Students

As a student at VCU, you interact with a wide variety of people in the university community and have the opportunity to make a real impact by knowing and following the rules that apply to you. While you are expected to follow the Student Code of Conduct and the Honor Code, there are other things you need to understand about compliance:

What I need to know about compliance (Adapted from University of Michigan with permission)

• I have rights and responsibilities [PDF] as a student.
• I need to foster a respectful and inclusive campus environment.
• I need to help foster a safe and secure campus environment.
• I need to understand and follow copyright laws.
• If I live in VCU Housing, I need to comply with my contract, as well as all housing policies.
• I have certain rights relating to my student records and a right to privacy of my personal information.
• I must not compromise the university’s IT security, and I must use IT systems in accordance with university IT policies.
• If I take any laboratory classes, I must pay special attention to safety procedures in the lab and follow all directions of my instructors and lab staff.
• If I am an international student, I must make sure I maintain lawful immigration status
• If I am traveling or studying abroad, I must make sure I understand the local laws that will apply to me overseas, as well as any U.S. laws that may still apply to me while traveling.
• Student athletes need to comply with athletic rules including NCAA.
• If I am involved in research of any kind, I need to learn about research compliance rules.
• If I am doing a clinical or experiential placement as part of my study, I need to make sure I find out what new obligations that includes (like confidentiality, health & safety and insurance requirements) before I sign any waivers or placement agreements.
• I should report any potentially criminal conduct to VCU Police.
• I should speak up about compliance problems – report any concerns by talking to a faculty or staff member you trust, or contacting one of the specialists under our Report a Concern page.

What if I’m also a student employee?

As a student employee, you have responsibilities as a student AND as an employee.
It is important to distinguish between when you are wearing your “student hat” and your “employee hat.” For instance, it would be inappropriate to share or use information that you learned about a fellow student in your capacity as a teaching assistant with another student.

Your rights and responsibilities as a student employee are the same as any other employee, including:

• Disclosing and managing potential conflicts of interest or commitment
• Appropriately handling sensitive or confidential information that you come across in the course of your job – including other students’ records
• Complying with occupational safety and health requirements
• Going through the necessary steps associated with being hired and getting paid, as summarized on the student employment website
• Reporting misconduct and noncompliance

See the VCU Student Code of Conduct for additional guidance and details.

If you’d like to learn more about our Ethics and Compliance Program, or have a question or concern, you can reach someone on our team during normal business hours at (804) 828-2336, or ucompliance@vcu.edu.