Policy on Honorable Student Conduct and the Honor Code

I. Purpose and Scope

SGU is committed to fostering a community of scholarship, professionalism, and integrity. The Honor Code affirms SGU’s values and sets the standard for ethical academic and personal conduct expected of all students. This policy applies to all academic and scholarly activities, including coursework, examinations, research, clinical and laboratory settings, service-learning, and all other contexts in which students represent SGU. 

It also applies to conduct occurring outside of formal academic settings, including off-campus or online environments, where such conduct has a direct or reasonably foreseeable impact on the SGU community, its members, institutional operations, or the professional standards expected of students.

II. Statement of Principles

1. Integrity and Trust: Students must act with honesty in all academic endeavors and demonstrate integrity in personal conduct, including behavior outside formal academic settings where such conduct reflects on their responsibilities as members of the SGU community or as trainees in a professional program.
2. Collaboration with Responsibility: Cooperation and collaboration are encouraged where permitted, provided they support, not replace, individual learning and accountability.
3. Respect for Others and Community Responsibility: Students must acknowledge and respect the intellectual, creative, and professional contributions of others, their opinions, and their right to express them. SGU affirms freedom of speech as essential to education and scholarship, protecting the expression of challenging or disagreeable ideas as part of critical inquiry. This freedom is not absolute; all members of the community share responsibility to exercise it with dignity, respect, and regard for the safety of others. Expression that incites violence, promotes harm, or dehumanizes individuals is not acceptable. Civility and mutual respect are valued, but they may never be used as grounds to suppress discussion or debate.
4. Accountability: Students share responsibility for upholding the honor of the SGU community, including the duty to report violations when observed.
5. Commitment to Safety and Professional Standards: Honorable conduct extends beyond academics to adherence to SGU’s safety, security, and community rules, and to maintaining the highest standards of patient, client, and animal safety, confidentiality, and dignity.
6. Students must be able to engage and fulfill the assessment requirements of SGU by arriving at examinations suitably equipped to meet examination requirements, as defined and Published by the Office of Examination Services.

III. The Student Pledge of Honorable Conduct – Honor Code

As a student of SGU, I affirm my commitment to conduct myself with integrity, dignity, and courtesy in all academic, clinical, and community settings. I pledge to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty; refraining from cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsification, or misrepresentation, and by avoiding any situation that may give rise even to the suspicion of dishonesty. I also pledge to comply with the rules, regulations and requirements of SGU; outlined in their student manuals and course syllabi. I will not use or possess unauthorized notes, devices, or recording equipment during examinations, nor will I impersonate another student, engage a proxy, or alter examination scores, records, or documents for my compliance requirements or my assessments. I recognize the responsibility to learn and use digital and artificial intelligence tools ethically and transparently. I further commit to upholding professional conduct, as appropriate to my program, by maintaining patient, client, and animal safety, confidentiality, and dignity, presenting myself fit for duty and free from impairment. I will respect the rights, opinions, and identities of all members of the SGU community, refraining from discrimination, harassment, or bias, and I will exercise freedom of expression in ways that uphold the safety and dignity of others. I accept accountability for my actions, will not aid or acquiesce to misconduct, and will report unsafe, unethical, or impaired behavior that endangers others. By making this pledge, I affirm that I choose to uphold the values of honesty, respect, fairness, responsibility, and inclusion, and I accept the consequences of violating this trust, recognizing that to be a member of the SGU community is both a privilege, a responsibility and a choice that I made.

IV. Academic and Professional Misconduct

Academic and professional misconduct include behaviors that compromise honesty, fairness, compliance requirements or the welfare of others. The following are examples of violations subject to disciplinary action:

