MIS 300 Project - Student Code of Behavior for Field Projects

The following guidelines and procedures are intended to cover the most important aspects of student conduct when working on academic projects.  If you are unclear regarding any of the aspects of this code, consult with your Instructor.  Failure to adhere to this code may result in a lowered grade and severe academic penalties.

1.            Conflict of Interest.  The first guideline is use common sense.  If you are unaware of what amounts to a conflict of interest, you should discuss this with your Instructor immediately.  Any connections with competitors or other conflict situations should be divulged.  Always tell potential clients about the nature of the work you will be doing, and the name and telephone number your instructor.

2.            Students are responsible both to the organization in which they are working and to Oakland University.  The project is an academic rather than a consulting assignment and this fact should be made perfectly clear to all clients at the outset.  This means that under no circumstances are students permitted to accept payment for their work or divert any of the workload to private consulting groups.

3.            Under no circumstances should students solicit information from competing firms that is not part of the public domain.  For example, under no circumstances should data be requested from firm B, a competitor of firm A, when students are working in firm A, by approaching firm B and representing themselves as being a student group from the School of Business Administration at Oakland University.  This type of behavior will be subject to reprimand as it reflects negatively on both the School of Business Administration and our graduates.

4.            Confidential Information.  A student may be required by their client to sign a confidentiality agreement before working on the project.  By signing this agreement, typically the student agrees not to discuss or reveal any of the proprietary information that is revealed to him or her during his or her work on the project outside the scope of that agreement.  If a client requires you to sign a confidentiality agreement, all students in your group must do so.  Be sure you understand what you are signing and that the client’s document will still allow you to satisfy the academic requirements of the course project.  Consult with your instructor if you are unsure.  Students working within an organization must be very sensitive to the proprietary nature of the data that may be supplied to them in confidence.  All copies of confidential information must be returned to the company at the end of the project.  However, please note that you have no need to work with your client's actual data values.  You are developing a prototype and, as such, your data files can be populated with simulated values.

5.            In order to facilitate learning within the School of Business Administration, students are permitted to discuss generally their projects within the classroom and with other students outside of their group.  Students are not to pay or otherwise motivate other students or outside parties to work on the project, especially concerning the design and construction of the prototype.  This is an academic assignment constituting part of an Oakland University course.

6.            Limitations.  Never solicit clients or gain their support on the basis of potential end results, no matter how confident you may be that your efforts will help the organization.  The work being done by students may or may not be useful to the organization in question.  The organizations that become involved in student projects need to understand that it is an academic project, which focuses on student learning.  The organizations should be informed of this fact from the onset.

7.            Students should never guarantee results or recommendations.  It should be made clear to involved parties that you, the Instructor, nor the University is responsible for any more than doing the best job possible to complete the academic project while protecting the integrity of both the organization and the University.

8.            All clients must sign a waiver of liability.  This waiver (Client Application Agreement) explains that what they are receiving is business information compiled by students.  Students are not professionals in the context of these projects that exist principally for their benefit.  By signing the form, clients waive their legal right to sue if they should be unsatisfied with the project in any way.  Take the time to discuss the waiver with your client and ensure that they have a full understanding of what it involves.  By requiring your client to sign the waiver you are protecting yourself and the School of Business Administration from possible legal action.  If a client does not wish to sign the waiver, please let your Instructor know and suspend your work with the client until the matter is resolved.

9.            Course Requirements.  At times during the project each group may make a report to the Instructor or the class about the project.  The nature of the problem, the potential solutions, roadblocks, how the work might have been done differently are all vital aspects of the projects, and are insights that can be passed on to the benefit of your classmates.

10.          Depending on the degree of involvement, the supporting organization may wish to receive a copy of the final report.  Comments by the Instructor are not normally made available to the organization.  Instructor feedback is provided solely for the benefit of students.  However, if you have had significant involvement with the organization, you may wish to meet with them to discuss your final report.  But remember, your client does not assess your written final report for academic purposes.  Your client does assess your working database prototype solution and will receive a copy of that software along with its user documentation.

11.          Any interviews that might be conducted in conjunction with this course project will be for the benefit of developing professional skills and knowledge and are not intended for academic publishing purposes.

I have read and understood the above points. 

(Please print these pages, complete the entries below, and deliver the page with your signature to your instructor within the first four weeks of classes. Your signed document will be kept on file at the School of Business Administration for one year.)

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Student Name (Print)                                                                     Student Grizz ID                                CRN

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Student Signature