Revision
March 23, 2006
A cornerstone of academia is a commitment to academic integrity. In a scholarly
community, the importance of having respect for one's own work and the work of others
is essential; building a sense of trust among members of such a community is crucial as
individuals create, share, and apply scholarly work. The importance of academic
integrity is heightened within a Christian community of scholars in that we are also
accountable to God for any behaviors of a dishonest nature. In consultation with
administrators, faculty and students, Eastern Nazarene College has set forth basic
standards of academic integrity.
Basic Standards of Academic Integrity
At Eastern Nazarene College, integrity and honesty are expected and required in
all activities associated in any way with academic course work. While it is not prudent or
practical to attempt to specify an exhaustive list of unacceptable behaviors related to
academic integrity, examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to, the
following:
- Cheating (e.g., using any unauthorized materials or devices during an
examination, allowing other students to submit your work under their name,
changing responses on an exam after it has been graded, etc.).
- Plagiarism, which is presenting the work of others as your own, either directly
or by implication (e.g., not giving credit to the original source for any
thoughts, ideas, quotations, charts, etc. included in one's own work, etc.).
- Falsifying information (e.g., reporting of undocumented data, fabricating a set
of data, fabricating volunteer hours required for a course, etc.).
- Stealing and/or distributing exams which have not been authorized for release
or otherwise taking advantage of dishonest behavior for the purpose of
gaining an unfair academic advantage.
- The basic standards of academic integrity are to be presented during freshman
orientation, included in syllabi, and discussed in individual classes at the beginning of
each semester.
Faculty Procedure for Reporting Academic Dishonesty
Professors are required to report serious incidents of academic dishonesty within
two weeks of discovering the indiscretion or by the day final grades are due for the class,
whichever is sooner. Examples of incidents to report can be found in the basic standards
section above. Following is the procedure for making such reports:
- Hold a meeting with the student, during which a clear explanation is given of
why the incident is considered to be an act of academic dishonesty. The
professor may invite a colleague (e.g., the Division/Department Chair) to this
meeting; however, this invited colleague may not take part in the proceedings.
The student may be accompanied by a person of his or her choice; however,
this accompanying person may not take part in the proceedings.
- Should the allegation of academic dishonesty be substantiated by the
professor, the student’s name, along with evidence of the misconduct and a
description of the action taken by the professor, are to be submitted to the
Registrar's Office and will be recorded accordingly as described below.
- The student may appeal the decision of the professor as described below.
For situations that have been substantiated, the professor for the course may
consider a range of consequences to be applied to the situation, either in whole or in part.
The professor may also ask for guidance in deciding what type of consequence is justified
for a particular breach of academic integrity by contacting the Academic Standing
Committee for advice. Even if advice is requested from the ASC, the final decision is
made by the faculty member. Depending upon the severity of the breach of academic
integrity, suggested consequences include but are not limited to:
- Allow the student to re-submit the assignment for full or partial credit.
- Give “0” points for the assignment or another reasonable grade reduction
which accurately reflects the level of academic dishonesty.
- Fail the student for the course, even if the student has accumulated sufficient
points for a passing grade; a voluntary withdrawal from the course is not
acceptable.
Institutional Procedure for Handling Reports of Academic Dishonesty
When the Registrar’s Office receives a report of academic dishonesty it will be
recorded and the student will be sent official notification on letterhead from the
Academic Dean’s Office that the offense has been recorded. At this time the student will
also be asked to submit a statement describing the incidents in question. This notification
will also include a copy of the dishonesty policy to remind the student of the serious
consequences that could occur should they continue dishonest practices. If the first
offense is during the freshman year, and no further incident of academic dishonesty
occurs for said student subsequently, the report of the first incident is to be expunged
upon graduation. Otherwise, this first offense will remain recorded in the registrar’s
office.
In the event this offense is not the first in the student’s academic career at ENC,
the Registrar’s Office will notify the chair of the Academic Standing Committee
immediately. The ASC will address the situation in the following manner:
- Prior to calling a meeting to discuss the situation, the ASC committee chair
will review the evidence on file and request additional clarification from the
professor(s) and/or student if necessary.
• The committee will then meet and deliberate on the evidence gathered to
make a consequent decision.
• Within three working days of the meeting, a letter indicating the committee’s
action will be sent by the committee to the student via email and registered
mail, with copies forwarded to the student’s academic advisor, reporting
professor(s) and to the Registrar's Office.
• Within seven working days of the date on which said written communication
was issued, the student may appeal the decision of the deliberating body via
the appeals process described below.
The committee may consider the following range of consequences to be applied to
the situation, either in whole or in part:
- If the academic breach involved plagiarism, require student to work in CAS
with a tutor on avoiding plagiarism and/or to attend a plagiarism workshop.
- Implement some slightly more lenient punishment than off-campus
suspension (ex. use of points system to be established by ASC).
- Place student on academic probation for the following semester. Immediately implement off-campus suspension of the student from the
College for the remainder of the semester in which the incident of academic
dishonesty took place.
- Immediately implement off-campus suspension of the student from the
College for the remainder of the semester in which the incident of academic
dishonesty took place and for the entire following semester.
- Immediately expel the student, denying future admission to ENC.
Student Appeal Process
A student may appeal the decision of the professor or of the Academic Standing Committee by submitting a written appeal to the Vice President for Academic Affairs within seven working days of when written communication was sent.
If the student is appealing the decision of the professor, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, or his/her designee, is to schedule a meeting with the student, the professor, and the respective Department/Division Chair within 10 working days of receiving the written appeal from the student. The student may be accompanied by a person of his or her choice. If the accompanying person is an attorney, the student must give the VPAA at least 24 hours advance notice so that ENC may have legal representation present. However, this accompanying person may not take part in the proceedings.
If the student is appealing the decision of the Academic Standing Committee, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, or his/her designee, is to schedule a meeting with the student, and two representatives of the ASC within 10 working days of receiving the written appeal from the student. The student may be accompanied by a person of his or her choice. If the accompanying person is an attorney, the student must give the VPAA at least 24 hours advance notice so that ENC may have legal representation present. However, this accompanying person may not take part in the proceedings.
For all appeals, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, or his/her designee, is to issue a written decision to the student within 3 business days of the appeal meeting, with copies forwarded to the professor/ASC, the student’s academic advisor and to the Registrar's Office. The appeal decision is at the discretion of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, or his/her designee, and is final.
