University of Maryland School of Medicine

Judicial Review By-Laws

Rules of Conduct During Examinations

Ethical behavior includes proper behavior on examinations. Since there are some ambiguities surrounding examination conduct, students and faculty both have recognized the need for uniform guidelines. The following principles and guidelines were developed by a student/faculty committee.

General Principles

These principles apply to all examinations and evaluations whether written, oral, take-home, etc.

1. "Cheating" includes plagiarism, the acquisition of prior knowledge of the examination content by any unauthorized process, and the receiving or giving of relevant information during the examination by any means which are inconsistent with the type of examination. "Unauthorized process" is defined as any method not specifically approved by the department; it includes the transmission, by faculty members or others, of examination content to a student or select group of students outside the normal institutional process.

2. Students, staff and faculty members should report suspected infractions through the judicial system.

3. Students, staff and faculty who publicly or privately make accusations of unethical behavior without reporting such behavior to the Judicial Board are behaving in an unethical manner.

Written Examinations (Other Than Take-Home Examinations)

1. The faculty will inform the students, in advance, of the exact start and finish time, the place, and the grading policy for the examination. This may be accomplished through printed schedules. In addition, any special rules for the conduct of a given examination must be clearly stated in advance.

2. A faculty member will be present or readily available during all examinations in order to respond to inquiries and assist with conducting the examination.

3. Inquiries relating to specific questions in the examination may be permitted at the discretion of the department. Students may supply the faculty with written comments about questions which appear to be ambiguous, unfair or ill-designed within 48 hours following the examination.

4. Students shall leave the room after completing and turning in the examination. The student also must leave the halls adjacent to the examination rooms to prevent students still taking the examination from being distracted and disturbed by the noise which inevitably emanates from a group of students discussing the examination.

5. No examination will be accepted after the final call for examinations.

 

Policy For Missed Examinations