Section 9: University Policies, Procedures & Resources
9.1 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Carnegie Mellon and the Tepper School of Business will not disclose personally identifiable information from your education records without your consent except for directory information and other exceptions specified by the law. Under FERPA, directory information is personally identifiable information that may be disclosed without your consent, unless you specifically request the university not to do so. It is used for purposes like compiling campus directories. If you do not want your directory information to be disclosed, you must notify the HUB in writing within the first 15 days of the semester. Under FERPA, Carnegie Mellon and the Tepper School of Business may release personally identifiable information from your education records without your prior consent to school officials with legitimate education interests. School officials have a “legitimate education interest” if they need to review education records in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities. This policy is available in full online: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/StPrivacy.html.
9.2 Carnegie Mellon Computing Policy
(The full policy is available online at: http://cmu.edu/policies/documents/Computing.htm). Questions concerning this policy or its intent should be directed to the Information Security Office via email (iso@andrew.cmu.edu).
The purpose of this policy is to set forth guidelines so that members of our community may use the campus network and computing facilities in ways that are responsible and respectful of privacy. These standards of acceptable behavior also extend beyond the campus community into the Internet.
This policy applies to all users of Carnegie Mellon computing systems, including students, faculty and staff, and any others granted the use of university computing resources. It applies to the use of all computing facilities owned, leased, operated or contracted by Carnegie Mellon. As used in this policy, terms such as “computing,” “computing/communications systems,” “computing resources,” etc., refer to all computers, communication systems, and peripherals, software, telephones and systems with similar functions, which are owned by Carnegie Mellon, or which utilize Carnegie Mellon infrastructure such as telephone lines or computer networks.
Respect for Others’ Property and Privacy Rights
Users are responsible to respect copyright agreements and intellectual property ownership. Any material that is the work of another, whether explicitly copyrighted or not, should not be distributed by a user without appropriate acknowledgement and/or permission of the creator; unless permission has been granted by the owner of copyright protected materials, distribution of copyright protected material via the university network or computer systems is prohibited.
Enforcement
Inappropriate behavior in the use of computers is punishable under the general university policies and regulations regarding faculty, students and staff. The offenses mentioned in this policy range from relatively minor to extremely serious, though even a minor offense may be treated severely if it is repeated or malicious.
Certain offenses may also be subject to prosecution under federal, state or local laws.
9.3 Student Grievance Procedures
For all grievances, it is important to follow the correct sequence of meetings with the appropriate individuals. These sequences with participants are described in the following material for both academic and non-academic issues.
Academic Issues
MBA students are urged to discuss initially their concerns directly with the involved parties. If a mutual understanding agreement cannot be reached, the student should bring the issue to the attention of the director or executive director of student services.
If the matter remains unresolved, the executive director of the masters programs will be contacted and may request statements or testimony from all parties involved. The grievance then will be reviewed at the second level in an ad hoc committee composed of faculty members from the Masters Academic Actions Committee (MAAC) and the Masters Educational Affairs Committee (MEAC). This ad-hoc committee will evaluate and present its decision in writing to all parties involved.
Students who wish to appeal the decision of the Ad Hoc Committee, may appeal the decision in writing to the Dean of the Tepper School of Business. The appeal, as the final level in the Tepper School, must be done in a timely manner (two weeks). Any further appeal is governed by the Carnegie Mellon University regulations for appeals.
Non-Academic Issues
MBA students are encouraged to discuss initially their concerns directly with the engaged party: students, staff or faculty. Students are also encouraged to discuss situations with Tepper School staff, and in particular, the executive director of student services, or the executive director of diversity strategies and programs as the final level in the Tepper School.
Students may seek additional support from non-Tepper School resources at the University level. The Graduate Programs Office in Warner Hall, provides support and resources for ALL Carnegie Mellon graduate students, regardless of college or program. Refer to: http://www.cmu.edu/graduate/programs-services/index.html.
The Dean of Students Affairs office, 3rd Floor Warner Hall, also provides assistance and direction to all students both graduate and undergraduate. Refer to: http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/dean/.
9.4 Sexual Harassment
Carnegie Mellon is committed to maintaining a learning and work environment free from sexual harassment. Carnegie Mellon is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and the intellectual development of all members of its community. For this exchange and development to take place freely, the institution promotes the confidence to work, to study, to innovate, and to perform without fear of harassment.
Sexual harassment is prohibited by the university. Any faculty member, staff employee, or student found to have violated the university’s policy against sexual harassment will be subject to immediate and appropriate disciplinary action, including possible suspension, termination or expulsion. Carnegie Mellon’s policy against sexual harassment is outlined in the Carnegie Mellon student handbook and on the policy homepage www.cmu.edu/policies/.
9.5 Intellectual Property
The Tepper School adheres to the Intellectual Property Policy guidelines as outlined both in the Carnegie Mellon student handbook and on the Carnegie Mellon policy home page http://www.cmu.edu/policies/.
9.6 Alcohol
In all circumstances, the university expects students to conduct themselves responsibly, both individually and collectively. Abusive or excessive consumption of alcohol that interferes with the rights of other persons, inflicts personal injury, or causes damage to property will result in severe disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion.
