Student Activities, Services, and Conduct As a part of the larger community, students accept full responsibility for their own actions under federal, state, and local laws. While affording reasonable aid to its members in difficulties with the law, the College provides no immunity from the consequence of illegal acts. Academic Honesty Honesty is an integral part of the academic process. We operate in an atmosphere of mutual trust between the instructor and the student. Sometimes this trust is violated through plagiarism or cheating. To guard against such violations and to deal with them when they do occur, the following policies have been adopted. A. Students, faculty, and administrators should try to create an atmosphere where honesty will thrive. Therefore, 1. Instructors should explain clearly at the beginning of each course what constitutes cheating and plagiarism. 2. Students should submit their own work and avoid all forms of cheating. 3. It is the responsibility of every member of the academic community to maintain the integrity of the grading system. Anyone with knowledge of academic dishonesty must report this information to the vice president/dean of academic affairs. B. Students who cheat or plagiarize or who assist others in doing so will be subject to disciplinary action. In dealing with suspected cheating or plagiarism, faculty members and administrators should abide by the following guidelines:
1. A faculty member who suspects a student of academic misconduct should inform the student of his/her suspicion and present him/her with the evidence, allowing the student an opportunity for rebuttal. 2. Faculty members, upon determination of an infraction based on substantial evidence, may determine the penalty for the infraction. This may involve failing a student for a particular assignment, test, or course. 3. If a student is involved in academic misconduct but is not enrolled in a particular instructor’s course, the instructor may recommend the second student to the vice president/dean of Academic Affairs for disciplinary action; i.e., student A (enrolled in a course) has student B (not enrolled in a course) write a paper for him/ her; student B may be recommended to the vice president/dean of Academic Affairs who may impose academic warning, academic probation, academic suspension, or expulsion, depending on the severity of the offense. 4. If a dispute arises between a faculty member and a student in relation to academic honesty, it is referred to the vice president/ dean of Academic Affairs for resolution, who will determine if there is any question for further appeal to the Academic Council. If the vice president/dean of Academic Affairs determines no question exists, the appeal process is terminated at this point. If any question remains, the dean may refer it to the Academic Council for a hearing. The decision of the Academic Council will be binding in all cases of academic misconduct.
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