The University of Pennsylvania values diversity and seeks talented students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds. The University of Pennsylvania does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected class status in the administration of its admissions, financial aid, educational or athletic programs, or other University-administered programs or in its employment practices. Questions or complaints regarding this policy should be directed to the Executive Director of the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, Sansom Place East, 3600 Chestnut Street, Suite 228, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6106; or (215) 898-6993 (Voice) or (215) 898-7803 (TDD). Specific questions concerning the accommodation of students with disabilities should be directed to the Office of Student Disabilities Services located at the Learning Resources Center, 3820 Locust Walk, Harnwell College House, Suite 110, 215.573.9235 (voice) or 215.746.6320 (TDD).

 

The University of Pennsylvania’s special character is reflected in the diversity of the Penn community. Diversity is prized at Penn as a central component of its mission and helps create an educational and working environment that best supports the University’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship. We seek talented faculty, students and staff who will constitute a vibrant community that draws on the strength that comes with a substantive institutional commitment to diversity along dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, veteran status, interests, perspectives, and socioeconomic status.

Grounded in equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and affirmative action, Penn’s robust commitment to diversity is fundamental to the University’s mission of advancing knowledge, educating leaders for all sectors of society, and public service.  The University of Pennsylvania prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class. 

Penn is committed to ensuring that its academic, social, recreational programs and services as well as opportunities for admission and employment are available on an equitable and nondiscriminatory basis without regard to an individual’s legally protected class status. Penn also has written affirmative action programs to address any underrepresentation of women, minorities, people with disabilities, and qualified covered veterans. The Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, in collaboration with the Division of Human Resources and the Office of the Provost, oversees the implementation and administration of the University’s equal opportunity, affirmative action, and nondiscrimination policies and programs.

The University recognizes the right of members of the community to raise questions and pursue complaints of discrimination and adheres to a strict policy that prohibits retaliation for doing so. Questions, complaints of alleged discrimination, or concerns regarding these policies or their implementation may be directed to the Executive Director, Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, Sansom Place East, Suite 228, 3600 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6106, (215) 898-6993 (Voice) or (215) 898-7803 (TDD).

 

Federal law, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, requires all institutions of higher education to provide information on their security policies and procedures and specific statistics for criminal incidents and arrests on campus to students and employees, and to make the information and statistics available to prospective students and employees upon request.  The Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting Act  requires Penn to provide information about its security policies and procedures to students, employees and applicants; to provide crime statistics to students and employees, and to make those statistics available to applicants and prospective employees upon request.   

The information about Penn is available  at http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v55/n03/pdf_n03/AnnualCrimeReport08.pdf

or by calling the Division of Public Safety at (215) 898-4481.

 

The University regards such behavior, whether verbal or physical, as a violation of the standards of conduct required of all persons associated with the institution. Accordingly, those inflicting such behavior on others are subject to the full range of internal institutional disciplinary actions, including separation from the University. Likewise, acts of retaliation will be subject to the same range of disciplinary actions.

As noted in the Handbook for Faculty and Academic Administrators, Policies and Procedures, the Academic Bulletin, and other University publications, persons engaged in such harassment within the University setting are subject to the full range of internal institutional disciplinary actions, including separation from the institution. (Source: Almanac, Vol. 50, No. 20, February 3, 2004; www.upenn.edu/almanac/v50/n20/OR-harassment.html)

Structure for Facilitating Student Complaints/Concerns
The procedures for handling concerns about academic advisors, classroom instruction, and other issues related to student life are outlined below.

Structure for Facilitating Students Concerns

Concerns About	Steps to Address Concerns
Educational Advisor	Step 1. Educational Advisor Step 2. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or Associate Dean for Student Affairs Step 3. Ombudsperson
Class Instruction	Step 1. Instructor Step 2. Educational Advisor  Step 3. Associate Dean for Student Affairs Step 4. Ombudsperson
Field Placement / Mentorship / Internship	Step 1. Field Instructor/ Mentor Advisor /Supervisor Step 2: (MSW program only) Practice Instructor Step 2: (MSSP, NPL) Program Director Step 3: (MSW program only) Director of Field Instruction Step 4. Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Administration	Step 1. Relevant Administrator Step 2. Associate Dean for Student Affairs or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Step 3. Ombudsperson
Very Sensitive Concerns (i.e., sexual harassment and discrimination)	Step 1. Ombudsperson Step 2. University Ombudsperson
Other students	Step 1. Student Step 2. Instructor Step 3. Educational Advisor Step 4. Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Student Life Issues	Step 1. Associate Dean for Student Affairs (eg, housing, health, disabilities)
School-wide issues (eg, building/ equipment issues, curriculum, events, etc)	Step 1. Student Council Representatives Step 2. Associate Dean for Student Affairs

Procedures for Dealing with Sexual Harassment and Discrimination
SP2 recognizes that harassment and discrimination are fundamental violations of the standard of conduct of persons associated with the School and the University. The School expects adherence to the University's Statement on Non-Discrimination, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam Era Veteran or disabled veteran.  (See inside front cover of handbook for the complete University of Pennsylvania Non-discrimination Statement.) With the aforementioned as a foundation, the School has established the following internal procedures for addressing complains of harassment.

