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Administrative Guideline 101

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Administrative Guideline 101

Adopted: August 23, 2005
Approved August 6, 2019
Revised: April 12, 2023

ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINE TYPE: Curricular Functions

ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINE TITLE: Institutional Academic Integrity Policy

DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE: Academic Affairs

It is the policy of Southeastern Community College to create an atmosphere of academic rigor, free from acts of dishonesty. This guideline outlines the process for governing discipline, grievances and complaints, appeals and remedies related to academic integrity.

I. Statement of Purpose

Academic honesty is a fundamental attribute of higher learning. Evaluation of each student’s level of knowledge and understanding is a vital part of the teaching process, and it requires a variety of methods of assessment. Any act that interferes with the process of evaluation by misrepresenting the relationship between the work being evaluated and the student’s actual state of knowledge is an act of academic dishonesty.

II. Users Governed

This policy applies to all registered students at SCC.

III. Code of Academic Conduct

This guideline governs acts of academic honesty including, but not limited to the following:

  1. Fraud: Acts of dishonesty, which include falsification of documents, fabrication of data and altering solutions to be resubmitted for a grade.
  2. Cheating: Any deceptive act that involves the use of disallowed resources in the creation or submission of academic work. These acts may include copying or attempting to copy from another person’s test or assignment, attempting to use unauthorized aids to complete an assignment, submitting work generated through the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence software, and multiple submission of the same work to be graded as different assignments without prior instructor approval.
  3. Plagiarism: Misrepresenting someone else’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own original work. Students may avoid plagiarism by fully and consistently crediting the person or persons responsible for the original work, including paraphrasing.
  4. Forgery: Any attempt to misrepresent another person’s signature, initials, computer login, or other identifying mark.
  5. Facilitating Dishonesty: Actions that assist another person in committing a dishonest act, including but not limited to, allowing someone else to copy from a test and/or assignment or providing unauthorized assistance on a test or assignment.

IV. Discipline Procedure

The primary responsibility for managing the classroom environment rests with the faculty. Faculty are urged to state in their syllabi their policies on plagiarism, fraud, cheating, forgery, and other acts of dishonesty. If an issue arises:

  1. The faculty member determines the appropriate discipline based upon the severity of the offense and in accordance with his/her syllabus guidelines. The appropriate discipline may be mild or severe, up to and including giving the student a failing grade for the course.
  2. Students who withdraw from a course in which an allegation of academic integrity violation is made may still be subject to the penalty of earning an “F” for the course, if found responsible of the violation.
  3. The faculty member in whose class the offense occurs informs his/her division dean by completing a report in the online incident reporting system (Maxient). The dean reviews the documentation of the infraction to determine if there have been other academic dishonesty reports submitted for the student in question, and if necessary, continues with Step 4. If there is no further action necessary, the dean updates the Maxient report to reflect the faculty’s decision and to indicate that the incident has been closed.
  4. Additionally, if the faculty member or dean feels the offense warrants further discipline, the Vice President of Academic Affairs will be consulted. The result of this action could be either possible dismissal from a program of study, or dismissal from SCC. If further action is taken, that action will be recorded in Maxient by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
  5. If a student is alleged to have facilitated dishonesty in a course in which that student is not currently enrolled, the allegation will be addressed in accordance with the Judicial Code of Conduct.

V. Academic Integrity Appeals

  1. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome, the student may appeal the instructor’s decision to the appropriate dean. The dean may uphold or modify the discipline recommended by the faculty member after consulting with the faculty.
  2. If the issue still has not been resolved, an Academic Integrity Committee will be formed. The committee, chaired by the Vice President, will consist of one faculty member from each of the following divisions:
    1. Career and Technical Education
    2. Arts and Sciences
    3. Health Professions
    4. Optional: Student’s choice of one SCC representative (student, faculty, or staff member)
      Note: The student who has filed the appeal must be in attendance. The Committee will meet to review the Maxient case information and any other data that the student, faculty member, or dean wishes to provide. The Committee will then make a recommendation to the Vice President of Academic Affairs who will have final decision authority.