Principles of the Brown Community
Brown University is a residential learning community that promotes the intellectual, personal, social, physical, and spiritual growth of students. As new members of the Brown University community, incoming students accept the rights and responsibilities of membership in the University’s community and assume responsibility for upholding the University’s principles.
Individual Integrity
An individual’s personal integrity is reflected not only in honest and responsible actions but also in a willingness to offer direction to others whose actions may be harmful to themselves or the University community. Brown thus expects all community members to be truthful and forthright, avoiding behaviors that threaten their own or others’ safety, welfare, academic well-being, or professional obligations.
Respect for the Freedoms and Privileges of Others
Brown University values and encourages individuality while also affirming the community dimensions of academic life. A socially responsible community provides a structure within which individual freedoms may flourish without threatening the privileges or freedoms of other individuals or groups.
The varying backgrounds, traditions, and experiences of Brown’s students contribute immeasurably to the richness of life in the classroom, in the residence halls, on the athletic fields, and in student organizations. Understanding and acceptance of others, as well as respectful dialogue about differences, should guide students’ behavior and interactions with all community members. These principles allow all students to feel a special sense of belonging at Brown and a common allegiance to the larger community’s purpose.
Respect for University Resources
All community members must respect the general resources and physical property of the University. These resources support Brown’s institutional mission and are assets in which students, faculty, and staff have a vested interest. Students are expected to conduct themselves according to these principles in residence halls and throughout the campus, bearing in mind that many people reside at Brown and thus have a right to live in an environment that supports learning.
Respect for the Integrity of the Academic Process
Brown University faculty, students, and staff are dedicated to supporting and maintaining a scholarly community in which all share in the common enterprise of learning. Academic integrity protects and promotes the University’s pursuit of its academic mission; all members of the Brown community are therefore expected to conduct themselves with integrity in their learning, teaching, research, and writing.
Academic achievement is ordinarily evaluated on the basis of work that a student produces independently. All work that students submit for evaluation – research papers, lab reports and assignments, computer code projects, language placement materials, creative work, exams, quizzes, and tests – is subject to the rules of academic integrity. Outside sources of information or opinion must always be acknowledged in the work submitted for a course.
Obtaining credit for work, words, or ideas that are not the products of a student’s own effort constitutes plagiarism and violates the academic code. Misrepresentations of facts, significant omissions, or falsifications in any connection with the academic process (including change-of-course permits, the academic transcript, or applications for graduate training or employment) are violations of the code.
Faculty and students are urged to report suspected violations of the academic code to the Office of the Dean of the College. A faculty committee hears each case, and students who are found to be in violation of Brown’s academic code face penalties ranging from reprimand to suspension or expulsion from the University.
Incoming students are asked to complete an online tutorial about Brown’s academic code in the summer preceding their first semester. Students are given another opportunity to learn about the code during Orientation, in one of the class meetings required of incoming students. After completing the tutorial and Orientation meeting, students who are still in doubt about the principles or practice of academic integrity should consult the instructor in the course or one of the academic deans for clarification. Misunderstanding the code is never accepted as an excuse for dishonest work.
Policy on Drugs and Alcohol
Brown University requires that all members of the University comply with state and federal laws as well as University regulations related to drug and alcohol use. Brown also seeks to support the well-being of all students, faculty, and staff. Brown’s policy, therefore, reflects the University’s commitment to: (1) programs of drug education and counseling and (2) only lawful and prudent use of any drug, including alcohol.
The legal drinking age in the state of Rhode Island is 21. Those who use illegal drugs and illicitly use legal drugs, including but not limited to alcohol, are in violation of the law, University regulations, and the Principles of the Brown University Community. The full policy is available at www.brown.edu/randr.