Academic Integrity
The college expects all students to do their own schoolwork at all times. Any student found in violation of academic integrity is subject to instructional consequences as defined in the course syllabus or departmental handbook and may include any of the following: a grade of zero, course failure, or removal from a program. A faculty member may begin such action if a student is accused of violating the rules of academic integrity. Such violations may include, but are not limited to:
- Copying from another person’s test paper or academic work;
- Using, during a test, materials not authorized by the person giving the test;
- Collaborating without authority with another person during an examination or in preparing academic work;
- Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting or soliciting, in whole or in part, the contents of a test prior to its being fully administered or without permission;
- Substituting for another student or permitting another person to substitute for oneself to take a test or prepare other academic work; and
- Stealing and deliberately using ideas or writings of others without giving written credit to them (plagiarism).
- Bribing a person to obtain information regarding a test or other assignment.
Definitions of actions which violate Academic Integrity:
- Plagiarism– the taking of someone else’s words, ideas, or work and passing them off as one’s own without the proper citation and credit to the original author.
- Collusion- a conspiracy to deceive and/or the unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing course work.
- Multiple Submissions– the submission of a work previously submitted for another course for academic credit, whether in part or in its entirety, without the consent of the instructor.
When a student is accused of violating academic integrity, the faculty member and the student will attempt to reach a resolution first and based on the course syllabus or departmental handbook. If no resolution is achieved, the student may appeal to the appropriate instructional dean or campus dean for review of the decision made by the instructor.
If the incident includes a violation of a departmental program requirement as stated in the course syllabus or departmental handbook, a student’s written appeal should be reviewed through the instructional chain of command.
Non-Instructional testing violations are treated as “student code of conduct” violations and therefore are handled through Student Services. Academic Integrity violation cases involving placement testing or professional certification examinations may result in both instructional and non-instructional disciplinary sanctions.
