Academic Policies & Procedures

Academic Honesty
Academic honesty, expected of every student, is essential to the process of education and to upholding high ethical standards.  Cheating, including plagiarism, inappropriate use of technology, or any other kind of unethical behavior, may subject the student to severe academic penalties, including dismissal.

All work submitted for evaluation in a course, including tests, term papers, and computer programs, must represent only the work of the student unless indicated otherwise.

Material taken from the work of others must be acknowledged.  Materials submitted to fulfill requirements in one course may not be submitted in another course without prior approval of the instructor(s).

Concerns about the propriety of obtaining outside assistance and acknowledging sources should be addressed to the instructor of the course before the work commences and as necessary as the work proceeds.

Instructors should indicate specific penalties for academic dishonesty in their course syllabi.  Penalties, appropriate to the severity of the infraction, may include zero for the assignment or failure in the course.  In cases of academic dishonesty where the student chooses to withdraw from a course rather than receive a course grade of “F”, the grade of “F” instead of “W” may be assigned at the faculty member’s discretion.  In egregious cases and/or cases of repeat dishonesty, additional penalties may be determined by the dean, such as suspension or dismissal from the University.  In a case of dismissal, Academic Dismissal will be noted on the transcript.

Any appeal by a student is to be made first to the instructor.  If disputes of interpretation arise, the faculty member and chair will attempt to resolve the difficulty with the student.  If this does not lead to a resolution, the appropriate academic dean normally will rule in the matter.

A written report of the incident by the instructor or department chair will be sent to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who will keep a written record of the complaint when it is filed, and will forward a copy of the complaint to the appropriate dean’s office at the time.  The dean will place a copy of this record in the student’s file and provide the student with a copy.  A written record of the complaint is kept for cases of repeat violations.  The dean will review the case and determine if, in light of other information and records, further disciplinary action is warranted.

The student has the right to appeal the accusation of academic dishonesty if the student believes it to be in error.  The Policy and Procedure for Appeal of a Charge of Academic Dishonesty (steps 1-5 below) will be followed if a student wishes to contest a finding of academic dishonesty.

Policy and Procedure for Appeal of a Charge of Academic Dishonesty
Policy.  The instructor has both the professional competence and the jurisdiction to determine instances of academic dishonesty; the student has the right to appeal the charge when the student believes it to be in error.  The only basis for an appeal is whether the charge has been determined fairly within the system described in the syllabus by the faculty member.

Every student has the right to know at the beginning of any semester how academic dishonesty will be handled.  For this reason the instructor has the obligation to present this information to the student at the beginning of the semester as part of the syllabus.  Once the semester begins, an instructor should not make substantial changes to the system and should inform the students of even minor changes.  If an instructor does not provide such information, the student has the right to seek redress.

Procedure:  Step 1.  The student who wishes to contest a charge of academic dishonesty should first make an effort to discuss the matter with the instructor and attempt to resolve the problem concerning the disputed charge. (If the instructor is away from the University during the period of the appeal, the student may proceed directly to the department chair.)

Step 2.  If there is no satisfactory resolution at this level and the student wishes to pursue the matter further, the student must initiate a formal appeal within a specific time period.  A disputed charge must be appealed by the end of the sixth week after the student is notified of the charge.  The appeal must be made in writing to the instructor and a copy sent to the department chair, who will then schedule a meeting with the student and the instructor.  For appeals unresolved at the end of the semester the student will select between receiving the course grade calculated with the penalty or an I for the course.

Step 3.  If the department chair cannot resolve the dispute in a manner satisfactory to the parties concerned, the chair will notify the dean of the school in which the course is taught.  The dean will then attempt to resolve the problem.

