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Graduate Academic Policies

Academic Honesty

The Academic Honesty Policy document contains full details concerning:

  • The definition of academic dishonesty;
  • Procedures for reporting and acting on cases involving breach of this policy; and
  • The punishment to be assessed for infractions.

University Honesty policy is available on-line here. In brief, infractions of the policy include any conduct which a reasonable person in the same or similar circumstances would recognize as dishonest or improper to an academic setting. These infractions include:

  • Obtaining test questions or answers to questions and responses to assigned work, in any fashion other than that designated as proper by the instructor of the class involved;
  • Falsifying records and results of academic work;
  • Presenting someone else's work as ones own (plagiarism); and
  • Failing to report an observation of someone involved in one of the preceding activities. Faculty have the responsibility of reporting incidents of alleged academic dishonesty to the department chair. Students have the responsibility of reporting incidents of alleged academic dishonesty first to the faculty member involved, and then, if necessary, to the department chair or to the dean.

Under this policy, faculty members do not determine guilt or innocence or assess penalties. When a faculty member has reasonable grounds in his/her judgment to believe that a student has engaged in academic dishonesty, the faculty member shall notify the accused student and the chairperson of the concerned department in writing within five working days of discovery. Within five working days from the time the chairperson has been notified, the chairperson shall schedule a departmental hearing with the instructor, the accused student, and the accusing party. Any appropriate penalty may be imposed up to a maximum penalty of permanent suspension from the university. Both the involved student and the instructor have equal right of appeal at the college level. All suspensions are automatically appealed to a college level hearing.

*Please see Article 5-8 of the University’s policy regarding the procedure for handling Academic Honesty cases here.