Academic Honesty

Delta State University expects all students to adhere to the highest moral academic standards. Unethical and dishonest behavior will not be tolerated and could invoke severe penalties. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, forgery, and/or any misuse of university documents whether academic or administrative, tampering with any admission requirement documents to gain entrance into the university under a false pretense, selling or distributing written or oral information, and stealing, buying, or selling any administrative or academic document. 

Cheating – taking credit for work which has been completed by another person, or assisting others in the misrepresentation of their academic work. Examples include, but are not limited to the following:

• taking answers from another student’s paper or allowing answers to be taken from one’s own paper during an examination or quiz;
• the use of notes or any other aid not specifically allowed or approved by the instructor;
• unauthorized access to an un-administered examination or quiz and dissemination of the same;
• collaboration on take-home examinations unless specifically approved by the instructor;
• receiving editorial assistance on a course assignment beyond that expressly allowed by the instructor; 
• collaborating with another person in the preparation of any assignment offered for credit when such collaboration is prohibited by the instructor; and
• submitting the same work for credit in more than one course, regardless of whether or not such submission occurs within the same term. An exception may be granted if the student receives written permission in advance from his/her instructor(s).

Plagiarism – the appropriation of ideas, facts, phrases, or additional materials (such as maps, charts, artwork, or computer programs) from any source without giving proper credit or offering appropriate documentation. Any material in a paper, report, artwork, or computer program which is not acknowledged is understood to be the original work of the author, unless the material is considered general knowledge. Students who are unsure whether they have used and documented source material correctly should consult with their instructor prior to submission of the assignment. 

PENALTIES FOR DISHONESTY  

• If it is believed that an academic honesty violation has occurred, the instructor should schedule a conference with the student to present the violation and evidence. If, following the consultation, the faculty member still believes the student has committed an act of academic dishonesty, the faculty member may recommend an appropriate sanction, such as a grade of zero on the test, examination, or paper in question, retake of a test or examination, extra work, failure in the course, or a combination of these sanctions. The faculty member shall inform the student of the recommended sanction.  The faculty member then shall submit a written report of the matter (including Cheating/Plagiarism Document) to the department/division chair, the dean of the school/college in which the course was offered, and, if different, the student’s academic dean, and the Provost, with a copy to the student. In the case of a graduate student, the dean of the Graduate Studies shall be given a copy. This notification will remain confidential in compliance with policies protecting student privacy. 

Multiple violations will be the purview of the Academic Honesty Committee. This committee may recommend additional and/or combined sanctions, up to and including suspension or dismissal from the university. The Academic Honesty Committee shall report to the Provost/VPAA.  If the recommended sanction is dismissal, the provost shall inform the president, and the president shall direct the registrar to inform the student of the recommendation of the dismissal. In each case, copies of the notification of a recommended sanction shall be sent by the registrar to the faculty member, the department/division chair, the dean of the school or college in which the course was offered, and if different, the student’s academic dean. 

STUDENT APPEAL OF RECOMMENDED SANCTION

The student may appeal the sanction(s) recommended by a faculty member by following the appeal process established in the Academic Grievance Policy already in place, available in the Delta State University Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletins (archived on the Academic Affairs web page) and in the Policies Manual (archived at http://www.deltastate.edu/pages/2457.asp).

The student may appeal the sanction(s) recommended by the Academic Honesty Committee to the Provost/VPAA.