Academic Integrity

 
Memorandum

To: All Faculty and Students
From: Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Provost and V. P. for Academic Affairs
          Nathaniel Cruz, Interim V. P. for Student Development and
          Enrollment Mgmt.
Date: November 11, 2005

All students and faculty at Hostos Community College are to be informed of the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and the consequences of academic dishonesty. Students who violate this policy may be subject to failing grades, suspension and expulsion. The complete version of the CUNY policy is attached so that you may read and be aware of your rights and responsibilities with respect to this policy. See the Hostos Office of Academic Affairs website for additional information on this policy.

CUNY POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic Dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion, as provided herein.

I. DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Cheating is the unauthorized use or attempted use of material, information, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise.

The following are some examples of cheating, but by no means is it an exhaustive list:

  • Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes attributing the words to their source.

  • Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging the source.

  • Using information that is not common knowledge without acknowledging the source.

  • Failing to acknowledge collaborators on homework and laboratory assignments.

Internet plagiarism includes submitting downloaded term papers or parts of term papers, paraphrasing or copying information from the internet without citing the source, and “cutting & pasting” from various sources without proper attribution.

Obtaining Unfair Advantage is any activity that intentionally or unintentionally gives a student an unfair advantage in his/her academic work over another student.

The following are some examples of obtaining an unfair advantage, but by no means it is an exhaustive list:

  • Forging signatures of authorization.

  • Falsifying information on an official academic record.

  • Falsifying information on an official document such as a grade report, letter of permission, drop/add form, ID card or other college document.

Adapted with permission from Baruch College: A Faculty Guide to Student Academic Integrity. The Baruch College document includes excerpts from University of California’s web page entitled “The Academic Dishonesty Question: A Guide to an Answer through Education, Prevention, Adjudication and Obligation” by Prof. Harry Nelson.

II. METHODS FOR PROMOTING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

C. Procedures In Cases Where A Disciplinary Sanction Is Sought

If a faculty member suspects a violation and seeks a disciplinary sanction, the faculty member shall refer the matter to the college’s Academic Integrity Official using the Faculty Report form, as described in the third Recommendation for Promoting Academic Integrity above, to be adjudicated by the college’s Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee under Article 15 of the CUNY Bylaws. As provided for therein, the Faculty-Student Disciplinary may, among other things, investigate, conciliate, or hear evidence on cases in which disciplinary charges are brought2. Under certain circumstances, college officials other than the Academic Integrity Official may seek disciplinary sanctions following the procedures outlined above. For the reasons discussed in Item IV below, if a reduced grade is also at issue, then that grade should be held in abeyance, pending the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee’s action.

D. Procedures In Cases In Which Both A Disciplinary And An Academic Sanction Are Sought

If a faculty member or the college seeks to have both a disciplinary and an academic sanction imposed, it is not advisable to proceed on both fronts simultaneously lest inconsistent results ensue. Thus, it is best to begin with the disciplinary proceeding seeking imposition of a disciplinary sanction and await its outcome before addressing the academic sanction. If the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee finds that the alleged violation occurred, then the faculty member may reflect that finding in the student’s grade. If the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee finds that the alleged violation did not occur, then no sanction of any kind may be imposed. The decision whether to pursue both types of sanctions will ordinarily rest with the faculty member.

E. Reporting Requirements

  • Student Accepts Guilt And Does Not Contest The Academic Sanction
    If the faculty member wishes to seek only an academic sanction (i.e., a reduced grade1 only), and the student does not contest either his/her guilt or the particular reduced grade the faculty member has chosen, then the student shall be given the reduced grade, unless the college decides to seek a disciplinary sanction, see Section I above and IV below. The reduced grade may apply to the particular assignment as to which the violation occurred or to the course grade, at the faculty member’s discretion.

  • Student Denies Guilt And/Or Contests The Academic Sanction 
    If the student denies guilt or contests the particular grade awarded by the faculty member, then the matter shall be handled using the college’s grade appeals process, including departmental grading committees where applicable, or the Academic Integrity Committee. In either case, the process must, at a minimum, provide the student with an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence.

    1. _______________________________
      1 A reduced grade can be an “F,” a “D-,” or another grade that is lower than the grade that would have been given but for the violation.

      2 Typically, disciplinary sanctions would be sought in cases of the most egregious, or repeated, violations, for example: infraction in ways similar to criminal activity (such as forging a grade form; stealing an examination from a professor or a university office; or forging a transcript); having a substitute take an examination or taking an examination for someone else; sabotaging another student’s work through actions designed to prevent the student from successfully completing an assignment; dishonesty that affects a major or essential portion of work done to meet course requirements. [These examples have been taken from a list of violations compiled by Rutgers University.]