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The procedures, policies, and regulations stated in this section are designed to assist Bethune-Cookman University students during their matriculation.
Each graduate degree student will be assigned an advisor from the graduate faculty who will maintain the student’s advisement file, supervise course selection, and review in conference the student’s academic progress with appropriate regularity. The student, however, is responsible for meeting the requirements stated in the Graduate Catalog.
Attendance
Compulsory Class Attendance:
Class attendance is compulsory all students. Absences will result in lower grades.
Unexcused Absences:
No student will be permitted unexcused absences from class.
Excused Absences:
Excused absences include those incurred by the student’s participation in university or class sponsored activities. Examples of excused absences include band, chorale, gospel choir, athletic teams, field trips, family emergencies, and significant illness. (Proof of family emergencies and illness is an important factor in being permitted to make up missed assignments, tests, etc.)
Expected Absences:
Students are responsible for informing their instructors of any anticipated absence(s) from class. Students who are ill are advised to report to the Adams Infirmary where their illness can be documented and submitted to instructors for consideration.
Verification of Attendance:
Each semester, the Office of the Registrar requests faculty members to verify student rosters by 1) directing students, whose names do not appear on their class rosters, to its office in order to be enrolled properly into the course, and 2) reporting names of students who appear on their rosters, but who have not reported to class. These students are listed as a “No Show.” Once generated, the Verification of Attendance Report is sent to the Registrar’s Office according to the announced deadline. Students who are reported as “No Shows” will be dropped from the roster for those classes.
Syllabus/Outline:
The course syllabus/outline is an agreement between the teacher and the student. Students should receive a syllabus/outline at the beginning of the term for each course in which they are enrolled.
Academic Advising:
Students within the School of Graduate Studies will be assigned a major advisor by the Department Chair in consultation with the Director of the Academic Program and the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. The advisor will advise the student on his/her academic program and will monitor his/her progress through it.
Academic advisors will also serve as the major thesis advisor for the student. The student, however, is responsible for meeting the requirements stated in the Graduate Catalog.
Conferences with Advisor:
Students are expected to arrange regular conferences with their academic advisor according to the advisor’s posted schedule. Conferences may also be scheduled with advisors through individual appointments. Mandatory conference(s) are required before registering for classes each semester and before completing the University’s Degree Application for Graduation.
Final Exam Schedules:
The Office of the Registrar will schedule final examination dates, times, and locations.
Academic Honesty
A student is required to maintain an honor code. Charges of cheating on tests or examinations, plagiarism in the production of written papers, other products or processes will result in disciplinary action by the faculty and administration.
As members of an academic community, which places a high value on truth and the pursuit of knowledge, students are expected to be honest in every phase of their academic life and to present, as their own work, only that which is genuinely theirs. Students have the responsibility to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity and to refrain from cheating, plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty.
Students who are academically dishonest undermine the integrity of the University. If students receive recognition through academic dishonesty, the value of the recognition is diminished, and the reputations of the University and its graduates are jeopardized. Thus, academic dishonesty hurts the University and is unfair to other students.
This information is intended to help students understand academic honesty and provide guidance on how to protect them from academic dishonesty. Consequently, students must maintain close communication with their instructors in order to clarify codes and conditions.
A complete definition of academic dishonesty and disciplinary procedures are found in the University’s Student Handbook.
When there is reason to suspect a student has violated either a University policy on academic honesty or the instructor’s specific codes, as found in the course syllabus, the instructor should discuss the charges and the evidence with the student, preferably in private. Without taking punitive action, the instructor will submit a written report to the school dean through the department head. The instructor’s report should include such information as the instructor’s charge against the student, evidence supporting the instructor’s charge, and a summary of the discussion between the student and the instructor, including any admission or denial of guilt.
Upon receipt of the instructor’s report, the school dean will inform the student, in writing, of his/her right to a hearing and enclose a copy of the instructor’s entire report. The student will not be permitted to withdraw from the course during an academic dishonesty investigation. If the student does not request a hearing by the school dean, the dean will render a decision and, subsequently, notify the instructor and the student. A copy of the dean’s decision will be forwarded to the Provost in the Office of Academic Affairs. If the student chooses to appeal the dean’s decision:
- The student will be permitted five (5) school days from receipt of the dean’s letter to request an appeal before the Administrative Panel. The letter requesting the appeal shall be submitted to the Provost.
- If the request for appeal is granted, then the Provost will schedule a hearing.
- At the appeal hearing, all parties will have an opportunity to respond to the charges, to present evidence and/or argument on all issues involved, and to present rebuttal evidence. The hearing will be conducted in an informal but orderly manner.
- The decision of the Administrative Panel is considered to be final.
Intellectual Property
Purpose
To set policy regarding trademarks, copyrights, patents, and revenue related thereto.
Accountability
Under the direction of the President, the Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance, the Provost, and the Academic Deans shall ensure compliance with this policy. The Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Accreditation shall implement this policy. The Deans shall ensure that each new faculty member receives a copy of this policy or is directed to it in the Faculty Handbook or on the B-CU web site.
Applicability
This policy applies to all faculty members, staff, students and any other person employed by Bethune-Cookman University.
