Syllabus

Schedule

Schedule:

Week 1: June 29 – July 6

Public Health Management and Leadership

Student Learning Objectives:

• Better understand leadership in public health
• Gain an understanding of various theories of leadership
• Develop skills useful in public health leadership
• Appreciate the unique environment that public health leaders work in
• Learn about the roles and responsibilities of public health leaders

Lecture:

Defining Management and Leadership

Readings:

• Novick and Morrow, Chapter 12: Leadership for Public Health
• Baker EL, Orton SN. Practicing management and leadership: vision, strategy, operations, and tactics. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 2010; 16(5):470-471.
• Graham R,  McCann M, Allen, N. Public health managers: Ambassadors, coordinators, scouts, or guards? Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 2010; 19(6):562-568.
• Leadership and Management. Chapter 13, Section 3: Styles of Leadership. Work Group for Community Health Development at the University of Kansas Web site. Accessed June 17, 2016.
• McDonald D. Can you learn to lead? New York Times. April 7, 2015.

Resource:

• CDC Organizational Chart as of 3/31/2016

Introductions:

• Please provide a short biography to share with the entire group. Where do you live and work? Why are you taking this course and what would you like to achieve from it? Due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 1 Discussion Question:

• Original Contribution:
  • Using this week’s materials, identify and describe a significant barrier that a public health leader may encounter. Discuss two potential strategies for effectively managing that barrier. 

Due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

• Response Post:
  • Provide feedback to a colleague by relating your own experiences and interpretation of the week’s materials; comment on his/her proposed strategies and/or suggest another possibility. 

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Written Assignment 1:

• Choose a public health leader, past or present. Use the week’s materials to identify and describe their leadership style. Discuss the extent to which you believe the individual’s leadership style aligns with the vision of Public Health, as presented in this week’s materials. Your response should be 300 words or fewer.

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 2: July 6 – 13

Public Health Structure: Public Health Administration and Practice Frameworks

Student Learning Objectives:

• Gain perspective from an overall framework for public health
• Better understand key developments in forming this framework
• Know about major influences currently shaping public health
• Realize the importance of a community perspective in public health
• Know the core functions and essential services of public health
• Recognize new trends in oversight of public health programs

Lecture:

Public Health Administration, Structure, and Practice

Readings:

• Novick and Morrow, Chapter 4: Public Health Administration and Practice Framework
• Novick and Morrow, Chapter 5: Organization of the Public Health System
• Fielding JE, Teutsch S, Breslow, L. A framework for public health in the United States. Public Health Reviews. 2010; 32(1): 174-189

Video Assignment: 

• Systems Thinking for Health Systems Strengthening. World Health Organization (May 14, 2010)
• Koh HK. Best practices in public health: Leadership for a healthier nation. 2012. Accessed June 17, 2016.

Week 2 Discussion Question:

• Original Contribution:
  • Identify an organizational challenge or dilemma that a public health administrator faces when working with the public. Without proposing a solution, describe this challenge or dilemma in the context of an authentic situation (e.g., setting, event, audience, location, etc.). Include what the community’s perspective would likely be in this situation. Again, do not propose a solution to the challenge that you discuss.

Due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

• Response Post (2):
  • Choose two (2) of your colleagues’ original contributions. Put yourself in the position of the public health administrator facing the challenge or dilemma described. Propose a plan of action to solve it. Support your proposal by referencing the module’s materials. 

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Written Assignment 2:

Analyze a major framework approach to health care leadership in the United States. Summarize your analysis, including the following elements of the framework:

• Key developments in its formation
• Major influences that shaped it
• Core functions and essential services associated with it
• How oversight of public health programs is accomplished by it

Your response should be 300 words or fewer.

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 3: July 13 – 20

The Organization of Governmental Public Health

Student Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish the major roles of federal, state, and local governmental entities, as well as non-governmental organizations, in creating and implementing public health policies and programs
• Identify the responsibilities of the major federal agencies composing the public health infrastructure

Lecture:

Government’s Role in Assuring the Health of the Public

Readings:

• The role of public health in ensuring healthy communities. American Public Health Association Web site. Accessed June 20, 2016.
• Salinsky E. Governmental public health: An overview of state and local public health agencies. National Health Policy Forum. Published August 18, 2010.
• Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century. The governmental public health infrastructure. In: The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century. The National Academies Press. Published November 11, 2002. 
• Baker EL, Potter MA, Jones DL, Mercer SL, et al. The public health infrastructure and our nation’s health. Annual Review of Public Health. 2005;26: 303-318. 

