FORMAL STATEMENTS OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS Men and women of God are suited for Christian service by moral character as well as by academic achievement and spiritual gifts. Among their qualifications should be compassion for individual persons, sensitivity to the needs of the communities of which they are a part, a commitment to justice, a burden that the whole of God’s will be obeyed on earth, personal integrity, a desire for moral growth, and mutual accountability. Candidates for a degree from Fuller Theological Seminary are expected to exhibit these moral characteristics. The ethical standards of Fuller Theological Seminary are guided by an understanding of Scripture and a commitment to its authority regarding all matters of Christian faith and living. The seminary community also desires to honor and respect the moral tradition of the churches who entrust students to us for education. These moral standards encompass every area of life, but prevailing confusion about specific areas leads the community to speak clearly about them. Students receiving training in a discipline for which there are professional ethical standards are subject to those as well. Enrollment in, employment by, or voluntary service to Fuller Theological Seminary includes a committment by each individual to adhere to all of the seminary's published policies and ethical standards. Seven statements of community standards are affirmed by all trustees, faculty, administrators, staff, and students of the seminary. These are: Academic Integrity Marriage and Divorce Respect for People and Property Sexual Standards Substance Abuse Nondiscrimination Sexual Harassment These standards, along with their respective procedures, are also presented in the Faculty Handbook, in the Human Resources Policy Manual, and in the Student Handbook. In the application of these community standards, the seminary urges the practice of loving verbal confrontation when any member of a Christian community feels that another member is living in violation of what the Bible teaches about Christian conduct. The seminary, therefore, encourages individuals to follow, where feasible, the steps of verbal confrontation and dialogue described in Matthew 18: 15-22. The seminary encourages any of its community who are in special need to seek education and counsel. The seminary is committed to extending Christian love to those involved in strife, marital conflict, or the struggle for sexual identity; and to demonstrating the personal forgiveness available through Christ for all human failure. The use of seminary disciplinary procedures should always be viewed as a last resort. In no way do they exempt the seminary from making every possible effort to guide the honest pursuit of truth, to encourage wholesome approaches to sexuality, to support stable family life, or to model community relationships that convey respect for people and property. Academic Integrity Preamble. This Academic Integrity Policy is an expression of the desire of the Fuller community to make clear the shared expectations that enable us to operate as a community embodying mutual trust in pursuing our academic tasks. It is rooted, first of all, in the conviction that the God whom we serve, the God who is Truth, calls us to truthfulness in the presence of the One from whom nothing can be hidden; and second, in the conviction that as brothers and sisters in Christ we are called both to treat one another with integrity and to expect integrity from one another. We consider it crucial to our life together to establish a common understanding of the shape academic integrity should have among us. Fuller Theological Seminary seeks to promote both intellectual and moral growth. Thus, our commitment to seek to be beyond reproach in our academic work, as well as in the rest of our behavior, goes beyond adherence to institutional rules or even maintenance of interpersonal relationships and becomes a matter of the formation of Christian character. Keeping that commitment expresses our endeavor to be who we say we are not only as people of faith, but also as those called to moral leadership. Genuine spirituality takes on concrete shape in godly behavior. Failure to represent oneself and one’s work truthfully undermines one’s character and trustworthiness, and it eventually destroys trusting relationships in the community. Therefore, we as faculty and students alike commit to honesty in all aspects of our work. We seek to establish a community which values serious intellectual engagement ("loving God with the mind") and personal faithfulness more highly than various measures of "success" such as grades, degrees, or publications. We bear a joint obligation to one another both in and outside of the classroom. Faculty are responsible for modeling in their lectures and publications the same standards for use of oral and written sources that they expect of students in students’ oral and written work, just as they are responsible for manifesting the attitudes of openness that they ask for from students. We further count it vital not only to seek to maintain the highest standards of integrity ourselves, but also to protect the integrity of the whole community by actively refusing to tolerate or ignore dishonesty on the part of others. It is, then, in