Board of Regents Policy Interim Student Academic Misconduct Policy

CSCU is committed to fostering an environment of rigorous academic pursuit with honesty. To further this objective, the following policy defines academic misconduct and outlines necessary response provisions to ensure related processes are administered fairly.

1. Prohibited Behaviors 
   Academic misconduct, which includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism and all forms of cheating, is prohibited. 
   Plagiarism is defined as the submission of work by a student for academic credit as one’s own work of authorship which contains work of another author without appropriate attribution. 
   Cheating includes, but is not limited to:
   1. use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests or examinations;
   2. use of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems or carrying out other assignments;
   3. the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the college or university faculty or staff; and
   4. engaging in any other behavior specifically prohibited by a faculty member in the course syllabus.
2. Institution Responsibilities
   To ensure fairness in adjudicating allegations of this nature, institutions must adopt procedures that include the following principles:
   1. Instructor’s Role: When the instructor of record or his or her designee believes that an act of academic misconduct has occurred, he or she shall notify the student of the allegation and save any evidence of such misconduct in its original form. (Copies of the Accused Student’s work will be provided to the Student upon request.) In addition, the instructor shall not transmit a final grade to the Registrar until such time as the allegation(s) of academic misconduct are finally determined. Each institution shall establish implementation guidelines in accordance with this policy.
   2. Information from Person Other than Student’s Instructor: Any member of the CSCU Community may provide information which might lead to a complaint against a Student alleging academic misconduct.
   3. The Academic Misconduct Hearing Board: There shall be an academic misconduct hearing board convened by the institution’s Disciplinary Officer to consider allegations of academic misconduct lodged against a Student. The institution’s disciplinary officer shall be a non-voting member of the board and act as convener.
   4. Hearing Process: The Accused Student shall be afforded adequate notice of the allegation, an opportunity to discuss the allegation with the instructor, and adequate time to request and prepare for a hearing. All parties shall have an opportunity to be heard and a record of the proceedings shall be made. The decision of a hearing board shall be communicated in writing.
   5. Sanctions: If the academic misconduct hearing board determines that the Accused Student is “Not Responsible,” the board shall not impose any sanctions. The board shall so advise the Student’s instructor and the instructor shall reevaluate the student’s course grade in light of the Board’s determination. If the academic misconduct hearing board determines that the Accused Student is “Responsible,” the academic sanction set forth in the instructor's course syllabus shall be imposed. The academic misconduct hearing board may make a recommendation to change the academic sanction imposed by the instructor on the basis of its hearing of the evidence of academic misconduct. (Should the academic sanction not be changed pursuant to this recommendation, the institution reserves the right to change the academic sanction.) Upon consideration of the Accused Student’s record of misconduct and/or the nature of the offense, the academic misconduct hearing board may impose additional non-academic sanctions in proportion to the severity of the misconduct. These sanctions may include the following: warning, written reprimand, discretionary sanctions, suspension and/or expulsion, as described in the Student Code of Conduct.
   6. Appeals: The decision rendered by the academic misconduct hearing board may be appealed to the Provost/Academic Vice President, who shall review the record of the hearing, including any and all documents presented to the academic misconduct hearing board. An appeal shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Provost/Academic Vice President within three (3) calendar days of receipt of the academic misconduct hearing board’s written decision. An appeal may be brought on any of four grounds: (a) a claim that error in the hearing procedure substantially affected the decision; (b) a claim that new evidence or information material to the case was not known at the time of the hearing; (c) a claim that the non-academic sanction(s) imposed were not appropriate for the violation of the Code for which the accused student was found responsible; and/or (d) a claim that the academic sanction imposed has resulted in a palpable injustice. The Provost/Academic Vice President shall have the right to deny an appeal not brought on any of the foregoing grounds. The decision rendered by the Provost/Academic Vice President shall be final and there shall be no further right of appeal.

Enforcement

Students found responsible for violating this policy may be subject to sanctions consistent with the course’s syllabus and in cases of repeated or egregious misconduct, additional sanctions available under the Student Code of Conduct.