Regulations & Policies

Academic Affairs - Enrollment Services

I. OBJECTIVE & PURPOSE

Briefly stated, academic misconduct consists of any attempt to misrepresent one's performance on any exercise submitted for evaluation. The primary responsibility for ensuring adherence to the principle of academic integrity rests with students and faculty. Any infraction that comes to the attention of any person should be brought to the attention of the faculty member to whose course it pertains. A violation of the Academic Integrity Policy is also considered a violation of the Student Conduct Code.

II. STATEMENT OF POLICY

Violations of the principle of academic integrity include, but are not limited to:

CHEATING: Intentionally using, providing, obtaining, or attempting to use, provide, or obtain unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other devices in any academic exercise. This definition includes unauthorized communication of information during an academic exercise.

FABRICATION & FALSIFICATION: Intentional and unauthorized alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification is a matter of altering information, while fabrication is a matter of inventing or counterfeiting information for use in an academic exercise.

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: The submission of any portion of the same academic work, including oral reports, electronic files, or hard-copy form, for credit more than once without authorization.

PLAGIARISM: Intentionally or knowingly presenting the work of another as one's own (i.e., without proper acknowledgment of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when the ideas, information, etc. are common knowledge.

ABUSE OF ACADEMIC MATERIALS: Intentionally or knowingly destroying, stealing, or making inaccessible library or other academic resources material.

COMPLICITY IN ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Providing assistance in any form to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty.

Violation of the Academic Integrity Code

When a faculty member determines that a violation of the Academic Integrity Code should result in a penalty, the faculty member will notify the student of the offense by sending an Academic Misconduct Reporting Form to the student and a copy to the appropriate departmental Chairperson within twenty (20) calendar days after the date in which the faculty member identifies the violation. The Academic Misconduct Reporting Form documents the circumstances surrounding the accusation and any adjustment to a grade or other action taken or recommended by the faculty member. No proceedings or hearings may be held, except as outlined in the appeals process.

Any electronic correspondence shall be made through the student's University email address and the faculty or administrator's University email address

Possible Faculty Actions in Cases of Academic Misconduct

In the case of Academic Misconduct, faculty may assign or recommend one or more of the following:

• Referral to the appropriate support service (Counseling, Advising, other assistance)
• Assignment of a grade reduction on an academic exercise
• Assignment of a final letter grade/reduction for the course
• Assignment of an unforgivable 'F' for the course
• Referral of the charges to the Dean/Chairperson/Director of the academic unit in which the student is enrolled with a recommendation for one or more of the following: temporary or permanent loss of use of a University facility, suspension from a College, Department, or program, expulsion from the University, or referral to Student Affairs for a violation of the Student Conduct Code.

Appeals Process

Students may appeal grades, and/or grade-related penalties assigned for academic misconduct due to violations of the Academic Integrity Code. If a student wishes to appeal a grade beyond any time period specified in the Academic Misconduct Appeals Process, the student must FIRST petition to extend the appeals deadline. Unless there are extenuating circumstances that put others at risk, the student is allowed to remain in class until such time as the appeal is heard.

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