Throughout their Nov. 21 meeting, Student Government (SG) received a presentation about academic integrity and student appeals policy revisions from RIT’s Academic Affairs Committee (AAC), discussed a few upcoming events and debated over responses to student PawPrints.
Policy Revisions
Bruce Herring, the chair of the AAC and senior lecturer at Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, presented the key changes that were made in the new revised D08.0 student academic integrity policy and the D18.2 student appeals process.
The D08.0 policy added updated violations regarding academic dishonesty. The existing policy only covered the general definition of cheating, duplicate submissions and plagiarism. Now, the revised policy covers academic cheating on a broad scale, with seven clarifying examples. It also includes new topics such as fabrication, misrepresentation, sabotage, facilitation of academic dishonesty and violation of research ethics.
According to Herring, there is no central tracking of violations in the existing policy, and each college is responsible for its own tracking. A new system that’s been proposed by Student Affairs to change this is the Maxient system. Maxient is a web-based reporting system that’s currently in use by Student Affairs and is utilized by RAs in Residence Life to report issues or concerns with their residents. As of right now, email is used instead, and records are maintained by each Dean’s office. The change is expected to help increase accountability and visibility, as many repeat violations continue to go unnoticed and are never properly reported.
Additionally, the Maxient system will allow for easier access through checkbox-style selection of violations, compared to the existing e-mail system, which requires detailed information each time a violation occurs. This system will require both faculty training and system adjustments.
Changes for hearings will also go into effect. If a violation is not agreed on by the student or the faculty member, then it will go into a hearing. In the existing policy, only five minutes are given per witness, and 15 minutes for students and faculty. In the revised policy, 20 minutes will be given to each party, with an additional five minutes for closing remarks and rebuttals.
Herring explained that the biggest change was to the timeline, with faster appeals being added. Right now, appeals are directed to the Academic Appeals Sub-Committee of the University Appeals Board, and can be appealed further to the provost or the chief academic officer. The process of appealing can take a long time, sometimes going for months. The revised policy states that the appeals will now be handled by the Dean of the presiding College and cannot be appealed any further. If the Dean cannot agree, then it will be sent to the hearing process, which is a six-member committee consisting of three faculty members and three students. The new policy will ensure the process ends in a faster resolution.
Small changes were made in the D18.2 student appeals process. The revised policy removed references to the D08.0 student academic integrity policy and will focus on aligning with the splits outlined in the revised D08.0 policy.
Upcoming Events
Saunders College of Business (SCB) Senator Ericka Chen announced that SCB would be hosting a student holiday party on Wednesday, Dec. 3, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the lobby of Max Lowenthal Hall (LOW). Free food and holiday-themed activities will be provided for SCB students.
Cross-Registered Senator Savannah Brown explained that from Dec. 2-4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., they’ll be hosting a fundraiser for the Rochester Deaf Kitchen. Cross-registered students are NTID-supported students who are enrolled in degree programs in one of the other RIT colleges. The fundraiser will be taking place on Dec. 2 and Dec. 4 at the CSD Student Development Center (SDC) and on Dec. 3 at the RIT ASL and Deaf Studies Community Center (RADSCC). RADSCC’s classroom is located at the Wallace Library in WAL-1660, and their office is located in WAL-1661.
Additionally, Cross Registered will be hosting its first pickleball fundraiser, where proceeds will go towards the budget for its annual graduation banquet. The fundraiser will take place on Dec. 7, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Student Life Center (SLC). The entry fees for RIT students are $20 per team, and $40 for community member teams, and the winning team will win 50% of the proceeds. Registration expires after Dec. 4.
PawPrints
A PawPrint from January 2024 regarding the implementation of paper ordering forms for pasta bakes at RITZ was discussed. With the new ordering system, students can fill out a paper form for a pasta bake if they ask directly for one, though this brings challenges to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, those with anxiety and people with auditory processing issues, according to the PawPrint, as it’s inaccessible to them. SG members voiced their concerns, adding that Deaf and Hard of Hearing students have been struggling with the new system and that it creates a divide in communication between them and the staff. The response to the PawPrint stated that Dining has now added signage explaining that pasta bale slips are available upon request, and that Housing and Dining encourages students to use RIT OnDemand to submit their order without verbal interaction. The motion to close the PawPrint with the response failed, with one voting for, 13 voting against and five abstaining.
SG then discussed a PawPrint from February 2025 concerning accessibility with RIT paths. The petition explained that the snow, ice and slush-covered paths made walking to classes difficult and exhausting for disabled students, and that if RIT cannot maintain its paths, then classes should be canceled. Facilities, Parking, Transportation, and Sustainability (FPaTS) clarified that last winter, both RIT and New York were experiencing a salt shortage, and the response to the PawPrint states that RIT has now acquired 820 tons of salt. FPTaS also added that while it may seem counterintuitive, both Public Safety and Facilities Management Services (FMS) believe that leaving slush on the walkways will allow for more traction. The motion to close the PawPrint with the response failed, with two voting for, ten against and seven abstaining.
SG also looked over a PawPrint calling for the creation of shuttles to the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport and the Louise M. Slaughter Rochester Station. The petition explained that while RIT is close to both the airport and train station, it’s not close enough for students to walk, and that implementing a shuttle system to both locations would be useful to students, especially around holiday breaks. FPTaS explained that there was initially a Break Bus, but it ended in 2024. The reason it ended, according to FPTaS, was that there were not enough students utilizing the bus to justify the cost of running the program, and that in the last three years of its running, the number of riders never surpassed three digits. FPTaS stated that they are discussing more cost-effective ways to implement the old bus system, but the talks are still in the early stages of planning. Some proposed ideas include a limited number of vouchers towards a rideshare available per season, which students can apply for based on their financial aid. The proposed response doesn’t include this information and simply clarifies that SG does not feel that the bus service is best for RIT students and has looked for different alternatives to utilize the funding. The motion to close the PawPrint with the proposed response failed with one voting for, thirteen voting against and five abstaining.
The meeting was adjourned at an hour and 29 minutes after SG President Rafael Gilboa discussed the possibility of SG members getting free tickets for the Dec. 5 RIT Men’s Hockey game against Canisius University.