June 19, 1990

CHANCELLORS
LABORATORY DIRECTORS
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT--ADMINISTRATION
VICE PRESIDENT--AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Dear Colleagues:

Enclosed is the University Policy on Integrity in Research. This Policy, which is effective immediately, applies to all employees and students who engage in research activities in the University of California.

The Policy reaffirms the University's commitment to integrity in research and calls for local guidelines and procedures for addressing allegations of misconduct in research. When extramural funds support research activities, local guidelines and procedures should ensure compliance with conditions of the award, including applicable regulations issued by the sponsor of the research. Additionally, local guidelines and procedures also may address issues such as the responsibilities of research supervisors, assignment of credit for publications, training of research apprentices, education on research ethics, requirements for recordkeeping of experimental procedures, and data retention.

The Policy has been developed through extensive review with the campuses, the Laboratories, and the Academic Senate, including the opportunity for employees and employee organizations to comment. Discussions with the Academic Senate should continue at the campus level during the development and implementation of local guidelines and procedures.

Employees and students involved in research should be informed of this Policy and of the applicable regulations of the sponsoring agencies.

Thank you for your advice and cooperation in developing this Policy.

Sincerely,

David Pierpont Gardner

Enclosure

cc:

Members, President's Cabinet
Academic Council Chair Spiess
Associate Vice President Moore
Assistant Vice President Cox
Assistant Vice President Levin
Director Rogin
Principal Officers of The Regents

University of California
Office of the President
June 19, 1990

University policies set forth expectations for-high standards of ethical behavior for faculty and students involved in research and provide procedures for addressing allegations of misconduct in research. Those policies and procedures are set forth in the Bylaws of the Academic Senate, the University Policy on Faculty Code of Conduct and the Administration of Discipline, and University Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations, and Students--Part A, Student Conduct and Discipline. Procedures for administration of discipline also exist for other academic and staff employees in accordance with applicable personnel policies and collective bargaining agreements. (A list of University of California policies which pertain to integrity in research is attached.)

Misconduct means fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scholarly and scientific community for proposing, conducting, or reporting research. Misconduct does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretations or judgments of data.¹

The University will continue to take prompt and vigorous action to investigate and address allegations of misconduct in research, based on the following principles:

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Institutional and academic responsibility for self-regulation;

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Mechanisms to protect to the greatest extent possible the due process rights of the accused, the interests of those making allegations, and the public interest;

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The highest degree of confidentiality compatible with an effective response and applicable sponsor reporting requirements; and

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Precautions against real or apparent conflict of interest.

Campus and Laboratory Implementation

Campuses and Laboratories shall have necessary guidelines and procedures to provide appropriate responses to allegations of misconduct in research. Such guidelines and procedures should specify how pertinent University policies and procedures will be used to address allegations of misconduct in research by faculty, students, and staff. When extramural funds are involved, local guidelines and procedures also should comply with conditions of the award, including applicable regulations issued by the sponsor of the research. Such regulations include, but are not limited to, the Responsibilities of PHS Awardee and Applicant Institutions for Dealing with and Reporting Possible Misconduct in Science (42 CFR, Part 50, Subpart A) and the National Science Foundation regulations on Misconduct in Science and Engineering Research (45 CFR, Part 689). Among their requirements, these regulations require specific reports to the sponsoring agency.

Chancellors and Laboratory Directors, or their designees, shall be responsible for implementation of this Policy, which may include the consideration of initial reports of misconduct and, when necessary, the referral or initiation of formal investigations. Local guidelines and procedures should clarify available mechanisms for imposing appropriate sanctions or discipline on individuals when the allegation of misconduct has been substantiated. Chancellors and Laboratory Directors, or their designees, shall refer to the University Policy and Procedures for Reporting Improper Governmental Activities and Protection Against Retaliation for Reporting Improper Activities to ensure coordination of allegations of misconduct which may be reported under that Policy and to advise on the procedures to protect against retaliation.

Copies of local guidelines and procedures shall be sent to the Senior Vice President--Academic Affairs for review as to compliance with this Policy.

¹The definition of misconduct is based upon the regulations of the Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services (Responsibilities of PHS Awardee and Applicant Institutions for Dealing with and Reporting Possible Misconduct in Science, 42 CFR, Part 50, Subpart A), and it is consistent with the ethical principles and types of unacceptable conduct regarding scholarship listed in the Faculty Code of Conduct and with the types of misconduct specified in the University Policy on Student conduct and Discipline.