Purpose
The Canadian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CCTCM) affirms that academic freedom is essential to our educational mission. This policy adopts the Universities Canada Statement on Academic Freedom (2011) and aligns with the principles articulated by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT).

Definition
Academic freedom protects the ability of faculty to teach, pursue scholarship, and engage in intellectual inquiry without undue constraint. Consistent with Universities Canada’s framework, the College recognizes that academic freedom differs from general freedom of expression in that it is grounded in institutional autonomy, scholarly rigor, and professional standards specific to academic disciplines.
Echoing the guidance provided by CAUT, the College affirms that academic freedom includes: the freedom to determine course content and teaching methods within one’s area of expertise; the freedom to pursue scholarship and share findings with academic and public audiences; the freedom to participate in institutional governance and critique institutional policies and practices; and the freedom to engage in public discourse on matters of societal importance.

Faculty Responsibilities
Faculty must base their teaching and scholarship on sound evidence, disciplinary expertise, and professional standards. Faculty bear responsibility for subjecting their work to peer evaluation and maintaining intellectual integrity. Faculty must ensure that the exercise of academic freedom does not conflict with the relevant scope of practice under the Traditional Chinese Medicine Act, or clinical safety protocols. When addressing public matters as private citizens, faculty should distinguish their personal views from institutional positions.

Institutional Responsibilities
CCTCM leadership bears primary responsibility for safeguarding academic freedom (Universities Canada, 2011). The College will protect faculty from improper interference in their academic work, whether from internal sources or external pressures. The College ensures that financial partnerships, donor agreements, and other external relationships do not compromise faculty autonomy in determining what and how to teach subject to CCTCM requirements. Faculty facing allegations of professional misconduct will receive fair procedures and appropriate due process protections.

Curriculum and Pedagogical Practices
CCTCM’s curriculum development and delivery practices ensure academic balance and intellectual diversity in accordance with the principles of academic freedom.
-Curriculum Development: Course curricula are developed by qualified faculty with expertise in their respective disciplines and reviewed to ensure comprehensive coverage of established theories, methodologies, and perspectives within Traditional Chinese Medicine and related healthcare fields. Courses incorporate diverse schools of thought, historical developments, and contemporary debates within the discipline.
-Pedagogical Approach: Faculty present multiple theoretical frameworks and encourage students to critically evaluate different approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and patient care. Students are exposed to various TCM traditions (including classical texts, modern TCM, and regional variations), integrative healthcare perspectives, and evidence-based research. Classroom discussions foster respectful debate about clinical approaches, theoretical foundations, and the evolving relationship between traditional and biomedical paradigms.
-Assessment: Student learning is evaluated based on demonstrated understanding of diverse perspectives and the ability to critically analyze and apply knowledge, rather than adherence to a single theoretical position or approach. However, students must demonstrate proficiency in the core competencies and clinical safety standards required for professional license as a condition of graduation.

Student Rights
Students have the right to pursue their education in an environment where academic freedom is respected and diverse perspectives may be explored. As recognized by Universities Canada, academic freedom protects both the instructor’s right to teach and the student’s right to learn. Faculty retain authority over curriculum design, pedagogical decisions, and academic assessment within their areas of professional competence.
Students have the right to ask questions, express viewpoints, and engage in respectful critical inquiry without fear of penalty or retaliation. The College will not permit faculty or administrators to penalize students for thoughtfully questioning course content, expressing alternative perspectives, or engaging in scholarly debate within the bounds of professional conduct. Students may critique theories, methodologies, and practices presented in their courses provided such critique is grounded in reasoned argument and maintained within a respectful academic discourse.
The College is committed to fostering an educational environment where intellectual curiosity is encouraged and students develop critical thinking skills essential to professional practice. While students must demonstrate competency in required knowledge and skills, they are not required to personally endorse any particular theoretical framework or approach as a condition of academic success.

Limits
Academic freedom operates within legal parameters, including laws governing harassment, discrimination, and defamation. As noted in CAUT guidance, academic freedom does not protect conduct that violates law, constitutes academic dishonesty, or breaches professional ethics. Further, academic freedom does not protect conduct that breaches the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA), the sexual violence and harassment policy, or provincial health and safety regulations. Faculty must fulfill their professional obligations and adhere to institutional policies necessary for effective operations. These limitations do not restrict vigorous intellectual debate, critical inquiry, or the expression of controversial ideas within legal and ethical boundaries.

Implementation and Review
The President shall oversee implementation of this policy and ensure its communication throughout the College. The policy will be reviewed every three years to maintain alignment with evolving practices in Canadian higher education. Disputes regarding interpretation or application will be addressed through established governance processes and applicable dispute resolution mechanisms.

