Academic Integrity

 

This Policy applies to any and all student experiences in which academic credit is involved (e.g., courses, internships, dissertation, etc.).

 

  1. Academic Integrity

Because academic integrity is a cornerstone of the University’s commitment to the principles of free inquiry, students are responsible for learning and upholding professional standards of research, writing, assessment, and ethics in their areas of study. In the academic community the high value placed on truth implies a corresponding intolerance of scholastic dishonesty. Written or other work which students submit must be the product of their own efforts and must be consistent with appropriate standards of professional ethics. Academic dishonesty, which includes cheating, plagiarism and other forms of dishonest or unethical behavior, is prohibited.

A breakdown of behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty is presented below.

The definitions and clarifications are meant to provide additional information and examples of these behaviors. They are not intended to be all-inclusive. Questions regarding this policy or requests for additional clarification can be directed to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dean of Graduate Studies, or the Provost.

 

  1. Academic dishonesty includes:

         A. Cheating on Examinations

Definition: Cheating is using or attempting to use materials, information, notes, study aids, or other assistance in any type of examination which have not been authorized by the instructor.

Clarification

  1. Students completing any type of examination are prohibited from using external aids of any sort (e.g., books, notes, calculators, and conversation with others) unless the instructor has indicated specifically in advance that this will be allowed.
  2. Students may not take examinations in the place of other persons. Students may not allow other persons to take examinations in their places.
  3. Students may not acquire unauthorized information about an examination and may not use any such information improperly acquired by others.

      

       B. Plagiarism

Definition: Plagiarism is intentionally or carelessly presenting the work of another as one’s own. It includes submitting an assignment claiming to be the student’s original work which has wholly or in part been created by another person. It also includes the presentation of the work, ideas, representations, or words of another person without customary and proper acknowledgement of sources. Students must consult with their instructors for clarification in any situation in which the need for documentation is an issue and will have plagiarized in any situation in which their work is not properly documented.

Clarification

  1. Every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation and must be properly acknowledged by parenthetical citation in the text or in a footnote or endnote.
  2. When material from another source is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in one’s own words, that source must be acknowledged in a footnote or endnote, or by parenthetical citation in the text.
  3. Information gained in reading or research that is not common professional knowledge must be acknowledged in a parenthetical citation in the text or in a footnote or endnote.
  4. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use of papers, reports, projects, and other such materials prepared by someone else.

 

   C. Copyright Infringement

Definition: Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.

Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may be subject to civil and criminal liabilities.

Penalties

Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or “statutory” damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For “willful” infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys’ fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505.  Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.

For more information, please see the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov, especially their FAQ’s at www.copyright.gov/help/faq.

 

   D. Fabrication, Forgery and Obstruction

Definition: Fabrication is the use of invented, counterfeited, altered or forged information in assignments of any type including those activities done in conjunction with cademic courses that require students to be involved in out of classroom experiences.

Forgery is the imitating or counterfeiting of images, documents, signatures, and the like.

Obstruction is any behavior that limits the academic opportunities of other students by improperly impeding their work or their access to educational resources.

Clarification

  1. Fabricated or forged information may not be used in any laboratory experiment, report of research, or academic exercise. Invention for artistic purposes is legitimate under circumstances explicitly authorized by an instructor.
  2. Students may not furnish to instructors fabricated or forged explanations of absences or of other aspects of their performance and behavior.
  3. Students may not furnish, or attempt to furnish, fabricated, forged or misleading information to university officials on university records, or on records of agencies in which students are fulfilling academic assignments.
  4. Students may not steal, change, or destroy another student’s work. Students may not impede the work of others by the theft, defacement, or mutilation of resources so as to deprive others of their use.

  E. Multiple Submissions

Definition: Multiple submissions are the submission of the same or substantially the same work for credit in two or more courses.

Multiple submissions shall include the use of any prior academic effort previously submitted for academic credit at this or a different institution.

Multiple submissions shall not include those situations where the prior written approval by the instructor in the current course is given to the student to use a prior academic work or endeavor.

