Academic Integrity

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences advising offices is committed to the Honor Code of the University of Colorado Denver.

A university's reputation is built on a standing tradition of excellence and scholastic integrity. As members of the UCD academic community, faculty and students accept the responsibility to maintain the highest standards of intellectual honesty and ethical conduct in completing all forms of academic work at the University.

Students encountering issues regarding academic dishonesty should talk with their CLAS advisor as soon as possible. All students should understand academic integrity and the consequences of not following the Campus Honor Code. If you have questions, please contact the CLAS advising office to speak with the advisor who sits on the College Ethics Committee. Following are the procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty.

Definition of Academic Dishonesty

Procedure for Dealing with Academic Dishonesty

Description of Student Rights

Procedures for Faculty Encountering Academic Dishonesty

Description of Academic Ethics Hearing Process

Definition of Academic Dishonesty

Students are expected to know, understand, and comply with the ethical standards of the University. In addition, students have an obligation to inform the appropriate official of any acts of academic dishonesty by other students of the University. Academic dishonesty is defined as a student’s use of unauthorized assistance with intent to deceive an instructor or other such person who may be assigned to evaluate the student’s work in meeting course and degree requirements. Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, the following:

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of another person’s distinctive ideas or words without acknowledgment. The incorporation of another person’s work into one’s own required appropriate identification and acknowledgment, regardless of the means of appropriation. The following are considered to be forms of plagiarism when the source is not noted:

Word-for-word copying of another person’s ideas or words
The mosaic (the interspersing of one’s own words here and there while, in essence, copying another’s work)
The paraphrase (the rewriting of another’s work, yet still using their fundamental idea or theory)
Fabrication of references (inventing or counterfeiting sources)
Submission of another’s work as one’s own
Neglecting quotation marks on material that is otherwise acknowledged

Acknowledgment is not necessary when the material used is common knowledge.

Cheating

Cheating involves the possession, communication, or use of information, materials, notes, study aids or other devices not authorized by the instructor in an academic exercise, or communication with another person during such an exercise. Example of cheating are:

Copying from another’s paper or receiving unauthorized assistance from another during an academic exercise or in the submission of academic material
Using a calculator when its use has been disallowed
Collaborating with another student or students during an academic exercise without the consent of the instructor

Fabrication and Falsification

Fabrication involves inventing or counterfeiting information, i.e., creating results not obtained in a study or laboratory experiment. Falsification, on the other hand, involves the deliberate alteration of changing of results to suit one’s needs in an experiment or other academic exercise.

Multiple Submissions

This is the submission of academic work for which academic credit has already been earned, when such submission is made without instructor authorization.

Misuse of Academic Materials

The misuse of academic materials includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Stealing or destroying library or reference materials or computer programs.
Stealing or destroying another student’s notes or materials, or having such materials in one’s possession without the owner’s permission
Receiving assistance in locating or using sources of information in an assignment when such assistance has been forbidden by the instructor
Illegitimate possession, disposition, or use of examinations or answer keys to examinations
Unauthorized alteration, forgery, or falsification
Unauthorized sale or purchase of examinations, papers, or assignments

Complicity in Academic Dishonesty

Complicity involves knowingly contributing to another’s acts of academic dishonesty.

Procedure for Dealing with Academic Dishonesty

All proceedings concerned with academic dishonesty against a student are confidential.

I. A faculty member, a student or a representative of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences may bring charges of academic dishonesty against a student.

A. A faculty member who has evidence suggesting that a student is guilty of academic dishonesty should

confront the student with the evidence. This meeting is best held in the faculty member’s office and should take place within five (5) working days of the discovery of alleged academic ethics violation. This meeting can take place later than five working days if reasonable attempts to locate and contact the student have been made. The departmental chair should be present during this time.
Determine appropriate consequences. These consequences may include a failing or zero grade on the assignment in question or a failing grade in the course. If the faculty member feels that issuance of a failing grade is an insufficient penalty for a particular case of academic dishonesty, the faculty member may request additional consequences by requesting a formal hearing from the Academic Ethics Committee.
Inform the student in writing of the decision. The faculty member should present the student with a written letter that details the alleged ethics violation. A copy of the letter should be sent to the faculty member’s department chair and the Associate Dean of CLAS who will forward a copy to the chair of the Academic Ethics Committee. Attached to the letter should be a detailed description of the students’ rights regarding the appeals process (Document 3) and a list of the penalties that will result from the ethics violation if no appeal is made. This information can be obtained from each CLAS department chair.

