Students must conduct themselves in a professional manner and comply with all University rules as set forth here and in any other University publications or in written or verbal notices given by University staff or faculty. Any student whose conduct violates the rules will be subject to disciplinary measures including dismissal. Conduct deemed to be in violation of this policy is prohibited and will not be tolerated by Lakewood University. Retaliation, in any form, against the person raising such a concern will also not be tolerated. Any student or applicant who has a question or concern regarding compliance with this policy may direct the question or concern to the Vice President of Administrations.
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is highly valued at Lakewood University. It is essential that all students produce and submit work that is comprised of their own original thoughts and work when completing coursework at Lakewood University. Academic honesty can be violated by engaging in the following (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Using words or ideas that do not represent the student’s original words or ideas
- Failing to cite all relevant sources used as reference material
- Submitting another person’s entire work or work that was produced through collaboration with another student as one’s own
- Submitting work done in one course to satisfy the requirements of another course
- Forging or altering documents. These include transcripts, add/drop forms, or any academic form that has been falsified or on which a professor's signature, or anyone else's signature, has been forged or altered
If it is discovered that a student engaging in dishonest academic behavior school staff, administrators, or their instructor will communicate their concern to the student and ask them to remedy the dishonest behavior. The student will be asked to work with their instructor or other school personnel to address plagiarism and learn how to submit academically honest work. If the student continues with the dishonest behavior, the student will receive a formal warning from the school. If the behavior continues, the student may receive a failing grade in the course and / or be dismissed from Lakewood University.
Students are granted the option to appeal. In the case of an appeal, the Academic Dean will submit the petition for review to an ethics committee which will consist of selected school personnel and the Academic Dean. The ethics committee will initiate an administrative investigation and review the student’s appeal. For further information about the appeal process read “Dismissal” section of the University catalog.
Ethical Use of AI Tools
Integrity and Prohibited Use: University students should uphold the principles of integrity and academic honesty when using AI tools, including ChatGPT. Students must not utilize these tools to answer exam questions, write their assignments and discussion forum posts, or translate language unless explicitly authorized by their instructors to do so. All assignments submissions are put through an automated AI detection software tool to ensure instructors are aware if AI tools were used. Cheating or attempting to deceive members of the faculty through the use of AI tools is strictly prohibited and undermines the fundamental values of learning and fair assessment.
Permitted Use and Disclosure of AI Tools: If an instructor provides explicit permission to students to use AI tools such as ChatGPT they must openly disclose this usage at the top of their assignment or forum submission. It is important to give credit where it is due and acknowledge the use of AI tools to maintain academic integrity. By disclosing their use of AI tools, students demonstrate transparency and respect for the contributions of these tools while taking responsibility for their own learning and work.
Below is a sample disclosure. Students are required to disclose the fact that an AI tool was used, which tool was used and to provide the prompt given to the tool. Below is an example on how to properly disclose this to your instructor:
I used ChatGPT to assist me with this assignment.
Prompt: “I am writing a short essay on the three branches of the United States Government. What are some of the checks that the legislative branch and judicial branches have on one another?”
Any misuse of AI tools as described above will be handled according to the university’s plagiarism and academic honesty policies.
Online/ Externship Conduct
Lakewood University does not permit or tolerate the following conduct in online forums or on externship sites:
- Academic Dishonesty
- Theft of any kind
- Falsification of any records
- Plagiarism
- Impropriety of a sexual nature, including sexual harassment
- Use of illicit drugs or intoxicants or entering an externship site possessing or while under the influence of such.
- Violent, threatening, disorderly, disruptive, or offensive behavior or language
- Behavior harmful to the school’s image, function, or contractual arrangements or interfering with or distracting from the educational process.
- Behavior that indicates the student is unwilling or unable to act in a professional manner
- The student conduct code includes obeying municipal, state, and federal laws.
- Lakewood University has specified the following guidelines for participation in the Discussion Forum Area and Chat-room:
- Read carefully what you receive to make sure that you understand the message.
- Read carefully what you send, to make sure that your message will not be misunderstood.
- Well-intended sarcasm is seldom effective online. If you are using humor or sarcasm, however, make sure to clearly label it as such so it is not misunderstood. Humor on this list should be indicated by an emoticon. For example: 8) :-) :-).
- Remember that the absence of cues associated with face-to-face communication provides for an environment where it's easy to misunderstand what is being said.
- Know your audience. Make sure that the person, or list of people, you are sending your message to is the appropriate one(s) with whom to communicate.
- Be tolerant of newcomers. None of us were born knowing all.
- Do not abuse new users of computer networks for their lack of knowledge. Be patient as they first learn to crawl, then walk.
- Avoid cluttering your messages with excessive emphasis (such as stars, arrows and the like). It may make the message hard to follow.
- If you are responding to a message, either include the relevant part of the original message in your message, or make sure you unambiguously refer to the original's contents. It's very possible that people will read your reply to the message before they read the original. Do not quote more than necessary to make your point clear. Please do not quote the entire message.
- Be specific, especially when asking questions.
- Always, always put your name in the text of your message, and also your best Email address for a reply. The end of the message is a good place for your name and Email address.
- If your messages can be typed in UPPER and lower case, please use the two appropriately instead of all UPPERCASE characters. This gives the appearance of shouting and makes the message less readable.
- Remember that not all readers have English as their native language, so make allowance for possible misunderstandings and unintended discourtesies.
