ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY

I.    Opening Statement

The State University of New York at Fredonia holds that the life of the mind and personal integrity go hand in hand, and are inseparable.  Adherence to this philosophy is essential if we are to facilitate and promote the free and open exchange of ideas upon which our college mission relies.  An essential component of the academic experience at SUNY Fredonia is the conviction that academic goals must be achieved by honorable means.  It is expected, therefore, that all students attending the State University of New York at Fredonia will support and abide by all provisions of the following Academic Integrity Policy.  It is further understood that by enrolling in courses, students are agreeing to the rules and regulations set forth below.

In order to protect the value of the work accomplished by each student and instructor, our academic community depends upon certain honorable standards of behavior from all its members.  SUNY Fredonia trusts all students will refrain from participating in any behavior that will inhibit the pursuit of honest academic advancement.  To help students avoid activities that can be construed as dishonest or as violations of academic integrity, a partial list of prohibited behaviors and activities is outlined below.  This policy is not intended to limit decisions of faculty of professional programs that operate under more restrictive policies and/or have externally monitored procedures for addressing violations of academic integrity.

II.    Violations of Academic Integrity.  

Violations of academic integrity are described within four broad, overlapping categories:  Fraud, Plagiarism, Cheating, and Collusion.  Examples of violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, those described herein:

A.  Fraud.    Behaving deceptively, misrepresenting oneself or another person, and falsifying official print and/or electronic documents are actions that seriously undermine the integrity of any social institution and may result in criminal prosecution.  In a college setting, fraudulent behavior includes but is not limited to:

1.    Forging or altering official school documents, whether in print or electronic form, such as grade reports or transcripts, enrollment documents, transfer credit approvals, etc.

2.    Forging or tampering with any College correspondence administrative or medical excuses.

3.    Tampering with attendance records, such as one student signing for another student.

4.    Tampering with or interfering with grading procedures.

5.    Misreporting or misrepresenting earned credentials, including academic status, class standing, and GPA.

6.    Taking an exam in place of another student.

7.    Failing to disclose necessary information on official college forms.

B.    Plagiarism.   Plagiarism consists of presenting the work of others as one’s own.  It is unethical to copy directly the words or work of other authors or artists without giving them credit.  It is also unethical to rearrange or add a few words to another author’s text while leaving the majority unaltered or to take an author’s unique idea or discovery and to represent it as one’s own.  Specific examples of plagiarism include, but are not restricted to, the following examples:

1.    Copying the work of another author and/or artist without giving proper credit in the text or reference to the artwork, presentation or performance; neglecting  to cite the original in a footnote, and/or identifying full and proper documentation in the list of works cited or sampled for presenatation or performance.

2.    Implying that another author’s words, works, or ideas are one’s own.  Quoting without the use of quotation marks falsely implies originality and is, therefore, an act of plagiarism.

3.    Incorporating into a paper or assignment without acknowledgement verbatim corrections or other suggestions that were made by someone other than oneself, the instructor, or an assigned editor.

4.    Taking information from one source (such at the Internet) and citing it as coming from another source (such as a required text or article).

C.    Cheating.  In all academic situations, any behavior that subverts the purpose of an academic assignment constitutes cheating, whether one actively commits the act of dishonesty on one’s own behalf or enables someone else to do so.  Examples of cheating include but are not limited to the following:

1.    Copying someone else’s work or permitting one’s own work to be copied.  Whether involvement in the copying process is active or passive, these acts constitute violations of academic integrity if a student is at all complicit.

2.    Using unsanctioned materials, notes, software, and or equipment (such as a programmable calculator).

3.    Intentionally providing or seeking questions to an exam that will be given in a later section or used as a make-up exam.

4.    Communicating or sharing information during an exam obviously constitutes cheating, as does taking an exam for someone else.

D.    Collusion.  Most colleges and universities support some opportunities for collaborative learning, but unauthorized collaboration is considered collusion.  Unless collaboration is expressly permitted by the instructor, students should work alone.  Even when an instructor authorizes collaboration, collusion may still occur.  In all cases, work submitted should reflect an individual’s own effort.  Examples of collusion include, but are not limited to, the following situations:

1.    A pair or larger group of students studies a problem, one of the students formally writes and/or types the results, the other members of the group copy the results, and each individual submits the work as his/her own.

