|
[printable version]
Academic Honor Code
- Academic dishonesty offenses
- Jurisdiction
- Responsibility of the university community
- Reporting and adjudication procedures
- Expedited hearing procedure
- Suggested penalties for proven offenses
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington is committed to the
proposition that the pursuit of truth requires the presence of honesty
among all involved. It is therefore this institution's stated policy
that no form of dishonesty among its faculty or students will be
tolerated. Although all members of the university community are encouraged
to
report occurrences of dishonesty, each individual is principally
responsible for his own honesty. The following definitions and procedures
are provided
to help everyone realize the high value that is placed on academic
integrity and the means that will be employed to ensure its preservation.
- Academic Dishonesty Offenses
Violation of any of the following standards subject any student to
disciplinary action:
- Plagiarism. Plagiarism means the appropriation,
buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another
person's work and the
unacknowledged submission or incorporation of it in one's own
work. It is doubly unethical, since it deprives the true author of his/her
rightful credit and then gives that credit to someone to whom
it
is not due. The following three examples of plagiarism are described
by
Harold C. Martin and Richard M. Ohmann in their book, The
Logic and Rhetoric of Exposition (1963):
- Word-for-word copying.
Whenever someone else is directly quoted, honesty and courtesy
require acknowledgment of the source. The quoted
material should be placed in quotation marks and its exact location
should be indicated either in the text of the student's paper
or in a footnote.
- The mosaic. To intersperse a few words of one's own here
and there while basically copying the work of another is
obviously unethical,
unless one clearly
acknowledges that this is being done. Should there be a valid reason
for doing so, then quotation marks or a general footnote
should be used
to show what
belongs to the source and what is one's own contribution.
- The paraphrase. Once more the crucial point
is acknowledgment. Sometimes one can paraphrase in order to
simplify, abbreviate,
or improve upon
an original, but the reader deserves to know what is being presented
to him and whose
work it represents. Therefore, acknowledgment of the source is required
within the
text of the student's paper or by a footnote.
- Bribery. The offering,
giving, receiving, or soliciting of any consideration in
order to obtain a grade or other treatment not otherwise
earned by the student through his/her own academic performance.
- Cheating.
- Any conduct during a program, course, quiz, or examination which
involves the unauthorized use of written or oral information, or
information obtained by any other means of communication.
- The unauthorized buying, selling, trading or theft of any examination,
quiz, term paper or project.
- The unauthorized use of any electronic or mechanical device
during any program, course, quiz, or examination or in connection
with laboratory
reports or other
materials related to academic performance.
- The unauthorized use of laboratory reports, term reports, theses,
or written materials in whole or in part.
- The unauthorized assistance or collaboration on any test, assignment,
or project.
- The unauthorized use by a student of another student's work
or the falsification of any other student's work.
- Participating in, or permitting, any of the above activities
as defined in C, 1-6.
[top of page]
- Jurisdiction
All full or part-time students enrolled at the University of North
Carolina at Wilmington are subject to the Academic Honor Code.
[top of page]
- Responsibility of the University Community
- General Responsibility. It shall be the responsibility of
every faculty member, student, administrator, and staff member
of the university
community to uphold and maintain the academic standards and
integrity of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Any member of
the university community who has reasonable grounds to believe
that an infraction of the Academic Honor Code has occurred has
an obligation
to report the alleged violation.
- Student Responsibility. Each student shall conform to the
Academic Honor Code at all times. Students may report academic
violations to
their class instructor, Department Chair, or to the dean of the college/school
in which the course is taught.
- Responsibility of the Individual Instructors. Each instructor
is encouraged to make his/her classes aware of the Academic Honor Code
during the first week of classes of each semester or summer session.
- Responsibility of the University Administration. In consultation
with the Faculty Senate, the Office of the Dean of Students will see
that the Academic Honor code and any amendments or changes approved
by the Faculty Senate are published and promulgated annually. All new
university faculty, administrative, staff personnel and students should
be advised of the Academic Honor Code upon becoming a member of the
university community.