- Don't start a ''flame war'' unless you're willing to take the heat. Just as you shouldn't drive when you are angry, you should not send e-mail responses when you are mad at someone. Go ahead and type a response, but do not mail it until the next day. Chances are that when you come back later to read your response, you'll be glad that you did not send it.
Student Conduct Expectations Policy
Lakewood University policies serve to create a safe environment for people of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, classes, and sexual and gender identities.
All students enrolled at Lakewood University are expected to read and familiarize themselves with these policies. Lakewood has the right to exercise disciplinary action in any and all cases where university code of conduct is violated, up to and including administrative dismissal.
Students are expected to engage appropriately and support a safe, open, and professional learning environment. To help maintain this, we require that all Lakewood students, staff, and faculty engage with one another in an appropriate and respectful manner. Threatening, disruptive, and offensive language or behavior towards staff, faculty, and other students will not be tolerated by Lakewood University and will result in disciplinary action.
Copyright Infringement Policy
Students who use Lakewood University resources (such as but not limited to the student portal, school email address, etc) to illegally distribute copyrighted material face punishments up to and including dismissal.
The unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material is against federal law. Unauthorized distribution is that which lies outside any rights you have procured from the copyright owner or that falls outside the established doctrine of Fair Use. It includes any copyrighted works (such as text, movies, music, etc.). Peer-to-peer file sharing is also considered a violation of copyright law. Failure to comply with copyright law subjects the student to potential civil and criminal prosecution by the copyright holders or their designees.
Complaint and Grievance Procedure
Lakewood University is dedicated to ensuring students are properly served. To this effect, the university encourages students to proactively reach out to the appropriate member of the administration when they encounter an issue or wish to file a complaint.
Generally, under Lakewood University policy, there are three categories of student concerns that are considered:
Informal Student Issues
Informal student issues arise when a student encounters an easy-to-fix problem whose solution can typically be found within several days. Therefore, there is no need for escalation to a formal complaint. It is understandable that a student may run into issues during the course of their studies and the university is equipped to assist with resolving them. Below are common issues that Lakewood considers informal:
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Issue accessing online textbook
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Assistance with logging in to the student portal
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Student portal technical problems
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Other issues that can be resolved within a 24-48 hour period
Student issues can be shared with a number of Lakewood team members, including the Director of Student Success or any relevant member of the faculty.
Formal Student Complaints
A formal student complaint arises when a student encounters a serious administrative issue that cannot be resolved within several days. A formal complaint may be submitted if the student feels that the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed. a student becomes aware of the issue, they are required to submit a formal complaint via this online form. Below are some examples of formal student complaints:
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A financial aid concern
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Admissions or enrollment issues
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Enrollment certification problems (specific to VA-funded students)
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Concern about the behavior of a Lakewood University employee
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University not adhering to published policies and procedures
Formal complaints submitted via the online complaint form will be reviewed and responded to within seven business days by an appropriate member of the university administration.
Formal Academic Complaints
A formal academic complaint can be made by a student when they encounter a significant issue that pertains directly to their academic experience. Some examples of formal academic complaints are:
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Dispute over a student’s academic status
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Dismissal dispute
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Dispute of any findings related to noncompliance with the university’s academic integrity policies (plagiarism, improper use of AI tools, etc.)
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Lack of feedback and/or interaction from an instructor
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Grade dispute*
*Grade disputes will only be considered after the Academics Department establishes any of the following circumstances:
- Grade book calculation is incorrect
- Student’s instructor did not adhere to the university’s grading policy
- Capricious or unfair grading behavior on the part of the instructor
A formal academic complaint must be made within the student’s enrollment term OR up to 7 business days after a grade is received. Typically, Lakewood will not consider complaints related to grades received in a prior semester.
Students can submit their formal academic complaints via this online form. Formal academic complaints will be reviewed and decided on by the Senior VP of Academic Affairs, Academic Dean, and the VP of Instruction and Compliance. Decisions will be made within 7 business days of receipt.
Appeal to University President
In certain extraordinary circumstances, formal student complaints can be appealed to the university President for a final decision.
Afterwards, if the student believes that their complaint remains unresolved, the student may refer the complaint to the appropriate regulatory agency below:
Ohio State Board of Career Colleges & Schools
30 East Broad Street, 24th Floor, Suite 2481
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3138
614-466-2752
https://scr.ohio.gov/ConsumerInformation/FilingaComplaint.aspx
Ohio Department of Higher Education
25 South Front Street
Columbus, OH 4321525
614-466-6000
https://highered.ohio.gov/students/current-college-students/student-complaints/student-complaints
**The Ohio Department of Education serves as Ohio's SARA portal entity can receive complaints from students that are not initially solved internally. The direct contact information for the SARA Portal Entity can be found below:
Matt Exline
Senior Director of Program Approval Operations
Ohio Department of Higher Education
25 South Front St
Columbus, OH 43215
Distance Education Accrediting Commission
1101 17th Street NW, Suite 808
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 234-5100 (Telephone)
(202) 332-1386 (Fax)
https://www.deac.org/Student-Center/Complaint-Process.aspx
Out-of-State Student Complaints
Students residing outside of the state of Ohio who wish to file a complaint may contact their state's authorizing agency. Website links to all agencies int he United States can be found below:
Out-of-State Complaint Resolution Contacts
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming