Provided by the Marshall Univeristy Office of Academic Affairs

Introduction
As described in the Marshall University Creed, Marshall University is an "Ethical Community reflecting honesty, integrity and fairness in both academic and extracurricular activities."

Academic Dishonesty is something that will not be tolerated as these actions are fundamentally opposed to "assuring the integrity of the curriculum through the maintenance of rigorous standards and high expectations for student learning and performance" as described in Marshall University's Statement of Philosophy.

A student, by voluntarily accepting admission to the institution or enrolling in a class or course of study offered by Marshall University accepts the academic requirements and criteria of the institution. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of policies regulating academic conduct, including the definitions of academic dishonesty, the possible sanctions and the appeal process.

For the purposes of this policy, an academic exercise is defined as any assignment, whether graded or ungraded, that is given in an academic course or must be completed toward the completion of degree or certification requirements. This includes, but is not limited to: Exams, quizzes, papers, oral presentations, data gathering and analysis, practicums and creative work of any kind.

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Definitions of Academic Dishonesty: Below are definitions of some common types of academic dishonesty. Each instructor may modify the general definition of academic dishonesty to fit the immediate academic needs within that particular course of study, provided the instructor defines, in writing and preferably in the course syllabus, the details of any departure from the general definition.

Cheating: Any action which if known to the instructor in the course of study would be prohibited. This includes:

• The unauthorized use of any materials, notes, sources of information, study aids or tools during an academic exercise.
• The unauthorized assistance of a person other than the course instructor during an academic exercise.
• The unauthorized viewing of another person's work during an academic exercise.
• The unauthorized securing of all or any part of assignments or examinations, in advance of submission by the instructor.

Fabrication/Falsification: The unauthorized invention or alteration of any information, citation, data or means of verification in an academic exercise, official correspondence or a university record.

Plagiarism: Submitting as one’s own work or creation any material or an idea wholly or in part created by another.

This includes:

• Oral, written and graphical material
• Both published and unpublished work

It is the student’s responsibility to clearly distinguish their own work from that created by others. This includes the proper use of quotation marks, paraphrase and the citation of the original source.  Students are responsible for both intentional and unintentional acts of plagiarism.

Bribes/Favors/Threats: Attempting to unfairly influence a course grade or the satisfaction of degree requirements through any of these actions is prohibited.

Complicity: Helping or attempting to help someone commit an act of academic dishonesty.

Sanctions
Sanctions for academic dishonesty may be imposed by the instructor of the course, the department chairperson, or the Academic Dean. Sanctions for academic dishonesty may be imposed even if a student withdraws from an individual course or from the university entirely.

The instructor may impose the following sanctions:

• A lower or failing project/paper/test grade,
• A lower final grade,
• Failure of the course
• Exclusion from further participation in the class (including laboratories or clinical experiences)

The following sanctions may be recommended by the instructor but will need to be imposed by the department chair, academic dean or the Office of Academic Affairs:

• Exclusion from an academic program
• Academic probation for up to 1 year
• Academic suspension for up to 1 year
• Dismissal from the university.

In those cases in which the offense is particularly flagrant or where there are other aggravating circumstances, additional, non-academic, sanctions may be pursued through the Office of Judicial Affairs.

A student will be informed in writing by the instructor or responsible office, of any charges and subsequent sanctions imposed for academic dishonesty (See "Reporting" below). Written notification of academic dishonesty charges (and the inclusion of confirmed charges/sanctions in a student's records) is designed to inform a student of the potential repercussions of repeat offenses and his/her rights of appeal. 

If a student believes that charges of academic dishonesty have been erroneously levied, he/she should appeal such charges in accordance with the process outlined below (See "Appeals Process").

Sanctions for repeated academic dishonesty offenses will be imposed by the Office of Academic Affairs after consultation with the appropriate department chairs and deans. 

1. A student's record of academic dishonesty offenses will be maintained throughout their enrollment at Marshall University, and the period of time between offenses may have no impact on sanctions for repeated offenses.
2. A student with a second academic dishonesty offense during his/her enrollment at Marshall University will be academically suspended for a period of time not to exceed one academic year (to include summer terms).
3. A student with a third academic dishonesty offense during his/her enrollment at Marshall University will be dismissed from the university.
   
   

Reporting
Any time an accusation of academic dishonesty is made, and a sanction imposed (or a sanction will be imposed with the submission of final grades), a notice should be sent to the Office of Academic Affairs within ten (10) days of the accusation. 

Notice of an act of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Office of Academic Affairs through the completion of an “Academic Dishonesty Report Form” (described below).

The “Academic Dishonesty Report Form” will include:

• Instructor’s Name
• Course Information (Term, Number, Section)
• Student’s Name
• Student’s University Identification Number
• Brief Description of the Charge
• Date of Accusation
• Brief Description of the Sanction

Instructors are encouraged to give a copy of the “Academic Dishonesty Report Form” to a student accused of an offense. However, within ten (10) days of receipt of the “Academic Dishonesty Report Form” the Office of Academic Affairs will inform the student and the student’s dean of the accusations made, the sanctions prescribed, the repercussions of repeat offenses, and his/her rights of appeal.

A copy of the report will go into the student’s college file.

Any subsequent actions taken (additional sanctions imposed, the lessening of sanctions, the withdrawal of accusations, the results of appeals, etc.) should be reported to the Office of Academic Affairs within ten (10) days of the action.

Recording
The Office of Academic Affairs will maintain a file of academic dishonesty incidents. These will be reported in summary form (no student or faculty names will be included) to the Academic Deans and the Faculty Senate at the end of each academic year.

Appeals Process
In cases where the instructor imposes sanctions and does not refer the matter to the department chairperson for additional sanctions, the student may appeal the sanction in accordance with the procedures described for grade appeal (see listing under “Grade Appeal” described in section V. Academic Appeals p. 94 of the Undergraduate Catalog). This includes lowered grades, exclusion from class activities and failure of the course.

• If allegations of academic dishonesty are referred to the department chairperson for additional sanctions, it must be within thirty (30) days from the date of the alleged offense. This process starts with the dean if there is no department chairperson.
• The department chairperson shall bring together the student involved, and the faculty member, and/or other complainant within ten (10) days from the date of referral.
• If the student denies guilt or disagrees with the sanction imposed, or if the faculty member, other complainant, or chairperson feels that the penalties are insufficient for the act complained of, the case shall be forwarded in writing by the chairperson to the student's Academic Dean within ten (10) days from the date of the meeting. The Academic Dean shall bring together the student, faculty member or other complainant, and the department chairperson to review the charges within ten (10) days from the date of referral. The Academic Dean may impose any sanction permitted by this policy.
• Should the student, faculty member, or other complainant be dissatisfied with the determination of the Academic Dean, the case may be appealed in writing wit hin ten (10) days of the Dean's written decision to the Budget and Academic Policy Committee, who shall refer the case to the University Academic Appeals Board for resolution.
• Should the student, faculty member, or other complainant be dissatisfied with the determination of the Academic Appeals Board, then he/she may file an appeal with the Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the written decision of the Board. The decision of the Provost/V.P. Academic Affairs shall be final.
  

Only individual allegations of academic dishonesty may be appealed. If a previous offense was not appealed within the time limit, or was appealed unsuccessfully then subsequent offenses will be counted as repeat offenses and additional sanctions will be levied by the Office of Academic Affairs as described under the section on “Sanctions.”

Approved by Faculty Senate, February 27, 2003