Academic Honesty - Marquette University

Marquette University is committed to developing the whole person, spiritually, mentally, physically, socially, and ethically. As an institution of higher education, love of truth is at the center of the university's enterprise, and academic honesty, in all its forms, is an explicit value of the university. The development and practice of academic honesty and integrity, both inside and outside the classroom, are expectations for all members of the university community. In order to cultivate academic honesty in its students, instructors take every opportunity to help students appreciate both the process and the principles of academic integrity.

Academic honesty can be best understood by academic ethical standards guiding faculty in their work. That is to say, an individual's contributions, in terms of words and scholarly findings, belong to him or her alone. Furthermore, the integrity of that which one claims to be scholarly knowledge rests on the accurate demonstration of the assumptions and reasoning that produced it. These standards are used as the implicit basis for teaching and learning in the university.

In order for instructors to fairly assess the quality and quantity of a student's learning as determined by work that students represent as their own, a relationship of trust between instructor and student is essential. Because violations of academic integrity most often involve, but are not limited to, efforts to deceive instructors, they represent a breach of the trust relationship between instructor and student, and undermine the core values of the university.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACADEMIC HONESTY
*This policy applies to students and faculty in all programs under the auspices of the Graduate School and undergraduate programs.

ACADEMIC HONESTY consists of truth telling and truthful representations in all academic contexts. All members of the academic community have a responsibility to ensure that academic honesty is maintained. In what follows the wording "Chair" refers to either a department chair or an equivalent official, "Associate Dean" refers to either an Associate Dean or an equivalent official, or in the case of the Graduate School it will refer to the Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Programs, the word "College" refers to a college, school, or other academic unit, and the words "assigned college" refers to the degree granting college or school (i.e. for graduate students the assigned college is the Graduate School).

Faculty have primary responsibility for:
1.   Upholding and enforcing university wide principles of academic honesty and integrity and informing students of these principles including any qualifications that may be operative in the classes they are teaching.
2.   Minimizing opportunities for academic dishonesty in their courses.
3.   Confronting students suspected of academic dishonesty in a way that respects student privacy.
4.   Affording students accused of academic dishonesty the right to appeal any resulting disputes to disinterested parties for hearing and resolution.
5.   Assigning an appropriate grade to a student who engages in academic dishonesty.
6.   Reporting all instances of academic dishonesty to the Associate Dean of the college offering the course.
7.   Protecting the anonymity of any student reporting an incident of academic dishonesty to the extent permitted by due process required for the accused and other legal requirements.

Students have responsibility for:
1.   Refraining from cheating and plagiarism.
2.   Refusing to aid or abet any form of academic dishonesty.
3.   Notifying professors and/or their advisor about observed incidents of academic misconduct. The anonymity of a student reporting an incident of academic dishonesty will be protected to the extent permitted by law.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY applies equally to electronic media and print, and involves text, images, and ideas. It includes but is not limited to the following examples:

1.   Copying from others during an examination.
2.   Communicating exam answers with other students during an examination.
3.   Offering another person's work as one's own.
4.   Taking an examination for another student or having someone take an examination for oneself.
5.   Sharing answers for a take home examination or assignment unless specifically authorized by the instructor.
6.   Tampering with an examination after it has been corrected, and then returning it for more credit.
7.   Using unauthorized materials during an examination.
8.   Allowing others to do the research and writing of an assigned paper (including use of the services of a commercial term paper company).

1.   Stealing or attempting to steal an examination or answer key from the instructor.
2.   Changing or attempting to change academic records without proper sanction.
3.   Submitting substantial portions of the same work for credit in more than one course without consulting all instructors involved.
4.   Intentionally disrupting the educational process in any manner.
5.   Allowing another student to copy off of one's own work during a test.

Plagiarism is intellectual theft. It means use of the intellectual creations of another without proper attribution. Plagiarism may take two main forms, which are clearly related: 1. To steal or pass off as one's own the ideas or words, images, or other creative works of another and 2. To use a creative production without crediting the source, even if only minimal information is available to identify it for citation.

Credit must be given for every direct quotation, for paraphrasing or summarizing a work (in whole, or in part, in one's own words), and for information that is not common knowledge.

Any student who knowingly or intentionally helps another student perform any of the above acts of cheating, dishonest conduct, or plagiarism is subject to discipline for academic dishonesty.