POLICY STATEMENT
Academic integrity is a fundamental value of the College, rooted in the principles of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. In the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), academic integrity is directly linked to patient safety and professional ethics.
Academic dishonesty occurs when a person knowingly acts in a way that results in unearned academic credit or advantage. A person is considered to have committed an offence if they knew or reasonably should have known their actions constituted dishonesty. As future healthcare practitioners, students are expected to maintain the same level of integrity in their academic work as is required in clinical practice and patient record-keeping.
Academic honesty requires that individuals not falsely claim credit for the ideas, writing, or intellectual property of others by presenting such work as their own or through inadequate citation. Students must not gain improper advantages in assessments through cheating; they must not alter or fabricate research data or academic records; and they must not aid others in committing acts of academic dishonesty.

ACADEMIC OFFENCES
-Plagiarism
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work, ideas, or intellectual property as one’s own without proper acknowledgment. This includes inadequate or absent citation, paraphrasing without attribution, and submitting purchased or commissioned work.
-Cheating
Cheating includes using unauthorized materials or assistance during examinations or assessments, copying from others, sharing answers, or accessing assessment content in advance without authorization.
-Unauthorized Collaboration
Unauthorized collaboration occurs when students work together on assignments designated as individual work, share answers or substantial portions of work, or receive prohibited assistance from others.
Students are responsible for clarifying expectations with instructors when collaboration rules are unclear. Group work is permitted only when explicitly authorized by the instructor.

-Self-Plagiarism and Resubmission
Students may not submit the same work, or substantially similar work, for credit in multiple courses without prior written permission from all instructors involved.
-Fabrication and Falsification
Fabrication involves inventing data, research results, clinical observations, or sources. Falsification involves manipulating research data, patient records, academic records, or documentation to misrepresent results or performance.
Given the clinical nature of Traditional Chinese Medicine education, students must maintain absolute accuracy in recording patient interactions, treatment outcomes, and research observations.
-Use of Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Technology tools, including artificial intelligence applications, may be used only as explicitly permitted by course instructors. Unless otherwise specified, submitting work generated by AI tools as one’s own constitutes academic dishonesty.
When technology assistance is permitted, students must disclose and cite all technology assistance appropriately, verify the accuracy of all information obtained through technology tools, and take responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in submitted work, regardless of source.

-Clinical and Professional Dishonesty
Given the clinical nature of the program, the following actions are considered significant violations of academic integrity:
• Fabrication of Clinical Hours: Falsifying signatures or hours on clinical logbooks or observation sheets.
• Record Falsification: Altering patient files, treatment notes, or informed consent documentation, which violates the CTCMPAO Standard for Record Keeping.
• Unauthorized Practice: Performing controlled acts (such as acupuncture) outside of supervised clinical hours or without explicit instructor approval.
• Breach of Confidentiality: Unauthorized sharing of patient health information (PHI) in academic assignments

FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES
Faculty members are responsible for promoting academic integrity by clearly communicating expectations in course syllabi and assignment instructions, specifying which resources, tools, and forms of assistance are permitted, designing assessments that encourage original thinking and minimize opportunities for dishonesty, and addressing suspected violations promptly and fairly in accordance with this policy.

INVESTIGATION AND ADJUDICATION PROCEDURES
-Reporting and Initial Review
When a faculty member suspects academic dishonesty, they will document the incident with supporting evidence and report it to the Academic Dean within five (5) business days. The Academic Dean will conduct an initial review to determine if reasonable grounds exist to proceed with a formal investigation.
Students are presumed innocent until clear and compelling evidence demonstrates a violation.

INVESTIGATION AND ADJUDICATION PROCEDURES
-Reporting and Initial Review
When a faculty member suspects academic dishonesty, they will document the incident with supporting evidence and report it to the Academic Dean within five (5) business days. The Academic Dean will conduct an initial review to determine if reasonable grounds exist to proceed with a formal investigation.
Students are presumed innocent until clear and compelling evidence demonstrates a violation.

• THE ACADEMIC INTEGRITY COMMITTEE (AIC)
  To ensure impartial adjudication for serious offences or appeals, the College shall maintain an Academic Integrity Committee.
• Committee Composition:
  -Chair: A senior administrator or the President (non-voting, except in ties).
  -Members: Three (3) faculty members appointed on an ad-hoc basis.
  -Impartiality Rule: No member may have been involved in the initial investigation or the instruction of the student for the course in question.
• Quorum: All three faculty members must be present for a decision to be valid.
• Rules of Order: The committee reviews evidence on the “Balance of Probabilities” (i.e., is it more likely than not that the offence occurred?).

INVESTIGATION AND ADJUDICATION PROCEDURES

-Reporting & Initial Review

• Faculty Responsibility: Document evidence and report to the Academic Dean within five (5) business days.
• Presumption of Innocence: Students are presumed innocent until clear evidence demonstrates a violation.