Step 4. a.  If the dean (or associate dean) judges that the appeal is without sufficient basis, the dean (or associate dean) can so rule, and the case is closed.
b.  If the dean is in doubt or thinks it possible that the grade should be changed contrary to the wishes of the instructor, the dean will request the Faculty Council to provide a list of the names of nine faculty members, randomly selected, from which the dean, the involved instructor, and the student each will choose three to consider the matter.  (If agreement on all three cannot be reached, the dean will fill any remaining spots on the committee from the names on the list.)
c.  Both the instructor and the student will present their cases to the committee.  (The appeals committee will make no effort to establish whether an instructor’s academic honesty policy is academically sound; rather it will attempt to establish whether an instructor’s practices and procedures were followed consistently, fairly, and accurately according to the standards set forth in the syllabus and other course directives.) 
d.  The committee will then decide by majority vote to recommend that the grade be changed and notify the dean of its decision.  The committee will provide the dean with a written summary of the main reasons for its recommendation. The dean will make the final decision after carefully considering the recommendation of the committee.  If the final decision is contrary to the recommendation of the committee, the dean should explain the reasons for the decision in writing to the committee.

Step 5.  The dean will then notify the instructor, department chair, and student of the decision, ordinarily by the end of the semester during which the appeal arose.

Policy and Procedure for Appeal of a Course Grade
Policy.  The instructor has both the professional competence and the jurisdiction to determine grades; the student has the right to appeal a course grade that the student believes to be in error.  The only basis for an appeal is whether the grade has been determined fairly within the grading system adopted by the faculty member.
Thus every student has the right to know at the beginning of any semester how the final grade for any particular course will be determined.  This means knowing what percentage of the final grade the assignments (tests, quizzes, papers, class participation, etc.) will comprise.
For this reason the instructor has the obligation to present this information to the student at the beginning of the semester as part of the syllabus.  Once the semester begins, an instructor should not make substantial changes in the grading system and should inform the students of even minor changes.  If an instructor does not provide such information, the student has the right to seek redress.
Procedure:  Step 1.  The student who wishes to contest a course grade should first make an effort to discuss the matter with the instructor and attempt to resolve the problem concerning the disputed grade.  (If the instructor is away from the University during the period of the grade appeal, the student may proceed directly to the department chair.)
Step 2.  If there is no satisfactory resolution at this level and the student wishes to pursue the matter further, the student must initiate a formal grade appeal within a specific time period.  (A disputed course grade from the fall semester must be appealed by the end of the sixth week of the spring semester.  A disputed course grade from the spring semester or one of the summer sessions must be appealed by the end of the sixth week of the fall semester.)  The appeal must be made in writing to the instructor and a copy sent to the department chair, who will then schedule a meeting with the student and the instructor.
Step 3.  If the department chair cannot resolve the dispute in a manner satisfactory to the parties concerned, the chair will notify the dean of the school in which the course is taught.  The dean will then attempt to resolve the problem.
Step 4.

1. If the dean judges that the appeal is without sufficient basis, the dean can so rule and the case is closed.
2. If the dean is in doubt or thinks it is possible that the grade should be changed contrary to the wishes of the instructor, the dean will request the Faculty Council to provide a list of the names of nine faculty members, randomly selected, from which the dean, the involved instructor, and the student each will choose three to consider the matter.  (If agreement on all three cannot be reached, the dean will fill any remaining spots on the committee from the names on the list.)
3. Both the instructor and the student will present their cases to the committee.  (The appeals committee will make no effort to establish whether a grading system is academically sound; rather it will attempt to establish whether an instructor’s grading practices and procedures were followed consistently, fairly, and accurately according to the standards set forth in the syllabus and other course directives.)
4. The committee will then decide by majority vote to recommend that the grade be changed and notify the dean of its decision.  The committee will provide the dean with a written summary of the main reasons for its recommendation.  The dean will make the final decision after carefully considering the recommendation of the committee.  If the final decision is contrary to the committee’s recommendation, the dean should explain the reasons for it in writing to the committee.

Step 5.  The dean will then notify the instructor, the department chair, and the student of the decision, ordinarily by the end of the semester during which the appeal arose.

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