Student rights document continues to undergo revision

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After 25 years with little to no revisions, MSU’s student rights document is going to have to wait longer yet before officially being approved.

ASMSU’s Academic Assembly chose Tuesday to send back a revision of the Academic Freedom Report, or AFR, to a university committee for further discussion after taking issue with a stipulation regarding hearings for alleged violations of student academic rights.

ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.

The report will be returned to the University Committee on Student Affairs, or UCSA, which likely will discuss the provision in question at its Dec. 4 meeting.

Created in the 1960s, the AFR outlines rules and regulations governing aspects such as disciplinary processes, academic integrity and student privacy. A UCSA subcommittee worked for about the past year to update the report, which was first approved by UCSA Oct. 9 before being sent to ASMSU.

ASMSU officials said the AFR’s revised version would eliminate a step in a student’s ability to appeal decisions made by hearing boards formed to act on cases of student rights violations and academic dishonesty, among others.

“The particular change to the appeals structure was not brought up as a substantive change to the committee,” said Kristy Currier, Academic Assembly’s chairperson. “The assembly wanted to send the AFR back to UCSA to determine if this was a change that was good for students.”

Group officials said currently the AFR stipulates different processes for different scenarios. If alleged violations or grade disputes occur at a departmental level, a hearing board is called. A student is allowed to appeal that board’s decision to a college-level hearing board.

If a student still wishes to appeal an unfavorable verdict for a grade dispute, he or she can appeal to the University Academic Integrity Review Board.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Student Assembly Chairperson Kyle Dysarz said ASMSU is taking issue with an addition to the wording that says a college-level appeals decision is final unless a student takes the matter to the university provost, eliminating the step involving the review board.

“There was some confusion with that,” Dysarz said. “Whether it’s a good thing or bad thing … I don’t think it’s something that’s been debated enough, if you ask my opinion. There’s arguments for it both ways.”

If UCSA ultimately removes the provision, new copies of the report will be sent to both ASMSU and the Council of Graduate Students. ASMSU officials expect the report to be approved by late spring, if passed by Academic Assembly, the University Committee on Academic Governance and the Board of Trustees.

UCSA Vice Chairperson Kathy Petroni, who will be out of town during the Dec. 4 UCSA meeting, said she was under the impression UCSA members were happy with the report in its revised form.

“Maybe sometimes things get lost in the details,” Petroni said. “We’ll be happy to look at it again and think about whether we were proposing a change that was not in the whole university community’s best interest.”

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