March 9, 2004

Academic Integrity

All members of the Ramapo community are expected to be honest and forthright

in their academic endeavors. Since violations of academic integrity erode

community confidence and undermine the pursuit of truth and knowledge at the

College, academic dishonesty must be avoided. There are four broad forms of

academic dishonesty:

Cheating is an act of deception by which a student misrepresents his or her

mastery of material on a test or other academic exercise.

Examples of cheating are:

Copying from another student’s work

Allowing another student to copy work

Using unauthorized materials such as a textbook or notebook during an

examination

Using specifically prepared materials such as notes written on clothing or

other unauthorized notes, formula lists, etc., during an examination

Collaborating with another person during an examination by giving or

receiving information without authority.

 

Plagiarism occurs when a person represents someone else’s words, ideas,

phrases, sentences, or data as one’s own work. When a student submits work

that includes such material, the source of that information must be acknowledged

through complete, accurate, and specific footnote references; verbatim statements

must be acknowledged through quotation marks.

To avoid a charge of plagiarism, a student should be sure to include an

acknowledgment of indebtedness:

Whenever he or she quotes another person’s words directly

Whenever he or she uses another person’s ideas, opinions, or theories,

even if they have been completely paraphrased in one’s own words.

Whenever another he or she allows another individual to contribute

to your work in some significant fashion (through editing, the sharing

of ideas, etc.).

Whenever he or she uses facts, statistics, or other illustrative material

taken from a source, unless the information is common knowledge.

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. Examples of academic

misconduct are:

Changing, altering, falsifying, or being the accessory to the changing,

altering, or falsifying of a grade report or form, or entering any College office

or building for that purpose

Stealing, buying, selling, giving away, or otherwise obtaining or providing all

or part of any unadministered test or test previously administered to a different section or class. Entering any College office or building for the purpose of obtaining an unadministered test. Submitting written work to fulfill the requirements of more than one course without the explicit permission of both instructors.

Fabrication refers to the deliberate use of invented information or the falsification of

research or other findings with the intent to deceive. Examples of fabrication are:

Citation of information not taken from the source indicated

Listing of sources in a bibliography or other report not used in that project

Fabricating data or source information in experiments, research projects, or

other academic exercises

Submission as one’s own of any academic work prepared in whole or in

part by others

Taking a test for another person or asking or allowing another to take a test

for oneself

Falsifying information or signatures on registration, withdrawal, or other college academic forms.

 

Reporting Violations

To ensure due process, any member of the Ramapo community who is aware of

violations of the College’s academic integrity policy is urged to report the incident

[to the Office of the Provost/ Vice President for Academic Affairs.] Faculty members are instructed to report any violations of the policy to the Office of the Provost/VPAA by filing the ‘Notification of Academic Misconduct’ form [rather than adjudicate the charges themselves.] After consultation concerning the viability of the charge and evidence, the adjudication process will follow.

Adjudication Process

[Once the violation is reported to the Office of the Provost/VPAA, the person charged will be notified in writing of the charge.]

Faculty will have the option of scheduling a conference with the student charged with academic dishonesty, with the student’s consent and only when there is no previous record of academic dishonesty. Should the student and faculty agree to the conference, the ‘Notification of Academic Misconduct’ form will be completed and filed with the Office of the Provost/VPAA. Sanctions may include a reprimand, an F or 0 for the graded work or an F for the course and/or a referral for a conference with a designee from the Office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Should the faculty and/or student decline to participate in a conference, the charge will be filed with the Office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The student will be notified of the nature of the charge and will be provided an opportunity for a hearing before a designated hearing officer of the College. The type of hearing will be determined by the Provost/VPAA. In most cases, a hearing officer will be assigned by the Provost/VPAA and a disciplinary conference scheduled. However, cases will be sent to the College Judicial Board when a past history of similar charges exists or where the violation is egregious (e.g., the stealing of an exam). In such cases, the penalty for a guilty finding could include suspension or expulsion from the College. A Judicial Board hearing is required under the provisions of the College Code of Conduct.

Final Grades — When a student is suspected of academic dishonesty and the

case is not adjudicated prior to the official submission of final grades to the

Registrar’s Office, a "Z" grade will be assigned by the instructor for the course

involved, using a "Z" grade form.

The following describes the individual hearing processes for violations of academic

integrity:

Faculty/Student Conference-With the consent of both the faculty making the allegation and the student, the parties confer and agree to a resolution. The resolution may include exoneration or any one of the sanctions cited below.

Disciplinary Conference — The procedures and procedural protections provided in

this Catalog and the Student Handbook will apply. Both the complainant and the

person charged will have an opportunity to appear before the hearing officer.

Judicial Board — The procedures and procedural protections provided for in the

Catalog and Student Handbook will apply. Charge letters will clearly indicate there is no option regarding the type of hearing. In certain cases where the mental or physical health of the person charged may be seriously affected by the public

proceedings of the Judicial Board, a request for adjudication by private

proceedings of the Judicial Board may be made in writing to the Provost/VPAA. The decision to grant such a request lies solely with the Provost/VPAA. All information pertaining to the case will be made available to the Judicial Board for review by the Provost/VPAA’s Office. (Note: In a Judicial Board proceeding, the complainant must appear to present the complaint. Only under the most unusual of circumstances would a notarized statement of complaint be allowed to serve in the place of the complainant.)

Sanctions — In the case of a guilty finding after a disciplinary conference, penalties

may range from a reprimand, a revision of the assignment, official warning or receipt of a failing grade on the suspicious paper or project, to a failure for the course. A student may also be penalized by being placed on disciplinary probation. In all cases, a written finding will be placed in the student’s file. The Judicial Board may impose the same penalties, suspension for a specified period, or expulsion from the College.

Appeal Procedures — Persons found guilty of violations of academic integrity may

appeal the decision either of a hearing officer or the College Judicial Board to the Provost/VPAA, if certain circumstances exist (e.g. introduction of previously unexamined evidence). In the case where an appeal is filed, the imposition of the sanction may be delayed upon the written request in the appeal letter for such action The decision on the delay is solely at the discretion of the Provost/VPAA.

The following procedures apply to appeals:

Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Office of the Provost/ Vice President for

Academic Affairs within seven (7) business days from the date of the letter

of finding.

Failure to appeal within the allotted time will render the original

decision final and conclusive.

Appeals shall be decided only upon the record of the original proceeding

and upon the written letter of appeal.

Reversals of decisions will occur only as follows:

if sanctions are found to be grossly disproportionate to the offense,

if specific procedural errors or errors in interpretations of College

regulations were substantial,

if new and significant evidence becomes available which could not have been discovered by a properly conducted investigation prior to or during the original hearing.

Retention of Records — The case files of any person found guilty of any charges

will be retained as a disciplinary record for five years after graduation or

termination from Ramapo in the Offices of the Provost/Vice Presidents for Academic

Affairs and Student Affairs. Such records may be retained for longer periods of

time or permanently, if so specified in the letter of finding. If the person charged is

found innocent, records of disciplinary charges in the case will be voided.