Academic Integrity Policy
Academic Integrity Policy
Introduction
Academic integrity is honest and responsible scholarship. It is the ethical underpinning of all professional fields, and it is the expectation within the University community.
All faculty members and graduate students are expected to promote a culture of academic integrity at the university. Faculty members will adhere to the academic integrity policy, while also expecting their students to adhere to these same ethical standards. Faculty members will promote the importance of academic integrity in their work and communicate questions concerning academic integrity in a timely manner. If necessary, faculty members will follow the academic integrity violations procedures to redress potential violations.
Graduate students must demonstrate academic integrity consistent with professional standards of the University and in their fields of study. Students are expected to make all reasonable efforts to promote academic integrity by refraining from dishonest practices and reporting instances of dishonesty to an appropriate faculty member. Should questions arise at any time during the academic process, students are encouraged to talk with an appropriate faculty member.
Failure to meet these standards reflects adversely upon the graduate student's suitability for professional service and may be grounds for consequences up to and including dismissal from a graduate program.
Examples of Prohibited Conduct
Academic integrity encompasses many principles: intellectual property, fair use, and adherence to the canons of scientific inquiry and reporting. Violations of academic integrity cannot be tolerated.
Common examples of academically dishonest behavior include, but are not limited to, the following:
Cheating by using or attempting to use unauthorized information in any academic exercise. Cheating may include, but is not limited to:
- Copying from another student's work, or submitting work that was completed with other people as one’s own.
- Representing another person’s work as one's own work.
- Submitting past work without permission from the current instructor/advisor.
- Submitting similar work for multiple program requirements (e.g., qualifying exams and/or courses) without permission of instructors or advisors.
- Sharing work with others to use as their own.
- Pressuring or coercing others to share their work.
- Working with others on an assignment intended to be completed independently without the permission of the instructor.
- Procuring or sharing restricted evaluation materials (such as answer keys or prior tests).
- Violating rules governing the administration of examinations.
Fabrication of information, data, or citations in any academic exercise.
Plagiarism by representing the signs, words, ideas, or sequence of ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:
- Copying another person's work and submitting it as one's own; quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing someone else's ideas without attribution.
- Using ideas, articles, videos, or research papers found on the Internet without proper attribution.
Misrepresentation of Academic Records by knowingly making a false statement regarding one's academic credentials, concealing information, or forging a University academic document or record.
Facilitation of Academic Dishonesty by knowingly or negligently allowing one's work to be used by another without appropriate attribution. This includes participation in or the failure to report known or potential instances of academic dishonesty.
Impeding the Progress of Another Student or Scholar is prohibited. Examples of violations of this type include, but are not limited to:
- Sharing false or misleading information (i.e. about assignments, deadlines).
- Intentionally blocking others’ access to scholarly materials, such as not providing access to password-controlled shared documents, browser-based platforms, or physical materials.
- Altering information or data belonging to another without permission.
Computer Misconduct consists of violating rules of usage set forth by Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University IT resources must be used ethically and legally in accordance with the Administration and Operations Manual 2.22 Use of Information Technology Resources Policy.
Procedures for Handling Potential Academic Integrity Violation(s) Related to a Course
Instructor Initiated
A course instructor who believes a student may have violated the academic integrity policy will meet with the student immediately to discuss the perceived violation and to determine what, if any, extenuating circumstances exist.
Potential violations of academic integrity by field experience supervisors are made to the university's instructor of record for the field experience.
If, after the initial meeting, the instructor still believes a violation occurred, they will email the student within 10 business days to provide a summary of the meeting, detailing the nature of the violation, the date of the violation or the date it was discovered, and documentation of the violation, and recommended consequences or plan to address the reported violation(s).
The instructor will copy the student’s program director(s) on the email, as well as the director of the program where the course is offered (if different).
The consequences or conditions imposed by the instructor depend upon the severity of the violation(s).