SP2 Ombudsperson
An SP2 Ombudsperson is available to advise students who have a complaint or a grievance related to harassment or discrimination with which they would like assistance. The Ombudsperson is a member of the SP2 standing faculty.

Ombudsperson Procedures
The Ombudsperson has four functions:  consultation, data-gathering, mediation, and advocacy.  It should be clear that the creation of these procedures does not abridge students' freedom to pursue other alternatives.

Consultation
Students will initiate contact with the Ombudsperson.  The Ombudsperson serves as a consultant for students in the following ways:

The Ombudsperson informs the student of the purpose and function of the Ombudsperson and discusses the range of options open to the student.

The Ombudsperson hears the student's complaint and attempts to articulate the precise nature of the behavior in question and the extent to which it is covered by the University's and the School's policy on non-discrimination and harassment.

The Ombudsperson explores options with the student:  (1) the student may choose not to pursue the case further; (2) the Ombudsperson may help the student consider alternative strategies for the student's personal handling of the situation; (3) the student may choose to request that the Ombudsperson serve as a mediator between the student and the other party; (4) the student may choose to lodge a formal complaint.  The Ombudsperson's further involvement in the case will be dependent on which of the options the student chooses.

Mediation
If the student chooses the mediation route, the Ombudsperson gathers data relevant to the case and with the permission of the student, sets up a meeting with the person in question.  The student has the right to choose either to be present or not to be present at this meeting and the right to have her or his identity revealed or not revealed.

The goal of the meeting (or meetings) is to reach a mutually agreeable resolution of the situation.  Any agreement so reached will not constitute a personnel action.

If no mutually agreeable resolution is reached, the student may choose to drop the case, to use the
Ombudsperson's informal counseling or to proceed to a formal complaint. The request for mediation does not abridge the student's rights in this regard.

Formal Complaint
If the student chooses to file a formal complaint, the Ombudsperson advises the student of possible routes to take, and informs the student of the appropriate offices to contact (Dean of the School, University Ombudsperson, Women's Center, etc.)

If the student wishes to use the School's internal formal procedure, i.e., a formal complaint to the Dean, the Ombudsperson may choose to serve as the student's advocate in these proceedings.  This, however, will be at the Ombudsperson's discretion.  The willingness of the Ombudsperson to play this role will in no way abridge the right of the student to exercise her or his rights in this regard.

Dropping a Case
At any point in the process, the student may choose to drop the case.  Such a case will be included in the annual reports of the Ombudsperson, but the Ombudsperson will not proceed on a case after the student makes such a determination.  The Ombudsperson may advise a student to do so if she or he feels that no other resolution is possible or that the student's complaint does not constitute sexual harassment.  As above, such a determination by the Ombudsperson does not interfere with the student's right to proceed in any way she or he may choose, including the use of the Ombudsperson for informal counseling.

Faculty Rights
If a respondent feels that a complainant's actions have constituted a violation of the University's or the School's code of conduct, there are two means of redress:  The Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the SP2 or the University Judicial Inquiry Officer (JIO).  If the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or the JIO deems the respondent's action frivolous, however, this will be considered intimidation and harassment and will constitute grounds for a separate complaint.  Retaliation against a complainant is prohibited and is a violation of Penn's non-retaliation policy.

Data Gathering
One of the major responsibilities of the Ombudsperson will be to report to the faculty on the functioning of the office.  A written annual report will include the number of contacts and consultations, the disposition of each case, and the nature of the complaints made.   

The Ombudsperson's report will be made public to students and faculty.  Therefore, it should include no information which might make it possible to identify a complainant or respondent.

As part of the data gathering function, the Ombudsperson will note any systematic pattern in the complaints.  If the Ombudsperson receives repeated complaints about the person, she or he will be required to set up a meeting to inform that individual of the pattern of the complaints and to seek to resolve the situation.