B. A student who has evidence suggesting that another student is guilty of academic dishonesty should inform the instructor of the course and/or the Associate Dean of CLAS in writing and in as much detail as possible. The Associate Dean will then forward this information to the Ethics Committee. The instructor will proceed as described in 1a. above. If the accusing student bringing the charge is unsatisfied with the result of the instructor’s actions, then s/he may request a hearing by the Academic Ethics Committee by notifying the Associate Dean of CLAS.

C. A representative of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences may bring charges of academic dishonesty against a student when there is evidence that the student was guilty of academic dishonesty in more than one course and involving more than one instructor. The chair of the committee will be informed and will take the necessary steps to inform the parties involved and will initiate the hearing.

II. The Committee on Academic Ethics will convene a hearing when

A. an accused student denies the charge of academic dishonesty brought against her/him

B. an accused student admits to the ethics violation but disputes the penalty imposed by the instructor

C. a faculty member requests a hearing of a particular case because s/he feels that a failing grade in the course is insufficient penalty for a particular ethics violation

D. a student who brings charges of academic dishonesty against another student is unsatisfied with the outcome of the instructor’s actions

E. there is evidence that a student is guilty of academic dishonesty in more than one course, involving more than one instructor.

The Committee hearing should occur within two weeks of the request for a hearing unless all the parties agree to a later date. Within one week, the Committee will inform all parties involved in the case of the following:

The specific charges brought.
The time and place to appear before the Committee for a hearing and a description of the hearing process (Detailed Description of Academic Ethics Hearing Process)
The student’s rights regarding the hearing and appeals process (Description of Student Rights).

III. The hearing before the Committee is described in detail (Detailed Description of the Academic Ethics Hearing Process) and shall consist of four parts:

A. The presentation of the evidence by the faculty member (or other) bringing the charge of violation of academic ethics. This may include statements made either verbally or in writing by others involved in the case.

B. The defense of the student. This may also include verbal or written statements by other involved in the case.

C. Discussion and questions by the Committee members to the faculty member(s), student and others involved in the case.

D. The discussion of the case by the Committee, formulation of a decision and voting on the forwarding of this decision to the Dean.

The student, faculty member and others involved in the case shall be present for the first three parts of the hearing. The final part (discussion and voting) shall take place in the presence of only the Committee members, and no new evidence may be introduced at this time.

IV. All parties to the case shall be verbally notified of the committee’s decision within 24 hours (one working day). The Chair of the Committee then forwards (within three days) its confidential written decision to the Dean, the student and the faculty member(s) involved. This decision will be based on the majority vote of all members of the Committee in attendance. Those members of the Committee who do not concur with the majority opinion may append a minority opinion to the decision.

A. Decisions may include the following:

elimination of all charges brought against the student
reducing the penalty imposed upon the student by the faculty member
upholding the penalty imposed upon the student by the faculty member
increasing the penalty imposed upon the student by the faculty member.

V. Upon receiving the Committee’s decision, the student charged and/or the faculty who brought the charge will have ten days to appeal the decision to the Dean.

Description of Student Rights

All proceedings concerned with academic dishonesty are confidential.

A student accused of academic dishonesty has the right to:

admit to the charges and accept the penalty imposed by the instructor. If the student admits to the charges, the faculty member will invoke an appropriate penalty, which could include the issuance of a failing grade in the course. If the faculty member believes further action is warranted, then the faculty member may request a hearing of the Academic Ethics Committee, which will determine if further action is necessary.
Dispute the charges or the penalty by requesting a hearing of the Academic Ethics Committee. The Committee, composed of faculty, staff and students, shall provide an impartial hearing for the charges.