Consequences or conditions may include, but are not limited to: failing an assignment, requiring a substitute assignment, repeating the assignment under supervised conditions, receiving a lower grade on the assignment, receiving a lower grade in the course, or another plan to address the reported violation(s) felt to be appropriate by the faculty member.
Violations judged to be more egregious might lead to more severe consequences, such as: failure of the course or recommendation for dismissal from the University.
The student's graduate program director will review the emailed information from the instructor to determine whether the academic integrity violation warrants making a recommendation of academic probation or dismissal to the Dean of the Graduate School.
Student or Peer Initiated
A student who believes another student may have violated the academic integrity policy is expected to report the potential violation to the instructor or other appropriate faculty member within 10 business days of discovering the violation. The report should include a description of the nature of the violation, the date the violation occurred or was discovered, and any documentation to support the violation.
Students may choose to disclose their identity when making a report. In such cases, the information from the statement may be used as official documentation of the potential violation. The identity of the citing student will be held in confidence through the initial phases of the academic integrity process, but may become known to the involved parties if the process moves to the appeal stage.
Students may choose to remain anonymous when making a report. The report may be given to the student’s instructor, advisor, or program director. The report can only be used to open an investigation and will not serve as official documentation.
The faculty member will review the report and meet with each student. The instructor will proceed as described in the previous section by preparing a formal letter detailing the violation and proposed consequences or plan to address the reported violation(s) and copying the appropriate individuals.
The student who may have violated the academic integrity policy has 10 business days, upon receipt of an email about the potential violation from the instructor, to email a response (either written or signed) to the instructor who proposed the conditions. The response should be sent to the instructor and copied to the other individuals copied on the original email.
The student's response should indicate whether or not the student accepts the conditions proposed by the instructor.
Students are expected to handle disagreements about grades or progress in a course with those most directly involved. Ordinarily the professional judgment of the instructor will be final, however the student can make a written appeal to the next responsible faculty member (i.e. academic advisor, program director). If the student is unsure to whom this appeal should be directed, the Office of the Graduate Dean can provide guidance.
The appeal should include the reasons for the appeal and documentation to support the appeal.
The responsible faculty member will evaluate the student's appeal in terms of:
Whether and how treatment of the student by the initial faculty member was consistent with the above procedures for handling potential academic integrity violations.
Whether and how the initial responsible faculty members followed program guidelines.
Whether and how the student had adequate advance notice and opportunity to respond.
The responsible faculty member decides whether or not to support the student appeal.
The responsible faculty member will respond in email to the student and faculty member who proposed the consequences or plan to address the reported violation(s) within 10 business days after receiving the appeal. The faculty member will copy the student’s program director(s) as well as the director of the program where the course is offered (if different).
Potential Academic Integrity Violation(s) Occurring Outside a Course.
Procedures for addressing potential violations of the academic integrity policy outside the context of a particular course are the same as those described above for potential violations occurring within a course, except that the person reporting the potential violation should do so directly to the appropriate faculty member (i.e. the program director or research lab director).
At the discretion of the program, input related to the potential violation is sought from those most directly involved (i.e the advisor, field supervisors).
The responsible faculty member will meet with each student. The student involved in the report within 10 business days after receipt of the email regarding the potential violation, share a summary of the potential violation, and ask the student to respond.
If the matter is not resolved in this meeting, the student who may have violated the academic integrity policy is asked to submit an email response within 10 business days.
The response should be addressed to the responsible faculty member.
The response should include any information the student deems to be relevant to the potential academic integrity violation.
The responsible faculty member, after reviewing all presented information, makes a decision regarding the merits of the report.
That decision and any associated consequences or plan to address the report will be communicated by email to the student within 10 business days.
The nature of the consequence or plan to address the reported violation will depend upon the responsible faculty member’s perception of the severity of the violation, and could include a recommendation for dismissal from the program.
The student has the option of appealing the decision to the appropriate reviewer. If the student is unsure who the reviewer is, they may seek guidance from the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School.