Library Assignment 1

The final paper for this course, due Week 7, is based on a topic of your choice. The purpose of this first library assignment is to draft a working thesis statement that you will refine as you prepare your final paper proposal, due Week 5. This will be achieved by first choosing and researching a topic of your choice, followed by composing an assertion about that topic. This assertion will serve as your working thesis statement. As you consider possible topics, focus on issues, problems, or challenges faced by public health administrators, such as those related to management; community perspectives and engagement; strategic planning processes; historical trends; employee and financial management; or organizational culture.  

For this first library assignment:

• Present your one-sentence working thesis statement. This will indicate what you want to write about in your final paper without committing to a focus or claim at this stage.
• From an initial search of peer-reviewed articles related to your statement (published within the past five years), select one. Prepare a summary that highlights the author’s findings, views, and position as related to your working thesis. Conclude your paper with a two-to-three sentence summary of your own evolving position. 
• Limit your review to one page with bulleted highlights and a paragraph summary.
• Use AMA citation and include the UNE library link to the article. 

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 3 Discussion Question:   

• Original Contribution:
  • This week’s readings and viewings established that the responsibility of the federal or state government to provide health services is unclear. The US Constitution and other significant federal policies that impact health can be both interpreted in different ways and construed for special interest. Choose a contemporary public health issue (crisis, event, debate, activity, etc.) and examine the following aspects:
    • Is the issue one of mostly local, state, or national impact? Or does it transcend all three
    • To what extent is each area of government responding or involved: Federal, state, and local. Speak in general terms about level of activities, such as legislation, policy, services, resource allocation, information dissemination, etc. 
    • Based on your engagement with the week’s materials, critique the role of government in the issue. Is it appropriately balanced? Is a sector of government overreaching? Explain. Refer to readings or viewings that were useful to the development of your critique.

Due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

• Response Post:
  • Choose the original contribution of one colleague. If you’re familiar with the public health issue described, discuss the extent to which you agree with their critique. If unfamiliar, pose questions that will guide the author to further consider their position. 

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 4: July 20 – 27

Community-Based Public Health Organizations

Student Learning Objectives:

• Describe the functions and structures of community-based, non-governmental public health
• Explain the definition and framework of community and participatory public health
• Analyze the current issues of community-based public health organizations in the US
• Describe the initiatives of community-based, non-governmental public health entities

Lecture:

Communities, Organizations and Citizens Action in Public Health

Readings:

• Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century. The community. In: The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century. The National Academies Press. Published November 11, 2002. 
• Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century. B Models for collaborative planning in communities. In: The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century. The National Academies Press. Published November 11, 2002. 
• MacQueen KM, McLellan E, Metzger DS, Kegeles S, et al. What Is community? An evidence-based definition for participatory public health. American Journal of Public Health. 2001;91(12):1929-1938. 

Library Assignment 2:

The purpose of this second library assignment is to refine your working thesis statement that you drafted in Week 3.   

For this second library assignment:

• Present your revised working thesis statement.
• Choose another article related to your statement (published within the past five years). Prepare a summary that highlights the author’s findings, views, and position as related to your working thesis. Conclude your paper with a two-to-three sentence summary of your own evolving position. 
• Limit your review to one page with bulleted highlights and a paragraph summary.
• Use AMA citation and include the UNE library link to the article. 

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 4 Discussion Question:

• Original Contribution:
  • In this module, we looked at organizational practice frameworks for managing community and constituency engagement to achieve and sustain improvements in population health. Tools were introduced in the lecture and readings, as well as case studies of successful initiatives and community-based efforts. 
  • What two specific strategies, factors, or interventions of organizational practice have been found successful in determining and sustaining health improvement action and behavior? What are two persistent or predictable challenges? Use a tool, initiative, or coalition introduced in the week’s materials to put your response in context. For example, what can we learn from Healthy People 2020, the CDC’s Healthy Communities Program, or Turning Point, among others? Or perhaps you want to use a community coalition, such as Kansas LEAN or other community-based effort to illustrate your points. 

Due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

• Response Prompt:
  • Choose the original contribution of one colleague. After identifying the tool, initiative, and/or coalition they connected their examples with, suggest at least one other that is appropriate. For example, perhaps they used Healthy People 2020 to illustrate a particular evidence-based strategy for mobilizing a community. Based on your own review of the week’s materials, suggest a different tool, initiative, or coalition that demonstrated success with that same strategy. Explain your suggestion. 

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 5: July 27 – August 3

Strategic planning- a key part of administration?

