Student Policies and Procedures
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University of Minnesota Board of Regents’ Policies
Scholastic Dishonesty and Plagiarism
School of Public Health Educational Policies
Satisfactory Progress
University Senate Policies
Health Insurance
Privacy
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): Student Records
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
Immunizations
Criminal Background Checks
Use of Human Subjects in Research
Complaints and Grievances
Course Evaluations
School of Public Health Annual Student Survey
International Student Requirements
University of Minnesota Board of Regents’ Policies
The policies of the Board of Regents are umbrella policies that provide the framework under which the administration is responsible for implementation of and compliance with the intent of the board policy. Students are responsible for abiding by the Board of Regents policies. The Board of Regents policies can be found at www.umn.edu/regents/policies.html.
We encourage students to read the policies and ask that they particularly become aware of the following policies:
Scholastic Dishonesty and Plagiarism
Students are responsible for maintaining scholastic honesty in their work at all times. Students engaged in scholastic dishonesty will be penalized, and offenses will be reported to the Office of Student Academic Integrity (OSAI, www.osai.umn.edu).
The University’s Student Conduct Code defines scholastic dishonesty as “plagiarizing; cheating on assignments or examinations; engaging in unauthorized collaboration on academic work; taking, acquiring, or using test materials without faculty permission; submitting false or incomplete records of academic achievement; acting alone or in cooperation with another to falsify records or to obtain dishonestly grades, honors, awards, or professional endorsement; or altering, forging, or misusing a University academic record; or fabricating or falsifying of data, research procedures, or data analysis.”
Plagiarism is an important element of this policy. It is defined as the presentation of another's writing or ideas as your own. Serious, intentional plagiarism will result in a grade of "F" or "N" for the entire course. For more information on this policy and for a helpful discussion of preventing plagiarism, please consult University policies and procedures regarding academic integrity at writing.umn.edu/tww/plagiarism/.
Students are urged to be careful that they properly attribute and cite others' work in their own writing. For guidelines for correctly citing sources, go to http://tutorial.lib.umn.edu/ and click on “Citing Sources”.
In addition, original work is expected in all coursework. It is unacceptable for students to hand in assignments for any course for which they received credit in another course unless by prior agreement with the instructor. Building on a line of work begun in another course or leading to a thesis, dissertation, or final project is acceptable.
School of Public Health Educational Policies
SPH Educational Policies
Satisfactory Progress
Students are expected to advance steadily towards graduation. Student’s records are reviewed at the end of each semester to determine whether satisfactory progress is being made towards their degree.
Each major within the School of Public Health must provide written notification by the middle of each term to students whose cumulative GPA is less than 3.0 at the end of the preceding term (excluding grades of incomplete). This notice must remind the student that the GPA must be raised to a minimum of 3.0 before a degree can be awarded. A major may adopt a more extensive or stringent policy related to probation or dismissal for academic deficiencies, but must have such policies reviewed by the SPH Educational Policy Committee and approved by the Dean’s Office. Where such policies are developed, majors must provide documentation to students upon admission and must include this policy statement in the initial written notification to students whose GPA drops below 3.0.
For more information, please contact your Major Coordinator.
University Senate Policies
The University Senate is an elected body of faculty, academic professionals, civil service staff, and students which discusses and approves matters that effect the entire University. There a specific policies approved by the Senate/Assembly including the following:
Health Insurance
All AcademicHealth Centerstudents (this includes all SPH students, including those in MS and PhD programs) will be enrolled and charged automatically for the Academic Health Center (AHC) Student Health Benefit Plan. For more information, go to www.bhs.umn.edu/insurance/ahc.htm.
Students can have the plan waived if they are enrolled in an employer-based insurance plan, the University Sponsored Graduate Assistant Plan, or Minnesota Care. To waive the plan, they must provide proof of insurance in the form of a certificate of coverage to the Student Insurance office at Boynton Health Service.
Privacy
The School of Public Health is committed to protecting the privacy of students, staff, and research participants. Students have privacy rights that assure confidentiality of their student records. Research Participants have many rights that guarantee their safety and their privacy.
Often School of Public Health students work as Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants [that may require exposure] to private information. Please be [aware] of privacy laws, complete required privacy trainings, and act with the highest honor towards all private information.
For further information, go to privacy.ahc.umn.edu/.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): Student Records
FERPA grants four specific rights to a post-secondary student:
- To see the information that the institution is keeping on the student.
- To seek amendment to those records and in certain cases append a statement to the record.
- To consent to disclosure of his/her records.
- To file a complaint with the FERPA Office in Washington.
In addition:
- U of MN Faculty and Staff have a legal responsibility, under FERPA, to protect the confidentiality of your student educational records.
- Student information stored in electronic format must be secure and available only to those entitled to access that information.
Student educational records are considered confidential and may not be released without written consent of the student.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
HIPAA is a federal law related to the privacy of an individual’s health care information.
