The following policy exists for all CS courses in the CS department. This policy is a minimum standard; your instructor may decide to augment this policy.
Below you can find some "official" language from Mines on similar topics, but I also want to share my own views regarding the learning environment as it relates to my course, both in and out of the classroom.
Fundamentally, respect the expectation for yourself, your classmates, and your instructor and TAs.
Respect for yourself includes taking care of yourself physically and mentally and advocating for an environment that facilitates learning for you.
Respect for your classmates includes recognizing and appreciating the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of your classmates and making it your interest to foster a learning environment for everyone. Some of your classmates may already be expert programmers, while others may have only just begun to learn; all are welcome.
Respect for your instructors (as well as your classmates) includes not participating in disruptive or distracting behavior: talking, playing games, or web surfing during lecture, for instance, make it difficult for others to focus on the reason we are all here.
Respect must be mutual to be effective; Your instructor and your TAs will be held to the same standards of respect.
It's important to recognize that the rigorous requirements of studying at Mines can cause stress, which sometimes results in distressed or disruptive behavior. If you are experiencing issues, or believe that one of your partners or teammates is, please SPEAK UP. Feel free to come talk to your instructor, or visit CARE at Mines. For serious violations of school policies, also see SpeakUP@Mines.
This course and all learning opportunities at Mines require a safe environment for everyone to be productive, develop professional practices, and to be able to share and learn without fear of discrimination or harassment. Discrimination or harassment of any type will not be tolerated. Sometimes harassment is unintentional, but regardless of intent the instructor will address any language or behaviors that might discriminate, stereotype, or promote harassment. If you witness discrimination or harassment of others, please bring it to the attention of Mines faculty so it can be addressed immediately.
Title IX is a federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on sex and gender in educational programs or activities. Mines takes its Title IX obligations seriously and is committed to providing a campus community free from gender-based discrimination. Gender-based discrimination, including sexual harassment, sexual violence, stalking, and domestic violence, is prohibited within the Mines campus community. If these issues have impacted you or someone you know, you can find appropriate resources here: Title IX at Mines. You can also contact the Mines Title IX Coordinator, Karin Ranta-Curran, at 303.384.2558 or mailto: krcurran@mines.edu for more information.
The Colorado School of Mines is committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in its programs, including students with disabilities. If you are registered with Disability Support Services (DSS) and I (your instructor) have received your letter of accommodations, please contact me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. For questions or other inquiries regarding disabilities, I encourage you to visit Disability Support Services (DSS) for more information.
Policy on academic integrity/misconduct: The Colorado School of Mines affirms the principle that all individuals associated with the Mines academic community have a responsibility for establishing, maintaining and fostering an understanding and appreciation for academic integrity. In broad terms, this implies protecting the environment of mutual trust within which scholarly exchange occurs, supporting the ability of the faculty to fairly and effectively evaluate every student’s academic achievements, and giving credence to the university’s educational mission, its scholarly objectives and the substance of the degrees it awards. The protection of academic integrity requires there to be clear and consistent standards, as well as confrontation and sanctions when individuals violate those standards. The Colorado School of Mines desires an environment free of any and all forms of academic misconduct and expects students to act with integrity at all times.
Academic misconduct is the intentional act of fraud, in which an individual seeks to claim credit for the work and efforts of another without authorization, or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any academic exercise. Student Academic Misconduct arises when a student violates the principle of academic integrity. Such behavior erodes mutual trust, distorts the fair evaluation of academic achievements, violates the ethical code of behavior upon which education and scholarship rest, and undermines the credibility of the university. Because of the serious institutional and individual ramifications, student misconduct arising from violations of academic integrity is not tolerated at Mines. If a student is found to have engaged in such misconduct sanctions such as change of a grade, loss of institutional privileges, or academic suspension or dismissal may be imposed.