Clarification

  1. Students may not normally submit any academic assignment, work, or endeavor in more than one course for academic credit of any sort.
  2. Students may not normally submit the same or substantially the same work in two different classes for academic credit even if the work is being graded on different bases in the separate courses (e.g., graded for research effort and content versus grammar and spelling).
  3. Students may resubmit a prior academic endeavor if there is substantial new work, research, or other appropriate additional effort. The student shall disclose the use of the prior work to the instructor and receive the instructor’s permission to use it PRIOR to the submission of the current endeavor.
  4. Students may submit the same or substantially the same work in two or more courses with the prior written permission of all faculty involved. Instructors will specify the expected academic effort applicable to their courses and the overall endeavor shall reflect the same or additional academic effort as if separate assignments were submitted in each course. Failure by the student to obtain the written permission of each instructor shall be considered a multiple submission.

   F. Complicity

Definition: Complicity is assisting or attempting to assist another person in any act of academic dishonesty.

Clarification

  1. Students may not allow other students to copy from their papers during any type of examination.
  2. Students may not assist other students in acts of academic dishonesty by providing material of any kind that one may have reason to believe will be misrepresented to an instructor or other university official.
  3. Students may not provide substantive information about test questions or the material to be tested before a scheduled examination unless they have been specifically authorized to do so by the course instructor.

   G. Misconduct in Research and Creative Endeavors

Definition: Misconduct in research is serious deviation from the accepted professional practices within a discipline or from the policies of the university in carrying out, reporting, or exhibiting the results of research or in publishing, exhibiting, or performing creative endeavors. It includes the fabrication or falsification of data, plagiarism, and scientific or creative misrepresentation. It does not include honest error or honest disagreement about the interpretation of data.

Clarification

  1. Students may not invent or counterfeit information.
  2. Students may not report results dishonestly, whether by altering data, by improperly revising data, by selective reporting or analysis of data, or by being grossly negligent in the collecting or analysis of data.
  3. Students may not represent another person’s ideas, writing or data as their own.
  4. Students may not appropriate or release the ideas or data of others when such data have been shared in the expectation of confidentiality.
  5. Students may not publish, exhibit, or perform work in circumstances that will mislead others. They may not misrepresent the nature of the material or its originality, and they may not add or delete the names of authors without permission.
  6. Students must adhere to all federal, state, municipal, and university regulations for the protection of human and other animal subjects.
  7. Students may not conceal or otherwise fail to report any misconduct involving research, professional conduct, or artistic performance of which they have knowledge.

H. Computer Misuse

Definition: Misuse of computers is disruptive, unethical, or illegal use of the university’s computer resources. Misuse of computers also includes disruptive, unethical, or illegal use of the computers of another institution or agency in which students are performing part of their academic program.

Clarification

  1. Students may not use the university computer system in support of any act of plagiarism.
  2. Students may not monitor or tamper with another person’s electronic communications.
  3. Students may not use university computer resources to engage in illegal activity, including but not limited to the following: illegally accessing other computer systems, exchanging stolen information, and violating copyright agreements which involve software or any other protected material.

I. Misuse of Intellectual Property

Definition: Misuse of intellectual property is the illegal use of copyright materials, trademarks, trade secrets or intellectual properties.

Clarification

Students may not violate the university policy concerning the fair use of copies.

This can be found in the HUHS catalog under Intellectual Property Rights of the Student.

  1. Ethical and Professional Behavior

 Students are expected to adhere to the ethical and professional standards associated with their programs and academic courses. Such standards are generally communicated to students by instructors and are available through publications produced by professional organizations. Unethical or unprofessional behavior will be treated in the same manner as academic dishonesty.

  1. Sanctions for Violations of the Policy on Academic Integrity

 In cases involving violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity, determination of the student’s grade and status in the course are made by the instructor or the Dean of Undergraduate Studies or Dean of Graduate Studies. The instructor’s or Director of Administration’s determination can be appealed by the student to the Provost in which the offense has occurred.

