/Institutions/Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods-College/json/2024-2025/Code-of-Student-Conduct-local.json

/Institutions/Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods-College/json/2024-2025/Code-of-Student-Conduct.json

Academic Policies

Academic Integrity Policy

In the rigorous pursuit of academic excellence in all formats (undergraduate, online and graduate), all members of the SMWC community must abide by relationships based on mutual esteem, trust, sincerity, faith and responsibility. Saint Mary of the Woods College embodies a spirit of student-centered academic innovation, faith and leadership to transform ourselves, our communities and our world. As an academic community we strive to advance the knowledge of our students pursing truth. This is directly related to the SMWC motto: Vitus cum Scientia translated as Virtue with Knowledge Unite. Academic honesty must be one of our most cherished values and any form of academic dishonesty or misconduct is to be considered a most serious offense.

To that end, our students will develop their intellectual, ethical and social dimensions of their character while abiding by the Academic Integrity policy. This policy is reinforced by expecting all members of SMWC to uphold the Academic Integrity Policy; refraining from any form of academic misconduct or dishonesty. This obligation applies to themselves, to their peers and to the institution to uphold all instances of integrity at SMWC.

Academic Integrity Violation Definitions

Cheating is including but not limited to, using “cheat sheets”, accessing formulas or notes that have been stored on phones or other technology, copying from peers, receiving or giving help on papers, experiments, reports, compositions, projects or examinations, looking at another student’s paper during a test, or obtaining a copy of the test prior to the test date.

Inappropriate Collaboration working with another on an assignment without express permission from the instructor.

Fabrication is the falsification or invention of information or data in reports, lab results, bibliographies, clinicals or any other academic undertaking.

Facilitating Academic Dishonesty involves assisting someone in an act of dishonesty, such as giving someone a paper or homework to copy from or allowing someone to cheat from your test paper.

Interference may take the form of theft, defacement or destruction of resources so as to deprive other students of information. Multiple Submission is submitting work you have done in previous classes as if it were new and original work, without express permission of the instructor.

Plagiarism is the fraudulent misrepresentation of any part of another person’s work as one’s own. Plagiarism ranges from copying someone else’s work word for word, to rewriting someone else’s work with only minor word changes, to summarizing work without acknowledging the source. Any unacknowledged use of sources, misuse of sources or use of sources to which one is indebted including but not limited to, music, video, audio, theatre projects, compositions, website and computer software constitutes plagiarism. The requirements of academic integrity also extend to academic activities involving computers and networks 24 and unethical/unprofessional conduct specific to academic programs.

Electronic Dishonesty is using network access inappropriately, in a way that affects a class or other students’ academic work. Examples of electronic dishonesty include using someone else’s authorized computer account to send and receive messages, breaking into someone else’s files, gaining access to restricted files, disabling others’ access to network systems or files, knowingly spreading a computer virus or obtaining a computer account under false pretenses.

Sources: used with permission of Butler College and Hanover College. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of academic integrity violations. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College reserves the right to investigate and determine other infractions to the Academic Integrity Policy as they are presented.

Reporting Process

The following information must be reported to the Academic Affairs Office when an instructor is reporting an offense to the Academic Integrity Policy:

• The course number, date and time of the alleged infraction.
• The instructors charge against the student.
• A completed Academic Integrity Violation Report.

Upon receiving the completed report and supporting documentation from the instructor, the Academic Affairs Office will review the information. The student shall be contacted to discuss the allegation and determine their position. If the student acknowledges the infringement a decision will be rendered on the charge and appropriate sanctions will be determined.

A student cannot avoid a sanction by withdrawing from the course and is not permitted to withdraw from a course while the allegation is under investigation. If a student does not wish to respond with additional information to the charge against them, the process will move forward. After reviewing all of the evidence and hearing responses from the instructor and student, a decision will be rendered on the charge and appropriate sanctions will be determined.

If the student disagrees with the charges against them, the Academic Integrity Committee will review documentation, interview the student/s and the instructor before rendering a decision. If the decision finds the student has violated the Academic Integrity Policy, appropriate sanctions will be determined by the committee. The following documents will be required by the instructor for The Committee to review:

• A copy of the course syllabus.
• Include any supporting documentation for the charge (Turnitin.com report or others).
• Statements from other students should be included if applicable.
• Copies of any written communications between the instructor and student that would pertain to the incident.

If a student chooses to appeal the decision of the Academic Integrity Committee, the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs must receive the appeal in writing within 5 days of the original decision. The final decision of the institution is with the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs.

Sanctions

The first offense of a violation to the Academic Integrity Policy is usually a zero for the assignment, but could be more severe depending on the circumstances. A subsequent violation could be a zero on an assignments or failure of a course. Any additional infractions could easily result in suspension or dismissal from the college.