If the student believes the charges to be false or is disputing the penalty, s/he has these further rights and responsibilities:

I. The right to call a hearing of the Ethics Committee.

A. To request a hearing the student must notify the CLAS Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies. All requests for Ethics Committee hearings shall be granted.

B. The Ethics Committee hearing should occur within two weeks of the request for the hearing unless all parties agree to a later date. If the student does not attend the scheduled meeting, the hearing will be held only after efforts are made to determine why the student is absent and after all reasonable accommodations have been made to enable the student to attend.

C. The student has the right to have one person of her/his own choosing appear with her/him in an advisory capacity. If the student retains a lawyer, the committee must be notified a week in advance of the hearing.

II. The right to an impartial hearing.

A. The Ethics Committee is composed of faculty, staff and students.

B. The student charged has the right to be present at any portion of the meeting when evidence is heard with respect to the case.

C. The student has the right to request that any person involved in the case be present at the time the student appears before the committee.

D. The student has the right to challenge the impartiality of any member of the committee. Determination of impartiality shall be made by a closed vote of the committee members.

E. The hearing shall consist of four parts:

the presentation of the evidence by the faculty member (or other) bringing the charge of violation of academic ethics. This may include statements made either verbally or in writing by others involved in the case.
the defense of the student. This may also include verbal or written statements by others involved in the case.
discussion and questions by the Committee members to the faculty member(s), student and others involved in the case.
The discussion of the case by the Committee, formulation of a decision and voting on the forwarding of this decision to the Dean. The student and advisor may be present during parts i – iii, but not during part iv. Furthermore, no new evidence may be introduced in part iv.

III. The right to appeal the decision.

A. All parties to the case shall be verbally notified of the committee’s decision within 24 hours (one working day). The Chair of the Committee then forwards (within three days) its confidential written decision to the dean, the student and the faculty member(s) involved. This decision will be based on the majority vote of all members of the Committee in attendance. Those members of the Committee who do not concur with the majority opinion may append a minority opinion to the decision.

B. Decisions may include the following:

elimination of all charges brought against the student,
reducing the penalty imposed upon the student by the faculty member,
upholding the penalty imposed upon the student by the faculty member, or
increasing the penalty imposed upon the student by the faculty member.

C. Upon receiving the Committee’s decision, the student charged and/or the faculty member who brought the charge will have ten days to appeal the decision to the Dean.

Procedures for Faculty Encountering Academic Dishonesty

All proceedings concerned with academic dishonesty are confidential.

A. In order to facilitate the accusation process, it is suggested that faculty members include in their syllabi a statement concerning their policy on matters of academic dishonesty.

B. A faculty member who suspects that a student may be guilty of an academic ethics violation should react quickly. S/he should gather as much evidence as possible as rapidly as possible: e.g. gathering names of and impressions from potential witnesses, listing potential references that may have been plagiarized, or retaining any hard copies of evidence, such as “cheat sheets” or tests that might have been copied and/or copied from. S/he should commit as many details of the incident to writing as quickly as possible as details regarding an incident can be quickly forgotten.

C. When a faculty member has evidence suggesting that a student is guilty of academic dishonesty, the student should be confronted with the evidence at a meeting, preferably held in the faculty member’s office within five (5) working days of the discovery of the alleged incident. The faculty member’s department chair should be present at this meeting.

D. After the meeting described above, the faculty member should determine the appropriate penalty for the act of dishonesty. This penalty, as determined by the faculty member, may be a failing or zero grade for the assignment in question or a failing grade in the course. The penalty should be consistent with any information published in the faculty member’s syllabus. If the faculty member feels that issuance of a failing grade is an insufficient penalty, then the faculty member may request a formal hearing before the Academic Ethics Committee.

