Policy on Academic Dishonesty - Ohlone College

Academic dishonesty defrauds all those who depend upon the integrity of the College, its courses, and its degrees and certificates. In a broader sense the public is defrauded if faculty knowingly or unwittingly allow dishonest acts to be rewarded academically. Faculty should make every reasonable effort to foster honest academic conduct. Specifically, examinations should be appropriately proctored or monitored to prevent students from copying or exchanging information. Examinations and answers to examination questions should be secured in such a way that students cannot have prior access to them. If the faculty member believes that there is evidence of academic dishonesty on the part of a student, it is the faculty member's responsibility to take appropriate action in accordance with this policy.

Students at Ohlone College have the right to know what constitutes academic dishonesty in each course in which they are enrolled. Faculty members should apprise their classes of the ethical standards required in their courses and the permissible procedures in class work and examinations. If feasible, this information should be presented in the course outline (green sheet) and/or on examination questionnaires. If not feasible to include this information on the course outline (green sheet), the policy should be referenced on course outlines. Students should be informed of the consequences of violation of these standards, their rights of appeal, and the procedures to be followed in the appeal.

1. Definitions of Academic Dishonesty

   1. Cheating

      At Ohlone, cheating is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work through the use of any dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means. Cheating at Ohlone includes but is not limited to:

      1. Copying, in part or in whole, from another's test or other evaluation instrument or obtaining answers from another person during the test;

      2. Submitting work previously presented in another course, if contrary to the rules of either course;

      3. Using or consulting during an examination sources or materials not authorized by the instructor;

      4. Altering or interfering with grading or grading instructions;

      5. Sitting for an examination by a surrogate, or as a surrogate;

      6. Any other act committed by a student in the course of his or her academic work which defrauds or misrepresents, including aiding or abetting in any of the actions defined above.

   2. Plagiarism

      At Ohlone, plagiarism is the act of representing the work of another as one's own (without giving appropriate credit) regardless of how that work was obtained and submitting it to fulfill academic requirements. Plagiarism at Ohlone includes but is not limited to:

      1. The act of incorporating the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, or parts thereof, or the specific substance of another's work, without giving appropriate credit, and representing the product as one's own work; and

      2. Representing another's artistic/scholarly works such as musical compositions, computer programs, photographs, paintings, drawings, sculptures, or similar works as one's own.

2. Student Evaluation and Reporting

   When a faculty member responsible for a course has reason to believe, and has evidence to substantiate, that the behavior of a student or students falls within one or both the above sets of definitions, it is a faculty's responsibility to take the following steps:

   1. Arrange an office conference with the student and at that time advise the student of the allegations and make him or her aware of the supporting evidence and the probable consequences. Any classroom confrontation should be as discreet as possible. If, as a result of this meeting, the instructor believes that the student's response is insufficient to offset the charge of academic dishonesty to the extent that he or she may be excused, the instructor will inform the student of the sanctions to be assessed or recommended in accordance with Section III.

      All notes and discussions between the student and the faculty member will be kept confidential except as may be relevant in subsequent disciplinary proceedings or any subsequent legal actions. Faculty members should not discuss specific charges of cheating, plagiarism, or any other violations involving specific individuals in the classroom before other members of the class.

   2. At the discretion of the instructor, a written report of the infraction and the action taken may be submitted to the Vice President, Student Development with a copy to the Academic Dean.

   3. When a student fails to attend a scheduled conference to discuss the alleged dishonesty, or when the apparent dishonesty is detected only near the end of the semester and the instructor makes a good-faith effort to contact the student but is unable to do so, the instructor may impose the recommended penalty and make the report called for in Section II.2 without a conference. In either case, the student's right to appeal is preserved.

3. Sanctions

   There shall be two major classifications of sanctions that may be imposed for violations of this policy: Academic and Administrative. Academic sanctions will be defined as those actions related to the course work and grades which are the province of the instructor. Administrative sanctions are concerned with a student's status on campus and are acted on by the Vice President, Student Development. The imposition of one variety of sanction will not preclude the additional imposition of the other.

