VCCS POLICY NO: N/A
REVISED DATE: 10/10/2022
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Purpose:
To uphold the academic integrity of the academic programs and courses at the institution and foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the college community.
The procedures for implementation of this policy are provided below.
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Procedure and/or Process Definitions:
Academic dishonesty: the misrepresentation of one’s academic work, which includes, but is not limited to:
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Cheating: the intentional use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise, for example:
- copying or using notes, examinations, or other instructional material during examinations, tests, or quizzes
- using another person to write a paper or any part of a paper, without indicating the person’s contribution with proper documentation
- obtaining, using, or possessing unauthorized copies of an examination or any written work to be graded or receiving unauthorized information regarding examinations
- submitting another’s project as one’s own
- having an examination or any written work to be graded, taken or completed by a second party
- altering or falsifying examination results after they have been evaluated by the faculty member and returned to the student
- writing, without authorization, the answer to an exam question outside class and submitting that answer as part of an in-class exam
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Facilitating academic dishonesty: the intentional or knowing help or attempt to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty, such as:
- completing, in whole or part, an examination or project in the name of someone else
- permitting another student to copy one’s work during an examination, test, or quiz
- permitting another student to copy one’s written work whenever the work is to receive a grade
- illicitly collaborating with another individual or individuals in the completion of course assignments
- taking an examination for someone else
- giving test questions or answers to anyone else
- writing all or part of a paper/assignment for another student
- selling or purchasing all or part of examinations, papers, or other assignments
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Plagiarism: the intentional or unintentional presentation as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source without properly citing the source of the material, for example:
- duplicating an author’s work (in part or whole) without quotation marks and/or accurate citations
- duplicating an author’s words or phrases or ideas with accurate citations, but without quotation marks as necessary
- using an author’s idea(s) in paraphrase without accurate citation(s)
- submitting, without quotation marks, an essay or written work to be graded in which exact words are merely rearranged even though cited
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Other forms of academic dishonesty, such as:
- submitting or resubmitting the same paper for two different classes/courses without the explicit authorization and approval of the faculty members teaching those classes/courses
- fabrication: intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information, data, or citation in an academic exercise
Expulsion: permanent separation from the college as a student
Formal Hearing Committee: an ad hoc committee composed of five (5) members within the college community – three (3) teaching faculty members: two (2) from different schools than the one involved in the case – one (1) from a similar discipline to the academic honesty case, one (1) administrative or classified staff member from Enrollment Management and Student Success, and one (1) student, who may be a student leader from any recognized student organization, or a student trained to hear academic dishonesty cases. No committee members will have any previous relationship with the student.
Interim Incomplete (I) Grade: an incomplete grade on the transcript to be used as a placeholder while a case is being adjudicated.
Suspension: exclusion from attending the college as a student for a definite period of time not to exceed three (3) years.
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Procedures:
If a faculty or staff member has a good faith belief that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred, that individual will contact the Office of Student Support Services by completing JSRCC Form No. 75-0020, Academic Dishonesty Report. Student Support Services will contact the faculty member within two (2) business days to inform the faculty member of whether to follow the informal or formal hearing procedures. Additional inquiries should be sent to academicdishonesty@reynolds.edu.
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Informal hearing procedures
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Contact the Office of Student Support Services at by completing JSRCC Form No. 75-0020, Academic Dishonesty Report. Student Support Services will contact the faculty member within two (2) business days to notify the faculty member they should follow the informal or formal hearing procedures.
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Send the student JSRCC Form No. 75-0021, Notification of Alleged Academic Dishonesty, which will:
- outline the details of the allegation;
- notify the student of their rights and responsibilities;
- request a meeting to discuss the alleged charges and evidence obtained;
- outline the proposed sanction(s) in accordance with the Sanctions section of this policy. (Note: As prescribed in section III-B.3 of the policy document and below in section III-E, in instances where the alleged act occurred at the end of the term and grades are due, the faculty member should request an interim incomplete (I) grade before meeting with the student.);
- provide a deadline for the student to respond (Note: Students should be provided no less than ten [10] business days, or two [2] weeks for a response); and
- provide students the opportunity to accept the charge(s) and sanction(s).
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Meet with the student. At the meeting the faculty or staff member will:
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review JSRCC Form No. 75-0021, Notification of Alleged Academic Dishonesty, provided to the student;
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provide the student with the opportunity to review the relevant materials;
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provide the student with the opportunity to respond to the charge(s);
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if the student accepts the charge(s), have the student sign JSRCC Form 75-0021, Notification of Alleged Academic Dishonesty, accepting the charges and sanctions, and forward all case materials to the Office of Student Support Services via email (academicdishonesty@reynolds.edu) within five (5) business days; and
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if the student does not accept the charge(s) and/or sanction(s), the student will sign the appropriate field on JSRCC Form No. 75-0021, Notification of Alleged Academic Dishonesty. The faculty member will send the completed form to the Office of Student Support Services via email. The Office of Student Support Services will escalate the case to a formal hearing and to the dean of the academic department where the alleged violation occurred for a resolution.
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Formal hearing procedures
In instances where no resolution is achieved at the informal hearing level, or a student has previously violated this policy, a formal hearing committee will be composed to review the case. Formal hearings for academic dishonesty cases that occur within courses will be facilitated by the dean of the academic unit where the course is offered. The vice president of academic affairs (VPAA) may designate an alternate dean or another academic affairs administrator to hear a case when necessary. The facilitator has ten (10) days within notification of the need for a formal hearing to form the committee and schedule the hearing with at least five (5) business days of advance notice to all meeting attendees.