University Procedures for Dealing with Sexual Harassment and Discrimination (see the University’s PENNBook online at: http://www.upenn.edu/osl/pennbook.html)

Grievance Procedure
A grievance is a claim that action has been taken by a school representative which is:  (1) arbitrary and capricious; (2) discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam Era Veteran or disabled veteran; (3) not in compliance with the School or University of Pennsylvania procedures or regulations. An academic evaluation may not be the subject of a grievance. A student may file a grievance at any point in the program. The following steps should be included:

1. In order to facilitate the resolution of any student's questions regarding the above, the student should first see his/her educational advisor.  If the question is not resolved through the educational advisor and/or the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, the student may request that the grievance be reviewed by the Grievance Committee. The student should send this request in writing to the Dean, who will ask the committee to convene.
2. Within a reasonable amount of time of receiving the grievance, the Grievance Committee will review the evidence to determine if the grievance has merit, and shall notify the respondent that a complaint has been filed, citing the regulations, rules, and/or policies that are alleged to have been violated. The committee will be authorized by the faculty to solicit information from all individuals and/or groups involved. The respondent has a right to be confronted with evidence against her/him, and to present her/his own evidence to the Grievance Committee.
3. If the committee finds the grievance to have merit, the information and recommendations in writing will be sent to the Dean.  The Dean will make a decision based on these recommendations and will carry out appropriate action.  The Dean will notify the student, the respondent, and other school personnel in writing as prescribed by the situation, with a copy to the student's file.
4. If the committee finds the grievance not to have merit, the committee will send the findings in writing to the Dean, the student, the respondent, the other school personnel as necessary, with a copy to the student's file.

Grievance Committee
The Grievance Committee will be composed of two students (to be elected by the student body) and three standing faculty (to be elected by faculty).  A grievance committee will be formed in April of each year for the following year.  The chairperson will be a faculty member who will be elected by the Committee. 

Code of Academic Integrity
Since the University is an academic community, its fundamental purpose is the pursuit of knowledge. Essential to the success of this educational mission is a commitment to the principles of academic integrity. Every member of the University community is responsible for upholding the highest standards of honesty at all times. Students, as members of the community, are also responsible for adhering to the principles and spirit of the following Code of Academic Integrity.

Activities that have the effect or intention of interfering with education, pursuit of knowledge, or fair evaluation of a student’s performance are prohibited. Examples of such activities include but are not limited to the following definitions:

• Cheating: using or attempting to use unauthorized assistance, material, or study aids in examinations or other academic work or preventing, or attempting to prevent, another from using authorized assistance, material, or study aids. Example: using a cheat sheet in a quiz or exam, altering a graded exam and resubmitting it for a better grade, etc.
• Plagiarism: using the ideas, data, or language of another without specific or proper acknowledgment. Example: copying another person’s paper, article, or computer work and submitting it for an assignment, cloning someone else’s ideas without attribution, failing to use quotation marks where appropriate, etc.
• Fabrication: submitting contrived or altered information in any academic exercise. Example: making up data for an experiment, fudging data, citing nonexistent articles, contriving sources, etc.
• Multiple submission: submitting, without prior permission, any work submitted to fulfill another academic requirement.
• Misrepresentation of academic records: misrepresenting or tampering with or attempting to tamper with any portion of a student’s transcripts or academic record, either before or after coming to the University of Pennsylvania. Example: forging a change of grade slip, tampering with computer records, falsifying academic information on one’s resume, etc.
• Facilitating academic dishonesty: knowingly helping or attempting to help another violate any provision of the Code. Example: working together on a take-home exam, etc.
• Unfair advantage: attempting to gain unauthorized advantage over fellow students in an academic exercise. Example: gaining or providing unauthorized access to examination materials, obstructing or interfering with another student’s efforts in an academic exercise, lying about a need for an extension for an exam or paper, continuing to write even when time is up during an exam, destroying or keeping library materials for one’s own use., etc.

Policy on Ethical Behavior in the Electronic Information Environment
The University by its very nature values openness and promotes access to a wide range of information. Campus information systems have been designated to be as open as possible and as such the University insists on responsible use of these systems. Computers, electronic information and computer networks are essential for information and research, instruction and administration within the academic community. Because the electronic environment is easily disrupted and electronic information is readily reproduced, respect for the work and rights of others is especially important. Any intentional behavior with respect to the electronic environment that interferes with the missions or activities of the University or members of the University community will be regarded as unethical and may lead to disciplinary action under standard University rules for misconduct and existing judicial, disciplinary or personnel processes.