the interest of promoting common understanding, mutual confidence, fairness, and clear expectations that we set down the following commitments, in the context of the larger purpose of helping to shape a more faithful Christian community. Commitments. The following commitments are to be understood as constituting essential guidelines, but not an exhaustive list of the forms academic integrity must take among us. These commitments underlie, but do not supersede professional standards to which one may also be subject. In every instance where professional standards are more specific or rigorous than those specified here, the standards demanded by one’s professional calling or degree program shall apply. Academic integrity requires that as faculty, we will develop and use forms of assessment that are relevant to, and consistent with, the stated goals of a course; we will provide clear guidelines about acceptable collaboration; and in instances when collaboration is encouraged or required, we will spell out clearly how work is to be prepared for submission and on what basis grades will be assigned; we will clearly spell out our expectations for how students should acknowledge receiving suggestions on content and style of papers, including the use of editorial assistance; we will clearly spell out course policies on use of previous examinations for preparation for current examinations; we will carefully acknowledge our dependence on the ideas of others, including those of our students, in publications, and as appropriate in lectures and in materials distributed in class; we will evaluate work on its academic merit, not on the basis of the student’s agreement or disagreement with the teacher’s point of view; we will give students feedback on assignments and will not assign grades without providing comments on papers and essay examinations; we will return papers in a timely manner; we will follow accepted standards in the construction and grading of examinations; we will challenge academic dishonesty when it occurs; we will seek to assure consistency in applying these standards by consulting with colleagues as we deal with questions and issues about academic integrity within our professional work; we will faithfully adhere to academic policies of the institution, including those related to criteria for granting incompletes and to deadlines for accepting work. Academic integrity requires that as students, we will produce all the work assigned in every course as our individual work, unless collaboration is required or expressly permitted by the instructor; we will obtain prior permission from the professor or professors involved in order to submit the same work in more than one course or to use work (in whole or in part) submitted in another course; we will avoid all forms of plagiarism: we will not submit as our own work papers obtained from another person (with or without that person's knowledge) or from other sources such as term paper companies or the internet; we will give credit for all the major sources of our ideas, whether written or oral, formal or informal, published or unpublished; we will rigorously follow accepted standards of citation for quoting directly or indirectly from published or unpublished sources; we will not report work as completed that has not actually been done; we will consult with the professor prior to the completion of assigned work if we have any question about what constitutes dishonesty or inappropriate collaboration; we will faithfully adhere to academic policies of the institution, including those related to criteria for requesting incompletes and to deadlines for submitting work; we will not seek unfair academic advantage over other students by misrepresenting our life circumstances in order to obtain extensions of deadlines; we will not, in take-home or in-class examinations, copy from the examination papers of other students; allow other students to copy our work on exams; read, without the instructor's consent, previous examinations or a copy of examination questions prior to taking the examination; use materials such as notes or books, including dictionaries, without the express permission of the instructor; have another student take an examination for us; seek or accept unpermitted aid in take-home exams; seek or accept information about the content or style of exams other than what is provided to the entire class by the instructor; we will not put pressure on a professor, before or after the grading process, to base grades on criteria other than academic standards. Commitment to supporting and developing a community ethos of honesty requires of the whole Fuller community that: we will not make written assignments available to students for copying; we will not give unpermitted aid on take-home examinations; we will not make unauthorized copies of examinations available to students; we will report known violations of these standards of academic integrity to the faculty of the course involved. Any faculty member or student who suspects a violation of the Commitments of the Statement on Academic Integrity above should consult with a member of the Academic Integrity Group appointed by the Provost. This group will review reports of suspected violations of academic integrity and, as appropriate, facilitate the processing of alleged violations. The procedures for processing alleged violations of the Standard on Academic Integrity are presented in the Faculty Handbook and in the Student Handbook.   