  1. Process for Handling Alleged Violation of this Policy

In cases involving violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity, determination of the student’s grade and status in the course are made by the instructor. The instructor’s determination can be appealed by the student to the Provost.

 

A. Offense Proceedings

  1. First Offense: Conference with the Student

When an instructor has determined that a student has committed a violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity, the instructor will notify the office to identify whether or not the student has had previous offenses. After the office has notified the instructor that the student is on the first offense, the instructor will notify the student within a reasonable period of time to set up an informal meeting through telephone or teleconference between the student and instructor. The student has the right to decline to talk about the matter with the instructor until they have a meeting. Any meeting shall take place within four business days of initial contact after the discovery of the alleged violation. Neither the instructor nor the student may be represented or accompanied by an attorney or any other advisor.

At the meeting, the instructor will inform the student of the details of the violation and provide resources. It will be the responsibility of the instructor to present evidence of the alleged violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity. The student will be provided the opportunity to respond to the allegation and may explain any suspected or alleged misconduct by presenting evidence, giving additional information relevant to the matter, explaining extenuating or mitigating circumstance, or acknowledging a violation.

If the student declines to discuss the matter or attend a meeting with the instructor or is unavailable for more than four (4) business days, the instructor shall enter a grade of zero for the assignment.

The instructor shall initiate the Academic Integrity Form determining whether or not the student will be allowed to revise the submission for a maximum grade of 80% within four (4) days. The Form is sent by Adobe Sign to the instructor, appropriate dean, and student along with a copy of the Policy on Academic Integrity.

  1. Second Offense: Automatic Zero

When an instructor has determined that a student has committed a violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity, the instructor will notify the office to determine whether or not the student has had previous offenses. After the office has notified the instructor that the student is on the second offense, the Academic Integrity Form is sent to the instructor, appropriate dean, and student and a grade of zero is entered by the instructor for the applicable assignment.

  1. Third Offense: Course Failure

When an instructor has determined that a student has committed a violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity, the instructor will notify the office to determine whether or not the student has had previous offenses. After the office has notified the instructor that the student is on the third offense, the Academic Integrity Form is sent to the Instructor, appropriate dean, and student. At this time the appropriate dean will send a notification letter of the failure of the course.

  1. Fourth Offense: Expulsion from University

When an instructor has determined that a student has committed a violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity, the instructor will notify the office to determine whether or not the student has had previous offenses. After the office has notified the instructor that the student is on the fourth offense, the Academic Integrity Form is sent to the instructor, appropriate dean, provost and student. At this time the provost will send a Letter of Expulsion from the University.

 

B. Appeal of an Informal Proceeding

A student sanctioned for violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity may appeal the instructor’s decision that a violation of the Policy has occurred, and/or the sanction. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the instructor and to the Provost not later than ten (10) business days after the student has been notified of the instructor’s decision. An appeal not made within the time limit will not be heard unless an exception is made by the Provost. An appeal is made by submitting a written statement of appeal to the instructor and Provost within the time limit. The written statement of appeal must state: the name of the person appealing, the basis of the appeal, the instructor making the decision from which the appeal is made, and the remedy which the person appealing is requesting from the dean. The Provost is final authority on all academic matters.

If it is necessary pending the resolution of an appeal, the student will be assigned a deferred grade. A copy of the appeal and the dean’s resolution of the appeal will be part of the file on the violation maintained by the Registrar. Failure to appeal a sanction after an informal conference with an instructor constitutes acknowledgement that the student violated the Policy on Academic Integrity.

Provost: Gene Bruno

gene.bruno@huhs.edu

118 Legacy View Way

Knoxville, TN 37918

(865) 524-8079  x 7

 

Appeal Process for Dismissal

Students may appeal dismissal decision in writing within five (5) business days of the notification of the decision by contacted the Provost, Gene Bruno:

Provost: Gene Bruno

gene.bruno@huhs.edu

118 Legacy View Way

Knoxville, TN 37918

(865) 524-8079 x 7

The Academic Retention Committee will meet and make the final decision.

 

 

Revised 4.2.2020