Academic Dishonesty

1400.125 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Any student who engages in any form of academic dishonesty may be subject to discipline. Common instances of academic dishonesty include (but are not limited to): cheating; fabrication; plagiarism; facilitating, aiding or abetting others in academic dishonesty; collusion; or resubmitting work previously submitted for another course without instructor permission. Academic dishonesty may be subject to both academic sanctions and/or code of conduct sanctions.

A. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity in accordance with the code of student conduct.

1. A student shall not give unauthorized information to another person or receive unauthorized information from another person during any type of examination.
2. A student shall not obtain or provide without authorization questions or answers from the examination prior to the time of the examination.
3. A student shall not use unauthorized sources for answers during any examination.

A student shall not engage in any form of plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as submitting to a faculty member any work product which the student fraudulently represents to the faculty member as the student’s own work product, for the purpose of fulfilling or partially fulfilling any assignment or task required by the faculty member as a part of the student’s program of instruction. Students are expected to know and comply with accepted classroom procedures and academic standards as set forth by the college faculty.

B. STUDENT SANCTIONS

A student may be subject to academic sanctions as well as disciplinary action for acts of academic dishonesty for failure to meet the accepted academic standards of the college or in violation of the code of conduct. Disciplinary action can result in disciplinary sanctions up to and including dismissal from the college. The following academic sanctions may be imposed:

1. The instructor may assign to the student a failing grade for an individual project/test/paper, etc.
2. The instructor may assign to the student a failing grade for a course.
3. A department may recommend that a student be dismissed from a WVC program. Any student who engages in any form of academic dishonesty shall be subject to discipline. Common instances of academic dishonesty include (but are not limited to): cheating; fabrication; plagiarism; facilitating, aiding or abetting others in academic dishonesty; collusion; or resubmitting work previously submitted for another course without instructor permission.

Instructors and students are responsible for maintaining academic standards and integrity in class. Academic consequences for academic dishonesty may be imposed by the course instructor. Such consequences may include but cannot exceed a grade of “F” in the course. The process can include but not limited to:

1. The instructor attempts to notify the student of the suspected academic dishonesty and give the student an opportunity to respond. The notice and the opportunity may be informal and need not be in writing. Penalties for any disciplinary infraction must be imposed via the code of conduct and the processes established.
2. Instructors are encouraged to report incidents of academic dishonesty to the vice president of student services (VPSS) via the college’s incident reporting process.
3. Upon receiving such a report, the VPSS shall provide the student with written notice that a report has been made, and next steps.
4. The VPSS may initiate a disciplinary action after receiving a report of academic dishonesty.
5. A report of more than one academic dishonesty incident will automatically initiate disciplinary action.

C. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY PROCEDURES

1. Academic dishonesty instructor action: Notifies student.
   1. The instructor of a course who discovers an instance of academic dishonesty by a student, is responsible for determining the action to be taken.
   2. The instructor discusses the academic dishonesty with the student prior to taking any formal action.
   3. If as a result of the discussion with the student formal action is required, the actions the instructor may take include but are not limited to:
      1. Assigning a reduction in grade for the paper, project or examination.
      2. Assigning an “F” grade, zero points, or a reduced number of points on all or part of a particular paper, project or examination.
   4. Instructor informs the student that the final grade for the course may be lowered upon resolution of the academic dishonesty issue.
   5. The instructor emails or sends the student an “Instructor Sanctions Letter” fully stating what action is to be taken as a result of the academic dishonesty.
   6. The instructor informs the student that no grade is to be assigned for the course until the academic dishonesty issue has been resolved.
2. Instructor action: Notifies vice president of student services.
   1. The faculty member notifies the VPSS regarding all instances  of academic dishonesty where an academic penalty has been administered to a student.
   2. The faculty member sends the VPSS a copy of the “Instructor Sanction Letter” or email written to the student that provides all the necessary information as to the academic dishonesty and the action the instructor intends to assign.
3. Student action: Meet with vice president of student services.
   1. The instructor may request that the student meet with the VPSS.
   2. The VPSS informs the student of the implications of academic dishonesty and the consequences that could result.
   3. If there is a repeat incident of academic dishonesty, the VPSS will initiate the disciplinary process as described in the code of conduct.
4. Student Withdrawal when Academic Dishonesty is Suspected:
   1. A student will not be allowed to withdraw from a course when academic dishonesty is suspected or in which the student has committed academic dishonesty.
5. Registrar Action:
   1. The VPSS informs the registrar of the student’s name and the course for which academic dishonesty is under investigation.
   2. The Registrar will insure that it is not possible for the student to drop the course and receive a “W” grade.

D. STUDENT APPEAL – ACADEMIC REGULATIONS COMMITTEE

1. The student may appeal an academic sanction or disciplinary action as a result of the code of conduct process to the Academic Regulations Committee.
2. The student should follow procedures set forth in the student academic grievance procedure.

Approved by the president’s cabinet: 9/28/21
Presented to the board of trustees: __/__/__
Last reviewed: 9/28/21
Policy contact: Student Services

Related policies and procedures
400.120 Academic Grievance Policy
400.125 Academic Dishonesty Policy
1400.100 Student Rights and Freedoms Procedure
1400.110 Code of Student Conduct Procedure
1400.120 Academic Grievance Procedure