Marriage and Divorce Out of its commitment to the stability and strength of marriages and families and out of concern about the prevailing breakdown of both in our time, Fuller Theological Seminary wishes, in the following statement, to affirm its commitments and policies with respect to God’s will for the permanence of marriage and the tragic realities of divorce. I. As in all of its policies and practices, so also in its policy with respect to marriage and divorce, the seminary intends to embody the mind of Christ and the teaching of Holy Scripture. Christ teaches that God the Creator intended marriage to be an unconditional covenant between a woman and a man that unites them into one corporate body. Guided by the love and grace of God to all persons, each spouse vows to love, honor, and cherish the other in all circumstances without exception (Mark 10:2-12). Christ’s teaching is clear in recalling the creation story. He says: "But from the beginning, God made them male and female. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate." The apostle Paul, having reaffirmed the Lord’s teaching about the permanence of marriage, adds the richly suggestive metaphor of the marriage of a man and a woman as a mirror of the abiding union of Jesus Christ and his Body, the Church. From these words, it is clear that God wills marriage to be a permanent partnership of love. Surely God wills for every marriage something far richer than permanence. God wills that both partners subordinate their individual expectations to their shared growth into the disciplined maturity and wholeness of Christ. God wills that healthy marriages be pivotal supports for all other human relationships. God wills that a wife and husband model together the whole mind of Christ for human community. The concern of this statement, however, is with his will for the permanence of marriage. It is motivated by a desire that Christian marriages in particular survive the erosions of a culture in which pursuit of each individual’s personal satisfaction has replaced lifetime commitment as the norm for marriage. Fuller Theological Seminary seeks to be a community of men and women, single and married who are striving to make their lives reflect the healthy, generous, attractive, and enduring embodiments of God’s unselfish love in a selfish world. II. Sensitive to the fragility of any marriage, and to the fact that the price of fidelity to the biblical ideal is often paid in the hard currency of patient courage, Fuller Theological Seminary intends to do whatever it can to encourage and comfort those members of the community who walk the path of fidelity in lonely need and turbulent pain. It is concerned not only to help people salvage their distressed marriages, but to be a community of support for all who strive to make their healthy marriages and their strong families even healthier and stronger than they are. The seminary expects that persons who are experiencing a troubled marriage will recognize the importance of this community of support and will make good use of seminary and other resources in their effort to bring healing and wholeness to their marriage. III. The Fuller community intends to respond to its divorced members with a compassion that in no way compromises our conviction. We believe that God wills marriage to be permanent and that he is deeply grieved when any marriage fails. We do not intend to alter this conviction. In compassion, however, we recognize that, in our broken world, it may sometimes be the case that people do end their marriages. In accordance with Scripture and the theological heritage of the Church, we must ascertain the circumstances and causes of the failure of the marriage. Some relevant circumstances taken together, and not as a checklist, may include personal motivations, history of the relationship, counseling efforts, questions of abuse, care of any children, remarriage, reconciliation efforts and fidelity. While the seminary community does not reject members on the simple ground that they have experienced the pain of a broken covenant and a failed marriage, the seminary will review the circumstance and causes according to the seminary’s Response Procedures for Alleged Violations of Community Standards. IV. The seminary attempts to respond redemptively to people within its community whose marriages have, in tragic fact, failed. It means to do so in ways that reflect both its commitment to the permanence of a marriage covenant and its compassion for those whose covenants have been broken by divorce. We do not intend to compromise the biblical ideal; we acknowledge that the breakup of a marriage always grieves God. Yet, compassion leads us to discern that, in our broken human condition, divorce may sometimes be an unavoidable last resort to end a cycle of pain and sin within an unwholesome marriage. In this delicate balance of commitment and compassion, Fuller Theological Seminary hopes to be a redemptive community in which those who have experienced the pain of a covenant broken, a love failed, a marriage lost, are renewed. V. The Fuller community remains convinced that Christ’s