Definition of Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty in connection with any Northwest Indian College activity threatens personal, academic and institutional integrity and is not tolerated. Academic dishonesty includes; cheating, plagiarism, and knowingly furnishing any false information to the College. In addition, any commitment of the acts of cheating, lying, and deceit in any form such as the use of substitutes for taking exams, plagiarism, and copying during an examination is prohibited. Knowingly helping someone to commit dishonest acts is also in itself dishonest.
The following are more specific examples of academic dishonesty:
- Substituting in a course for another student or having another substitute for you in a course
- Having someone else write a paper and submitting it as one’s own work
- Giving or receiving answers by use of signals during an exam
- Copying with or without the other person’s knowledge during an exam
- Doing class assignments for someone else
- Plagiarizing published material, class assignments, or lab reports
- Turning in a paper that has been purchased from a commercial research firm or obtained from the internet
- Padding items of a bibliography
- Obtaining an unauthorized copy of a test in advance of its scheduled administration
- Using unauthorized notes during an exam
- Collaborating with other students on assignments when it is not allowed
- Obtaining a test from the exam site, completing and submitting it later
- Altering answers on a scored test and submitting it for a re-grade
- Accessing and altering grade records
- Stealing class assignments from other students and submitting them as one’s own
- Fabricating data
- Destroying or stealing the work of other students
Plagiarism is a type of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism occurs when a person falsely presents written course work as his or her own product. This is most likely to occur in the following ways:
- Submitting the exact text of someone else without the use of quotation marks and without giving proper credit to the author.
- Presenting ideas or using the material of someone else even when it is in the student’s own words, without giving appropriate acknowledgment
- Submitting an assignment written by someone else but representing it as the student’s own work.
Consequences for Academic Dishonesty
Before formal action is taken against a student who is suspected of committing academic dishonesty, instructors are encouraged to meet with the student informally and discuss the facts surrounding the suspicions. If the instructor determines that the student is guilty of academic dishonesty the instructor can resolve the matter with the student through punitive grading. Examples of punitive grading are:
- A lower or failing grade on the assignment,
- Having the student repeat the assignment,
- Additional assignment(s),
- A lower or failing grade for the course
Students who feel they were unfairly accused or punished for academic dishonesty may follow the grievance procedures outlined in the Grievance Procedure and the student rights section of this catalog. Additionally, instructors are encouraged to document and refer academic dishonesty cases to the Registrar, the Dean for Student Life and/or the Vice President of Instruction and Student Services. The Office of Instruction and Student Services will follow established procedures. If a student is found guilty, possible penalties include a warning, probation, suspension, or expulsion.