Summary Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures

Empire State College expects honesty from students in presenting all of their academic work. Students are responsible for knowing and observing accepted principles of scholarly research and writing in all academic work.

Definitions

Academic dishonesty or cheating includes acts of plagiarism, forgery, fabrication or misrepresentation, such as the following:

• claiming the work or thoughts of others as your own
• copying the writing of others into your written work without appropriate attribution
• writing papers for other students or allowing them to submit your work as their own
• buying papers and turning them in as your own
• having someone else write or create all or part of the content of your assignments
• submitting the same paper for more than one study or class without explicit permission from the faculty members
• making up or changing data for a research project
• fabricating and/or altering documents and/or information in support of the degree program.

Statements

College faculty and staff provide guidance regarding academic honesty through new-student orientation programs and materials, learning contracts and study materials, and other college information resources. The college website, print materials, writing centers, writing studies and workshops, as well as innumerable texts on college research writing, provide rich resources for learning in this area.

Mentors, tutors, evaluators and others who make academic decisions (collectively referred to as faculty in the remainder of the document) are responsible for identifying breaches of the college’s academic honesty expectations. Faculty make judgments about whether a breach of academic integrity represents a developmental need or a dishonest act. Faculty determine study, course and credit by evaluation outcomes and respond to breaches of academic honesty expectations in accordance with the procedures outlined below.

The dean of the student’s home center may reprimand, warn or dismiss a student for serious acts of dishonesty in accordance with the procedures that follow.

Applicable Legislation and Regulations

N/A

Related References, Policies, Procedures, Forms and Appendices

Related References: Academic Appeals Policy

Procedures

When facing a breach of academic honesty expectations, a faculty member exercises her/his academic judgment in light of the particular circumstances and the student’s academic history. Consultation with the dean and/or faculty chair throughout the process is encouraged.

The faculty member:

1. reviews this policy and procedures statement
2. documents the concern to the extent possible
3. determines whether the breach is intentional and/or knowing, or results from a need for academic skills development
4. based on that determination, identifies options for responding to the case in accordance with the procedures that follow.

A. When Breaches of Honesty Expectations Result From A Need for Academic Skills Development

1. When the faculty member determines that a breach of academic honesty expectations resulted from the student’s need for academic skills development, s/he
   • raises the concern quickly and directly with the student
   • continues to work with the student
   • outlines expectations for academic honesty and refers the student to appropriate resources for skills development
   • informs the student’s primary mentor (advisor) of the concern.

Once a faculty member or study tutor brings a breach of academic honesty to the attention of the student, the student is responsible for learning the necessary skills to prevent such concerns regarding future work.

1. The faculty member also does one or more of the following or some other appropriate action, at her/his discretion:

1.  
   1. provides developmental advice to the student on academic expectations and the nature of the student’s breach of those expectations
   2. requires that the student consult specific research writing or other academic skills development resources
   3. requires that the student rewrite the assignment(s), meeting standards for academic honesty
   4. requires that the student complete additional assignment(s) that meet standards for academic honesty
   5. fails the student on the assignment and/or lowers the student’s grade in the study, if the study is graded
   6. raises the developmental concern in the narrative contract evaluation or other report of the academic decision.
2. Having provided guidance to the student, the faculty member remains alert to the possibility of further breaches. If the faculty member discovers repeated instances of problematic behavior, s/he considers whether the breach is an intentional/knowing act or if it resulted from a need for further skills development. In general, the college views repeated instances of mishandling source materials as acts of dishonesty, not as a need for further skills development. If the faculty member concludes that a repeated instance is part of the normal process of learning documentation skills, s/he continues to work with the student and follows the procedures in this section. However, if the faculty member concludes that these repeated instances are intentional and/or knowing acts of dishonesty, s/he proceeds as outlined below for cases of academic dishonesty.