-Notice and Student Response

• Written Notification is sent to the student within five (5) business days of the Dean’s review.
• Students have ten (10) business days to provide a written response or request a meeting.
• Students have a right to a support person during all meetings.
• Students requiring AODA accommodations may request deadline extensions.

-The Decision

• The Academic Dean issues a written decision within ten (10) business days of the investigation’s end.
• Sanctions range from failing grades on assignments to suspension or expulsion.OSAP Impact: Sanctions affecting registration
• status will be reported to the Financial Aid Officer as per MCU requirements.

APPEALS PROCESS

• Written appeals must be submitted to the President within ten (10) business days of the decision.
• Students may appeal on the basis of perceived procedural error, in order to present new evidence, to challenge the sanction prescribed in their case, or on the basis of perceived bias in the adjudication of their case.
• Final Review: If the President’s decision is contested, the Academic Integrity Committee (Section 3) is convened. Their written decision is final within the institution.

RECORDS AND CONFIDENTIALITY
File Maintenance: Records are kept in the student’s academic file per the Student Records Management Policy.
Privacy: Information is shared only with those with a “need to know” (e.g., Registrar, Financial Aid for OSAP purposes).

RECORDS AND CONFIDENTIALITY
Records of academic dishonesty investigations and determinations will be maintained in the student’s academic file in accordance with the Student Records Management Policy and applicable privacy legislation.
All proceedings will maintain confidentiality to the extent possible while ensuring a fair and thorough process. Information will be shared only with those who have a legitimate need to know for investigation, decision-making, or implementation of sanctions.

POLICY REVIEW
This policy will be reviewed every three (3) years or as necessary to reflect changes in academic standards, legal requirements, or best practices.

Purpose
This policy defines how intellectual property (IP) that is created by Canadian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CCTCM) faculty and students is owned and used. It protects faculty and student rights while supporting innovation and providing guidance for commercialization.
Scope
This policy applies to all faculty and current students of CCTCM

Definitions
Intellectual Property: Original creations eligible for legal protection, including research, inventions, written works, artistic creations, and software.
Substantial College Support: Use of specialized equipment, dedicated space, significant funding, or extensive faculty assistance beyond what is normally available to all students.
Employment-Related Work: IP created while performing duties as a research assistant, teaching assistant, or other college employee.

Faculty

–Faculty retain full ownership of:

• Scholarly works (journal articles, books, conference presentations)
• Independent research conducted outside employment duties and without substantial college support
• Professional development materials for external use
• Teaching materials developed independently without substantial college support
• Teaching materials created before employment at CCTCM and brought to the position

-College-Owned Course Materials:

• Materials created as part of the assigned curriculum development projects
• Materials commissioned by CCTCM for specific programs or courses
• Materials developed with substantial college support (significant funding, release time, dedicated staff assistance)
• Standardized program materials intended for use by multiple instructors
• Materials created with the expectation of institutional ownership (specified in employment contract or project agreement)

Students

-Students retain full ownership of:

• Independent research conducted without substantial college support
• Course assignments, papers, projects, and presentations
• Thesis, capstone, and dissertation work (primary ownership)
• Datasets they personally collect through their research

-Note: Patient health information is governed by the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). Students do not own patient data collected during clinical placements or practice. Any research or publications using patient information requires appropriate consent, ethics approval, and de-identification in accordance with PHIPA research ethics policies.

–Ownership may be shared when:

• Multiple parties make significant contributions to the work
• Faculty provide substantial guidance or resources beyond normal advising
• Collaborative research involves joint intellectual contributions

-CCTCM retains ownership of:

• Work created as part of employment duties (e.g., research or teaching assistant roles)
• Projects specifically commissioned and funded by the college
• Technology infrastructure developed for college operations

-College Rights to Student Work

Students grant CCTCM a non-exclusive license to use their work for internal educational purposes, including teaching, program development, and institutional research. The college may also reference student work in promotional materials with proper attribution.

Provisions Applicable to Faculty and Students

-Commercialization and Revenue
Faculty and students may independently commercialize their IP without college involvement or revenue sharing. When substantial college support is used, commercialization revenue will be split 50% to the student(s) and 50% to CCTCM, after deducting reasonable expenses (patent costs, legal fees, etc.).

-Dispute Resolution
IP disputes should be addressed through:
1. Initial consultation with Academic Dean.
2. Appeal to CCTCM President if the initial consultation with the Academic Dean does not result in a satisfactory resolution of the issue.

-Policy Review
This policy will be reviewed every five years to ensure it remains current and effective.

-Questions
Direct questions about this policy to info@cctcm.ca / 905-606-0062