The following activities are examples, but not an exhaustive list, of unethical behaviors with respect to the electronic environment:

• intentionally damaging or destroying the integrity of electronic information;
• intentionally compromising the privacy of electronic networks or information systems;
• intentionally disrupting the use of electronic networks or information systems;
• intentionally infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others in computer programs or electronic information, including plagiarism and unauthorized use of reproduction; or
• wasting resources (human or electronic) through such actions.

Privacy of Student Information
Penn is committed to protecting the privacy of students' personal information. Visit the Penn Privacy website for information about student privacy rights and choices at Penn.

Privacy rules that the University and/or SP2 adhere to include the following:

• Grades may not be posted by name, SSN, or PennID.
• Graded papers and exams should not be left in hallways or open areas.
• All student papers and other sensitive material placed in student mailboxes must be enclosed in sealed envelopes.
• Student information may be shared with University officials with a legitimate need to know.
• In many cases, a student’s written consent must be obtained before disclosing the student’s information to potential employers and others.

Questions regarding student privacy issues may be directed to Lina Hartocollis, Associate Dean for Students at lhartoco@sp2.upenn.edu, (215) 898-5503; or  Lauren Steinfeld, Penn’s Chief Privacy Officer, at privacy@pobox.upenn.edu or (215) 573-4806.

Secular and Religious Holidays
The University recognizes/observes the following secular holidays: Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Thanksgiving and the day after, Labor Day, and New Year's Day.

The University also recognizes that there are several religious holidays that affect large numbers of University community members, including Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first two days of Passover, and Good Friday. In consideration of their significance for many students, no examinations may be given and no assigned work may be required on these days. Students who observe these holidays will be given an opportunity to make up missed work. If an examination is given on the first class day after one of these holidays, it must not cover material introduced in class on that holiday. Faculty members are aware that Jewish holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the published date of the holiday. Late afternoon exams should be avoided on these days

The University recognizes that there are other holidays, both religious and secular, which are of importance to some individuals and groups on campus. Such occasions include, but are not limited to, Sukkot, the last two days of Passover, Shavuot, Shemini Atzerat, and Simchat Torah, as well as Chinese New Year, the Muslim New Year, and the Islamic holidays Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. Students who wish to observe such holidays must inform their instructors within the first two weeks of each semester of their intent to observe the holiday even when the exact date of the holiday will not be known until later so that alternative arrangements convenient to both students and faculty can be made at the earliest opportunity. Students who make such arrangements will not be required to attend classes or take examinations on the designated days, and faculty provide reasonable opportunities for such students to make up missed examinations.

Emergency School Closing and Cancellation of Classes
Although a rare occurrence, the University may close due to severe weather conditions, or emergency situations.

Evening Class Closure Policy (4:00pm and later)
If the decision is made to cancel SP2 evening classes, a notice will be posted on the School’s and University’s websites by 2:00pm that day: www.sp2.upenn.edu; www.upenn.edu. The closure announcement will also be on the University’s (215) 898-MELT phone line by 2:00pm that day.

Daytime Class Closure Policy (before 4:00pm)
For day classes (before 4:00pm) the School will continue to follow University procedures for emergency closing due to severe weather—

If the University is open, the SP2 will be open.
When the University is closed, the SP2 will be closed.

For University closing information call: (215) 898-MELT, or check the University’s website at: http://www.upenn.edu.

Faculty members who cancel class when the School is open are responsible for notifying their students of the cancellation. Professors should also inform our Receptionist if their class is cancelled by calling the main School number: (215) 898-5512.

Students with Disabilities
The University of Pennsylvania and the SP2 are committed to providing equal educational opportunities to all students, including students with disabilities. Penn does not discriminate against students with disabilities and provides reasonable accommodation to a student's known disability in order to afford that student an equal opportunity to participate in University-sponsored programs.

All students with disabilities who seek an accommodation at Penn have the responsibility to identify themselves to the responsible University office.  Within the School, Lina Hartocollis, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, is available to advise and serve as a liaison for students with disabilities. 

Students may also directly contact the University Office of Student Disabilities Services. The Office of Student Disabilities Services collaborates with the Office of Learning Resources to provide comprehensive academic support, including learning strategies that complement accommodations, academic adjustments, and the use of auxiliary aids. Realizing that the commitment to students with disabilities is a shared responsibility, the Office of Student Disabilities Services coordinates with schools, programs, and offices throughout campus to provide the best combination of services. Its professional staff is available to provide consultation to faculty and administrative staff as well as programs for specific groups on topics of interest or concern. Students with disabilities should contact the Office of Student Disabilities Services at (215) 573-9235, or (215) 746-6326 (TDD). The Office is located in Stouffer Commons, 3702 Spruce Street, Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA 19104.