I. Preamble

Engineering is an important and demanding discipline of study. The students of this field understand that their studies can have a direct and vital impact on the quality of life for all people. Accordingly, the study of engineering requires honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, while upholding all academic standards of the institution. Students must uphold the highest principles of ethical conduct.

II. Fundamental Canons of the Code of Ethics for Students

1. Hold paramount the integrity of the institution in the performance of their academic duties.
   
   
2. Take credit only for their original ideas and work.
   
   
3. Properly cite work done by others.
   
   
4. Maintain a high standard of excellence in and out of the classroom.
   
   
5. Respect the ideas, beliefs, and morals of others even if they may be different from your own.

III. Fundamental Rules of Conduct

1. Engineering students shall hold the safety, health and welfare of the University and its students above all else when working on a project.
   
   

• Students should never harm the school, its students or the public in any way when working. If for any reason, the student is asked to break this obligation, they should report it to a faculty member or administrator.
  
• Students should only release information that conforms to current standards. The information should all be safe for public, school, and student use.
• In labs, students should not share false information with others.
• Students should not release dangerous or propietary information into public forums.
  
• Students should not share information obtained from another group without permission from the owner of the data or design. Students should give proper credits for information or design from others.
  
• Students should not associate themselves in any way with anyone else who is breaking a law, whether it is a school rule, state law, or federal law.
• There is to be no creation of dangerous substances in laboratory work, unless relevant to the project. 
• In labs, this includes not creating destructive devices or breaking school property.
  
• Students should report on anyone who breaks any rule in this Code.
• In lab, students should immediately report the infraction to the TA or professor.
• If a student discovers an infraction not in the above circumstance, it should be reported to leader above them.
  
  
2. Engineering students should only work on areas that they are experienced in.
   
   
3. Engineering students earn the trust of the public; therefore, all statements should be made in an objective and truthful manner.
   
   
• Students shall report unbiased and truthful homework assignments, lab reports, course papers, exams, and group design projects. They shall include all relevant and pertinent information to such assignments.
  
• Students may publicly express experimental or technical findings only after he or she has performed an in depth study and analysis of the facts and displayed competence in the subject matters.
  
• Students should be mindful of the responsibility paired with statements, criticisms or arguments under any setting. They should refrain from statements on behalf of interested parties and sponsors or those that imply personal interest in the matters.
  
  
4. Engineering students shall recognize that their first duty is to the public and its safety.
   
   
• Should an action jeopardize the safety of the public, the engineers concern should be the safety and well being of the public above all else.
  
• While recognizing the necessity of animal testing in some cases, an engineer should take all precautions necessary to ensure that the injury is minimized and essential to the pursuit of knowledge. Prior to any testing on animals, students must obtain approval from the Animal Care and Use Committee.
  
• Before testing on humans, engineers must obtain approval from the Internal Review Board and should always obtain informed consent.
  
• Adherence to government guidelines and formal approval by the government (i.e., FDA) are required before distribution of information and products manufactured by biomedical engineers.
  
  
5. Engineers should keep a utilitarian mindset in which the results/consequences of their actions benefit the greatest number of people.
   
   
• When making decisions, the engineer should not necessarily place his/her own interests in front of the interests of the general public.
  
• Engineers should always work cooperatively as a team and put the teams interests ahead of his/her own.
  
  
6. Code of conduct for activities outside of the lab
   
   
• A professional demeanor is expected of engineers while conducting field research or design.
  
• Use of proper etiquette casts the researcher(s), designer(s) and the institution in a respectable light, helps prevent technical error, and reduces the likelihood of accidents.
• Outside activities typically leads to collaboration with researchers, businesspeople or other clinician, so a level of professionalism should be maintained.
  
• The following guidelines, in combination with common sense, should be adhered to:
• Obey national, state and local laws at all times.
• Follow IRB, ACUC or experimental protocol as indicated. Immediately report adverse events.
• Describe activities in logbook, including test runs.
• Note and comply with rules or policies of host laboratories or facilities. Respect property and resources of others.
  
• Respect other teams and their attempts to gather data. 
• Comply with other groups reasonable requests to share equipment or data.
• Properly cite any data obtained from other sources.
• Inform others of new and pertinent information you may have discovered that they should know regarding equipment, resources or personnel.
  
  
7. If any conduct is not addressed in this code of conduct, common sense is expected. Further questions about conduct should be addressed to course instructors.

IV. University Property Policy

1. Students who have committed acts that involve the destruction, impairment or wrongful appropriation of property, will be disciplined and may forfeit their right to be members of the University community. For example, students are expected to refrain from:
   
   
• Any use of University property which is a danger to their own personal safety or which may harm or have the potential of harming others.
• Theft or vandalism of University property, or property of others, or knowingly possessing stolen property.
• The unauthorized use, possession, or storage of any chemicals, weapons or explosives, including fireworks, on University property.
• Intentionally or recklessly interfering with normal University activities or emergency services, or the unauthorized or improper use of University property, facilities, or the University name or seal.

• Failure to observe policies regulating the use of University buildings, property, or other resources.

• Removal/alternation of University property from the designated location, unless proper authorization is given.

• Use of University property without the proper authorization and/or supervision.

• Other behavior that may be equally inconsistent with the standard of conduct expected of a University student and the University's commitment to providing an environment conducive to learning and research.
  
  
2. Vandalism/Damage Policy
   
   

• The universitys vandalism policy aims first to deter destruction and, failing that, to apportion fairly responsibility for damage.
  

• Any student who causes destruction or defacement of university property, either intentionally or through inappropriate activity, will be billed for all repair or replacement costs.

• If more than one student causes damage to university property, each individual involved will share in the expense of the necessary repairs. 
  

• All students responsible for the damaged or missing property will share vandalism repair costs when those who caused the damage cannot be identified.
• All bills for repair work or equipment replacement must be paid before you may register for classes for the next semester.
• In the case where fines are exceedingly high, the University withholds the right to find an appropriate compensation.

V. Credit and citations

1. Engineers shall give proper and complete recognition to the peers, colleagues, professionals and authors whose work is referred to in any investigation.
   
   
2. Engineers shall give credit to the originator of any idea, concept, theory, method, formula, data, etc, used in any work produced.
   
   
3. A logbook shall be kept throughout a project in order to ensure proper recognition of the source of all work and ideas.
   
   
4. Citations must be given for, but not limited to, the following:
• Journal articles
• Books
• Periodicals
• Websites
• Interviews
• Lectures
• Conferences
  
  
5. Citations must be used in the context of:
• Academic work (including papers, problem sets, etc)
• Laboratory reports
• Project reports
• Research reports
• Presentations
  
  
6. Students shall uses the appropriate citation method for the source used. The APA handbook is suggested for the syntax.