{"id":5406,"date":"2018-06-01T11:01:46","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T15:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ramapo.edu\/catalog-2023-2024\/?page_id=5406"},"modified":"2023-08-09T10:27:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T14:27:09","slug":"academic-integrity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ramapo.edu\/catalog-2023-2024\/academic-policies\/academic-integrity\/","title":{"rendered":"Academic Integrity"},"content":{"rendered":"
All members of the community are expected to be honest and forthright in their academic endeavors. At its core, academic integrity requires accuracy and honesty regarding the representation of the work of others in one\u2019s own academic work. Since violations of academic integrity erode community confidence and undermine the pursuit of truth and knowledge at the College, academic dishonesty is not acceptable.<\/p>\n
OFFICE OF THE PROVOST:\u00a0 The Office of the Provost has responsibility for the oversight and enforcement of the Academic Integrity Policy and for making the policy an institutional priority. The Office of the Provost is also responsible for publishing the policy and for educating both faculty, staff, and students about the policy.<\/p>\n
FACULTY AND STAFF: Faculty members and College staff play a crucial role in implementing the Academic Integrity Policy. They are responsible for educating students about the importance of academic integrity and for communicating to students expectations with respect to academic integrity in course work including but not limited to permissible limits of student collaboration and, where relevant, acceptable citation format.\u00a0In order to demonstrate responsible teaching and academic practices that are grounded in academic integrity, all faculty will:<\/p>\n
STUDENTS: Students have the responsibility to know and understand the Academic Integrity Policy, and the means by which to ensure academic integrity and avoid academic dishonesty.\u00a0 Students must comply with the policy in their academic work, and inform the faculty and\/or the Vice Provost if they are aware of violations of the Academic Integrity Policy.<\/p>\n
There are four (4) broad forms of academic dishonesty; overlap may occur between them.\u00a0 Faculty will generally communicate expectations of what is\/is not allowed for their specific assignments (for instance, they might specify that the use of grammar tools\/spellcheck are allowable, but artificial intelligence tools (\u201cAIs\u201d, such as ChatGPT) or bots are not; or an assignment might require that an AI tool is used).\u00a0 As a general rule, if no specific guidance is provided students and faculty should assume all of the following are to be avoided, along with any other practices that violate academic integrity.<\/p>\n
Cheating is an act of deception by which a student misrepresents their mastery of material on a test or other academic exercise.\u00a0 Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n
Plagiarism occurs when a person represents information as their own work, when it is actually the work of someone (or something) else.\u00a0 Examples may include someone else\u2019s words, ideas, phrases, sentences, or data represented as the student\u2019s own work; the use of the online tools (including AI) in preparing the work; and a third party (person or tool) preparing the work for the student.<\/p>\n
When a student submits work that includes such material, the source of that information must be acknowledged through complete, accurate, and specific footnote or endnote references; additionally, verbatim statements must be acknowledged through quotation marks. To avoid a charge of plagiarism, students should be sure to include an acknowledgment of attribution:<\/p>\n
Examples of standard citation formats can be found on the George T. Potter Library Website:\u00a0Library Website: Citation Manuals and Style Guides<\/a><\/p>\n Fabrication refers to the use of invented information or the falsification of research or other findings. Examples of fabrication include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n Academic misconduct includes the alteration of grades, involvement in the acquisition or distribution of unadministered tests, and the unauthorized submission of student work in more than one class; and any other forms of academic dishonesty that do not clearly fall into the categories of cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication. Examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n In order to ensure due process, any member of the community who is aware of a suspected violation of the Academic Integrity Policy is expected to report the incident.<\/p>\n In case of a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy by a student, a faculty member may choose to resolve the incident themselves or send the case to the Vice Provost for review (see below). A faculty member is encouraged to report an alleged violation of academic integrity within 30 days of the discovery of the alleged violation but must do so no later than the last day to submit grades for the term in which the alleged violation occurred. A faculty member may report an incident after that date, but only if they have new evidence.<\/p>\n A faculty member has the option of resolving a case of an alleged violation of the Academic Integrity Policy with the student or referring the case to the Vice Provost. When an unresolved case reaches the Vice Provost, they will determine the factual sufficiency of the case and identify the appropriate hearing body, either the Vice Provost or the Academic Integrity Board, which is charged with hearing cases that may result in Suspension or Expulsion, cases of students found responsible for prior offenses, and other cases that the Vice Provost would like the board to review. The Vice Provost will also send to the board for review a case resolved by the faculty member that constitutes a second or subsequent violation.