- Responsibility of the Office of the Dean of Students. The
Office of the Dean of Students shall receive and maintain comprehensive
records
of all matters relating to violations of the Academic Honor Code.
[top of page]
- Reporting and Adjudication Procedures
- A suspected infraction of the Academic Honor Code shall be
reported to the instructor of the course in which it occurred.
Such a report
shall be made within five class days from the time of discovery
unless extenuating circumstances prevent reporting.
- A suspected infraction of the Academic Honor Code may be
reported by:
- The student committing the infraction.
- By any member of the university community observing
the alleged infraction.
- Upon receiving a report of an alleged violation, the instructor
in charge of the course or materials in question shall inform the
student of the following options and procedures. (Faculty are
encouraged to
consult with the Dean of Students regarding appropriate procedures
and protection of student rights.)
- If the student admits the infraction, the faculty member
may:
- Propose a settlement by private resolution. The
chairman of the department in which the faculty member
teaches
may be consulted for assistance in reaching
a settlement. If the penalty proposed by the instructor is acceptable
to the student, the incident can be dropped with notification
to the department
chair and to the dean of the college/school in which the faculty
member teaches, and to the Dean of Students for inclusion
in
the student's disciplinary records
until the student graduates, or
- Refer the case to the Dean of Students (without
assigning a grade). The dean will proceed as outlined
in Section II-2-D-3 of the Code
of Student Life.
- If the student does not admit the infraction, the
faculty member may:
- Decide not to pursue the accusation(s) due to lack
of evidence, whereupon, he/she shall inform the reporting
party of this decision
within five
days, or
- Refer the case to the Dean of Students (without
assigning a grade). The dean will proceed as outlined
in Section II-2-D
of
the Code of Student
Life.
- Upon notification of the instructor's decision not to pursue
the allegation due to a lack of evidence, the reporting party
may file
a written report with the Office of the Dean of Students within
five days of receipt of the instructor's decision. The Office
of the Dean
of Students will proceed as outlined in Section II-2-D of the Code
of Student Life.
- Section II, of the Code
of Student Life, Student
Conduct and Appeals, indicates that a student shall have a choice of
an administrative (Dean of Students) or Campus Judicial Board hearing.
The Dean of Students reserves the right not to hear a case and to forward
it directly to the Campus Judicial Board.
- If a student chooses an administrative hearing, he/she may
appeal the decision made by the dean or designee to the Campus
Judicial Board
(see Section II-2-F of the Code
of Student Life).
If the student chooses a Campus Judicial Board hearing, his/her appeal
of that decision would be made directly to the Chancellor of the university
as outlined in Section II-3-D of the Code of
Student Life.
- If a student charged with an Academic Honor Code violation
chooses a regular hearing before the Campus Judicial Board (see
Section II-2-D-4
of the Code of Student Life) or appeals an administrative
decision of the Dean of Students, two additional faculty members from
a different UNCW college or school will sit on the Campus Judicial
Board as voting member.
[top of page]
- Expedited Hearing Procedure
The Chancellor at his or her sole discretion shall have the right to
order an expedited review of the accused student's case. In such
circumstances, the Chancellor shall sit as a hearings officer in
lieu of the Campus Judicial Board or the Dean of Students and the
procedure outlined in Section 11-3 of the Code
of Student Life shall be observed. This expedited hearings procedure
shall be used only in emergency circumstances as shall be identified
by the Chancellor at his or her sole discretion. The decision of
the Chancellor in such expedited proceedings shall constitute a final
decision of the student's guilt or innocence.
[top of page]
- Suggested Penalties for Proven Offenses
- If the Campus Judicial Board or Dean of Students Office finds
the student innocent of the charge, the instructor will ensure
fair treatment
of the student.
- If the defendant is found guilty of the charge, the Campus
Judicial Board or Dean of Students/Assistant Dean of Students
may impose a disciplinary
sanction indicated in Section II-3 of the Code
of Student Life. The authority to determine the course grade resides
with the instructor. Failure in the course is generally appropriate
for an offense of academic dishonesty.
|
