Plagiarism

An attempt to claim ideas or writings that originate with others as one’s own is a serious offense against the academic community. Plagiarism is not mitigated by a paraphrase or even by an extensive rewriting of another’s work. Whenever ideas or words are borrowed, the student must give credit by citing the source. The same principle of honesty applies to the use of modern technologies like the computer—sources of information must be accurately credited.

A student who submits plagiarized work is subject to disciplinary action. An instructor who discovers that plagiarized work has been submitted in fulfillment of course requirements shall immediately inform the student, allowing him or her the chance to explain the circumstances. If, after conferring with the student, the instructor still considers the student’s work to be plagiarized, then the instructor will compile the materials of the case, including the piece of work that may have been plagiarized, any sources from which the student plagiarized and a report of the instructor’s conversation with the student. The instructor will submit these materials to the appropriate Academic Dean.

If the student acknowledges in writing that he or she has plagiarized, the case does not go to an Academic Discipline Committee. Instead, the instructor assigns a grade on the work and a grade in the course, up to and including failure in the course. The appropriate Academic Dean reviews the case and decides on a penalty beyond the grade as necessary.

If the student does not acknowledge the plagiarism, the appropriate Academic Dean will submit the case, with all relevant materials, to the Academic Disciplinary Committee of the student’s school. That disciplinary committee will conduct its own investigation and will hold a hearing at which the student, representing him or herself, will be invited to present his or her case and to respond to the committee’s questions. The committee will decide solely on whether the student did plagiarize and will base its decision only on the evidence, not on mitigating or extenuating circumstances.

If the committee finds that plagiarism did occur, it will convey its findings to the instructor and to the appropriate Academic Dean. The instructor will assign a grade to the material in question and a grade for the course, up to and including failure in the course and shall report these grades to the appropriate Academic Dean. The Dean shall hold a show-cause hearing with the student on why he or she should not be dismissed from the university and shall decide on any penalties beyond the grade, up to and including dismissal from the university.

If the appropriate Academic Discipline Committee decides that the work is not plagiarized, the committee will inform the instructor of its decision. The instructor shall then compute a grade for the piece of work and the course without regard to plagiarism, but solely on an evaluation of the quality of the student’s work. The case against the student is then dropped.

Repeat offenses are subject to further disciplinary action including, but not limited to, academic suspension and dismissal.

Adequate procedures for dealing with instances of plagiarism in off-campus programs will be determined by the appropriate Academic Dean in consultation with the Director of that program.

The standard procedure in a case of plagiarism discovered in a thesis or dissertation is termination of work toward the degree. The standard procedure in a case of plagiarism discovered in a thesis or dissertation after the degree has been granted, regardless of the length of time ensuing, is revocation of the degree.