<\/p>\n If the student or the faculty member prefers the case to be reviewed by the Vice Provost, if the student fails to attend the scheduled conference with the faculty member, if the student contests the faculty member\u2019s finding and\/or sanction, or if the case is not otherwise resolved, the faculty member must refer the matter to the Vice Provost for further review and resolution. If the case is referred to the Vice Provost, the faculty member must provide all pertinent documentation and evidence to the Vice Provost with the specific factual allegations set forth on the reporting form.<\/p>\n The board is \u00a0comprised of up to six members: the Vice Provost (or designee) as the Board advisor, plus two matriculated students and three faculty and\/or professional staff. A quorum consists of the Board Advisor plus three members of the board, one of whom must be a faculty member. The Vice Provost appoints board members upon positive recommendation from deans (in the case of faculty), divisional vice presidents (in the case of professional staff), and any faculty member, administrator, or professional staff member (in the case of students). The Vice Provost (or designee) also trains each new board member for service on the board and apprises the entire board of any approved procedural changes.<\/p>\n The Vice Provost (or designee) will provide the student with the option to meet with them individually prior to the hearing to present the evidence and to review the policy and procedure. At the hearing, the Vice Provost (or designee) will serve as Board Advisor and, in that capacity, will present evidence, comment on procedure and admissibility of evidence, manage the hearing, and protect the rights of all parties. In addition, the Board Advisor has the right to remove from the hearing any individual who disrupts the hearing or otherwise fails to follow the procedures outlined in this policy. The Board Advisor will be present during the deliberations of the board but will not vote. The board (including the Board Advisor) will hear testimony from, and pose questions to, the student, the complainant, and any witnesses. The student will in turn have an opportunity to question anyone who provides information at the hearing and to respond to any evidence presented against them. After the hearing, the board will determine the finding (responsible or not responsible for violating the Academic Integrity Policy) and, if responsible, the sanction. Sanctions may include Suspension or Expulsion as well as the imposition of lesser sanctions as appropriate. Graduate students found responsible for violations in any part of their theses or capstone projects may be sanctioned with permanent dismissal from their programs in addition to or instead of other sanctions as appropriate. Failure to comply with sanctions by the prescribed time may result in a registration hold or other disciplinary action.<\/p>\n For any hearing conducted by the Vice Provost (or designee) or the Academic Integrity Board, the student shall have the following procedural protections:<\/p>\n If the student is found to have violated the Academic Integrity Policy and is enrolled in the College Honors Program, the Director of the College Honors Program will be notified by the Vice Provost in order to review the student\u2019s status in the program.<\/p>\n When a student is suspected of academic dishonesty and the case is not resolved prior to the official submission of final grades to the Registrar\u2019s Office, the Vice Provost will assign a Z grade for the course involved, using a Z grade form. Once a Z grade has been issued, the procedures described above will be followed.\u00a0 Once the case is resolved, the final grade will be submitted to the Registrar\u2019s Office on a Grade Change form: by the Vice Provost in the case of a sanction of an \u201cF\u201d grade by the Vice Provost or Academic Integrity Board; otherwise the faculty member will determine and submit the final grade via the Vice Provost.<\/p>\n If a student\u2019s grade is impacted by the sanction resulting from a \u201cresponsible\u201d finding, the course is not eligible for Repeat-course (R) grading.\u00a0 (See also policy 300-E.)<\/p>\n A student who is found responsible of violating the Academic Integrity Policy may appeal the decision of the Academic Integrity Board only if certain circumstances exist. The student may not appeal the decision of the faculty member or the Vice Provost. Appeals may be made only if:<\/p>\n The following procedures apply to appeals:<\/p>\n Case files will be retained in the Office of the Provost until five (5) years after graduation or termination.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFabrication<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Academic Misconduct<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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III.\u00a0 How to report a suspected violation<\/strong><\/h4>\n
IV.\u00a0 The Hearing Process<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Overview<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Procedural Protection<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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College Honors Program<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Final Grades<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Repeat Course (R-grade) Option<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Appeal Procedures<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Retention of Records<\/strong><\/h3>\n