Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct
Plagiarism has been defined as follows: “If you fail to acknowledge borrowed material, then you are plagiarizing. Plagiarism is literary theft. When you copy the words of another, be sure to put those words inside quotation marks and to acknowledge the source with a footnote. When you paraphrase the words of another, use your own words and your own sentence structure, and be sure to give a footnote citing the source of the idea. A plagiarist often merely changes a few words or rearranges the words in the source. As you take notes and as you write your paper, be especially careful to avoid plagiarism.”1

No student may submit the same paper or work in two different classes without the express permission of the instructors involved. Submitting the same paper or work without permission will be considered a case of academic misconduct. Cheating on any assignment for a course will be considered a case of academic misconduct. If an instructor finds that a student is guilty of plagiarism or another form of academic misconduct in his or her course, the faculty member may give the student an “F” for the course. The instructor will send documentation of the infraction to the vice president for academic affairs, who will keep a permanent record of the infraction.

A student contesting the decision of the faculty member has the right to appeal to the Committee on Academic Status and must notify the vice president for academic affairs of his or her intent to do so within seven calendar days of being informed of the faculty member’s decision. The Committee on Academic Status will hear the appeal, and its decision will be sent to the vice president for academic affairs. If the decision of the Committee on Academic Status is different from that of the faculty member, the vice president for academic affairs will meet with the faculty member to adjudicate the issue. If the Committee on Academic Affairs upholds the decision of the faculty member, the student may make a final appeal to the vice president for academic affairs. If the vice president for academic affairs disagrees with the decisions of the faculty member and the Committee on Academic Status, the vice president will meet with the faculty member and a representative of the Committee to adjudicate the issue. Students found guilty of a second case of plagiarism or academic misconduct will be dismissed immediately from the College.

1 From the Harbrace College Handbook, by John C. Hodges and Mary E. Whitten, published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich