Academic Standards of Conduct

The University has established the Student Code of Conduct (“Code”) in order to advance the mission of the University by maintaining a safe and secure learning environment; protecting the rights and privileges of all members of the University community; providing a basis for orderly conduct of the affairs of the University; promoting a positive relationship between the University and its surrounding community; preserving institutional integrity and property; encouraging students to engage in conduct that brings credit to themselves and the University; and ensuring that each student who matriculates at the University graduates ready to contribute to society as an ethical and law-abiding citizen.

The complete Student Code of Conduct, including the full list of Standards of Conduct, student rights, and pre-hearing, hearing, and resolution procedures, are available in the Student Handbook online. Excerpts from the Code are included below.

1720-07-01-.04: Students are prohibited from engaging in the following types of misconduct, among others:
(1) Academic Dishonesty. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other act of academic dishonesty, including, without limitation, an act in violation of the Code of Conduct.

1720-07-01-.12 Honor Statement

(1) Honor Statement. An essential feature of the University is a commitment to maintaining an atmosphere of intellectual integrity and academic honesty. As such the University utilizes an Honor Statement that reads, “As a student of the University, I pledge that I will neither knowingly give nor receive any inappropriate assistance in academic work, thus affirming my own personal commitment to honor and integrity.” Each student is responsible knowing and adhering to the terms and conditions of the Honor Statement.

(2) Academic Dishonesty. The Honor Statement prohibits cheating, plagiarism, and any other type of academic dishonesty.

(3) Plagiarism. Plagiarism is using the intellectual property or product of someone else without giving proper credit. The undocumented use of someone else’s words or ideas in any medium of communication (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge) is a serious offense, subject to disciplinary action that may include failure in a course and/or dismissal from the University. Specific examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to: (a) using without proper documentation (quotation marks and citation) written or spoken words, phrases, or sentences from any source; (b) summarizing without proper documentation (usually a citation) ideas from another source (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge); (c) borrowing facts, statistics, graphs, pictorial representations, or phrases without acknowledging the source (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge); (d) collaborating on a graded assignment without the instructor’s approval; and submitting work, either in whole or in part created by a professional service or used without attribution (e.g., paper, speech, bibliography, or photograph).

(4) Examples of Other Types of Academic Dishonesty. Specific examples of other types of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to: (a) providing or receiving unauthorized information during an examination or academic assignment, or the possession and/or use of unauthorized materials during an examination or academic assignment; (b) providing or receiving unauthorized assistance in connection with laboratory work, field work, scholarship, or another academic assignment; (c) falsifying, fabricating, or misrepresenting data, laboratory results, research results, citations, or other information in connection with an academic assignment; (d) serving as, or enlisting the assistance of, a substitute for a student in the taking of an examination or the performance of an academic assignment; (e) altering grades, answers, or marks in an effort to change the earned grade or credit; (f) submitting without authorization the same assignment for credit in more than one (1) course; (g) forging the signature of another or allowing forgery by another on any class or University-related document such as a class roll or drop/add sheet; (h) gaining an objectively unfair academic advantage by failing to observe the expressed procedures or instructions relating to an exam or academic assignment; and 9. engaging in an activity that unfairly places another student at a disadvantage, such as taking, hiding, or altering resource material, or manipulating a grading system.

(5) Academic Dishonesty.

(a) Notice of Academic Dishonesty and Informal Opportunity to Respond. When an act of alleged academic dishonesty, in violation of Section .04(1) is discovered by, or brought to the attention of, an instructor, the instructor shall notify the student about the alleged academic dishonesty, describe the information supporting the allegation, and give the student an informal opportunity to respond to the allegation(s) and information.

(b) Referral By Academic Department to Office of Student Conduct (OSC). After the instructor provides the student with an informal opportunity to respond, and if the instructor still believes that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred, the instructor shall refer the incident to OSC. In referring the incident to OSC, the instructor shall include the academic penalty that the instructor plans to impose, if any. The referring instructor will not assign an academic penalty or a final grade for the course pending resolution of the allegation by OSC. If a grade must be submitted at the end of the grading period, the student will receive a temporary grade of “Not Reported” (NR) until the case is resolved. The instructor does not have the authority under the Code to impose a sanction identified in Section .11.

(c) Academic Penalties and Appeals of Academic Penalties. If, at the conclusion of the student conduct process, OSC determines that a student is not responsible for violating Section .04(1), the instructor shall not impose any academic penalty. If OSC determines that a student is responsible for violating Section .04(1), the instructor may impose an academic penalty, in addition to any sanctions imposed by OSC under Section .11(2). Academic penalties may include, without limitation, dismissal from a program of study; a failing or reduced grade in the academic exercise, assignment, examination, and/or course; loss of credit for the work involved; an assignment to repeat the work, to be graded on its merits; and/or a warning. An instructor may impose more than one (1) academic penalty. A student may appeal an academic penalty, as distinct from a student disciplinary sanction, through the appropriate institutional academic misconduct or grade appeal procedures.

(6) Academic Dishonesty – Resolution through the Student Conduct Process. After receiving any conduct referral for academic dishonesty, OSC will proceed with the student conduct process. OSC may issue a Notice of Allegations for violating Section .04(1) regardless of the response of the instructor to the alleged academic dishonesty. If OSC issues a finding of responsibility and Notice of Sanctions for a violation of Section .04(1), then the allegations shall be resolved through one of the hearing processes pursuant to Section .07(7) of the Code.