Carnegie Mellon accepts no responsibility for the direct supervision of social activities organized by its students and student organizations. The university reserves the right, however, to review plans for social events that use university facilities and to set special requirements to ensure that all responsibilities are met. Consumption of alcoholic beverages in classrooms is forbidden.
Following are the rules for social events at the Tepper School in accordance with Carnegie Mellon policy, as outlined in the link: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/GenPolicy.html. Consult with the Student Services office for assistance in processing alcohol requests.
- Social events may not start until all classes for that day, including evening classes, are over (unless special arrangements are made with the executive director, masters programs), nor may they start before completion of all exams in the building on that day. The Tepper School does not plan events with alcohol on the day prior to any exam period in any mini.
- All social events providing alcoholic beverages must also provide food and non-alcoholic beverages.
- Alcoholic beverages are not to be consumed in any public area either owned or controlled by the university (i.e., hallways, lounges, and foyers).
- Permission to serve alcoholic beverages at events attended by students can only be obtained from the Carnegie Mellon, dean of student affairs office. A trained staff member or faculty member must take personal responsibility for ensuring that alcoholic beverages are served only to students of legal age before permission will be given.
After the event, the designated area must be left as neat as possible. Any damages should be reported to the Student Services office and to Carnegie Mellon Security.
9.7 Health Insurance
The university requires all Full-Time students to carry adequate medical insurance. A charge for the premium or the basic plan will appear on your invoice. Students then need to:
- Pay for the basic plan as charged on your student account
- Enroll in one of the enhanced benefit options
-
Complete the waiver form indicating that you are already covered under another plan.
In order to qualify for a waiver from the student insurance program, you must be listed as the principal, spouse or dependent in a government, or employer-sponsored plan that meets certain criteria for coverage. The charge for the basic plan will be removed if, and only if, your plan qualifies. Individually purchased plans will not be accepted. Insurance enrollment information is available on the Student Affairs website at: http://www.cmu.edu/health-services/student-insurance/.
9.8 Carnegie Mellon Student Photo ID Cards
One of the most important items that you will need is your official Carnegie Mellon student photo ID card. The card provides access to buildings, local bus transportation, library and athletic facilities and identifies you as a member of the Carnegie Mellon community.
Your ID card will be part of your everyday campus life and is used to access the following university facilities:
- Tepper School building access
- Athletic Facilities
- Computing Services, computer clusters/labs
- Campus libraries
- Campus and Port Authority Public Transportation
- Student Advantage Discount Card
- PNC Bank ATM Card
- Parking Garages and Lots
In addition, Carnegie Mellon students receive free access with their photo ID card to the following Pittsburgh attractions:
- Carnegie Museum of Art
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History
- Carnegie Science Center & Sportsworks
- The Andy Warhol Museum
- The Mattress Factory
- The National Aviary
- Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens
Students may submit their photo to ID Card Services in the HUB through the ID Photo Submission Application online. Go to www.cmu.edu/idplus for more information and to access the application.
9.9 Updating Student Information
Students are required to update their personal information (i.e., name changes, address, etc.,) on Student Information Online (SIO) www.cmu.edu/hub/sio. Official university information is often sent via mail, so to avoid disruption in service, updates should be completed as quickly as possible.
Students are responsible for failure to receive official university notices due to incorrect addresses on file.
9.10 Security and Fire Safety Report Notice
Carnegie Mellon University publishes an annual campus security and fire safety report describing the university’s security, alcohol and drug, sexual assault, and fire safety policies and containing statistics about the number and type of crimes committed on the campus and the number and cause of fires in campus residence facilities during the preceding three years. You can obtain a copy by contacting the Carnegie Mellon Police Department at 412-268-2323. The annual security and fire safety report is also available online at www.cmu.edu/police/annualreports.
9.11 Emergency Procedures
Carnegie Mellon and the Tepper School want to assure students, faculty, staff and friends that an emergency alert system is in place to notify the campus community if there is an incident or event that threatens public safety.
In case of an emergency, http://www.cmu.edu will be promptly updated with information and a link to this site (http://www.cmu.edu/alert) where more in-depth information will be available. In addition, the student, faculty and staff portal at my.cmu.edu will also be similarly updated. These sites will be continuously updated with information in case of emergency.
The Carnegie Mellon community is encouraged to register for the CMU Alert service, which sends voice and/or text messages to registered phones in the event of a campus emergency.
You may register for this service online at https://my.cmu.edu/site/main/page.alert. To access, you need to login with your username and password.
Your contact information will be treated confidentially. Registrants will be contacted by the CMU Alert system only if there is an incident/event that threatens public safety or during system tests. Note that the text and voice options may carry a nominal fee for recipients, depending on cell phone carrier and cell phone plan. The recipient is responsible for these fees. Questions should be sent via email to cmualert@andrew.cmu.edu.
For more common weather-related or service (power outage, water service issue) the Tepper School will use multiple means to alert students. E-mails, web notices, classroom announcements, etc., will all be used to identify issues and follow-up. Snow delays and cancellations will also be noted at www.cmu.edu and all major television news channels for their community announcements.
