4.4 Academic Integrity

By action of the Academic Dean’s Committee, the policies governing academic dishonesty and grade disputes in cross-registration situations are as follows:

1. A student charged with academic dishonesty in a course taken outside the home college shall be tried according to the procedures for handling such cases in the home institution. Faculty members are obliged to accept the decision of the student’s college and may not impose a penalty should the appropriate hearing panel fail to find guilt. Any student grievance concerning a grade given by an instructor as a result of such a hearing decision will also be handled according to the rules of the student’s home college.
2. All other grievances concerning grades are handled by the procedures of the college sponsoring the course.

Expectation of Academic Integrity

Scripps College is a community of scholar: faculty, students, and staff dedicated to the education of students and the advancement of learning. Scripps believes that learning and teaching thrive in an environment conducive to freedom of belief, inquiry, and speech. By continued participation in College life, each member of the Scripps community affirms acceptance of personal responsibility and obligation to the community in assuring that these principles are upheld in all aspects of our lives.

Therefore, in keeping with the System of Responsibility (refer to Section 5.1  of the Faculty Handbook), Scripps College expects each student to uphold the highest principles of academic honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty of any kind destroys our trust in one another, devalues the Scripps community, and damages intellectual and personal development. It is not tolerated at Scripps and may result in one or more penalties including suspension or expulsion; a full discussion of such penalties as well as related academic policies and procedures can be found in the Catalog and The Guide to Student Life. Questions about this information may be referred to a faculty adviser, the Registrar, or the Dean of Students staff.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the academic use of “someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source. This definition applies to texts published in print or on-line, to manuscripts, and to the work of other student writers” (CWPA website). Unintentional plagiarism can be avoided by consulting with one’s instructor about proper methods for acknowledging sources in advance of submitting an assignment.

Plagiarism includes:

1. Quoting the exact words of one’s source without putting them in quotation marks and naming the source in the text or in an endnote or footnote; or, when paraphrasing a source, failing to acknowledge one’s source. The exception is for ordinary factual information that is regarded as common property.
2. Acquisition of a term paper or other assignments from any source and the subsequent presentation of those materials as the student’s own work; or submitting another student’s papers, assignments, or exams as one’s own.

Other Examples of Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is the deliberate misrepresentation of one’s own work or the work of others. It includes but is not limited to the following:

1. Any use of external assistance during an examination unless expressly permitted by the faculty member.
2. Changing answers after an exam or other classwork has been returned with the intent to deceive the instructor.
3. Taking a course, portion of a course, or exam for another student or allowing another individual to take a course, a portion of a course or exam in one’s stead.
4. Obtaining for oneself or providing for another person a solution to homework, a project or other assignments, or a copy of an exam or exam key without the knowledge and express consent of the instructor.
5. Using an essay, term paper, or other project in more than one course without permission of each instructor or handing in similar work in more than one course unless the faculty members are fully informed and give their approval.
6. Collaboration on a project, homework or other assignments when such collaboration is expressly forbidden.
7. Sabotage or misrepresentation of the work of another student.
8. Falsification, alteration or misrepresentation of official or unofficial records or documents including but not limited to, academic transcripts, academic documentation, letters of recommendation, and admissions application issues.
9. Submitting lab assignments, class projects, or other assignments that are wholly or partially falsified or otherwise do not represent work accomplished or undertaken by the student.

Procedures for Resolving Allegations of Academic Dishonesty

Faculty members suspecting that a student may have committed an act of academic dishonesty may wish to discuss the matter with the student informally in order to gain further insights into the matter. Such informal discussions are not required but may prove helpful in assessing the situation.

Whether or not such an informal discussion takes place, as soon as a faculty member concludes that a student has in fact committed an act of academic dishonesty, the faculty member has an obligation to so inform the College. A faculty member arriving at such a conclusion will therefore inform the Dean of Students of the suspected infraction.

The Dean of Students will then determine if any previous reports of proven or admitted academic dishonesty are on file. Subsequent procedures will depend on whether there are such previous reports on file, as explained below.