ideal of permanent marriage must be reflected, however imperfectly, in the lives of its faculty, administration, board, students, and staff. For this reason, it has established certain procedures for evaluating the circumstances and causes of any divorce that may occur. It expects that a member of the seminary board of trustees, faculty, administration, student body, or staff experiencing a divorce will self-report the relevant circumstances of their divorce to one of those designated in the seminary’s Response Procedures. The purpose of the review will be to help colleagues ascertain whether the reasons for the divorce and the mind of the colleague concerning it are such as to recommend his or her continuing to function as a member in the Fuller community. The review shall be attended with utmost concern for the special needs and rights of all parties to the divorce; it shall be private, collegial and as fair as possible to all concerned. The review process is outlined in the seminary’s Response Procedures and, under certain circumstances, could result in dismissal of a person from the seminary community. Likewise, when someone who has been invited to join the seminary’s Board of Trustees, the faculty, or senior administration, has experienced divorce, the candidate is asked to participate with a committee of his or her potential colleagues in a review of the circumstances of the divorce before any appointment is made. VI. Finally, Fuller Theological Seminary applauds and encourages the creative efforts of those Christian agencies who, together with faithful Christian churches, are dedicated to the renewal and healing of marriage and family life in our society. Allegations that any member of the Seminary Community has failed to abide by the standard on Marriage and Divorce may result in the seminary invoking the Response Procedures for Alleged Violations of Community Standards which appear in the Faculty Handbook, in the Human Resources Policy Manual, and in the Student Handbook.   Respect for People and Property As a community of Christians with special commitment to acting out love to one another, the seminary expects community behavior that demonstrates the highest standard of respect for people and property. Scripture is replete with exhortations to look out for the welfare of others and build up each other, to be good protectors and stewards of the possessions God has given us and to be honest and keep one’s word. The seminary is committed to foster respectful interpersonal relationships regardless of gender, race, age, handicap, or national origin. Basic standards for respectful conduct at Fuller are similar to those of other institutions of higher education in societies with the legal foundation of respect for people and property. The following are examples of behaviors that are not acceptable according to the standard on Respect for People and Property. These examples are not intended to identify all types of unacceptable behaviors, but to indicate the types of behavior which are clearly inconsistent with the behavioral expectations of the seminary. When willfully engaged in, repeated or having serious consequences, they may be cause for disciplinary action. When appropriate, these may be reported to civil authorities for legal or other action. Dishonesty: The seminary regards as unacceptable any lying, misrepresentation, or deception in representations an individual makes about self or others in any phase of seminary life. Injurious or offensive action: Physical assault, infliction of psychological injury, and the spreading of malicious rumors are unacceptable. Prejudicial treatment based on gender, race, age, physical challenge, or national origin is both offensive and injurious. Persistent profane or obscene language that gives offense is subject to disciplinary action. Disruption: Acts by individuals or groups which substantially interfere with the rights of others or interfere with the normal activities of the seminary are unacceptable. Disruptive activities in classrooms, libraries, offices, other campus meeting or assembly areas, or in student residences are included. Stealing or destruction of property: Theft of or damage to the property of another person or of the seminary is unacceptable. Defacing or rendering library material unusable shows little respect for people or property. Unauthorized possession or use of seminary materials or equipment is a form of stealing. Purposeful violation of institutional policies: Purposeful violations include, but are not limited to, refusal to comply with contractual arrangements with seminary offices or services, refusal to follow seminary parking policies and/or pay parking violation fines, and unwillingness to abide by established policies in Fuller Housing. Allegations that any member of the Seminary Community has failed to abide by the standard on Respect for People and Property may result in the seminary invoking the Response Procedures for Alleged Violations of Community Standards which appear in the Faculty Handbook, in the Human Resources Policy Manual, and in the Student Handbook.   