E. After determining the appropriate penalty, the faculty member should present the student with a written letter describing the alleged ethics violation. Copies of this letter should be given to the faculty member’s department chair and to the Associate Dean of CLAS who will forward a copy to the Academic Ethics Committee. This letter must include:

a detailed description of the incident that resulted in the allegation of academic dishonesty.
a statement of the penalty that will be imposed on the student.
attachments describing the student’s rights (Document 3: Description of Student Rights) to dispute charges, seek legal counsel and to appeal all decisions and/or penalties issuing from the accusation of academic dishonesty.

Detailed Description of Academic Ethics Hearing Process

All proceedings concerned with academic dishonesty are confidential.

The Hearing before the Academic Ethics Committee consists of four parts:

Presentation of the evidence by the faculty member (or other) bringing the charge of academic ethics violation
Defense of the student
Discussion and questions by the Committee (with all present)
The discussion of the case by the Committee (with only Committee members present) and rendering of the decision.

The student, faculty member, and others involved in the case shall be present for the first three parts of the hearing. The final part (discussion and rendering of the decision) shall take place in the presence of only the Committee members, and no new evidence may be introduced at this time. Each part is discussed in detail below.

Before the hearing is convened: The Committee Chair shall ensure that each party involved in the hearing has received copies of Documents 1, 3, and 5 at least one week prior to the hearing. The Committee shall meet before the hearing to ensure that all committee members are oriented to the nature of the case, the identity of each individual who will be present, and any other non-prejudicial background information that is deemed appropriate. Any committee member who feels unable to respond fairly and without bias shall recuse her/himself from further participation at that point.

At the beginning of the hearing: The Chair determines that a quorum of the committee is present (defined as three committee members, with at least two faculty members and one non-faculty member). If no quorum is present, the hearing is rescheduled. The Chair then convenes the hearing. Audiotape-recording will begin following the admission of the persons involved in the case, after which the Chair will ask everyone present to introduce themselves to the body at large. (Tape-recording will end after the persons involved in the case are excused and before part 4 of the hearing.)

The Chair will follow the introductions with a specific inquiry directed to each party as to whether they have a personal or professional relationship with any member of the committee that might prevent an unbiased response on the part of the committee member. Disputes over the impartiality of any committee member will be settled by a closed vote of the committee members.

The Chair will orient the persons involved in the hearing about the proceedings and include the following points

A. The Committee is not a legal body but rather an academic body that renders a decision to the Dean who will review the case. This decision may be appealed to the Dean within ten working days.

B. Due to the sensitive nature of the proceedings, all presentations and interactions should occur in the calmest possible manner. It is the Chair’s prerogative to control presentations or interactions that become overly heated, emotional or adversarial.

Presentation of the evidence by the person bringing the charge of academic ethics violation. The person bringing the charge of ethics violation should present to the Committee the reasons and evidence behind the charge. This may include statements made either verbally or in writing by others involved in the case (e.g. witnesses). Committee members are permitted to ask questions concerning points of clarification only, reserving detailed and involved questioning for part 3 of the hearing.
Defense of the student. The student accused of ethics violations then has the opportunity to defend her/himself against the charges of ethics violations made by the person bringing the charge. This may also include verbal or written statements by others involved in the case, and again, Committee members are permitted to ask questions concerning points of clarification only, reserving detailed and involved questioning for part 3 of the hearing.
Discussion and questions by the Committee members to the person bringing the charge of ethics violation, the student accused of the ethics violation, and others involved in the case. During this part of the hearing the Chair opens discussion to the Committee members. They may ask more detailed questions of anyone involved in the case. The Chair will make every attempt to ensure that each side has the opportunity to defend or challenge any new information that results from this discussion.
Discussion of the case by the committee and formulation of the decision to be forwarded to the Dean. At this point in the hearing the tape recorder is turned off, and all of the persons involved in the case are excused. The Committee discusses the information presented during the hearing. No new evidence is introduced at this time. If the Committee determines that additional evidence is required, a subsequent hearing is scheduled. The Committee reaches a decision based upon a majority vote by all members of the Committee in attendance. Those members of the Committee who do not concur with the majority opinion may append a minority opinion to the decision.