Integrity in Faculty/Student Authorship and Research

The scholarly and professional relationships among students, staff, and faculty shall be characterized by principles of integrity and honesty that reflect credit on themselves, their profession, the Graduate College, the Undergraduate Colleges, and the University of Nebraska at Kearney as a whole.

The prevailing professional standards in the several academic disciplines, where such standards have been formalized, generally constitute acceptable principles governing conduct in the dissemination of material resulting from joint research and writing and artistic efforts. However the absence of such formalized standards does not relieve individuals from the obligations to conduct themselves ethically and within the following guidelines with regard to professional and ethical behavior.

Misconduct in research, writing, and artistic endeavors is defined as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific, artistic, and academic professional communities. Misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following four categories of fraud or deviance in professional, artistic, and academic behavior: Falsification of Data; Plagiarism; Abuse of Confidentiality; and Deliberate Violations of Regulations.

Unless otherwise specified in policies established by the University, colleges, or departments, or in agreements signed by the parties involved, materials developed exclusively by a student as part of the activities of a course (including thesis or dissertation) are the student's property and their final disposition remains the student's prerogative. Should materials so developed result in publication or other dissemination, the authorship or other credit shall be determined by the student. However, if the course activities were funded by a grant or contract awarded for the work to be performed, then these rights belong to the awardee as noted in the following paragraph.

Unless otherwise specified in policies established by the University, colleges, or departments, or stipulated by a grant or contract, data and materials collected or produced by a person while participating in a project funded by a grant or contract shall be the property of, and under the control of, the person(s) to whom the grant or contract was awarded. Should such data or materials result in publication or other dissemination, the authorship or other credit shall be determined by the awardee.

In cases where a grant or contract is awarded to a director of a project, stipulating that substantial work is to be performed by a specified student or staff member, the parties (project director and student, staff, or faculty) may sign a statement assigning rights in a fashion deviating from the above.

Individuals collaborating on research or artistic projects in circumstances not specifically addressed by the above provision are encouraged to discuss, at an early stage, how decisions will be made concerning the use and dissemination of the work, ownership of data and other products of the work, priority in authorship, and other such issues as applicable, and they may wish to formalize their understanding and agreements in writing.

Any claim that these guidelines have been violated should be pursued through the policies and procedures of the Regents of the University of Nebraska, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the Faculty Senate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and such individual college policies and procedures as may apply.