Operating Policies and Procedures Manual

Introduction

In recent years, well-publicized cases of misconduct in university research, including fabrication of results, plagiarism, and misrepresentation of findings have aroused concern among research institutions, individual investigators, sponsors of research, professional societies, and the general public. Although verified instances of such dishonest behavior are relatively rare, they raise serious questions about the integrity of the research process and the stewardship of public and private research funds. Institutions of higher education, in particular, enjoy a centuries-old tradition of integrity and objectivity, and cases of dishonesty in research by members of the university community must be dealt with carefully and thoroughly if the institution is to merit continued public confidence and trust.

The following policy is established to apply to all instances of alleged or apparent misconduct in research conducted at Arkansas State University.

1. APPLICABILITY

   This policy applies to all research and service activity conducted by faculty, staff, volunteers, or students of Arkansas State University. With respect to students, however, this policy does not apply to activities carried out in credit courses unless the associated research or service activities involve external funding.

2. DEFINITIONS

   For the purpose of this policy, the following definitions will be employed:

   1. Faculty means anyone who has a paid or non-paid academic appointment with faculty rank at Arkansas State University, as defined in Faculty Handbook of Policies and Procedures.
   2. Staff means staff exempt, staff non-exempt, other academic and student employees of Arkansas State University, as defined in Staff Handbook for Classified Employees.
   3. Student means any individual enrolled in courses for credit on a full- or part-time basis at Arkansas State University.
   4. Volunteer means any individual with a non-paid volunteer, clinical, non-clinical, affiliated, or honorary employment status.
   5. Research and Service means research, scholarship, creative endeavors, public service activities, and related functions conducted by faculty, staff, volunteers and students in their capacity as employees, volunteers, or students of the university.
   6. Misconduct means (1) fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other serious unethical or illegal deviations from accepted practices in proposing, conducting, or reporting the results of research and service activities, (2) material failure to comply with university or sponsoring agency requirements affecting the conduct of research, including the protection of human subjects and the care of laboratory animals, or (3) failure to meet other material legal requirements governing research activities. It does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretations or judgments of data.
   7. Inquiry means an informal review of an allegation of misconduct in research for the purpose of information-gathering and initial fact-finding to determine whether an allegation or apparent instance of misconducts warrants an investigation.
   8. Investigation means the formal examination and evaluation of all relevant facts to determine whether misconduct has occurred.
   
   
3. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE UNIVERSITY

   Arkansas State University will instruct its faculty, staff, volunteers, and students to promote and encourage integrity in all research and service endeavors; will act vigorously to discourage and detect misconduct in research and service; will take appropriate disciplinary action against any of its faculty, staff, volunteers or students who engage in such misconduct, as revealed by a careful investigation; and will inform and cooperate with appropriate sponsoring agencies, organizations publishing findings, and other appropriate affected by such misconduct. The faculty, staff, volunteers and students of Arkansas State University will be expected to work collegially to create an environment where misconduct will not be tolerated.
   

4. CONFIDENTIALITY

   A charge of scientific or ethical misconduct is extremely serious. For that reason, Arkansas State University will make every reasonable effort to limit voluntary disclosure of information about an allegation of misconduct to those within and outside the university who have a need to know, subject to requirements of Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act. Further, should the charge not be sustained, the university shall make formal and extensive efforts to preserve unimpaired the reputation of the person(s) against whom the charges were made. Charges found to have been made maliciously and in bad faith shall lead to employee or student disciplinary action.
   

5. ALLEGATIONS

   Any individual who has reason to believe that he or she has knowledge of an act of misconduct within the meaning of this policy by any Arkansas State University faculty, staff, volunteer or student is responsible for communicating to the Coordinator of Organized Research on the main campus.
   

6. INQUIRIES AND INVESTIGATIONS

   1. Inquiry. When an allegation or evidence of misconduct is referred to the Coordinator of Organized Research, he/she will immediately initiate an inquiry to determine whether or not there is a reasonable cause to believe that the alleged act(s) of misconduct in research did, indeed, occur. At the same time, written notice shall be given to the individual(s) against whom allegations have been made. The nature of the allegation will be included in this notice, but not the identity of the person who has made the allegation. The purpose of the inquiry is to determine whether there exist grounds sufficient to justify a formal investigation. Since an inquiry is preliminary and informal, the Coordinator of Organized Research will determine on a case by case basis how the inquiry will be conducted, ensuring that necessary and appropriate expertise is obtained to carry out a thorough and authoritative evaluation of the relevant evidence. The university will take careful precautions against real and apparent conflicts of interest on the part of those involved in the inquiry. An essential component of the inquiry will be made for the individual against whom the allegation is made to present evidence orally or in writing as appropriate.

      An inquiry must be completed within sixty (60) calendar days of its initiation unless circumstances clearly warrant a longer period. The record of the inquiry should include documentation of the reasons for exceeding the sixty (60) day period.

      Arkansas State University will maintain in a secure manner and for a minimum of three (3) years sufficiently detailed reports of inquiries to permit later assessment of reasons for determining that an investigation was or was not warranted. The written report shall include a statement of the evidence reviewed, a summary of relevant interviews, and the conclusions of the inquiry. The individual against whom the allegation was made shall be given a copy of the report of the inquiry. If the individual comments on the report, agency officials will be informed within twenty-four (24) hours if, after consultation with university legal counsel, an inquiry indicates possible criminal violation. Every effort will be made to conduct the inquiry in confidence, within the legal requirements to which the University is subject. The complete results of the inquiry will be reported to the Office of the Provost.