The following procedure will be followed by the facilitator and hearing committee:
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The hearing will be conducted in the following order:
- opening statement by facilitator
- opening statement of accused (if desired)
- presentation of evidence by the facilitator
- presentation of evidence by the accused
- calling of witnesses by facilitator
- cross-examination of witnesses by accused
- questions by committee (if necessary)
- calling of witnesses by accused
- questions by committee (if necessary)
- closing statement by accused
- closing statement by facilitator
- private deliberation by committee
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Members (excluding the facilitator) of the hearing committee will vote on the decision; a simple majority vote will be used to determine responsibility. If the student is found responsible for academic dishonesty, the committee will provide a recommendation of the sanction to the dean or VPAA, or designee. The recommended sanction by the committee may take into consideration the previously recommended sanction of the faculty member. The dean or VPAA has the authority to accept or modify the sanction. However, the decision of the committee regarding the student’s responsibility for the offense will be regarded as final.
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The student will be notified of the decision via certified mail within ten (10) business days of the decision.
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The dean or VPAA will upload all case materials to Maxient within five (5) business days of notifying the student of the decision. The dean or VPAA will notify the Office of Student Support Services via email (academicdishonesty@reynolds.edu) after all case materials have been uploaded, and the Office of Student Support Services will close the case.
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Sanctions
The following are examples of sanctions that may be issued to a student found responsible for violating this policy. Sanctions may be issued independent of one another or in combination (of no more than two [2] of the provisions below). The following sanctions may be considered for the informal process:
The following sanctions may be considered for the informal process:
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formal warning: an oral or written statement to the student that they have committed an act of academic dishonesty that is prohibited at the institution and may result in more severe disciplinary action if the student is found responsible for engaging in any subsequent act of academic dishonesty.
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additional work: an assignment or test to provide evidence of the student’s academic performance and/or evidence that the student knows and understands the course materials.
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a lower or failing grade or score on the assignment or examination.
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In addition to the sanctions listed above, the following sanctions may also be considered after a formal hearing:
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removal of the student from the class and the assignment of the grade “F” or “U” in the course;
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suspension or expulsion from the college, in cases where a student has previously violated this policy at least two (2) times;
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suspension or revocation of degree, in cases where an offense is discovered after the degree is posted.
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Nothing in this policy will preclude the recommendation or imposition of other reasonable sanctions or a combination of sanctions within the authority and discretion of the committee, the vice president of academic affairs (for cases involving academic courses), or the dean of students (for cases involving placement testing).
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Appeals
Students are afforded the opportunity to appeal a decision. An appeal is not a re-hearing. It represents a procedural safeguard for the student and should not be used for anything other than that right and privilege. In the appeal process, the burden of proof is shifted from the college to the student charged with the offense.
If a student would like to appeal the decision of the committee, the student must submit a letter of appeal to the academic dean of the school for which the course is located. If the dean of the appropriate area participated in the informal hearing, then the appeal should be forwarded to the vice president of academic affairs (VPAA).
The student must show that it is more likely than not that one or more of the grounds for appeal have merit. The letter must be submitted within ten (10) business days from the date of the decision. The student may appeal one or more of the following:
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evidence of a violation of the hearing process or procedures. If there is evidence of a violation, the student would receive another opportunity to go before a hearing committee;
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excessively severe sanction in relation to the violation due to mitigating factors or previous sanctions for similar violations;
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new, or newly discovered, evidence that may substantially affect the outcome of the hearing.
If there is adequate reason to believe that one or more of the grounds of appeal have merit, an appeal meeting will be scheduled by the dean or VPAA within ten (10) business days of receipt of the student’s appeal.
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Once the student files an appeal, a copy of the hearing file and records of the student will be forwarded to the dean or VPAA from the Office of Student Support Services.
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Within ten (10) business days of receipt of the student’s appeal, the dean or VPAA will notify the student of the date, time, and place of a meeting for the appeal.
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During the appeal meeting, the dean or VPAA will review all information presented during the informal or formal hearing and give the student an opportunity to present information to support his/her appeal.
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Within ten (10) business days of the appeal meeting, the student will be notified by the dean or VPAA of the decision. This decision is final.
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Records
In the event that a final grade needs to be submitted before the completion of either an informal or formal hearing, an interim incomplete (I) grade should be requested to hold the place of the final grade until the outcome of the hearing is determined.
Records will be maintained in the Office of Student Support Services in accordance with Reynolds Policy No. 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition.
At the conclusion of informal hearings, all case materials will be uploaded into Maxient by the Office of Student Support Services within five (5) business days. At the conclusion of formal hearings, all case materials should be uploaded into Maxient by the dean or VPAA within five (5) business days of notifying the student of the hearing decision.
If a student is expelled, the student’s record will be maintained permanently by the dean of students or Office of Student Support Services.
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Other Information:
Reynolds Policy No. 1-26, Student Privacy and Release of Student Information
Reynolds Policy No. 2-06, Grades Plan
Reynolds Policy No. 4-38, Record Retention and Disposition
JSRCC Form No. 75-0020, Academic Dishonesty Report
JSRCC Form No. 75-0021, Notification of Alleged Academic Dishonesty