2.    A pair or larger group of students work on a series of problems or tasks, each student completes a portion of the problem set or task, the students combine their work, and each student submits the entire problem set or task as his/her own.

3.    A course instructor assigns a task or problem to be completed outside of class and explicitly instructs students not to discuss the task or problem with one another, a part or larger group of students discuss or work together on the task or problem, and each individual submits the results as his/her own.

III.    Judicial Procedures for Violations of Academic Integrity

A.    Stage One: Departmental Level 

1.    An instructor who suspects a violation of the academic integrity policy will collect all information and materials related to the offense.

2.       The instructor will meet with the student to present his/her charge, and the student will be given an opportunity to answer and explain.  If the instructor and the student then agree that no violation has occurred, the matter is resolved and the process ends at this point.  If, however, the instructor finds that a violation has occurred, whether the student admits or does not admit guilt, the matter must be communicated to the department chairperson (see #3 directly following).  A student will not be allowed to drop a course to avoid a course sanction or to suspend judical procedures.

3.   For all cases in which the instructor determines that the student has plagiarized, cheated, colluded, or committed any act of academic dishonesty, the instructor will briefly summarize the offense in writing to his/her departmental chairperson.  Copies of all information and materials related to the offense shall accompany this correspondence.

4.   After appropriate consultation, the chairperson and the instructor will jointly notify the student in writing about the charge and the resulting sanctions.  At this stage, some possible departmental sanctions include but are not limited to the following: a formal warning, a grade of zero being assigned to the particular performance, and/or a failing grade being given for the course.  The letter from the chairperson and the instructor may also recommend that the Judicial Review Board hear the case and consider, among several options, placing the student on disciplinary probation, temporarily suspending the student, or permanently expelling the student from the College.  

5.   Because a student may plagiarize and/or violate provisions of academic integrity in more than one department, the chairperson is required to submit a copy of all correspondence and relevant materials to the appropriate dean of the department in which the offense occurred.  For undergraduate students, these materials will be delivered to the Dean of Arts & Humanities or the Dean of Natural & Social Sciences & Professional Studies; for graduate students, materials will be delivered to the Dean of Graduate Studies.  The dean will then prepare a full packet of copies for the Vice President of Student Affairs in whose office the packet will be filed as part of the required maintenance of student disciplinary records.

B.    Stage Two: Appeal

1.    Within fourteen (14) calendar days after the chairperson has mailed the letter, the student may decide to appeal the departmental decision.  If so, s/he must send a letter of intent to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, with copies sent at the same time to the chairperson in whose department the charge originated, the appropriate dean, and the Vice President of Student Affairs.  Upon receipt of such communication and in a timely manner, the Vice President of Academic Affairs will contact the Chair of the Judicial Review Board who will call together the members of the Judicial Review Board for a formal hearing.  Throughout the appeal process, the charged student is assumed not guilty, and in most circumstances, s/he has the right to remain in class.

2.    After the same fourteen (14) days, if the student has not appealed, the College will act upon the assumption that the student has accepted the departmental decisions and any sanctions therein.  Enforcement of these sanctions hereafter rests with the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs.

3.     If the department has recommended additional sanctions outside its academic purview (probation, suspension, etc), the Judicial Review Board will be convened to determine if a hearing should be held.  If a hearing is scheduled, the Chair of the Judicial Review Board will contact the accused student at least five days in advance.

4.    Even if a student does not file a formal appeal within the above time limit, the Vice President of Student Affairs must notify the Chair of the Review Board whenever a second or subsequent violation is submitted to a student’s disciplinary record.  The Judicial Review Board will then be convened to review all charges filed and may impose additional sanctions.  The Judicial Review Board will consider repeated violations of any or all of the provisions in the Academic Integrity Policy as grievous.