All students in the Academic Health Center (AHC), including School of Public Health students, must complete the University’s online HIPAA Privacy training.
All SPH students are required to complete two courses:
- The HIPAA Privacy and Security video (7 minutes)
- Safeguarding PHI on Computers (30-40 minutes)
Login to my.umn.edu and click on the my Toolkit link to complete the training.
Immunizations
According to OSHA regulations, CDC guidelines, and University of Minnesota policy, Academic Health Center (AHC) degree-seeking students are required to have a health clearance as a condition of enrollment. (Not required for certificate program students.)
More details and the downloadable Student Immunization Record form are available from Boynton Health Service at www.bhs.umn.edu/services/AHC.htm#AHC.
Criminal Background Checks
Students should be aware that certain facilities are required by Minnesota law to submit paperwork for a criminal background check for all personnel with direct, unsupervised client contact. Students placed in such facilities may be asked by the institution to submit paperwork, or the institution may require that they have this check facilitated by the School of Public Health or Division. The School is prepared to assist students with this process. Facilities that are covered by this law are hospitals, boarding care homes, outpatient surgical centers, nursing homes, home care agencies, residential care homes, and board/lodging establishments providing health supervision services. Client contact must be direct and unsupervised (outside the hearing or vision of a supervisor at the facility). In the unlikely event that this situation arises, students should call the School of Public Health Student Services Center at 612.626.3500 or go to D305 Mayo for assistance.
Use of Human Subjects in Research
Students at the University of Minnesota who conduct any research using human subjects (even if the subject’s data has been collected under IRB approval) are required to submit their research proposal to the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board (IRB) for approval prior to conducting their study. This applies to projects conducted inside or outside the University. For research conducted outside of the University, students still need IRB approval from the University even if approval has been obtained from an external agency.
Students must also seek approval if they are using existing datasets and are not collecting any additional data. In these cases, it is still necessary to complete the IRB application using the “expedited review” process. This process requires less time for approval, but the form must be completed in advance of beginning any analysis.
No contacts with potential or actual study participants, including recruitment, or other research may occur until final IRB approval has been obtained. Students should plan to complete the application at least 2 months before they want to collect new data or analyze existing data because the IRB Committees only meet 1-2 times/month and they often request revisions to applications before final approval.
The University of Minnesota IRB web site is www.irb.umn.edu. Students should check this site out before speaking with their advisor to familiarize themselves with procedures and to download/print the forms they will need to complete. Students should consult with their advisor before submitting an application. Here are a few tips:
Students will need a copy of the questions they intend to ask, their protocol for collecting data, as well as a consent form, if necessary. If students will be using participant recruitment materials (letters, advertisements, etc.), they should provide a copy with the application.
Students should consult with a faculty member who does similar work about what kind of review procedures they will have to go through. Students can also talk to fellow students who recently went through a review process.
The Committee does look very closely at research involving children, and any invasive research undergoes especially close examination. If the nature of their research is very sensitive, students may want to speak directly to someone at the IRB about how to prepare the materials.
Questions concerning exemptions or other aspects of human subjects research review should be addressed to irb@umn.edu or call 612.626.5654. Completed application forms should be sent to:
Research Subjects Protection Program
MMC 820
D528 Mayo Memorial Bldg
420 Delaware Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0392
Complaints and Grievances
The School of Public Health seeks to be aware of and responsive to student issues and complaints. There are numerous ways for you to channel your academic and student life concerns:
- provide comments on the annual student survey (in May)
- meet with your advisor and/or major coordinator
- raise the issue with your major chair or director of graduate studies, either individually or in a meeting set up for this kind of feedback
- attend of the two "Talk With Us" forums for students hosted by the Dean and Associate Dean for Student Affairs each year
The SPH takes all student input seriously and we welcome your input in any of these ways. If the matter is not handled satisfactorily by any of these methods, or if the issue is particularly widespread or serious, please make an appointment with Judith Garrard, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Research at jgarrard@umn.edu.
The University provides resources as well. Report incidents of bias, discrimination, or harassment to the University Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action at eoaffact.umn.edu. For student issues that are not resolved through SPH channels or for which you seek external support, the Student Conflict Resolution Center will assist in resolving campus-based problems or concerns www.umn.edu/sos/.
Course Evaluations
Students provide very important input into the continued development of the School of Public Health’s teaching program. Students will be asked to complete evaluations for all SPH courses. Depending on the individual course, evaluations may be done on paper or online at the end of each term.
School of Public Health Annual Student Survey
Students also are strongly encouraged to evaluate and comment on the school and its programs through our annual end of year SPH Student Survey. The survey covers many aspects of student experiences including field placements, career services, financing, and overall School service.
International Student Requirements
Go to www.isss.umn.edu for the most up-to-date information on requirements for international students including:
- Document check and orientation
- Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)
- Academic Status
- Address Change
Last modified on Thursday Jul 08, 2004