Marquette University has a duty to ensure the integrity of research and will respond to any allegation of research misconduct in a thorough, competent, timely, objective, and fair manner. Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. The research misconduct policy applies to faculty, students, and others who are employed by or affiliated with Marquette University. Students who are accused of misconduct related to grant-funded research shall be governed by the procedures of the research misconduct policy, found at www.marquette.edu/orsp/policies/upp.shtml. Students who are accused of misconduct related to research that is not grant-funded and is a part of a student's academic program will be governed by the University Policy on Academic Honesty, found at www.marquette.edu/rc/academichonesty.shtml. Any uncertainty related to which policy will govern a given situations will be decided by the Research Integrity Officer.

Regardless of how alleged acts of academic dishonesty are brought to light, faculty and instructors retain the responsibility and the authority to investigate all allegations, although, as outlined below, university administrators may lead these investigations. Because the consequences for academic dishonesty can be severe, the decision to penalize a student for such infractions must be the result of a thorough review. The procedures to be used for adjudicating suspected acts of academic dishonesty are determined by the nature of the misconduct and the seriousness of the offense.

Students found committing acts of academic dishonesty will be subject to the Marquette University procedures for incidents of academic dishonesty. In what follows the wording "Chair" refers to either a department chair or an equivalent official, "Associate Dean" refers to either an Associate Dean or an equivalent official, or in the case of the Graduate School it shall refer to the Assistant Vice Provost, the word "College" refers to a college, school, or other academic unit, and the words "assigned College" refers to the College granting the degree (i.e. for graduate students the assigned College is the Graduate School).

Many, perhaps most, incidents of academic dishonesty involve accusations which are based on clear evidence and which are not contested by the accused student. In such cases, if the infraction is relatively minor and there is no indication that the accused student has previously been involved in such incidents, it is most appropriate that the matter be resolved between the student, the faculty member, and the chair of the department offering the course.

When a faculty member has evidence of a student's academic dishonesty, the faculty member must initiate communication with the student within 15 calendar days of discovering evidence of academic dishonesty. The faculty member must then present the evidence to the student in a private meeting, always with a facilitator present (e.g., Department Chair or designee). This meeting should take place within 15 calendar days of the student being notified of the allegation or as soon thereafter as possible. If, after this meeting, it is decided that the student did participate in academic dishonesty the faculty member may follow up with one or more of the following actions:
1.   Issue a reprimand to the student
2.   Require repetition of the questionable work or examination
3.   Reduce the grade on the questionable work or examination (faculty can reduce the grade down to and including an "F" or zero)
4.   Recommend that the student be administratively withdrawn from the course
5.   Recommend that the student be given a final grade of "F" for the course

It is essential that any disciplinary action be reported in writing to the student in a letter from the faculty member. The faculty member is strongly encouraged to consult with his or her Associate Dean for questions about appropriate discipline and the form and content of the letter sent to the student. Reference to the "Marquette University Policies on Academic Honesty" should be included in the letter. The letter to the student must be sent out within 15 calendar days of the meeting and may be sent by email with settings for "notify sender of receipt and of opening". At the same time the letter is sent to the student, a copy must be sent to the department chair and Associate Dean of the college offering the course. In turn, within 5 working days, the Associate Dean of the college offering the course will communicate in writing details of the incident to the Associate Dean of the student's assigned college*, to ensure that penalties assessed are commensurate with the offense and that repeated infractions can be detected and dealt with appropriately. The Associate Dean of each college is responsible for maintaining confidential records concerning academic dishonesty of students enrolled in that college. All letters reporting faculty imposed academic penalties for academic misconduct will be included in these files.

In most incidents the disciplinary response and procedure for incidents of academic dishonesty concludes at this step.

Students have the right of appeal of the allegations of academic dishonesty and the disciplinary actions of the instructor if the student believes the alleged incident of academic dishonesty and/or resultant academic discipline to be unfounded, biased, or capricious. In this case the student should submit a formal written appeal stating the grounds for appeal and available documentation to the Associate Dean of the college offering the course within 15 calendar days of the notification of the instructor's decision. Upon receipt of the appeal the Associate Dean may convene a review of the student's actions by a college panel. The Associate Dean and/or panel reviews the details of the student's actions and may ask to speak to the student, the instructor, the chair of the department offering the course, Associate Deans, and others. The Associate Dean of the college offering the course will determine the appropriate disciplinary action and, within 15 calendar days of receipt of the appeal, will provide a written statement to all parties concerned.

If the faculty member recommends that the student be administratively withdrawn from the course and assigned a final grade of "ADW" or that a final grade of "F" be assigned, the Associate Dean of the student's assigned college (the Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Programs) will review the details of the incident and make the final decision within 5 working days of receipt of the request, and provide a written statement to all parties concerned.

Students have the right to appeal the decision of the Associate Dean to issue grades of "ADW" or "F" to the Dean of the student's assigned college (the Dean of the Graduate School in the case of graduate students). This appeal must be made with 15 calendar days of the notification of the grade change. The final decision to uphold or modify the action of the Associate Dean will be provided to the student and Associate Dean within 15 calendar days of receipt of the appeal. The decision of the Dean is final.