Procedures for a Charge of Academic Dishonesty With No Prior Reports on File

If the student has not previously been found guilty of, or admitted to, academic dishonesty, the charge of academic dishonesty shall be resolved as follows:

Procedures for a Charge of Academic Dishonesty With Prior Reports on File

If the student has previously been found guilty of, or admitted to, academic dishonesty, a new charge of academic dishonesty shall be resolved as follows:

1. Within five (5) days of notifying the Dean of Students of the new charge the faculty member shall notify the student of the charges by email at the student’s Scripps College email account. A copy of the notification must be sent to the Dean of Students.
2. Within five (5) working days of the student’s notification of the new charge by the faculty member the Dean of Students will refer the student’s case in writing to the Augmented CAR.
3. A notation of No Grade (“NG”) for the course shall be recorded on the student’s transcript until the matter is resolved by the Augmented CAR and referred back to the faculty member to assign a grade for the assignment and for the course.
4. The Dean of Students will bring the charges before the Procedures of the Augmented Committee on Academic Review”).

Procedures of the Augmented Committee on Academic Review

1. Voting members of the Augmented Committee on Academic Review will include the regular faculty and student members of the Committee on Academic Review (CAR) plus the chair of the Academic Policies Subcommittee of the Faculty Executive Committee, who will chair this committee, and the Judicial and Academic Review Chair of Scripps Associated Students. Non-voting, ex-officio members include the Dean of Students and Registrar.
2. If the faculty member bringing the charges of academic dishonesty is normally a member of the Augmented CAR, that faculty member is ineligible to serve and the Dean of the Faculty will appoint a faculty replacement. In the event that any other faculty member of the Augmented CAR is unable to serve, the Dean of Faculty will likewise appoint a faculty replacement.
3. In the event that one of the student members of the Augmented CAR is charged in a case of academic dishonesty, that student is ineligible to serve, and the Dean of Students will appoint a student replacement. In the event that any other student member of the Augmented CAR is unable to serve, the Dean of Students will likewise appoint a student replacement.
4. The Augmented CAR must meet on any case within ten (10) working days of the time the case was referred to it by the Dean of Students or, if the case was referred at the end of a semester, within ten (10) working days of the commencement of the next semester. The student charged may request a delay for appropriate reasons; the appropriateness of any such request shall be determined by the Dean of Students. The faculty member will be invited to appear and to present evidence in support of the charge. The student will be invited to appear and present evidence in defense.
5. The Augmented CAR, after consideration of evidence submitted by the faculty member and the charged student, will determine whether or not the student has committed the offense and, in the event of a guilty verdict, whether a College penalty shall be assessed. The Augmented CAR will provide written notification of its finding (and, if applicable, any College penalty) to the faculty member involved and to the student.
   In the event that the Augmented CAR reaches a guilty verdict, one or more of the following penalties may be imposed depending on the severity of the violation:
   1. Suspension.
   2. Expulsion.
   3. Revocation of degree or admission.
   4. Any other sanctions the committee develops to address the violation.

Penalties “a-c” above will be recorded on the student’s permanent academic record (transcript).

The Augmented CAR may also recommend to the faculty member that the student receive a grade of an “F” for the assignment or for the course. The faculty member is not obligated to accept this recommendation, however, as explained in #8 below.

6. The decision of the Augmented CAR with respect to the charge and, if applicable, any College penalty shall be final.
7. The Registrar shall maintain a record of any Augmented CAR proceeding. This record, as well as the proceeding itself, shall be confidential.
8. After being informed of the decision of the Augmented CAR and of the College penalty, if any, imposed upon the student, the faculty member will then determine the student’s grades for the assignment(s) in question and for the course.

After Resolution of a Charge of Academic Dishonesty

1. A student found guilty of, or admitting to, a charge of academic dishonesty will have written notification of such charge placed in the student’s record. If the Augmented CAR, no notation regarding such charge or the Augmented CAR finds a student not guilty of a charge of academic dishonesty, proceeding will be placed in the student’s file.
2. A student found guilty of or admitting to academic dishonesty may not dispute the grades assigned by the faculty member for the assignment or the course.

Note: A student’s withdrawal from the College will not terminate or suspend any of the proceedings set forth above. The student will be invited to participate in such proceedings on the same basis as if the student were still enrolled at the College. The faculty member and the augmented CAR, if necessary, shall continue to fulfill their designated obligations as outlined above.