Academic Dishonesty Procedures
Each Huntingdon student pledges himself/herself to a code of honor. Plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty in daily quizzes, examinations, written assignments and so forth, renders a student subject to disciplinary action, including possible dismissal.
Definitions of Academic Dishonesty
Plagiarism is the representation of thoughts or passages from another author as one’s own work; collusion is collaboration with another in the preparation of term papers, or other written work; cheating is giving or receiving or soliciting information from another student during a test or examination. Also prohibited is the use of illicit materials in an examination or quiz.
Other prohibited activities: In addition to plagiarism, students are prohibited from knowingly participating in the defrauding or deceiving of any faculty member for the purpose of meeting scholastic requirements.
Procedures for Dealing with Suspected Honor Code Violations
If the professor suspects a student of academic dishonesty, he/she should attempt to contact or confront the student about the incident. If there are witnesses (e.g., other students knowledgeable of the infraction), they may also be contacted. The instructor and student should complete and discuss a single “Academic Honor Code Incident Report Form,” and submit it to the Chief Academic Officer. This form outlines the incident and agree-upon sanction, if any. A form should be filed for each suspected incident even if the student is determined by the faculty member not to have committed an act of academic dishonesty. The “Academic Honor Code Incident Report Form” is kept on file in the Office of the Chief Academic Officer.
In those cases in which the faculty member and student cannot agree about the case and the sanctions, the matter shall be referred to the Academic Integrity Officer for mediation. In the event that no resolution can be reached, the Academic Integrity Officer will make a recommendation to the Chief Academic Officer, who will, in consultation with members of the President’s Executive Council, make a final decision regarding the incident.
Students who commit especially serious violations, or who have committed multiple violations, may also be subject to further penalties, including mandatory remediation, suspension, or expulsion. The Chief Academic Officer will review documented violations and contact the student if additional action is required. In the event that the Chief Academic Officer imposes further penalties, the Senior Vice President for Student and Institutional Development and/or the Athletic Coach will also be informed of the penalties.
The Academic Integrity Officer for traditional day and evening programs is confirmed annually by the faculty at the same time as faculty committees are elected. The Academic Integrity Officer will: stay abreast of research on best practices in academic integrity; have access to integrity violation reports (which will be kept in the Office of the CAO); share information in order ensure consistent practices, especially in cases where students have transferred from the traditional day to the evening program or vice versa; identify individual cases requiring institutional response (e.g., repeated violations or “flagrant” first violations) and refer those to the CAO for action; contact students who appeal a violation report and counsel the student on whether and how to proceed; refer appeals to the CAO for a decision as necessary; generate reports for the faculty regarding patterns of integrity violations; identify strategies for improvement and implement effective restorative and preventative approaches to academic integrity (e.g., remediation, training, etc.); and facilitate campus-wide conversations about academic integrity.
