TCU Mission Statement

The mission of Texas Christian University, a private comprehensive university, is to educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community through research and creative activities, scholarship, service, and programs of teaching and learning offered through the doctoral level.

For more on TCU mission, vision, values and history see Mission & History.

TCU Honor Code

As a member of the TCU community, I will actively contribute to an environment of academic integrity. We are ethical leaders and will not participate in any form of academic misconduct.

Also see Bill of Student Rights and Responsibilities

 

Support for TCU Students

Academic Support & Success

Wellbeing

Campus Information

College & School Support for Students

  • AddRan College of Liberal Arts
  • College of Education
  • College of Fine Arts
  • College of Science & Engineering
  • Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences
  • Neeley School of Business
  • John V. Roach Honors College
  • Bob Schieffer College of Communication

 

Student Access and Accommodation

View the Student Access and Accommodation Policies

Texas Christian University affords students with disabilities reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. To be eligible for disability-related academic accommodations, students are required to register with the TCU Office of Student Access and Accommodation and have their requested accommodations evaluated. If approved for accommodations, students are required to discuss their official TCU Notification of Accommodation with their instructors.  Accommodations are not retroactive and require advance notice to implement. The Office of Student Access and Accommodation is located in The Harrison, Suite 1200. More information on how to apply for accommodations can be found online or by calling Student Access and Accommodation at (817) 257-6567.

Audio Recording Notification

Audio recordings of class lectures may be permitted by the instructor or as an approved disability accommodation through Student Access and Accommodation. Recordings are not to be shared with other students, posted to any online forum, or otherwise disseminated.

 

Anti-Discrimination and Title IX Information

Statement on TCU’s Non-Discrimination Policy

TCU is committed to providing a positive learning, living, and working environment free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, and retaliation. In support of this commitment, in its policy on Prohibited Discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct and retaliation, TCU has a range of prohibited behaviors, including unlawful discrimination and harassment and related sexual and other misconduct based on age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ethnic origin, disability, predisposing genetic information, covered veteran status, and any other basis protected by law. The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) is responsible for responding to all reports of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct and retaliation.

Please use the following links to review TCU Policy 1.008 Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Misconduct and Retaliation or to review TCU Policy 1.009 Responding to Reports of Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, and Retaliation.

To make a report, you may call OIE at 817-257-8228, email oie@tcu.edu, visit us at The Harrison, Suite 1800 or click here: Make a Report.

Learn about the Campus Community Response Team (CCRT) and Report a Bias Incident.

Title IX

TCU is committed to providing a safe and non-discriminatory environment for all members of our community. TCU’s Title IX Coordinator works within the Office of Institutional Equity. Andrea McDew serves as TCU’s Title IX Coordinator. You may call 817-257-8228 to make a report, email oie@tcu.edu or a.mcdew@tcu.edu, or make a report online. Review additional Title IX resources and information.

Mandatory Reports & Campus Resources

Mandatory Reporters

ALL TCU employees, except confidential resources, are considered Mandatory Reporters. Mandatory reporters are required to immediately report to OIE any conduct that raises Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Misconduct (Title IX or Violence Against Women (VAWA)) or Retaliation. Mandatory reporters cannot promise to refrain from forwarding the information to OIE.

Confidential On-Campus Resources

On Campus Resources

Excused Absences and Medical Leave

Excused Absences and Medical Leave – your college or school MUST:

  • Excuse absences due to pregnancy or childbirth for as long as your doctor says it is necessary.
  • Allow you to return to the same academic and extracurricular status as before your medical leave began, which should include giving you the opportunity to make up any work missed while you were out.
  • Ensure that teachers understand the Title IX requirements related to excused absences/medical leave. Your teacher may not refuse to allow to submit work after a deadline you missed because of pregnancy or childbirth. If your teacher’s grading is based in part on class participation or attendance and you missed class because of pregnancy or childbirth, you should be allowed to make up the participation or attendance credits you didn’t have the chance to earn.

Academic Conduct & Course Materials Policies

Academic Misconduct Policy & Examples

Academic Conduct (Section 3.4 of the Student Code of Conduct found in the Student Handbook): Any act that violates the academic integrity of the institution is considered academic misconduct. The definitions and procedures used to resolve suspected acts of academic misconduct are available in the offices of the Academic Deans and Dean of Students, and are also listed in detail in the Undergraduate Catalog and the Graduate Catalog.

Specific examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Cheating: Copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files and listings; using, during any academic exercise, material and/or devices not authorized by the person in charge of the test; collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test or laboratory without permission; knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other assignment unauthorized for release; substituting for another student or permitting another student to substitute for oneself.
  • Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase or obtaining by any means another’s work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one’s own offered for credit. Appropriation includes the quoting or paraphrasing of another’s work without giving proper credit.
  • Collusion: The unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing work offered for credit.
  • Abuse of resource materials: Mutilating, destroying, concealing, or stealing such material.
  • Computer misuse: Unauthorized or illegal use of computer software or hardware through the TCU Computer Center or through any programs, terminals, or freestanding computers owned, leased or operated by TCU or any of its academic units for the purpose of affecting the academic standing of a student.
  • Fabrication and falsification: Unauthorized alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification involves altering information for use in any academic exercise. Fabrication involves inventing or counterfeiting information for use in any academic exercise.
    Multiple submission: The submission by the same individual of substantial portions of the same academic work (including oral reports) for credit more than once in the same or another class without authorization.
  • Complicity in academic misconduct: Helping another to commit an act of academic misconduct.
  • Bearing false witness: Knowingly and falsely accusing another student of academic misconduct.

