Academic Dishonesty
St. Clair County Community College Policy and Procedure
Name: Academic Dishonesty
Revised Date: 1/20/20
Revised Date: 10/18/22
Initiator/Author: Chief Academic Officer, Chief Human Resource Officer and the Academic Integrity Committee
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Policy Statement
The college considers academic honesty to be essential to all academic performance. Instances of academic dishonesty will be treated as serious offenses of the Student Code of Conduct. Students involved in activities such as cheating and/or plagiarism will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal from a course, program and/or the college.
A. Definition of plagiarism: Plagiarism is the appropriation of language, thoughts or ideas of another author without appropriate citation.
B. Definition of cheating: Cheating can be, but is not limited to, a student using or attempting to use unauthorized resources (i.e. electronic technology, artificial intelligence, notes, books, or other materials not permitted by the instructor); or sharing work with others when independent work is required. Students are responsible to protect their own work and not share with others.
1.2 Purpose
The purpose of this procedure is to demonstrate how the Academic Dishonesty policy will be implemented. This procedure will identify how faculty and staff are to proceed with any academic dishonesty concerns.
1.3 Scope
This procedure shall apply to all faculty, staff and students at the college.
1.4 Responsibility
It is the responsibility of the Chief Academic Officer and Chief Human Resource Officer in collaboration with the Academic Integrity Committee to ensure that this procedure is followed and updated as needed.
2.0 Process
Students, faculty and staff will follow the procedures outlined below for the Academic Dishonesty policy. Please note that professional judgment of faculty is a large portion of this process in holding our students to a standard of academic excellence and honesty.
When the instructor has evidence of cheating or plagiarism, the instructor may impose disciplinary actions such as assigning a failing grade to the student’s assignment, quiz, paper, test or the entire course. Incidents of cheating that significantly impact a student’s grade will be reported to the Chief Academic Officer and reviewed with regard to the Student Code of Conduct. Incidents will be recorded and referenced in consideration of further college-level discipline. Students with multiple incidents of cheating will be subject to further discipline, up to and including dismissal from the college.
A. In addition to this policy, faculty syllabi are an essential part of this process and stand as a reference point when holding students accountable. Faculty are strongly encouraged to provide specific details and/or examples as to what are and what are not considered to be acts of cheating and/or plagiarism based on the particular course subject materials.
B. Faculty may fail a student or assign other activities or consequences within the course for cheating and/or plagiarism on a particular assignment and/or test at his or her own discretion in conjunction with the syllabus language and this policy. Faculty are encouraged to consult with the Department Chair or Division Administrator in determining appropriate consequences. In addition to reporting the incident, faculty may refer students for an Academic Dishonesty Intervention meeting with the Student Wellness department at their discretion.
C. Students referred by Faculty for an Academic Dishonesty Intervention are required to meet with a Student Wellness department staff member for review of the incident. Students who do not follow up with the meeting requirement will have a hold placed on their record and will not be allowed to proceed with future enrollment at the college until the meeting has taken place.
D. Repeated offenses or particularly egregious incidents, as determined by the reporting faculty member or the Chief Academic Officer, will be reviewed by the Academic Integrity Committee to determine appropriate college-level consequences which may include failing the class, suspension, dismissal from the college, and/or other sanctions to be imposed by the committee that is deemed appropriate.
a. The Academic Integrity Committee is composed of one representative from Student Services, one representative from Academic Services, and one full-time faculty member who is not associated with the incident(s).
b. The role of the Academic Integrity Committee is to review the details of the incidents, including written testimony from the student, and to determine the appropriate college-level consequences.
c. The student will be informed of the decisions of the Academic Integrity Committee which are final. There is no further appeal process.
E. For those students admitted into specialized programs at the college (i.e. Nursing, Radiologic Technology, etc.) additional requirements may be enforced for academic dishonesty as part of these specialized programs.
F. Faculty have discretion on handling academic dishonesty incidents within each class. The faculty may assign the student a zero on an assignment or provide an E as the final class grade.
G. All students found in violation of Academic Dishonesty will have the incident recorded in a database maintained by the Student Wellness Office. In addition, a written notice will be mailed to the student regarding the incident along with a reminder of the Student Code of Conduct.
