Academic Integrity Violations and Sanctions

LEVELS OF VIOLATION AND RECOMMENDED SANCTIONS

Any violation of academic integrity is a serious offense and is therefore subject to an appropriate penalty or sanction. Academic integrity violations at PCOM are classified into four levels according to the nature of the violation.

The student’s academic program director will determine the level of violation. For each level of violation, a corresponding set of sanctions is recommended. Levels One and Two violations are administered by the faculty in the academic program. The academic program may elect to handle Level Three and Level Four with final approval by the College Dean or send the student to the Student Professional Conduct Committee (SPCC). Level Three and Level Four violations can result in temporary or permanent separation from the College. Please note that separation is a possible sanction for repeat violations at Level One or Level Two.
 

The recommended sanctions at each level are not binding but are intended as general guidelines for the academic community. Moreover, due to mitigating circumstances, a standard sanction is not always imposed, even when a student is found responsible for a given violation. Culpability may be assessed, and sanctions imposed differentially for those with more or with less experience as members of the academic community.

Examples are cited for each level of violation. These examples are meant to be illustrations and should not be considered all-inclusive.

Repeat Violations

A repeat violation at Level One will ordinarily be treated as a Level Two violation, although it may, under certain circumstances, be treated as a Level Three violation. A repeat violation at Level Two may be treated as a Level Three, and hence a separable violation. Any violation committed after completing probation for a Level Three violation will be treated as a Level Four violation.

Note: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is acknowledged for the work of its faculty in forming the foundation of this policy, as adapted by PCOM.

Level One Violations

Level One violations may occur because of inexperience or lack of knowledge of the principles of academic integrity and are often characterized by the absence of dishonest intent on the part of the student committing the violation. These violations generally are quite limited in extent (e.g., 1–2 sentences), occur on a minor assignment, and represent a small fraction of the total course work.

Examples include:

  1. Working with another student on a minor laboratory exercise or assignment when such collaboration is prohibited.
  2. Failure to footnote or give proper acknowledgment in a very limited section of an assignment.

SANCTIONS FOR LEVEL ONE VIOLATIONS

May include one or more of the following, although this list is not all-inclusive:

  1. Required participation in a noncredit workshop or seminar on ethics or academic integrity.
  2. An assigned paper or research project related to ethics or academic integrity.
  3. A make-up assignment that is more difficult than the original assignment.
  4. No credit for the original assignment.
  5. Disciplinary warning.

Level Two Violations

Level Two violations are breaches of academic integrity that are more serious or that affect a more significant aspect or portion of the course work compared with Level One violations (e.g., more than a few sentences). 

Examples include:

  1. Quoting directly or paraphrasing, to a moderate extent, without acknowledging the source.
  2. Submitting the same work, or major portions thereof, to satisfy the requirements of more than one course without permission from the instructor to whom the work is submitted for the second or subsequent time.
  3. Using data or interpretative material for a laboratory report without acknowledging the sources or the collaborators. All contributors to the acquisition of data and/or to the writing of the report must be acknowledged.

SANCTIONS FOR LEVEL TWO VIOLATIONS

May be referred to the Student Professional Conduct Committee and may include one or more of the following:

  1. A failing grade on the assignment.
  2. A failing grade for the course.

Level Three Violations

Level Three violations are breaches of academic integrity that are more serious in nature or that affect a more significant aspect or portion of the course work compared with Level Two violations.  

Examples include:

  1. Repeat Level Two violations.
  2. Presenting the work of another as one’s own.
  3. Copying work on assessment.
  4. Plagiarizing portions of a written assignment.
  5. Acting to facilitate copying during an assessment.
  6. Using prohibited materials, such as books, notes, or calculators, during an assessment.
  7. Conspiring before an exam to develop methods of illicitly exchanging information during the assessment.
  8. Altering an assessment for the purposes of re-grading.
  9. Acquiring or distributing copies of an assessment from an unauthorized source prior to the assessment period.
  10. Submitting purchased materials such as a term paper.
  11. Fabricating data by inventing or deliberately altering material. Fabrication includes citing “sources” that are not, in fact, sources.
  12. Falsifying information to receive an extension or other modification for an assessment adjustment.

SANCTIONS FOR LEVEL THREE VIOLATIONS

May include an F for the course and probation for one or more terms or permanent dismissal, depending on the seriousness of the violation.

Level Four Violations

Level Four violations represent the most serious breaches of academic integrity. 

Examples include:

  1. Committing a violation of academic integrity after returning from suspension for a previous violation of academic integrity.
  2. Committing a violation of academic integrity that breaks the law or resembles criminal activity (such as forging a grade form, stealing an examination from a professor or from a College office, buying a stolen assessment, falsifying a transcript to gain access to the College or its resources, or altering the record of work done at the College).
  3. Having a substitute take an assessment or taking an assessment for someone else.
  4. Fabricating evidence, falsifying data, quoting directly or paraphrasing without acknowledging the source, and/or presenting the ideas of another as one’s own in a senior thesis, a master’s thesis, a doctoral dissertation, a scholarly article submitted for publication, or any other work represented as his or her own by a graduate or professional student.
  5. Sabotaging another student’s work through actions designed to prevent the student from successfully completing an assignment.  

SANCTION FOR LEVEL FOUR VIOLATIONS

May result in permanent dismissal from the College.