by the panel may appeal to the Dean.  The appeal must be in writing and received by the Dean within seven (7) days of the panel’s decision.  The Dean may revise the panel’s decision only in cases where (a) evidence that would have substantially affected the panel’s decision was unavailable to the respondent until after the investigatory meeting; (b) errors in procedure may have substantially affected the decision; or (c) the sanction is grossly disproportionate to the behavior found by the panel.