Equal educational access
Audio summary [00:36]
Virginia Commonwealth University Rules and Procedures assert the Right to Academic Freedom and to Equal Educational and Occupational Access, detailed below. Read the full document here. 
Virginia Commonwealth University is an academic community given meaning through the mutual respect and trust of the individuals who learn, teach and work within it. Each member of this community is entitled to certain rights and privileges which must be protected through fair and orderly processes and which are best safeguarded when members act in an orderly and responsible manner. Each member of the university community is entitled to the protection of this document.
The Right to Academic Freedom and to Equal Educational and Occupational Access
The University is committed to providing an environment conducive to academic freedom, free inquiry, and equal access to educational and occupational opportunities. The principle of academic freedom requires all persons to respect another’s dignity, to acknowledge another’s right to express differing opinions, to cultivate and to cherish intellectual honesty, and to promote freedom of inquiry and expression. It is therefore the policy of the University that no act of any member of the University community shall serve to restrain or inhibit access to opportunities or the exercise of these freedoms. To that end, no person, either singly or in concert with others, shall willfully:
- Discriminate against another person on a basis not reasonably related to the educational or job functions involved on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, and age.
- Harass or intimidate any person.
- Cause physical injury or threaten any person with force or violence.
- Have in his or her possession any firearm, other weapon, or explosive, regardless of whether a license to possess the same has been issued, without the written authorization of the president of the University. This restriction does not apply to persons whose duties lawfully require the possession of firearms or other weapons.
- Disrupt or prevent the peaceful or orderly conduct of classes, lectures, meetings, or other University functions, or interfere with the lawful freedom of other persons, including invited speakers, to express their views.
- Falsify or forge an official University record or document, or file documents with the University with the intent to mislead.
- Lie, cheat, steal, or plagiarize. Violations of lying, cheating, plagiarism, and stealing will be adjudicated through this or other applicable documents. Student academic violations of lying, cheating, plagiarism, and stealing will be referred to the VCU Honor System for adjudication.
- Violate any duly authorized University rule or regulation issued pursuant to a specific University function, for example, regulations applicable to social events, the library, or University hospitals.
- Incite others to commit any act which has been herein prohibited.
- Bring charges against a member of the University community that are spurious, or that are intended primarily to harass or maliciously defame, or that are designed to intentionally overburden the adjudicatory system.