   2. Investigation. If, as a result of the inquiry, sufficient grounds have been found to exist for further investigation, the Coordinator of Organized Research will initiate a full investigation within thirty (30) days, and on or before the date the investigation begins the writing the sponsor(s) and the individual(s) against whom the allegation has been made. At this point, the Coordinator of Organized Research shall disclose to the individual(s) who will be the subject of the investigation the identity of the person(s) who made the allegation. The purpose of the investigation is to examine and evaluate relevant facts to determine whether misconduct has taken place.

      The investigation will be conducted with the assistance of a panel of at least five (5) full-time university faculty and administrative staff. The panel will include a minimum of three (3) Arkansas State University faculty members having expertise or appropriate knowledge in the type of research or service under investigation and who do not hold administrative appointments. Additional individuals may be appointed to provide expertise according to the nature of the specific allegations or evidence in the case. If necessary, additional faculty members with required expertise may be drawn from academic institutions other than Arkansas State University. All members of the panel must be free of any potential conflict of interest regarding any activity of the investigation. The university will take careful precautions against real or apparent conflicts of interest on the part of each individual involved in the investigation.

      At the outset of the investigation, the individual(s) subject to investigation shall be furnished copies of all allegations and shall have an opportunity to comment.

      The panel of investigation will examine the final report of the inquiry, along with a full statement of allegations which shall be prepared by the Coordinator of Organized Research. The report shall include a full statement as to agency notification, individual informants and other sources of information.

      The investigation may also include any or all of the following: a review of files, reports, and other documents at the university or in the public domain; a review of procedures of methods and inspection of laboratories, laboratory materials, specimens, and records of the subject(s) of the investigation; interviews with witnesses; a review of any documents or other evidence provided by or properly obtainable from parties, witnesses, or other sources; and a review of records maintained by and properly obtainable from relevant funding agencies. Whenever possible, interviews should be conducted of all individuals involved either in making the allegation or against whom the allegation is made, as well as other individuals who might have information regarding key aspect of the allegations; a complete summary of each of these interviews should be prepared, provided to the interviewed party for comment or revision, and included as part of the investigatory file. The individual against whom the allegation has been made will be provided promptly with copies of all materials placed in the investigatory file, as they are generated, in order to permit timely response. The individual concerned will be allowed an opportunity to respond, in writing and in person, prior to the time that the panel makes a determination as to whether the allegation has been substantiated. Should the individual choose to respond in person, he/she may be accompanied by legal counsel or other person of his/her choice. The role of legal counsel and any other person shall be limited, however, to advising the individual and shall not include the right to make oral argument or otherwise speak for the individual.

      The investigation must be completed within one hundred twenty (120) days of its initiation. This includes conducting the investigation, preparing the report of findings, and obtaining comments from the subject(s) of the investigation. If the university determines that it will not be able to complete the investigation within one hundred twenty (120) days, it must closely adhere to any applicable interim reports, requests for extensions, and any other regulations. Documentation will be maintained throughout the investigation to substantiate the findings. This documentation is to be made available to appropriate sponsoring agencies after completion of the investigation.

      Upon completing the investigation, the investigative panel shall prepare a final report containing a written statement of its findings, and shall provide a copy of those findings to the individual accused of misconduct. The individual shall have an opportunity to comment on the findings before the investigative panel submits its final report. Comments from the affected individual(s) shall be attached to the final report.

      The investigative panel shall submit to the Coordinator of Organized Research and to the Office of the Provost final report, which shall contain an assessment of whether the allegation has been substantiated, a description of the procedures under which the investigation was conducted, and the actual text or an accurate summary of the comments of any individual(s) found to have engaged in misconduct.

      The university will strictly adhere to all requirements of sponsoring agencies, if any, including filing of interim progress reports and keeping all agencies apprised of any developments which may affect current or potential funding. Interim administrative actions will be taken, as appropriate, to protect involved sponsoring agency funds and to ensure that the purposes of the funding are carried out. The university must notify each sponsoring agency as soon as it ascertains that any of the following conditions exist: (1) there is an immediate health hazard; (2) there is an immediate need to protect agency funds or equipment; (3) there is an immediate need to protect human or animal subjects of the research of service work; (4) there is an immediate need to protect the interest of the person(s) making the allegations or of the subject(s) or co-investigator(s) and associate(s) of the subject(s) of the allegations; (5) it is probably that the alleged incident is going to be reported publicly. Sponsoring agency officials will be informed within 24 hours if consultation with university legal counsel determines that an inquiry or investigation indicates possible criminal violations. Sponsoring agencies will be notified of the final outcome of any investigation, including any sanctions taken against an individual.
      

7. UNSUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS: RESTORATION OF REPUTATIONS

   If an allegation of misconduct is not substantiated by an investigation, the Coordinator of Organized Research will make diligent efforts to give notice of that fact to all persons who participated in the inquiry and investigation and other persons or agencies who were informed of the allegation by the university.

8. SANCTIONS

   If an allegation of misconduct is substantiated, the Office of the Provost shall initiate the applicable faculty, staff or student disciplinary procedure, and sanctions, if appropriate, will be imposed under those procedures. If the individual is a faculty member, action will be taken as specified in the applicable Faculty Handbook; specified in the Arkansas State University Staff Handbook for Classified Personnel; if the individual is a student, action may be taken as specified in the applicable Student Handbook; if the individual is a volunteer, sanctions will rest with the Office of the Provost.

9. DISSEMINATION OF POLICY AND PROCEDURE

   A copy of this policy shall be placed in each college or independent department office and each administrative office. A notice of the existence and significance of this policy shall be placed on bulletin boards.

Adopted Arkansas State University Board of Trustees on October 11, 1990. Revised and adopted by Arkansas State University Board of Trustees on December 16, 1992.

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Last updated on 10/15/2009.