NDSU's New and Improved Code of Academic

Responsibility and Conduct

Pedagogical Luncheon, March 22, 2011

Presenters:Jim Council, Professor of Psychology, Associate Dean, CSMKristi Wold-McCormick, RegistrarSean Sather-Wagstaff, Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Senate Special Committee on Academic Dishonesty

• Dennis Cooley (AHSS)• James Council (SM; Chair)• Cameron Knutson, Joni Wiebesick (Undergrads)• Bethany Kubik (Graduate Student)• Cynthia Naughton (PNAS)• Sean Sather-Wagstaff (SM)• Kristi Wold-McCormick (Registrar)

Policy 335 – Major Revisions• Recognizes prerogative of college honor

commissions to use alternative procedures• Defines “instructional staff member” and

“student” (Section1)• Lists examples of behavior constituting

academic misconduct (Section 2)• States responsibility of instructional staff to

inform student of judgment, penalty, and right to appeal (Section 4.d, 5.c)

• Revised policy specifies procedures for:– imposing penalties for academic misconduct

(Section 5)– tracking repeat offenses (Section 5.c,d)– dealing with students not enrolled in course in which

misconduct occurred (Section 6)– dealing with repeat offenders (Section 7)– pursuing non-graduate student appeals (Section 8)– suspension or expulsion of non-graduate students

(Section 9). – dealing with graduate student academic misconduct,

including appeals (Section 10). – dealing individuals who are not NDSU students but

who are involved in cheating (Section 11). – rescinding a degree (Section 12).

Faculty ResponsibilitiesInstructional staff members:• are responsible for providing

guidelines concerning academic misconduct (e.g., cheating and plagiarism) at the beginning of each course.

• should use precautionary measures and security in cases where academic misconduct is likely to occur.

Faculty Responsibilities, continued

• If you suspect that academic misconduct has occurred in your class, you have an initial responsibility to: – inform the student or students involved of your

suspicion and the grounds– allow a fair opportunity to respond– make a fair and reasonable judgment as to

whether or not any prohibited academic conduct occurred.

– inform the student of the judgment, penalty (if any), and the student’s right to appeal.

Faculty Prerogatives• You have the prerogative of determining

the penalty for academic misconduct in your classes – you may, among other sanctions, fail the

student for the particular assignment, test, or course involved

– In this situation, the student may not drop the course in question without your permission

Faculty Prerogatives, continued• In addition, you may recommend a disciplinary

sanction to your dean– could range from academic warning to expulsion

• for undergrads, dean makes recommendation to Academic Standards Committee (via Provost’s Office)

• for grad students, recommendation is to graduate dean

• If the student is not enrolled in your course, – you may recommend a disciplinary sanction to the

dean of the college in which the infraction occurred.– if the student is not enrolled in this college, the dean

will forward the charge to the dean of the student's home college

Preventing a Student Drop• A student suspected of cheating may be

prevented from dropping a class if incident is PRIOR TO last day to drop – typically end of 12th week – see Dates &

Deadlines

• Notify Registrar or Registration & Records (via email for immediate results)

• ‘IP’ Grade will be entered while investigation is pending or underway

Reporting Final Grade/Action• If instructor ultimately permits student to drop the

class, registrar must be notified to remove IP grade • Drops permitted after resolution are administrative only

• Prior to generating Final Grade Rosters, any unresolved IP grades will be removed

• Final grades entered into Campus Connection by instructor • Grade Reporting Form may be submitted for final

grade to be entered sooner.

Tracking Academic Misconduct• If you impose a penalty, you must

complete the Student Academic Misconduct Tracking Form – copies to student, chair/head of your

department, or the program director in case of interdisciplinary programs.

– chair/head/director is responsible for forwarding the form to the appropriate administrators, including the Registrar.

Student Academic Misconduct Tracking Form

This form shall be filed in accordance with Section 335 of the NDSU Policy Manual to report cases of academic misconduct. See Section 335 for a full description of procedures and the appeals process.

 

Student Name/ID: _____________________________________ Date of Report: ___/____/___

 

Subject and Catalog Number of Course: _________________________ Term/Year: _________

______________________________ _____________________________

Instructor’s signature/dateInstructor’s printed name

(original signature required)

Description of academic misconduct:

 

[space has been taken out here]

 

Description of Penalty:

[space has been taken out here]

 

Submit copies of this form to: student, chair/head of the instructional staff member’s primary department, or program director of interdisciplinary program. The chair or program director must submit copies to the dean of the college of the student’s primary major, dean of the instructional staff member’s primary college, Registrar, and Provost/VPAA. In a case of graduate student academic misconduct, also copy the Dean of the College of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Tracking Academic Misconduct

• Students penalized for academic misconduct (regardless of college) will have their information entered into a FERPA compliant database kept by the Registrar.– In case of successful appeals, information is deleted

from the database and all copies of the form are purged.

• Information is confidential, unless a second offense is reported.

• In cases of multiple offenses, the Provost/VPAA and appropriate dean will be notified for further action.

Proposed New Wording for Syllabi

The academic community is operated on the basis of honesty, integrity, and fair play. NDSU Policy 335 applies to cases in which cheating, plagiarism, or other academic misconduct have occurred in an instructional context. Students found guilty of academic misconduct are subject to penalties, up to and possibly including suspension and/or expulsion. Informational resources about academic honesty (including a link to Policy 335) for students and instructional staff members can be found at http://www.ndsu.edu/facultysenate/honesty/.

Academic Honesty and Integrity• Web site -

www.ndsu.edu/facultysenate/honesty • Tracking Form

– Properly secure copies– Original sent to registrar for official record – Original retained for at least five years; copies

may be destroyed sooner

• FAQs in development• Send links and ideas to Kristi, Jim or Sean

Your Input is Welcome!

Additional Recommendations from the Committee:1. The list of forms of academic misconduct and

recommended sanctions should be made available to students, in addition to the other guidelines distributed to students.

2. If you suspect a student of academic misconduct, the suspicious behavior should be documented as it occurs.

3. Before confronting a student suspected of academic misconduct, you may want to consult with your chair or other colleagues about the case and recommended actions.

Additional Recommendations, cont.

4.You may inform students of suspected academic misconduct in several different ways: 

a. If possible, a non-public meeting should be arranged with the student(s) to discuss the suspicion. It the infraction is severe enough to warrant suspension or expulsion, a witness should be present. 

b. If a non-public meeting cannot be arranged, a formal letter or email (cc’d to the chair) can be used to inform the student of the suspicion.  

c. If possible, the student should not be confronted in public. If this is impossible, the you should exercise discretion.

Additional Recommendations, cont.

5. A student should be given a fair opportunity to respond to an accusation of academic misconduct. A written response is preferable. The student may request a written statement of the accusation prior to making a written response.

6. Documentation that a student has a history of academic misconduct should be considered before assigning a sanction.

 

Appeals for Colleges without an Honor Commission

• Undergraduates– Appeals must be submitted in writing in the

following sequence: the instructor, the department chair, and the Dean.

– Then, the student may request a hearing by the Student Progress Committee in the college where the violation occurred.

– Decision of Student Progress Committee is final• Graduate students

– follow procedure in Graduate Bulletin• In cases involving suspension or expulsion

(all colleges), additional appeals are possible