When the Associate Dean of the student's assigned college is aware of or determines that the student has engaged in multiple incidents of academic dishonesty or the incident in question is of a more serious nature he/she will convene a review of the student's actions by a College Panel within 15 calendar days of learning of the most recent incident. In the case of the Graduate School, such a panel will be composed of a sub-committee of the University Board of Graduate Studies. More serious incidents may involve repeat offenses, cause injury or harm to others outside the academic community, or other actions deemed to warrant additional consideration. These incidents of academic dishonesty call for more serious disciplinary action up to and including campus wide sanctions of suspension or expulsion. Where incidents involve possible violations of the University Code of Conduct, in addition to the alleged academic dishonesty, consultation with the Office of Student Development is recommended.

Each College will have guidelines for the composition and selection of the College Panel to assure a review by experienced faculty and/or administrators not directly involved in the incident(s). The Panel reviews all aspects of the student's record, the details of the student's behavior and may ask the student, instructor(s), and others to speak with the panel. Within 15 calendar days of being given the charge, the Panel will forward its recommendations for appropriate and just disciplinary action to the Associate Dean (in the case of graduate students to the Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Programs) of the student's assigned college with a copy to the Dean. All disciplinary decisions that involve a campus wide sanction, such as suspension or expulsion, will be made by the Dean of the student's assigned college with all other actions being taken by the Associate Dean.

Within 15 calendar days of receiving the Panel's recommendation, the Associate Dean or Dean, as appropriate, makes the decision known to the student via written documentation that includes a description of the academic dishonesty, the process the decision went through, the resulting decision and appeal procedures. A copy of the decision is placed in the student's academic file with a copy provided to the Office of the Provost.

Students have the right of appeal of the allegation of academic dishonesty and the disciplinary actions of the Associate Dean or the Dean of the student's assigned college. Such appeals must be made within 15 calendar days of receipt of the letter. Actions taken by the Associate Dean should be appealed to the Dean of the student's assigned college. The final decision to uphold or modify the action of the Associate Dean will be provided to the student and Associate Dean within 15 calendar days of receipt of the appeal. The decision of the Dean is final.

For actions of the Dean involving campus-wide sanctions, such as suspension or expulsion, students have the right of appeal to the Office of the Provost. A formal written appeal stating the grounds for appeal and available documentation is to be submitted within 15 calendar days of the notification of the decision of the Dean to the Office of the Provost. The Provost or designee will conduct a review of the appeal materials, may seek additional information, and may consult with the student, faculty, chair(s), Associate Dean(s), Deans, and others. The final decision to uphold or modify the action of the Dean will be provided to the student and to the Dean and Associate Dean of the student's assigned college within 15 calendar days of receipt of the appeal. A copy of the Provost's decision will be placed in the student academic file. The decision of the Provost is final.

The Associate Dean may exclude students who have on file recorded acts of academic dishonesty, as defined by this policy, from consideration for academic honors at graduation. Exclusion from consideration for honors is not for the purposes of this policy to be considered a campus wide sanction.

Records relating to academic dishonesty will be maintained by the Associate Dean of the student's assigned college to promote consistency of penalties for academic dishonesty and to ensure appropriate action against repeat offenders. In order to ensure that minor and nonrecurring infractions do not negatively impact a student's career beyond Marquette University, a student may petition to the Associate Dean of his or her academic college to have relevant academic disciplinary records expunged after the student graduates or leaves the University. The Associate Dean has sole authority to consider and to grant or deny such petitions. The University will release a student's disciplinary records to potential employers, governmental agencies, other educational institutions, or other organizations or individuals only if authorized to do so by the student in question or if compelled by law.

These procedures do not supersede or take the place of procedures established for students who violate professional standards applicable to a particular program or college. Separate procedures and/or outcomes may be invoked when students are found in violation of professional standards or codes of ethics related to special programs, licensure, or certification as determined by the program's external or internal professional requirements. It is the student's responsibility to know and follow these standards/codes of ethics, which are part of the student's academic program. These special expectations and procedures, including the appeals process, will be provided to the student upon enrollment in the program, and are available in published form in the administrative offices overseeing these programs.

This policy evolved from a collaborative effort that included members of the Marquette University Committee on Academic Procedures, Marquette University Board of Undergraduate Studies, and the Marquette University Board of Graduate Studies. These groups would like to express their gratitude to the University of California - Irvine whose UCI Academic Senate Policy on Academic Honesty provided the framework for the resulting document.

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY AND PROCEDURES