Research and Graduate Studies Policies
The following policies and handbooks are formally approved guiding and governing principles that assist in the conduct of graduate education and research.
Academic Policies
The University of the Incarnate Word is strongly committed to the nurturing of academic excellence. The university expects its students to pursue and maintain truth, honesty and personal integrity in their academic work.
Academic dishonesty, in any form, constitutes a serious threat to the freedoms, which define an academic community. The following definitions and guidelines have therefore been established to secure the maintenance of academic integrity at Incarnate Word.
Academic Policies at Office of the Provost
Academic Integrity Policy
The Graduate Bulletin contains information on current graduate programs, courses, and matriculation requirements. It describes the academic policies, standards, and procedures related to graduate education at the University of the Incarnate Word. Students are responsible for understanding and following the policies enunciated in the bulletin.
The Office of Research and Graduate Studies, as part of its mission to help define and support graduate scholarship, maintains the catalog of graduate policy and curriculum, assists the graduate faculty in curriculum processes, and ensures compliance with UIW standards for students publishing a thesis, doctoral project, or dissertation.
Research Policies
The Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Operations (ORSPO) administers the human research protection program at UIW. The ORSPO provides administrative support to the University of the Incarnate Word's Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB ensures university compliance with federal, state, local and university regulations with regard to human subjects research.
Institutional Review Board Website
The UIW IRB's policies and procedures can be found in the IRB Manual.
The Financial Conflict of Interest in Research policy governs the disclosure of individual Significant Financial Interests and the management and reporting of an Individual Financial Conflict of Interest in sponsored research performed at the University of the Incarnate Word. This policy is intended to comply with federal regulations implemented by the Public Health Service (PHS) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). This policy promotes objectivity in research by establishing procedures to identify and address actual and apparent financial conflicts of interest.
Financial Conflict of Interest Website
Financial Conflict of Interest Policy
Financial Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form
All faculty, staff, and students engaged in research at UIW are held to the highest standards for ethical conduct and are expected to maintain exemplary standards of intellectual honesty in the formulation, conduct and reporting of research. Responsible conduct of research (RCR) is defined as "the practice of scientific investigation with integrity." It involves the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research. Certain funding agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, require researchers receiving funding to complete responsible conduct of research training.
Intellectual property resulting from research supported by a grant or contract with UIW is subject to the University's Intellectual Property Policy. The Intellectual Property Policy is published in the Chapter 14 of the UIW Employee Handbook and on the Human Resources website.
University Policies and Handbooks
The student conduct system at the University of the Incarnate Word exists to ensure that our living and learning community reflects the mission of the University. The University seeks to balance rules that are necessary to function effectively in an educational community with each individual's rights to personal freedom. Community regulations are designed to guide the growth and development of individual responsibility, academic and personal integrity, and respectful interaction.