1. Cheating, contract cheating, plagiarism, or self-plagiarism.
2. Use of unauthorized materials, devices, resources or artificial intelligence tools during examinations or assignments.
3. Misrepresentation of work authorship or ownership.
4. Use of proxies for assessments, or any form of collaboration during summative examinations; live or remote.
5. Falsification, forgery, alteration or misrepresentation of academic records, clinical documentation, evaluations or any other academic-related documentation.
6. Seeking preferential treatment or requesting faculty to alter grades or make exceptions not available to all students.
7. Collusion: assisting or facilitating another’s academic dishonesty.
8. Misuse of university property, records, or identification.
9. Dishonesty, harassment, or abusive behavior that endangers others, or that occurs in any setting (including off-campus or online) where it has a direct or reasonably foreseeable impact on members of the SGU community, institutional operations, or the reputation and professional standards of the University.
10. Theft, willful damage, or tampering with university facilities or safety systems.
11. Unauthorized access to restricted areas or sites.
12. Lewd, disorderly, or indecent conduct or expression on campus or official university groups in the community or online.
13. Violation of safety, patient care, or confidentiality standards.
14. Failing to abide by compliance requirements for courses or programs.
15. Misuse of electronic, internet wifi or wired networks
16. Incurring financial obligation for another person, organization or group
17. Non-compliance with direction or requirements from university safety personnel or emergency service providers on campus
18. Failing to comply with disciplinary sanctions
19. Purporting to represent another person, organization or the university falsely
20. Lying or perjuring to university officials or the judicial panels
21. Failing to report infractions
22. Soliciting/selling on campus for personal or organizational profit without consent from university officials
23. Violation of university housing contracts, policies and procedures
24. Possessing, consuming, dispensing, or being under the influence of drugs or alcoholic beverages in violation of the laws of Grenada, the United Kingdom, or of a specific state in the United States where a student may be enrolled in a specific program (See University Drug and Alcohol Policy).
25. Illegal Drugs: possession or use of illegal drugs and/or narcotics; distribution, delivery, or sale of illegal drugs and/or narcotics; and the possession or use of drug paraphernalia in violation of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use policy.
26. Violating the University policy on tobacco/vaping use in specified facilities.
27. On-campus possession or use of firearms, explosives, other weapons, dangerous articles, or substances, including non-lethal weapons, such as pellet guns.
28. Violation of any local civil and criminal laws.
29. Students are not permitted as either individuals, an organization and/or company to charge, request, require and/or accept any financial remunerations and/or equivalent services in return for tutoring, training, instructing or otherwise assisting other students at SGU, or who are enrolled at other academic institutions.
30. Students are not permitted to advertise their services and cannot financially charge or require remuneration of any form, for the provision of any of the following services or materials or equivalents thereof:
    1. Academic content tutoring, instruction and/or training including clinical skills
    2. Exam preparation including question-taking skills
    3. Study advice, whether general or specific
    4. NBME standardized examination or USMLE Step examination preparation (whether advice or in the form of the provision of questions and/or question banks).
31. Students, Staff, Faculty and Significant others are not permitted to render services in the gym or on SGU premises of any form as it relates to training students, faculty, significant others and staff in the following:
    1. Personal Fitness Training
    2. Personal Cardio Classes
    3. Any other not mentioned fitness or athletic training

Only authorized SGU staff members are permitted to perform such training.  Individuals taking photos and videos for social media should not hinder or delay other gym users from their workout.  If filming is reported as disruptive, you will be requested to stop immediately.  Use link for a complete list of Fitness Center’s Rules.

32. Copyright infringement, unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials through illegal downloading or peer-to- peer distribution of intellectual property. All students must abide by all applicable laws and University policies when using University computing or network resources.  
33. Abusive Behavior: Any action or situation which produces mental or physical discomfort for any member of the University community, or which places the individual or group in danger of physical or mental discomfort. This behavior includes, but is not limited to:
    1. Sexual Harassment: as defined herein under the Sexual Harassment section.
    2. Harassment: conduct (not of sexual nature) that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment that affects the education or working environment for another This includes verbal, written, and electronic communications.
    3. Physical Harassment: use of, or threatened use of, physical force or violence.
    4. Stalking: to follow or otherwise contact another person repeatedly, so as to put that person in fear for his/her life or personal safety.

V. Professional Conduct in Clinical and Practice-Based Settings

Students must uphold professional standards in all clinical, laboratory, and practice-based environments. These expectations apply at all times where a student’s conduct may reasonably be interpreted as reflecting their fitness for professional practice. This includes:

1. Maintaining confidentiality, dignity, and ethical care of patients, clients, and animals.
2. Presenting fit for duty and free from impairment due to fatigue, drugs, or alcohol.
3. Maintaining professional appearance, hygiene, and respectful behavior.
4. Conscientiousness and integrity demonstrated in clinical or academic documentation or evaluations.
5. Reporting unsafe, unethical, or impaired conduct that endangers others.

VI. Reporting and Enforcement

Students and faculty are obligated to report suspected violations to the Office of Student Affairs. Alleged violations will be investigated according to university disciplinary procedures, ensuring fairness, confidentiality, and due process. Penalties may include grade penalties, remediation, probation, suspension, or dismissal, proportionate to the severity and recurrence of misconduct.

VII. Standards of Evidence

Cases of suspected dishonorable conduct are adjudicated based on a preponderance of evidence, that it is more likely than not that a violation occurred, rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

VIII. Education and Prevention

SGU provides education and resources on responsible scholarship, citation practices, professional standards, and the ethical use of digital and AI tools. Faculty may use plagiarism detection and AI-use monitoring software as part of academic oversight. Students are encouraged to consult the Department of Educational Services (DES) for guidance on writing, referencing, and avoiding plagiarism.

IX. Manuals and Reference Documents

All students must review and comply with their respective school’s Student Manual and Clinical or Practice Training Manual. These documents outline detailed professional and behavioral expectations. Students are required to attest each term to their understanding and commitment to the adherence to these standards, including participation, communication, appearance, assessment completion, and compliance to university policies.

X. Authority

Office of the Provost: reviewed every 3 years.

XI. Version History

(1025002)