Student Misconduct

Academic Integrity

The college expects students to fulfill their academic obligations through honest and independent effort. In a community of scholars committed to truth, dishonesty violates the code of ethics by which we live and is considered a serious offense subject to strong disciplinary actions. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Knowingly furnishing false or misleading information.
Falsification, alteration or misuse of college forms or records.
Any joint effort in examinations, assignments or other academic activity unless authorized by the instructor.
Plagiarism in any form; using another’s phrase, sentence or paragraph without quotation marks; using another’s ideas or structure without properly identifying the source; or using the work of someone else and submitting it as one’s own.
Willfully aiding another in any act of academic dishonesty. Columbia College is equally concerned about the interpersonal social relationships that affect the learning environment. Respect for the conditions necessary to enhance learning is, therefore, required.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using others’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. Students who fail to properly give credit for information contained in their written work (papers, journals, exams, etc.) are violating the intellectual property rights of the original author. These violations are taken seriously in higher education and could result in a failing grade on the assignment, a grade of F for the course or dismissal from the College. If a student is unclear what constitutes plagiarism they should begin by asking their instructor for clarification. Additionally, the internet has extensive tools a student can use to help them avoid plagiarism. The easiest source is to access Google.com and search for the word “plagiarism.” Many helpful sources will be provided. For proper citation of the original authors, students should reference the appropriate publication manual for their degree program or course (APA, MLA, etc.). The instructor will be able to supply this information or you may access the website at www.ccis.edu for writing guidelines.

Academic Misconduct Procedures

Generally, the faculty will handle offenses related to academic misconduct and assign appropriate penalties without involving others. In such cases, the following procedure will be followed:

The faculty member who, upon investigation, suspects academic misconduct will, if possible, confer with the student suspected.
1. If the faculty member determines the student is not responsible for engaging in academic misconduct, the matter will be dropped.
2. If the faculty member determines the unacceptable behavior was unintentional, the violation will be explained and an alternative penalty will be imposed at the discretion of the investigating faculty member. The dean for Academic Affairs and the dean for Student Affairs must be notified in writing of the incident and the outcome.
3. If the student admits responsibility for academic misconduct, or if the faculty member determines there was intentional unacceptable behavior, the faculty member may impose the penalty stated in the course syllabus. In the absence of a penalty stated in the syllabus, the penalty will be a grade of F on that activity, which will be factored into the final grade. The dean for Academic Affairs and the dean for Student Affairs must be notified in writing of the incident and the action taken.
  *The faculty member and/or Dean for Academic Affairs or Dean for Student Affairs can elect to also pursue behavioral misconduct consequences for the academic misconduct by referring the matter to the Student Affairs office for adjudication.
A student wishing to challenge or appeal the accusation of academic misconduct should seek the counsel of the department chair. The dean for Academic Affairs must be notified of the results of this informal disposition.
If either the student or the faculty member is not satisfied with the informal disposition, he/she may request a formal hearing. The individual must initiate the hearing procedure by filing an appeal request with the dean for Academic Affairs within three (3) school days after the informal disposition meeting. The written request will be forwarded to the dean for Academic Affairs and the dean for Student Affairs.
The dean for Academic Affairs and the dean for Student Affairs will review the request and determine if there are proper grounds for appeal and if the evidence submitted warrants reconsideration of the decision. All parties involved will be notified. Generally, most incidents of academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism, cheating and grade appeals will be resolved through processes governed by Academic Affairs. Most incidents of personal conduct related allegations, such as disorderly classroom conduct, will be resolved through processes governed by Student Affairs.

It is important to note that there are those cases where the allegations and potential consequences are so serious and complex that the matter will be submitted, at the outset, to Student Affairs for investigation, informal disposition, and if necessary, formal disposition through a campus review board. Decisions regarding case jurisdiction ultimately rest with the dean for Academic Affairs and the dean for Student Affairs.

Levels of Academic Misconduct Violations and Recommended Sanctions

Any violation of academic integrity at Columbia College is a serious offense.

For each level of violation a corresponding set of sanctions is recommended. The recommended sanctions at each level are not binding but are intended as general guides for the academic community. Culpability, mitigating and aggravating circumstances and past behavior may be assessed and sanctions imposed differentially. Examples are cited below for each level of violation. These examples are meant to be suggestions and should not be considered all inclusive.

First Level

(First level violations occur because of inexperience or lack of knowledge of academic integrity. Usually there is an absence of dishonesty or intent.)

Examples include:

Working with another student on a minor exercise or homework assignment when such collaboration is prohibited.
Failure to footnote or give proper citation in a limited section of an assignment.

Possible Sanctions include:

Instructor notice of academic misconduct (and corresponding academic action which is outlined in course syllabus and/or catalog)
Disciplinary warning or probation
Required tutorials or meetings to clarify understanding of academic integrity

Second Level

Examples include:

Repeat first level violation.
Quoting directly or paraphrasing to a moderate extent without acknowledging the source.
Copying work or facilitating copying on an exam.
Using prohibited materials during an exam.
Exchanging information during an exam.
Submitting the same work or portions thereof to satisfy requirements of more than one course without permission from the instructor to whom work is submitted for the second or subsequent time.
Failure to acknowledge assistance from others.
Presenting the work of another as one’s own.
Plagiarizing major portions of a written assignment.

Possible sanctions include:

Instructor notice of academic misconduct (and corresponding academic action which is outlined in course syllabus and/or catalog)
Disciplinary probation or suspension
Required tutorials or meetings to clarify understanding of academic integrity

Third Level

Examples include:

Repeat first or second level violation.
Acquiring or distributing copies of an exam or assignment from an unauthorized source.
Submitting purchased materials such as a term paper.
Fabricating sources or data.
Sharing of passwords and other security measures that compromise the integrity of one’s work.
Intentionally ignoring the instructions of instructors and/ or proctors.
Committing a violation of academic integrity after returning from suspension for a previous violation of academic integrity.
Committing a violation of academic integrity that breaks the law or resembles criminal activity such as forging a grade, letter or official document; stealing an exam or class materials; buying a stolen exam or class materials; falsifying a transcript or official document; or altering a college record or official document.
Having a substitute take an exam or complete an assignment or taking an exam or doing an assignment for someone else.
Sabotaging another student’s work through actions designed to prevent the student from successfully completing an assignment.
Knowingly violating canons of the ethical code of the profession for which a student is preparing.

Possible sanctions include:

Instructor notice of academic misconduct (and corresponding academic action which is outlined in course syllabus and/or catalog)
Disciplinary suspension or dismissal
Required tutorials or meetings to clarify understanding of academic integrity

Mitigating/Aggravating Circumstances for Academic Misconduct

These factors could mitigate or aggravate a situation. These factors may be considered at the point that a sanction is being decided.

Extent of misconduct. Misconduct that extends across multiple classes and involves multiple assignments or the entire assignment is generally more serious.
Intent of misconduct. Misconduct may occur if a student violates the expectations of academic integrity through: negligence, knowledge, recklessness and willfulness.
Importance of the assignment. Other things being equal, misconduct on final examinations, term papers, and the like merit higher penalties than the same misconduct on lesser assignments. Similarly, misconduct in a capstone or similar course is particularly serious.
Student’s class standing. Inexperience or unfamiliarity with the rules of integrity is not ordinarily available as a mitigating factor for students after the freshman year. The gravity of the offense increases as the student rises in class standing.
Integrity of the student’s response. Students who fully and promptly admit misconduct may receive consideration not available to students whose denial of responsibility is contradicted by the findings.
Prior offenses. Repeat offenses are especially serious.