Upon walking into the Judicial Affairs office you see the Honor Code and Honor Pledge posted in visible view, setting precedence over all. “We should always uphold the values of integrity, service and respect throughout our professional and academic years” says Mayra Hernandez, Director of Judicial Affairs.
According to Hernandez, Texas A&M International University isn’t home to the mounting academic and disciplinary problems many other universities may know. This isn’t to say we don’t have our share of incidents. “We’re not as bad as other universities but… we could do better. Every university is actually doing research as to why do [students] plagiarize,” explains Hernandez, “The things that come up are time management, obviously, lack of practice, lack of education. Sometimes our students are not informed on the process, how to cite appropriately. Other things set a priority versus taking that time to study for an exam and they [get] caught in a situation.”
This balancing act in which students weigh the possibilities of getting caught is an all too common sentiment. Hernandez emphasizes that students need to recognize the university’s judicial system as just that, a system in which people who commit a crime, aware of the sanction, will be presented with consequences. The potential consequence, however, may be much more severe than students anticipate.
In compliance with A&M system policies, student records are kept long after graduation. For students planning to graduate and apply to work at any federal, state or local agency, it is no longer unusual for those agencies to approach the institution from which they graduated from and ask for academic and disciplinary records. “When students apply for these positions they’re allowing the university to release basic information. A simple check box, if on file, will be marked yes. It could cause them a position,” says Hernandez.
While the above mentioned may be true, university sanctions vary for both academic and disciplinary cases, from mandatory counseling sessions to re-doing assignments without credit. Regardless, Hernandez maintains that resolution is key in diffusing all cases, “It’s not just, you committed an infraction, this is the sanction, and that’s it. We want to make professionals out of our students. It’s not just enough for them to earn a degree, but to make them respectable citizens in the future so if a student was caught cheating or plagiarizing, we try to get them the help.”
Just as in any system, the university’s judicial system has checks and balances. Should a student be caught or accused of a disciplinary or academic infraction, they have the opportunity to appeal. There are currently two boards in place; one consists of an honor counsel, reviewing academic appeals. Meanwhile, the student conduct board reviews disciplinary appeals. Both hearing bodies are filled with faculty, staff, and students. If a student goes and appeals, they can rest assure there is a student representing them.
Moreover, Hernandez stresses a student’s responsibility to inform themselves. “The most important thing is know what your rights and responsibilities are. Can I? Should I do this? Is it against policy? I encourage students to read the student handbook.”
The student handbook can be found online on the Student Activities web page.