Student Conduct

CM-56 - Student Responsibilities and Rights (lsuhsc.edu)

LSU Health Sciences Center at New Orleans (LSUHSC-NO) is dedicated to providing an environment of respect, dignity, inclusivity, and support for all members of its student community, and to ensuring honesty, fairness, and respect for students’ physical, educational, and emotional well-being. Likewise, as integral members of the LSUHSC-NO community, students have certain rights, roles, and responsibilities to themselves, the institution, their peers, faculty, staff, and patients.

This policy describes the rights, roles, and responsibilities of LSUHSC-NO students. It also defines the processes and procedures for both student complaints and disciplinary proceedings to sustain a professional, ethical, and equitable learning community at LSUHSC-NO.

Student Responsibilities:

1. Students shall conduct themselves appropriately, lawfully, and with the highest standards of personal, academic, professional, and ethical behavior, always demonstrating the integrity and honesty required in the health sciences professions.

2. Students shall treat faculty, staff, peers, clients, patients, and all others with dignity and respect, and shall abide by the LSUHSC-NO Code of Conduct as well as any applicable code of conduct of their respective professional discipline. Ignorance of a professional standard is not a defense for unprofessional behavior. Professionalism is a criteria upon which students are evaluated and graded as they matriculate in the School of Dentistry.

3. Students shall comply with all LSUHSC-NO and individual School codes of conduct, professional standards, policies, procedures, rules, regulations and other applicable information published on institutional and school websites, which may be updated from time to time.

4. Students who fail to adhere to these responsibilities, whether on or off campus, may be subject to disciplinary action, with the disciplinary pathway determined by whether their alleged infraction is academic or non-academic in nature. Examples of LSUHSC-NO academic infractions can include but are not limited to cheating, falsification of data, and plagiarism.  Examples of LSUHSC-NO non-academic infractions can include but are not limited to the following: possession of dangerous weapons/devices; distribution, manufacture, or possession of drugs or driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs; making false accusations; creating a hostile educational environment for others; misrepresentation of facts; physical violence/assault; technology misuse; and theft/robbery.

Acknowledging the significance of professionalism and its necessity within a dental education setting, the School of Dentistry shall be guided by value-based principles applicable to each profession’s Code of Ethics in addition to the LSUHSC-NO Code of Conduct.  Students in violation of the above when involved in any school or school related activity/function, whether on or off campus, will be subject to disciplinary action. 

Misconduct

Misconduct occurring within or outside the confines of the teaching programs will subject the offending student to appropriate disciplinary measures which may include dismissal depending on the severity of the offense.  At the time of matriculation, all students receive a copy of the LSU School of Dentistry Student Handbook of Policies and Procedures. The handbook provides a complete set of policies and procedures including all phases of due process relating to student professional conduct.  

The Committee on Professional Conduct, a subcommittee of the Student Affairs Committee, is charged with ensuring that the LSUHSC Code of Conduct and the School of Dentistry Code of Conduct is being upheld by all members of the dental school community.  Reports of unprofessional conduct will be reviewed by the committee while protecting the right to due process of all members of the School of Dentistry. 

Individuals displaying unprofessional conduct will be subject to disciplinary action. Reports of such conduct will be reviewed by the Committee on Professional Conduct according to the Rules of Procedure. Recommendations made by the Committee on Professional Conduct will be presented to the Dean for approval.