Updated Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct – Jan. 2026 - Office of Research Compliance

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Posted: January 13, 2026 - 9:20 AM

The University of Maine Police Department will be conducting Active Threat Training today, Tuesday, Jan. 13, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Aroostook Hall. There will be a heavy police presence and signs will be posted. Any questions or concerns, please call UMPD at (207) 581-4040.

Updated Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct – Jan. 2026

January 5, 2026 News, Research Misconduct

The following message was sent via email to all University of Maine employees on January 5, 2026 by the Office of the President.

We are writing to inform you about an important policy update. Last fall the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) issued a Final Rule (external link) to update and modernize the 2005 Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research Misconduct (Final Rule); institutions that receive PHS funds must have updated policies in place by January 1, 2026.

The Office of Research Compliance (ORC) worked with the Office of General Counsel to review and update UMaine’s Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct (Word) to comply with the Final Rule. Key revisions are highlighted below:

A number of new and revised definitions; of particular note – a significantly revised definition for ‘Plagiarism’ which specifically excludes self-plagiarism and authorship or credit disputes.
Deletion of the Rights & Responsibilities section previously identified as confusing due to it repeating process information contained elsewhere in the policy.
Confidentiality section revised to align with PHS regulation including expansion upon ‘need to know’.
Maximum timeline for Inquiry & Investigation extended to 120 and 180 days respectively (now also align with National Science Foundation requirements).
Significant revisions to Inquiry Report Contents, Investigation Process & Investigation Report Elements. Of note: Per the Final Rule, Respondents must be provided access to all transcripts of transcribed interviews, with redactions as appropriate to maintain confidentiality.

We as an institution are deeply committed to fostering an environment in which the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research and other scholarly activities are maintained. We encourage all faculty, staff and students to review this updated policy, and we welcome your questions, comments and feedback.

ORC will be developing educational resources about the revised Policy and will be hosting training sessions; a communication about these training sessions will be sent in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the Policy and additional educational materials are available on the Research Misconduct section of the ORC website.

Please contact UMaine’s Director of Research Compliance, Amanda Ashe (amanda.l.ashe@maine.edu), with any questions you may have regarding these changes or any feedback you wish to provide.