Graduate Ethics Standards

Ethics Committee

Preamble

The NMSU Code of Ethics and its accompanying Standards of Conduct promotes excellence in research and teaching at NMSU by identifying the principles, values, and expected behaviors that NMSU considers fundamental to the successful development of faculty and graduate students. The Code of Ethics has as its foundation the expectation that faculty and graduate students will act with integrity and respect, in an environment of shared responsibility for promoting excellence in research, teaching and professional service. The Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct in this document describes accepted practices for Graduate Students, Faculty, Programs/Departments and the Graduate school in the following domains: progress toward degree, research and creative activities, graduate learning environment, professional growth and advancement, assistantships and financial aid and community engagement. These guidelines were developed by constituents representing faculty, administrators, and graduate students across the Colleges.

Graduate Ethics Standards Printable Version

Progress Toward Degree

Ethical Principle

Faculty and graduate students will demonstrate a shared responsibility through respect, honest academic conduct and a scholarly support system to include the program/department and the graduate school in achieving successful progress toward the completion of the designated degree for the graduate student.

Graduate Student	Faculty	Program/ Department	Graduate School
Follow departmental or program limits on time to degree	Support students' academic progress.	Inform students on academic requirements and policies via online and/or printed publications.	Maintain comprehensive data on programs.
Maintain regular communication with advisor, committee, department head, and/or graduate coordinator. (Suggested minimum 1x/semester)	Mentor advisees and communicate regularly with student (suggested minimum 1x/semester) and other members of graduate committee as appropriate.	Ensure faculty perform mentoring responsibilities.	Provide oversight for degree completion for interdisciplinary degrees.
Know and abide by policies and procedures as defined in departmental graduate handbook and student code of conduct.	Communicate expectations and be a good professional role model.	Provide courses in appropriate sequence for timely degree completion.	Regularly review departmental graduate handbooks.
Take initiative to ask questions as they relate toward your progress toward degree.	Conduct annual evaluations and provide feedback.	Establish departmental limits for time to degree completion.	Ensure compliance with requirement to have a departmental graduate handbook.
Seek out student service resources and support as needed.	Review graduate student's plans of study and monitor their progress toward degree.	Conduct regular evaluation of graduate students and communicate regularly with students about their progress. Provide opportunities for students to correct academic deficiencies before dismissal.	Provide professional development activities for students and faculty on graduate education, the graduate catalog, and relevant policies and procedures.
	Know and abide by the policies and procedures of department, including departmental graduate handbook, and graduate school.	Organize events and share information that fosters professional development in graduate students. Facilitate peer interactions.	Graduate School to monitor development and up-dating of grad student handbook.
		Prepare and regularly revise a graduate student handbook that includes information on degree requirements, time to degree completion, and services that support academic performance.

Research and Creative Activities

Ethical Principle

Faculty and graduate students conduct their research with integrity and transparency, consistent with their disciplines’ ethical code, NMSU'S’ best practices, and federal regulations. All graduate student research must be supervised by a faculty member. At NMSU the Office of Research Integrity and Research Compliance serves as the central resource for information regarding research policies, ethics, and relevant compliance issues across disciplines. As a Land Grant, Hispanic Serving Institution and a Carnegie High Research Activity Institution, we acknowledge our unique status and responsibility to the community.

Graduate Student	Faculty	Program/ Department	Graduate School
Request clear guidelines for ethical and responsible conduct from your faculty advisor/research supervisor. Be accountable to those guidelines	Serve as a role model and mentor for conducting research with integrity and transparency. Keep current on your discipline’s research policies, ethics, and relevant compliance issues.	Provide current information to graduate students and faculty about research policies, ethics, and relevant compliance issues as appropriate for discipline. Information must be included in Graduate Handbook.	Ensure that all graduate programs have handbooks that are current and comprehensive pertaining to research policies, ethics, and relevant compliance issues as appropriate for discipline.
Assume responsibility for timely execution and completion of research duties.	Provide clear guidelines and timely feedback to promote completion of research project/assignments.	Manage expectations and promote and monitor fair treatment of graduate students in allocation of research funding/opportunities.	Identify and develop financial and scholarly resources for graduate student research.
Understand discipline’s guiding principles, values, and expected behaviors pertaining to academic integrity in the conduct of scholarly and creative activities, including but not limited to plagiarism, and falsification and/or fabrication of data.	Accept accountability for supervision of students’ adherence to disciplines’ ethical code, NMSU’s best practices, and federal regulations.	Provide students with non-abusive environment conducive to research mentorship	In collaboration with the VP for Research Integrity, adjudicate cases in which faculty and/or graduate students have acted inappropriately and/or are alleged to have violated research ethics and integrity policies.
Acknowledge contributions of others to your work following disciplinary standards and conventions.	Establish clear guidelines for recognizing authorship/contribution to collaborative research efforts before start of project	Regularly review and update (at least once every three years) departmental/disciplinary guidelines for ethical and responsible conduct of research in the field.
Seek out opportunities to apprentice on collaborative research projects	Work to create opportunities to collaborate with advisee on research projects

Graduate Learning Environment

Ethical Principle

Faculty and Graduate Students will act with the highest level of competency, commitment, and integrity, in an environment of shared responsibility for promoting excellence in teaching and student learning.