- General Policy
1.1. As an institution of higher learning, Bethune-Cookman University is entrusted with the responsibility to facilitate application of scientific, technical, artistic, and intellectual endeavors for public use and to provide for an equitable disposition of interests among the authors or inventors, the University and, where applicable, the sponsoring or contracting funding source.
1.2. The University recognizes that faculty, staff, or student research and scholarship may result in materials subject to intellectual property protection, including material subject to copyright or patent protection. It is the policy of the University that such research and scholarship should be undertaken to serve the public interest by encouraging scholarly activity without regard to potential financial gain. However, the University recognizes that appropriate recognition and incentives should be given to sponsors, inventors, and authors.
1.3. The Intellectual Property Policy, as adopted, shall apply to all faculty, staff, students, and to anyone using university facilities or supervised by university personnel. Individuals employed by, enrolled in, or using university facilities agree to abide by this policy as a condition of their employment, enrollment, or use.
2. Definitions
The following terms shall have the following meanings for purposes of this policy:
- “Commissioned Projects”: Works or Inventions created or developed (1) specifically or predominantly for use by or at B-CU, or (2) at the request or on behalf of B-CU, or (3) under the specific direction of, or (4) by a person acting within the scope of his or her employment at B-CU, or (5) under a written contract between the Developer and B-CU, or (6) under a contract between B-CU and an external agency. “Traditional Works of Scholarship” will not be considered “Institutional Works” for the purposes of this policy.
- “Developer(s)”: The individual or group of individuals who create material subject to copyright or patent protection. The term Developer, as applicable, is co-extensive with the term “author” as used in the Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §102) and the term “inventor” as determined by the Patent Act (35 U.S.C.A. §100 et. seq.).
- “Institutional Resources”: Tangible resources provided by B-CU to a Developer, including, but not limited to, financial resources, office space, lab space, equipment, electronic network resources ( both hardware and software), support personnel, secretarial support, research, teaching and lab assistants, assistance from graduate students or work-aid students, media specialists or illustrators, supplies, and utilities. The term “financial resources” as used herein includes grants and contracts or awards made to B-CU by an extramural sponsor.
- Instructional Materials. Works created by or for instruction of B-CU students, including but not limited to textbooks, study guides, outlines, and other classroom materials.
- Inventions. Material that is subject to patent protection under the Patent Act, (35 U.S.C.A. §100 et. seq.), which provides that patent protection is granted to “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.”
- Trademarks. Words, designs, or devices that are subject to trademark protection in the University under the Lanham Act, (15 U.S.C.A. §1051 et. seq), which provides that trademark protection is granted to “any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof used … to identify and distinguish his or her goods, including a unique product, from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods, even if that source is unknown.”
- Traditional Works of Scholarship. Works reflecting research and/or creativity which is considered evidence of accomplishment in the Developer’s academic discipline or professional field, and is specifically created to be predominately used by persons or entities other than B-CU and/or its students. Such works include, but are not limited to, books, book chapters, journal articles, abstracts, student theses, plays, poems, pictorial and sculptural works, films, cassettes, musical compositions and other literary works, to the extent that such works do not fall within the scope of the term “Commissioned Projects.”
- “Works.” Material that is subject to copyright protection under the Copyright Act, (17 U.S.C.A. §101, et seq.), which provides that copyright protection subsists in “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, “not fall within the scope of the term “Commissioned Projects.”
3. Trademark Usage
3.1. Trademarks may only be used with the permission of the University. Requests for trademark usage must be directed to Fiscal and Financial Affairs.
4. Copyright Ownership and Revenues.
4.1. Copyright ownership of Commissioned Projects shall vest in the University at the time of creation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, copyright ownership of Instructional Materials shall vest in the Developer at the time of creation.
4.2. The owner of the copyright shall have the exclusive right and authority to determine whether the work shall be licensed or otherwise transferred and, if so, the terms and conditions of such license, except that:
4.2.1. The Developer of any Instructional Material shall grant a perpetual, nonexclusive, non-sub licensable, royalty-free license in the Instructional Material to the University; and
4.2.2. The University shall seek input from the Developer of any work that the University has determined to license or otherwise transfer if, and only if, the Developer is still employed by the University.
4.3. Any and all monetary revenues derived from a Commissioned Work shall be paid to the University, which shall retain fifty percent (50%) and pay fifty percent (50%), in equal shares, to the Developer(s).
5. Patent Ownership and Revenues.
5.1. Developers shall assign any and all patent rights in any Invention resulting from a Commissioned Project or the use of Institutional Resources to the University. The University shall have the exclusive right and authority to determine whether the work shall be licensed or otherwise transferred and, if so, the terms and conditions of such license or transfer, except that the University shall seek input from the Developer of any Invention that the University has determined to license or otherwise transfer if, and only if, the Developer is still employed by the University.
5.2. Any and all monetary revenues derived from a patent shall be paid to the University, which shall retain fifty percent (50%) and pay fifty percent (50%), in equal shares, to the Developer(s).
6. Sponsored Research or Development.
6.1. In the event that a Work or Invention is created, subject to a contract with a third party sponsor, then the contract may vary the terms of copyright ownership and revenue distribution if, and only if, the University has approved and is a signatory to the contract.
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