Course Materials Policy

TCU students are prohibited from sharing any portion of course materials (including videos, PowerPoint slides, assignments, or notes) with others, including on social media, without written permission by the course instructor. Accessing, copying, transporting (to another person or location), modifying, or destroying programs, records, or data belonging to TCU or another user without authorization, whether such data is in transit or storage, is prohibited. View the full policy.

Violating this policy is considered a violation of Section 3.2.8 of the Student Code of Conduct found in the Student Handbook, and may also constitute Academic Misconduct or Disruptive Classroom Behavior. TCU encourages student debate and discourse; accordingly, TCU generally interprets and applies its policies, including the policies referenced above, consistent with the values of free expression and First Amendment.

 

Religious Observations & Holidays

View TCU's Policy for Religious Observations & Holidays

“Students who are unable to participate in a class, in any related assignment or in a university required activity because of the religious observance of a holy day shall be provided with a reasonable opportunity to make up the examination or assignment, without penalty, provided that it does not create an unreasonable burden on the University.” For more information, please visit the Dean of Students webpage.

 

Inclement Weather, Emergency Response & TCU Alert

Inclement Weather Policy

When the university announces an official campus closure, all academic instruction and activities, online or in-person, on or off campus, will cease until the university officially reopens. Since there is no guarantee of the ability to communicate or access academic resources during a closing, students will not be expected to attend class online, submit assignments, take exams, or meet any scheduled deadlines during the closure. When classes resume, faculty will inform students of adjusted course expectations and deadlines to make sure course learning objectives are met. Any make-up time will take place during the scheduled class time or through out-of-class activities, which could include asynchronous lectures.

Emergency Response Information

In the event of an emergency, call the TCU Police Department at 817-257-7777.

TCU Alert

The University utilizes the TCU Alert System to notify the Horned Frog community of an emergency, weather-related closure or delay. TCU Alert is a mass communication program that includes phone, text and email communication, as well as indoor and outdoor loudspeakers, and emergency lighting on campus. TCU will post similar information that is distributed on the TCU Alert System on tcu.edu and share with local media outlets, as necessary.

Learn about who receives alerts, weather alerts, frequently asked questions, and testing.

 

Email Policy, Class Norms & Netiquette

Email Policy

Only the official TCU student email address will be used for all course notification. It is your responsibility to check your TCU email on a regular basis.

Class Norms & Netiquette Policies

All class members are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, discussions, and chats. If faculty deem any communication to be inappropriate or offensive, they will forward the message to the department chair or program director and appropriate action will be taken, not excluding expulsion from the course. The same rules apply online as they do in person. Be respectful of other students. Foul discourse will not be tolerated. Please take a moment and read some basic information about netiquette.

Participating in the virtual realm, including social media sites and shared-access sites sometimes used for educational collaborations, should be done with honor and integrity. Please review the relevant sections of the Student Handbook for TCU’s network and computing policies and communication guidelines.

 

TCU Online: Our Learning Management System

Getting Started with TCU Online

Technical Requirements: Check your computer is ready by looking at the specifications list.

Log In: (using your TCU Network Credentials)

*For information about logging into TCU Online, view these instructions.

Student Orientation Tutorial for TCU Online

If you have not yet taken the TCU Online Student Orientation Tutorial, please do so now. To access it, click on the Orientations semester OR view all courses in your My Courses widget visible upon logging in to TCU Online. Click on the “Student Orientation Tutorial” to enter the orientation course. Follow the instructions in the course. You can return to this tutorial at any time.

Getting Help with TCU Online

If you experience any technical problems while using TCU Online, please do not hesitate to contact the D2L HELP DESK. They can be reached by phone or chat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

  • Phone: 1-877-325-7778
  • Chat: Chat is available within TCU Online in the Help menu on the navigation bar.

If you are working with the helpdesk to resolve a technical issue, make sure to keep your instructor updated on the troubleshooting progress.
If you have a course-related issue (course content, assignment troubles, quiz difficulties) please contact your instructor.

Personal Settings & Notifications for TCU Online

As a student, you should set up your account settings, profile, and notifications. To do this you will login to TCU Online and select your name on the top right of the screen. You can upload a photo of yourself and add personal information to your profile. In the notifications area, you can add your phone number to receive text messages when grades are given, as well as reminder texts for upcoming assignments and quizzes.

Student Success Tools for TCU Online: Pulse & ReadSpeaker

Pulse

Pulse is a phone app which gives you access to the course calendar, assignments, grades, and announcements. This app provides a graph that can help you manage your time. Based on the number of assignments and events on the course calendar for your classes, the graph will display busy times for class work in the upcoming week. You can use this app to manage your daily workload, and it includes the ability to view and access course materials offline. You can download Pulse from the Google Play or Apple Store. Learn more and download Pulse.

ReadSpeaker

ReadSpeaker includes a number of tools that can enhance your understanding and comprehension of course materials. ReadSpeaker can create an audio version of content that you can listen to while on a page within a course or that you can download to listen offline. ReadSpeaker can also read Microsoft Office files and PDFs. There are additional tools and features to assist you with reading and focusing in TCU Online, tools that provide support for writing and proofing text, and tools that can read non-TCU Online content aloud. Learn more about how to use ReadSpeaker tools.

 

Student Perception of Teaching (SPOT)

SPOT Information

Towards the end of the term you will receive an email asking you to complete your SPOT for this course. Faculty appreciate your thoughtful and reflective feedback to help make this course successful for future students. You can fill out the SPOT by clicking on the link in the email or in TCU Online when SPOTs open.