Student Learning Objectives:

• Describe the planning process and how decision making and resource allocation are related to leading and managing a strategic planning process in a public health organization
• Differentiate the levels or components of the planning process and distinguish each level or component from the other within the hierarchy of a public health organization
• Plan and design a strategy and a strategic planning process for a public health organization 
• Compare and contrast different strategic plans from health related organizations noting the quality of the planning process, the ability to implement the plan and the ability to conduct progress
• Describe how organizational management of process sets forms community and constituency engagement
• Discuss four strategies and the potential uses when undertaking community and constituency engagement
• Explain the roles of community and constituency engagement in population-based health
• Discuss opportunities to apply community and constituency engagement in emerging health system reform

Lectures:

• Overview of the Strategic Process 
• Optional: What is Strategic Planning, Really?

Readings:  

• Novick and Morrow: Chapter 16: Strategic Planning in Public Health
• Novick and Morrow: Chapter 18: Engaging Communities and Building Constituencies for Public Health
• Healthy People website. Accessed June 21, 2016.

Week 5 Discussion Question:    

• Original Contribution:
  • Following your scan of the Healthy People website, identify one objective listed in the Objectives for the Nation. What would be the strategic planning process for this objective? Here are some prompts for consideration, as related to strategic planning:
    • Can you develop a SWOT analysis for your chosen objective?
    • Are long and short term SMART goals defined?
    • What is the current state of the objective?
    • Has the mission or vision of the objective been clearly defined?

Due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

• Response Post:
  • Choose the original contribution of one colleague. Put yourself in the position of a hired strategic planner. What feedback do you have for your colleague? Are they overlooking something you think is important? Is the plan well-defined?

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Final Paper Proposal:

The proposal for your Final Paper builds on the Library Assignments you completed in Weeks 3 and 4. The proposal is an opportunity to get final feedback on your working thesis statement, and to assemble and synthesize the articles you will use to support it. 

Your proposal will include two of the three sections of the Final Paper:

• Your current working thesis statement 
• A literature review of at least five peer-reviewed articles, all of which must be recent within the past five years. Two of the articles may be from your Library Assignments. Your literature review will discuss each author’s findings, views, and position as related to your thesis. Reference sources using AMA Format.

(The final section of the Final Paper will be a discussion of your own position and the rationale behind it.)

Typed, Times New Roman, size 12 text, double-spaced; 4-page minimum/6-page maximum.

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM

Week 6: August 3 – 10

Performance Management in Public Health: Public Health Quality Improvement and Current Issues in Accreditation

Student Learning Objectives:

• Understand the challenges faced by public health practitioners related to performance at the many different levels of the public health system
• Appreciate the historical trends that resulted in the development of public health standards and measures
• Explain the meaning and use of performance measures and standards
• Develop an understanding of the Ten Essential Public Health Services as a foundation for the National Public Health Performance Standards (NPHPS), the Operational Definition of a Functional Local Health Department, and the new Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation program standards
• Understand the integration of national public health performance standards into the community assessment process, and why it improves public health infrastructure
• Discuss the development of the nascent Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation program and how it may improve public health

Lecture:

The Value of Quality Improvement and Accreditation

Readings:

• Novick and Morrow, Chapter 17
• Riley WJ, Moran JW, Corso LC, Beitsch LM, Bialek R. Defining quality improvement in public health. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 2010:16(1):5-7. 
• Davis MV. Commentary: Opportunities to advance quality improvement in public health. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 2010;16(1):8–10.

Video Assignment: 

• Public Health Foundation. Creating a culture of quality improvement. Published on YouTube July 2, 2012.

Week 6 Discussion Question:

• Original Contribution:
  • As a public health administrator, what combination of models, tools, or resources would you adopt in the process of developing a performance management system? From the Examples of Performance Management in Practice at the website of the Public Health Foundation, choose a health department that uses one or more of the models, tools, or resources you selected. Describe the department’s model, adding any rationale that is used by the department to support it. 

Due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

• Response Post:
  • Choose the original contribution of one colleague who chose a different public health department example from yours. How is that department’s performance management system like the one you selected? How is it different?