Sexual Standards Fuller Theological Seminary believes that heterosexual union must be reserved for marriage and insists on sexual abstinence for the unmarried. The seminary believes premarital, extramarital, and homosexual forms of explicit sexual conduct to be inconsistent with the teaching of Scripture. Consequently, the seminary expects all members of its community–trustees, faculty members, students, administrators, and staff members–to abstain from what it holds to be unbiblical sexual practices. Allegations that any member of the Seminary Community has failed to abide by the standard on Sexual Standards may result in the seminary invoking the Response Procedures for Alleged Violations of Community Standards which appear in the Faculty Handbook, in the Human Resources Policy Manual, and in the Student Handbook.   Substance Abuse Policy. Fuller Seminary is committed to maintaining a drug-free working environment, one conducive to the promotion of wellness and positive self-development of all members of its community. In keeping with this objective, the seminary will ensure that all of its workplaces are safe and free from the problems and risks associated with the unauthorized use and abuse of alcohol and the illegal use and abuse of drugs. Standards of Conduct. Out of respect for our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, as good stewards of our relationships with one another, and in relation to our individual and communal fitness for ministry, the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs or alcohol by students and employees on Fuller property or at Fuller activities is prohibited. The seminary also reserves the right to discipline students and employees for off-campus conduct not in keeping with these community standards. Facts About Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Drug abuse has spread to every level of society in the United States. All drugs are toxic or poisonous if abused. Health risks of drug abuse include, but are not limited to, sleep disorders, confusion, hallucinations, paranoia, depression, impotence, liver damage, cardiac irregularities, hepatitis, and neurological damage. Abuse of either alcohol or drugs during pregnancy increase the risk of birth defects, spontaneous abortion, and stillbirths. Alcohol is a depressant. It depresses the central nervous system and can cause serious, irreversible physical damage. Excessive drinking damages the liver, resulting in cirrhosis. Chronic alcohol abuse also causes hypertension, cardiac irregularities, ulcers, pancreatitis, kidney disease, cancer of the esophagus, liver, bladder, and lungs. Available Assistance. The good news is that alcoholism and drug abuse and addiction are treatable. Generally, a recovering alcoholic or drug abuser may never safely drink or use drugs again, but can lead a normal, productive life as long as he or she maintains total abstinence. Confidential counseling and treatment programs in the Fuller Psychological Center may be available to Fuller students and employees. The costs of these programs are dependent upon the treatment necessary, with the individual’s economic situation a recognized factor on a sliding payment scale. Students and employees should consult with their insurance carriers with individual questions regarding coverage of treatment. Legal Sanction. Pending the outcome of investigations, local, state, and federal laws establish severe penalties for the unlawful possession of illicit drugs and alcohol. These legal sanctions, upon conviction, may range from the payment of a small fine and probation to imprisonment for up to one year or a $5,000 fine, or both. Recent federal laws have increased the penalties for the illegal distribution of drugs to include life imprisonment and fines in excess of $1,000,000. Incidents on the Fuller campus or incidents involving members of the Fuller community may be reported to civil authorities for legal action. Allegations that any member of the Seminary Community has failed to abide by the standard on Substance Abuse may result in the seminary invoking the Response Procedures for Alleged Violations of Community Standards which appear in the Faculty Handbook, in the Human Resources Policy Manual, and in the Student Handbook.   Nondiscrimination Fuller Theological Seminary does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, disability, or age, in any of its policies, procedures, practices, benefit programs, or job performance and conduct expectations. Among the laws with which the seminary complies are Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (pertaining to race, color, and national origin), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (pertaining to sex), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (pertaining to disability), and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (pertaining to age) and the Older Worker’s Benefit Prtotection Action (pertaining to age). This nondiscriminating policy covers admission and access to, and treatment and employment in, Fuller Seminary’s programs and activities. Members of the seminary community with a concern or complaint that may involve discrimination in any form are encouraged to discuss the concern with a designated individual as identified in Section III. Initial Procedures of the seminary’s standard on Sexual Harassment. The seminary will follow resolution procedures, commencing with Section III, of the standard on Sexual Harassment for investigating and resolving discrimination complaints. The standard on Sexual Harassment with its resolution procedures is presented in the Faculty Handbook, in the Human Resources Policy Manual, and in the Student Handbook. The seminary strictly prohibits retaliation against a member of the Fuller community who opposes the practices prohibited by this policy, who files a complaint, against whom a complaint is filed, or who otherwise is a participant in the informal or formal complaint resolution procedure. Such retaliatory conduct includes, but is not limited to, decreasing an employee’s pay, reducing a student’s grade, or downgrading a person’s performance evaluation. Retaliatory conduct will result in remedial action by the seminary up to and including termination from employment an/or expulsion from the seminary.   