Graduate Student	Faculty	Program/ Department	Graduate School
Engage in self-directed learning. Be goal focused and contribute to positive classroom interaction.	Maintain best practices in teaching. Keep current in your field and implement these practices in your classroom.	Encourage faculty professional development. Periodic review of the curriculum.	Refresh or review academic curricula periodically.
Utilize academic resources; take responsibility for your own learning.	Model effective teaching techniques and strategies. Mentor teaching assistants.	Create a collaborative culture that fosters quality improvement. Utilize faculty formative and summative evaluations.	Support professional development for graduate students in collaboration with the Teaching and Research Academies.
Seek and incorporate feedback from graduate mentors. Engage in self-reflection and dialogue with graduate mentors.	Provide timely, on-going feedback in a supportive atmosphere.	Provide a non-threatening supportive atmosphere which encourages clear communication and fosters professional development.	Supports the departments’ efforts in the development of these processes.

Professional Growth and Advancement

Ethical Principle

Faculty and Graduate Students will embrace the development of lifelong learning, striving for the highest level of excellence in their respective disciplines.

Graduate Student	Faculty	Program/ Department	Graduate School
Become a member and participate in professional societies and organizations that foster professional growth and advancement.	Encourage and model active participation in professional societies and organizations.	Provide information about and support for participation in professional societies and organizations.	Provide competitive incentives for travel to professional society and organizational activities.
Take initiative to acquire and enhance skills relevant to career advancement such as building a resumeé, presenting a colloquium or negotiating a professional position.	Provide constructive evaluation and feedback. Prepare students to be competitive for employment.	Provide opportunities for students to practice and develop skills (e.g., research colloquiums and mock interviews).	Provide university wide opportunities and resources for students to practice and develop professional skills.
Seek out mentors and advisors to provide career guidance.	Be responsive (i.e., afford access, availability, timely feedback) to students’ requests for mentorship and guidance.	Acknowledge, recognize and reward responsible mentorship.	Create and develop incentives to recognize excellence in mentorship.

Assistantships and Financial Aid

Ethical Principle

Faculty and Graduate Students will support transparent, timely and responsible stewardship of resources to promote fair distribution of funds across colleges, departments and students for the purpose of supporting graduate education, training and research.

Graduate Student	Faculty	Program/ Department	Graduate School
Become well informed about all financial aid and support available.	Present realistic job prospects and gainful employment options based on recent alumni and professional data from the discipline.	Provide accurate and timely information regarding expectations and requirements for financial support for students.	Provide full and timely information regarding students’ financial responsibilities for enrollment in graduate programs and to facilitate recruitment and retention.
Educate self about actual expenses and cost of living for graduate studies.	Review requirements with advisees to ensure students understand financial obligations of the program.	Provide information packet about required internships and student costs associated.	Advocate for assistantships to align with living wage data.
Seek funding for professional development activities and meetings.	Provide guidance and mentorship about professional development activities and travel.	Provide ongoing information about appropriate venues and opportunities for professional development.	Provide resources to graduate programs to fund students’ professional development.
Familiarize self with the graduate school, departmental and university policies/practices regarding GA assignments.	Ensure reasonable and appropriate work assignment consistent with institutional policy and federal regulations.	Develop a strategy for allocating funds equitably and supervising assistantships consistent with Graduate School and University policy.	Adjudicate graduate student appeals to departmental decisions pertaining to graduate assistantships.

Community Engagement

Ethical Principle

Faculty and Graduate Students will cultivate a culture of shared commitment to local and statewide communities and to the advancement of our Land Grant Mission.

Graduate School	Faculty	Program/ Department	Graduate School
Understand and value your role as a citizen and ambassador within and outside of the university community.	Demonstrate and model the faculty role as citizens and ambassadors within and outside of the university community	Support, encourage and reward faculty and graduate student engagement with communities related to our Land Grant Mission.	Coordinate and develop strategies for community engagement with graduate programs’ faculty and students.
Keep department and mentors informed of community engagement and service.	Support students and colleagues in their community engagement and service.	Cultivate the culture of community engagement and service for both faculty and graduate students.	Publicly recognize the work of graduate programs’ faculty and students in community engagement and service through diverse media.

New Mexico State University

Ethics Committee

Progress Toward Degree

Research and Creative Activities

Graduate Learning Environment

Professional Growth and Advancement

Assistantships and Financial Aid

Community Engagement

The Graduate School

New Mexico State University

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