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 7: August 10 – 17

The Public Health Workforce and Financing Public Health

Student Learning Objectives:

• Describe how public health programs are financed
• Compare the allocation of health resources to medical care and public health
• Explain the role of federal federalism in funding public health
• Discuss variations in public health financing
• Identify which public health financial management skills are most effective
• Outline the characteristics of the public health workforce
• Explain the framework of the Core Competencies for Public Health
• List the major historical and health system factors that influence the demand for public health
• List the present demographic, political, and economic conditions that are influencing the employment of public health professionals

Lecture:

Public Health Workforce and Financing Public Health

Readings:

• Novick & Morrow, Chapter 10: Public Health Workforce
• Novick & Morrow, Chapter 9: Public Health Finance
• Gebbie K, Rosenstock L, Hernandez L.M. Public health agencies: Their roles in educating public health professionals. In: Institute of Medicine. Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2003.

Final Paper:

Your final paper is the culmination of the Library Assignments and your Proposal. 

Please submit the following:

• Your final thesis statement.
• Your final literature review of at least five peer-reviewed articles, all of which must be recent within the past five years. Two of the articles may be from your Library Assignments. Your literature review will discuss each author’s findings, views, and position as related to your thesis. Include citations in AMA Format.
• Your own position on your thesis.
• The rationale behind your position. Include citations to supporting literature in AMA Format.
• References in AMA Format.

Typed, Times New Roman, size 12 text, double-spaced; 5-page minimum/7-page maximum.

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM

Week 7 Discussion Question:

• Original Contribution:
  • This module introduced the confluence of the urgency to prepare new and current public health staff to meet ever-changing expectations and limited funding caused by federal and state budget constraints. As a public health administrator, you will need to advocate for the funds necessary to assure that your agency’s personnel is well-trained and prepared to improve population health.
  • To that end, craft an “elevator pitch” that would succinctly and concisely present your case for increased funding for your public health department or other agency. Your elevator pitch should be a 200-word or fewer argument that swiftly makes your case for the funding of one workforce development activity. Important considerations include the specific activity to be funded and how it relates to one of your agency objectives; relevant public health standards; and relationship to existing state and/or federal level workforce development strategies and initiatives. 

Due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

• Response Post:
  • Choose the original contribution of one colleague. Put yourself in the position of the recipient of the elevator pitch. What are the strengths of the argument? What recommendations do you have to improve it? 

Due Wednesday by 11:59 PM EST

Week 8: August 17 – 21 (SUNDAY)

Change Process, Cultural Competency, and Future Challenges

Student Learning Objectives:

• To describe the impact of the changing environment on public health
• To describe the cultural context for public health including diversity, population shifts and cultural differences
• To identify emerging and future issues in public health

Readings:

• Knight, EK. Shifting public health practice to advance health equity: Recommendations from experts and community leaders. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 2014; 20(2):188-196. 
• Jarris PE, Mishra M. Making health equity a core part of all public health work. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 2013;19(3):278-280.

Video Assignment:

Inspired by the 2012 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently talked with a range of national thought leaders to discuss what’s needed—and what works—to achieve better health. Watch video interviews with Adewale Troutman, MD, MPH, CPH, President-elect of the APHA. Troutman spoke about how looking back on his own personal story—how far he’s come to get where he is today—makes him hopeful for the future. He also discussed how working with non-traditional partners can help public health departments address social determinants of health such as housing, education, urban blight, and crime. This leads to fairer, healthier communities.

• Hope for the Future (Published on YouTube October 30, 2012)
• Working With Partners (Published on YouTube October 30, 2012)

Week 8 Discussion Question:

• Original Contribution:
  • Select a concept from one of the videos that resonates with you and explain why. How would you see yourself applying this in a public health organization?
• Response Post:
  • Choose the original contribution of one colleague. Comment on the concept chosen and add your own idea of how that concept applies to public health organization. 

Both original contribution and response are due Sunday by 11:59 PM EST

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Public Health page

UNE Libraries:

• Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Brightspace.
• Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
• Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. The SASC also offers tutoring for GPH 712 Epidemiology, GPH 716 Biostatistics, GPH 717 Applied Epidemiology, GPH 718 Biostatistics II, and GPH 719 Research Methods. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:

• UNE Student Academic Success Center

Information Technology Services (ITS)

• ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.

Career Ready Program

The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

AMA Writing Style Statement

The American Medical Association Manual (AMA) of Style, 11th edition is the required writing format for this course. Additional support for academic writing and AMA format is provided throughout the coursework as well as at the UNE Portal for Online Students.

Online resources: AMA Style Guide

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Late Policy

Students are responsible for submitting work by the date indicated in Brightspace.

Quizzes and Tests: Quizzes and tests must be completed by the due date. They will not be accepted after the due date.

Assignments: Unless otherwise specified, assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit https://www.une.edu/studentlife/plagiarism.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations.  Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final.  Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.

Attendance Policy

8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

UNE Online Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.