C.    Stage Three: Judicial Review Board

1.    Whether the student who has been charged decides to appeal the departmental decision, or the Judicial Review Board votes to initiate formal proceedings as the result of other circumstances (see above), the Judicial Review Board will hear and rule on the case.  A charged student has the right to select a willing student, faculty member, or an administrative staff member of the College to advise him/her throughout the review process.  This non-legal adviser must be a current member of the SUNY Fredonia community (faculty, staff, student), and the adviser may accompany the charged student and advise him/her at any meetings.  To avoid conflicts of interest, this adviser may not be selected from the members of the Judicial Review Board.

2.    At least one member from each category below is required.  A quorum of six members including at least one student representative will be selected from the following categories:

a.    The Chair of the Judicial Review Board who is a full-time tenured faculty member jointly appointed by the President of the College and the Vice President of Academic Affairs and subsequently approved by the College Senate.  The Chair’s term will be two years with the option of renewal, pending reappointment and re-approval.

b.    Either the Vice President of Student Affairs or the Associate Vice-President of Student Affairs will provide Board access to pertinent Student Disciplinary records and will participate as an ex officio member (see IV. below).  Before witnesses speak or before questions are asked, this representative of Student Affairs will present a summary of the case.

c.    At least one, but preferably two, undergraduate (or graduate, if pertinent) student representatives selected by the College deans and after nominations by the Joint Chairs and Directors which includes directors and chairpersons of all schools and departments.  No two students majoring in a single department will be invited to serve concurrently.  To insure that perspectives from a diverse student population are fairly and freely heard, one student will major in an Arts & Humanities (A & H) department and one will major in a Natural & Social Sciences & Professional Studies (NSSPS) department.

d.    The appropriate dean preferred, but one of the other two deans may act in his/her stead whenever necessary.

e.    Two chairpersons of academic departments, one from A & H, one from NSSPS.

f.    An additional faculty member from a department not represented by individuals in a) and e) above.

3.    The Chair of the Review Board, after prior consultation with the assembled Board, may call witnesses, and the student who has been charged may also call witnesses.  At the conclusion, the charged student will be asked to address the allegation by pleading guilty or not guilty, and s/he then has the right to speak on his or her behalf.   All participants in this hearing will be informed that deliberations are to remain strictly confidential.  Hearings of the judicial Review Board will be tape recorded to provide a record of the proceedings.

4.    After the hearing, the Judicial Review Board will deliberate and make a formal decision.  In the final determination, each of the members of the Board, including the Chair of the Board, will cast a single and equally weighted vote.  In the event of a tie vote concluding a case, the Chair of the Board will cast an additional vote.  Voting will be conducted by written ballot, and the results will be disclosed to Board members.  Board members are not to disclose either the Board’s determination or any specifics related to the voting.

5.    In a timely manner, the Chair of the Judicial Board will complete the hearing report and will deliver copies to the chairperson in whose department the charge originated, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the Vice President of Student Affairs.  The final report of the Judicial Board will include the following:

a.    A determination of Not Guilty (no violation of academic integrity has been found) or Guilty (the student has been found responsible for the charged violation on the basis of the evidence submitted or has admitted guilt).

b.    If the student had been found guilty of violating the Academic Integrity Policy, the penalty must also be identified.  Sanctions or penalties imposed should be commensurate with the offense and will take into account his/her student disciplinary records on file.  [The following sentence will be deleted:  The Judicial Review Board may also consider the student’s educational record at Fredonia.]

6.    On the same day the Board’s decision is delivered to the three individuals above (#5), the student will be informed of the Board’s decision in a meeting with the Vice President of Student Affairs and the Chair of the Judicial Review Board.  The student will then be given a copy of the hearing report prepared by the Chair of the Judicial Review Board.

7. NEW SECTION: Should the student decide to appeal the Academic Ingerity Review Board's decision, he or she may do so in a written justification to the President of the College but only if/when the substance of the presented case has changed (i.e., additional and significant evidence is discovered).

IV.    Maintenance of Student Disciplinary Records

Individual files on all students who are formally charged with violations of the Academic Integrity Policy will be prepared at the time of the student initial offense and maintained for ten years in the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs.  Instructors and chairpersons will initiate this process by submitting, to their dean, a copy of the departmental letter which identifies the charge and which has been mailed to the student.  Other documentation, when appropriate, will also be submitted and filed.  All subsequent materials related to the charge will be copied in the dean's office and delivered to the Vice President of Student Affairs.