   1. Academic Sanctions

      Faculty are responsible for determining the type of academic sanction to be applied to students involved in incidents of cheating or plagiarism. Usually a form of "grade modification" will be employed. Before sanctions can be employed, the faculty member must have verified the instances of academic dishonesty by personal observation and/or documentation. In all cases the violation should be reported to the Vice President, Student Development. A student may be:

      1. Reprimanded orally. A student may be referred for counseling but cannot be required to seek counseling.

      2. Failed in the evaluation instrument (paper or exam).

      3. Reduced in course grade, including possible failure of course.

      4. Referred for administrative sanctions. A faculty member may choose to refer a student to the Vice President, Student Development for disciplinary action in lieu of any academic sanction or in addition to the academic action the faculty member has taken.

      5. Faculty Discretion Cases involving the careless or inept handling of quoted material but which fall short of the definitions of the acts of cheating and/or plagiarism as defined in Section I.A and Section I.B of this policy may be dealt with at the discretion of the faculty member concerned. Section I.A, item 6 also requires faculty interpretation.

      6. Recommended Academic Sanctions For violations of Section I.A, items 1, 2, 3, or Section I.B, item 1 of this policy, the recommended sanction shall be Section III.A, item 2, failure in the evaluation instrument or item 3, reduction in course grade, including possible failure of course.

         For violations of Section I.A, items 4 and 5, it is recommended that the student be referred to the Vice President, Student Development for administrative sanctions in accord with Section III.A, item 5.

         For violations of Section I.B, item 2 of this policy, the recommended sanction shall be Section III.A, item 3, reduction in course grade, including possible failure of course.

   2. Administrative Sanctions

      As stipulated in the California Administrative Code, Sanction 41301, cheating or plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a campus may warrant expulsion, suspension, probation, or a lesser sanction. Administrative action involving academic dishonesty at Ohlone is the responsibility of the Vice President, Student Development according to the Standards of Student Conduct and Disciplinary and Due Process Procedures.

      The Vice President, Student Development will respond to:

      1. Referrals from the faculty;
      2. Flagrant violations of academic standards; and
      3. Repeat violations as brought to attention by the faculty or through the centralized reports filed with the Vice President, Student Development.

      Faculty members will be notified by the Vice President, Student Development when action has been taken.

4. Protection of Rights

   Nothing in this policy is intended to deny students who come within its scope appropriate "due process," including the right to be informed of the charges, the nature of the evidence supporting the charges, and to have a meeting with the faculty member, the Vice President, Student Development or other decision-maker, at which time statements and evidence in behalf of the student may be submitted. Nor is it intended to deny the right to appeal, through appropriate college channels, any decision resulting from such a meeting.

   1. Academic sanctions may be appealed through the Vice President, Academic Affairs in accordance with college policy.

   2. When disciplinary suspension or expulsion is being recommended as an administrative sanction, the student has a right to a formal impartial hearing by an Ohlone College Student Conduct Board. (Education Code 66017)

5. Dissemination of Information

   1. This policy shall be published in the General Catalog. There shall also be copies of this policy in every department office, in the library, in the Faculty Handbook, and copies available to all interested parties in the Office of the Vice President, Student Development and the Office of the Associate Vice President, Newark Center for Health Sciences and Technology.

   2. Dissemination of this information shall be the responsibility of the Vice President, Student Development.

   3. The Vice President, Student Development shall submit to the Faculty Senate annually a statistical report on the number and type of infractions and their eventual disposition.

   4. For all matters addressed in this policy, the Vice President, Student Development may designate a representative.

(Revised January 2008.)

Download the Policy on Academic Dishonesty (PDF).

See also the Board of Trustees Policy on Academic Dishonesty.