Student Academic Integrity

As part of our mission to enable students to become responsible citizens by developing ethical awareness, Oregon Tech expects that students, staff, and faculty share in the responsibility of maintaining high academic standards. Faculty and staff are expected to encourage and sustain academic excellence. Students are expected to demonstrate their knowledge with honesty and integrity. Oregon Tech considers academic dishonesty to be an unacceptable practice.

Definition
Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating, plagiarism or otherwise obtaining grades under false pretenses. Plagiarism is defined as submitting the language, ideas, thoughts or work of another as one’s own or assisting in the act of plagiarism by allowing one’s work to be used in this fashion. Cheating is defined as, but not limited to: obtaining or providing unauthorized information during an examination through verbal, visual or unauthorized use of books, notes, text and other materials; obtaining or providing unauthorized information concerning all or part of an examination prior to that examination; taking an examination for another student or arranging for another person to take an exam in one’s place; altering test answers after submittal for grading; changing grades after grades have been awarded; or altering other official academic records.

Academic Action and Disciplinary Procedures

Disciplinary procedures for incidents of academic dishonesty may involve both academic and administrative action. After following the settlement procedures outlined below, the instructor of record may choose one or more of the following actions:

1. Provide a written warning to the student (with copy to the Student Affairs Office).
2. Award a failing mark on the test or paper in question.
3. Require the student to retake the test or resubmit the paper.
4. Refer the case to the Student Hearing Commission.

Academic action by instructor of record may not include assigning a grade of “F” for the course or administratively withdrawing the student from the course based solely upon the incident of academic dishonesty. (Oregon Department of Justice Memorandum, 1979).

Administrative directors who determine in the course of their duties that academic dishonesty has occurred will also use the settlement procedures outlined below, notifying the instructor of record, and may choose either action 1 or 4, above.

All academic dishonesty cases will be reported to the Student Affairs Office. If a faculty member and/or administrative director has evidence that a student has violated the Student Academic Integrity policy, the case may be handled either through settlement or a hearing. If the student is attending Oregon Tech, the faculty member and/or administrative director must meet with the student as soon as possible after discovering the violation. After meeting with the student, the faculty member and/or administrative director will determine the appropriate procedure based on the following:

1. If the faculty member and/or administrative director believes that the suspected violation can be resolved under the settlement procedures, s/he will contact the Student Affairs Office to determine if the student is eligible for settlement. If a student has a prior academic dishonesty offense, s/he is not eligible for settlement.
2. If the student is eligible, the faculty member and/or administrative director may proceed with the settlement procedure.
3. If the student is not eligible for settlement, or if the faculty member or administrative director believes the suspected violation is serious enough to warrant a greater penalty than those outlined under the disciplinary procedures, the faculty member or administrative director must refer the case to the Student Hearing Commission by notifying the Student Affairs Office.

Settlement Procedures

1. Faculty member and/or administrative director meets with the student and presents him/her with the allegation and evidence of the academic integrity violation.
2. Faculty member and/or administrative director requests an explanation from the student.
3. After hearing the explanation, the faculty member and/or administrative director will determine whether or not a violation has occurred. If so, s/he will fill out a settlement form noting the penalty and give a copy of the form to the student.
4. The student will be allowed, at most, 48 hours to consider and seek advice on whether to admit guilt and accept the penalty by signing the form.
5. If the student agrees to sign, the original must be signed in the faculty member’s or administrative director’s presence.
6. If settlement is reached, the faculty member and/or administrative director imposes the penalty and delivers the settlement form in a “confidential” envelope to the Student Affairs Office who keeps a record of offenses. The student is given a copy of the form.
7. If the student refuses to meet with the instructor or administrative director, the faculty member and/or administrative director must forward the form to the Student Affairs Office.
8. If during the meeting the student neither admits guilt nor agrees with the penalty and signs the settlement form accordingly, the faculty member and/or administrative director must forward the form to the Student Affairs Office.
9. Students have the right to file an appeal as outlined in the Student Handbook.