Administrative Procedure for Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is inconsistent with the values and mission of Tacoma Community College. Students at TCC are expected to be honest and forthright in their academic endeavors. Cheating, plagiarism, fabrication or other forms of academic dishonesty corrupt the learning process and demean the educational environment for all students.

Academic dishonesty is a violation of Tacoma Community College Chapter 132V-121 WAC Code of Student Conduct:

WAC 132V-121-060 (1)

Acts of dishonesty including, but not limited to, the following (see Tacoma Community College Administrative Procedure for Academic Dishonesty):

(a) Cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, academic misconduct or other forms of academic dishonesty.

(b) Withholding information or furnishing false information to any college official, faculty member or office.

(c) Forgery, alteration or misuse of any college document, record, or instrument of identification.

The purpose of this document is to

1. define academic dishonesty, and
2. provide a process for implementing penalties when academic dishonesty occurs.

Definitions of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:

Cheating: Cheating is an act of deception by which a student misrepresents that he or she mastered information on an academic exercise.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else's words, ideas or data as one's own work. When a student submits work for credit that includes the words, ideas, or data of others, the source of that information must be acknowledged through complete, accurate, and specific references and, if verbatim statements are included, through quotation marks.

Fabrication: Fabrication is the intentional use of invented information or the falsification of research or other findings with the intent to deceive.

Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct is the intentional violation of college policies (e.g. tampering with grades, taking part in obtaining or distributing any part of an exam prior to the scheduled testing time). Examples include selling or giving away test answers and changing or altering a grade on a test or in a grade book.

Sanctions

Sanctions for intentional acts of dishonesty may be academic and/or administrative. The consequences may vary with the situation and the individual instructor. All instructors include in the course syllabus a policy on and sanctions for academic dishonesty.

If an instructor determines that an intentional incident of academic dishonesty has occurred, he or she may determine what action to take. Appropriate actions include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Issue a grade of "E" or "no credit" for the paper/assignment
• Issue a sanction of an "E" grade for the course

As a violation of the Code of Student Conduct, academic dishonesty may result in an administrative sanction of Warning, Reprimand, Probation or Suspension from the college among others.

Procedures

Meeting with the Instructor

If an instructor suspects that academic dishonesty has occurred, the following steps should be followed:

1. Instructor will meet with the student to discuss the concern. This meeting will take place within four instructional days of the date the instructor became aware of the alleged academic dishonesty. The instructor will present the evidence of academic dishonesty and ask the student to offer their thoughts. If instructor still believes misconduct occurred, they can assign responsibility and inform the student of the intended sanction(s).
2. If the allegations are determined to be false, the student will be exonerated.
3. If the allegations are determined by the instructor to be true and the student agrees with the intended sanction(s), the instructor will complete an Academic Dishonesty Incident Report Form
4. The instructor and the student will both sign the Academic Dishonesty IR form, to confirm the date of the meeting. The student should initial the form to indicate their agreement with the allegation and sanction.
5. If the student chooses not to meet with the professor, the original sanction imposed by the instructor will hold.
6. The instructor will then complete the Student Code of Conduct Incident Report Form. This is the end of the process

Appeal Process - When Student Disagrees with Allegations/and or Sanctions

The student has the right to appeal the allegations of academic dishonesty and/or the intended sanctions before they are imposed. During the course of the appeal process, the student shall maintain full academic and student standing in the course.

Instructor:

• If the allegations are determined by the instructor to be true (sanction assigned) and the student disagrees with the allegations and/or the intended sanction(s), the instructor will inform the student of his or her right to appeal.
• The instructor will complete the Academic Dishonesty incident report form. The instructor and the student should both sign and date the form. The student should initial the form to indicate their disagreement with the allegation/sanction, and to show that they have been informed of their right to appeal. The instructor will forward the form to the division Dean.

Division Dean:

The dean will meet with the instructor, the student and, if necessary, others who have information about the academic dishonesty matter, no later than ten (10) instructional days of the student filing a written appeal.

1. Prior to meeting with the Dean, the student must send a written appeal to include any evidence they wish the Dean to consider in their decision. If the allegations are determined by the division dean to be false, the student will be exonerated.
2. If the Dean agrees with the student that the sanction needs to be changed, the Dean will consult with the instructor before setting final sanction.
3. The dean will determine and impose final sanction(s). The decision of the dean shall be final if the sanction is other than an E grade for the course. If the grade assigned is an E, the Dean will meet with the Provost to determine whether this decision can be remanded, and a new grade assigned.

Once this process is complete, the Dean will inform the student of a final decision. The dean and the student will sign the Academic Dishonesty incident report form to confirm the date of the meeting, and the dean will submit a Student Code of Conduct Incident Report Form and attach the signed academic dishonesty incident report form. Dean will inform instructor and student of final outcome.