Policies

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. They are:

1. Right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access. Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The University official will make arrangements for access and notify the students of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the University official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be made.
2. The right to request amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. Students may ask the University to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. The student should write the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the University will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosures without consent. One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement personnel and health staff); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks; or a person, company, or governmental unit with whom the University has contracted to perform duties or services involving education records. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. Upon request, the University discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.The following information regarding students is considered directory information: (1) name, (2) address, (3) telephone number, (4) electronic mail addresses, (5) date and place of birth, (6) major field of study, (7) enrollment status (undergraduate or graduate, full or part-time), (8) grade level, (9) participation in officially recognized activities and sports, (10) weight and height of members of athletic teams, (11) dates of attendance, (12) degrees and awards received, (13) the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student, and (14) other similar information such as a photograph. Directory information may be disclosed by Wake Forest for any purpose in its discretion without the consent of the student. Students have the right to refuse to permit the designation of any or all of the above information as directory information. In that case, this information will not be disclosed except with the consent of the student, or as otherwise allowed by FERPA.Any student refusing to have any or all of the designated directory information disclosed must file written notification to this effect with this institution at the Office of the Registrar. Forms are available at that office.If a refusal is not filed, Wake Forest assumes that a parent student does not object to the release of the directory information designated.
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is: Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202-4605.

FERPA Consent Form

The honesty, trustworthiness, and personal integrity of each student are integral to the life and purposes of the School of Divinity and of the broader Wake Forest community. When any student signs an application for admission to any of the schools of Wake Forest University, that student agrees to live by the honor system of the University. The mutual commitments and standards of conduct stipulated in the honor system derive from the founding of Wake Forest University and are a cornerstone of community life and relationships.

The Divinity School and the Graduate School share a formal Honor Code to provide guidance for student conduct with respect to academic pursuits. This policy may be accessed at the Graduate School website.

All students in the School of Divinity commit themselves to the following code:

We conduct our academic endeavors with honor, integrity, and professionalism. We do our own work, credit the work of others, and provide the full truth about our work.

Violations of the graduate student honor code include lying, cheating, stealing, vandalism, research misconduct, or failure to report an Honor Code violation by any graduate student in his or her academic pursuits or within the university community.

In most cases, allegations of violations are handled by the Graduate Honor Council, which includes both faculty and student representatives from the Graduate School and the School of Divinity. In some situations, allegations of violations may be handled by the administration and the faculty of the School of Divinity.

To put your name on a piece of work is to say that it is yours, that the praise or criticism due to it is due to you. To put your name on a piece of work any part of which is not yours is plagiarism unless that piece is clearly marked and the work from which you have borrowed is fully identified. Plagiarism is a form of theft. Taking words, phrasing, sentence structure, or any other element of the expression of another person’s ideas, and using them as if they were yours, is like taking from that person a material possession, something that person has worked for and earned. Even worse is the appropriation of someone else’s ideas. “Ideas” mean everything from the definition or interpretation of a single word to the overall approach or argument. If you paraphrase, you merely translate from the person’s language to yours; another person’s ideas in your language are still not your ideas. Paraphrase, therefore, without proper documentation, is theft, perhaps of the worst kind. Here, a person loses not a material possession, but something of what characterized the person as an individual.

If students wish to do one project for two courses or to draw on work previously done in order to complete an assignment for a current course, they must get the expressed permission of all affected faculty in advance of turning in the assignment. The faculty suggests that approved combined projects should represent significantly more effort than the individual projects they supplanted.

Plagiarism is a serious violation of another person’s rights, whether the material stolen is great or small; it is not a matter of degree or intent. You know how much you would have had to say without someone else’s help, and you know how much you have added on your own. Your responsibility, when you put your name on a piece of work, is simply to distinguish between what is yours and what is not, and to credit those who have in any way contributed.

An online plagiarism tutorial is available here through Wake Forest University’s ZSR Library. An online guide to the Chicago Style of referencing works is available here.

The Wake Forest University School of Divinity expects good citizenship and responsible behavior from students. When these expectations are not met, the non-academic misconduct process may be used to redirect students into more acceptable patterns of behavior. This process encourages students to take responsibility for their choices and actions, while also allowing the University to determine an appropriate disciplinary response. This includes commitments as they relate to the Sexual Misconduct Policy and the Student Code of Conduct outlined in the Office of the Dean of Students.

Wake Forest University expects all members of its community to act in respectful and responsible ways towards each other.  Wake Forest University is committed to providing programs, activities and an educational environment free from sex discrimination. This Student Sexual Misconduct Policy sets forth resources available to students, describes prohibited conduct, and establishes procedures for responding to reports of sexual misconduct (including sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other unwelcome sexual behavior). As a recipient of Federal funds, Wake Forest is required to comply with Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S. C. § 1681 et seq. (“Title IX”), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities.  Sexual misconduct, as defined in this Policy, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX. This policy addresses complaints of sexual misconduct where the accused is a student of Wake Forest University.

Review Policies

Complaints relating to sexual misconduct by a member of the University faculty or staff may be reported to the University’s Title IX Coordinator. Details regarding Wake Forest’s policy directed at sexual harassment by employees may be found online. The University makes this policy and educational opportunities readily available to all students and other members of the University community.

Important Contacts

• Campus Advocacy and Support Services – 336.758.5285 [Assistance available to all students 24-hours]
• University Title IX Coordinator – 336.758.7258, titleixcoordinator@wfu.edu

Reynolda Campus Resources

• Student Health Service – 336.758.5218 [24 hours when school is in session, excluding summer]
• University Police – 336.758.5911
• University Counseling Center – 336.758.5273 [For emergencies after hours, contact Student Health Service]
• University Chaplain – 336.758.5017 [For emergencies after hours, contact Student Health Service]
• PREPARE Student Advocates – 336.671.7075 [Available 24-hours to undergraduate students during Fall and Spring semesters when school is in session]
• Office of the Dean of Student Services – 336.758.5226
• Residence Life and Housing – 336.758.5185
• Wake Forest Compliance Hotline – 877.880.7888

Medical Center Campus Resources

• Student Wellness Center – 336.713.7002
• Associate Dean for Student Services – 336.716.4271
• Medical Center Security – 336.716.3305

Community Resources

• Sexual Assault Response Program – 336.722.4457 [24 hour rape crisis service sponsored by Family Services]
• Forsyth Medical Center Emergency Dept. – 336.718.2001
• WF Baptist Medical Center Emergency Dept. – 336.713.9000
• Winston-Salem Police or Forsyth County – 911