Sexual Harassment Preamble. The two great commands are these: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart . . . soul . . . and mind" and, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:37,39). As man and woman are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), so in Christ there is neither male nor female (Gal. 3:28). Followers of Jesus are not to lord over one another (Matt. 20:25-27), but are to be in mutual submission (Eph. 5:21). Christians manifest these truths by their mutual service and love in the Body of Christ. Sexual harassment is a violation of Christ’s commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. It denies the image of God in the other, and it negates our oneness in Christ. Sexual harassment regularly involves an abuse of power. It invariably interferes with shared ministry and rends the Body of Christ. With these things in mind, together with the realization that when one member suffers, all suffer together (1 Cor. 12:26), Fuller Theological Seminary establishes the following policy with regard to sexual harassment. Policy. Fuller Theological Seminary expects that the dignity of all people, female and male, will be revered and celebrated in behavior, attitude, and the use of language by each member of the seminary community. This expectation is grounded in the belief that Scripture affirms mutuality and care for the other, explicitly forbids behavior which arises from the abuse of power, and teaches that men and women together are created in God’s image and for God’s glory. The seminary is therefore committed to creating and maintaining a community in which students, faculty, administrators, and staff can work together in an atmosphere free of all forms of harassment, exploitation, or intimidation, including sexual harassment. Every member of the Fuller community should be aware that the seminary is strongly opposed to sexual harassment and that such behavior is prohibited both by seminary policy and by law (cf. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sections 2000e et seq. (1992); Title IX of the Educational Amendments, (1972), 20 U.S.C. Sections 1681 et seq. (1990)). Sexual harassment is a barrier to learning in the classroom and to productivity in the workplace. It is the intention of the seminary to take whatever action may be needed to prevent, correct and, if necessary, discipline behavior which violates this policy. Faculty, administrators, and supervisors have the responsibility for participation in the creation of a campus environment free from sexual harassment, an environment that bears joyful witness to the God-given worth of all persons. Definition of Sexual Harassment. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature up to and including sexual assault constitute sexual harassment when: submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a condition of instruction, employment, or participation in other seminary activity; submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for evaluation in making any academic or personnel decision affecting that individual; such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s performance or participation in instructional, employment-related, or other seminary activity; or such conduct has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or academic environment. Sexual harrassment is conduct based on sex, whether directed toward a person of the opposite or same sex, and may include explicit propositions, sexual innuendos, suggestive comments, sexually oriented "kidding" or "teasing," "practical jokes," jokes about or displaying obscene printed or visual material, and physical contact such as patting, pinching, or brushing against another person’s body. Both men and women may be victims of sexual harassment. One person may be sexually harassing another person and not be aware of it. In determining whether the alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment, consideration shall be given to the record as a whole and to the totality of the circumstances, including the context in which the alleged conduct occurred. Members of the seminary community with a concern or complaint that may involve sexual harrassment are encouraged to discuss the concern with a designated individual as identified in Section III. Initial Procedures of the seminary’s standard on Sexual Harassment. The standard on Sexual Harrassment with its resolution procedures is presented in the Faculty Handbook, in the Human Resources Policy Manual, and in the Student Handbook.