This Policy defines violations of academic integrity and outlines the potential penalties for such violations and the process for adjudicating alleged violations. This Academic Integrity Policy applies to all schools and academic units of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
\r\n\r\nTo inform faculty, staff, and students of the University community’s standards of academic integrity and the process for adjudicating alleged violations of those standards.
\r\n\r\nAll members of the Rutgers University community.
\r\n\r\nUniversity Policy 10.2.11: Code of Student Conduct
\r\n\r\nProcedures for Adjudicating Alleged Academic Integrity Violations
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAcademic Integrity Education Recommendations
\r\n\r\nAcademic Sabotage - deliberately impeding the academic progress of others.
\r\n\r\nCheating - the use or possession of inappropriate or prohibited materials, information, sources, or aids in any academic exercise. Cheating also includes submitting papers, research results or reports, analyses, and other textual or visual material and media as one’s own work when others prepared them.
\r\n\r\nFabrication - the invention or falsification of sources, citations, data, or results, and recording or reporting them in any academic exercise.
\r\n\r\nFacilitation of Dishonesty - deliberately or carelessly allowing one’s work to be used by other students without prior approval of the instructor or otherwise aiding others in committing violations of academic integrity.
\r\n\r\nPlagiarism - the use of another person’s words, ideas, images, or results, no matter the form or media, without giving that person appropriate credit.
\r\n\r\nViolations Involving Potentially Criminal Activity - Violations in this category include theft, fraud, forgery, or distribution of illicitly obtained materials committed as part of an act of academic dishonesty.
\r\n\r\nI. Academic Integrity
\r\n\r\nAs an academic community dedicated to the creation, dissemination, and application of knowledge, Rutgers University is committed to fostering an intellectual and ethical environment based on the principles of academic integrity. Academic integrity is essential to the success of the University’s educational, research, and clinical missions, and violations of academic integrity constitute serious offenses against the entire academic community.
\r\n\r\nThe principles of academic integrity require that a student:
\r\n\r\nAdherence to these principles is necessary to ensure that:
\r\n\r\nFailure to uphold these principles of academic integrity threatens both the reputation of the University and the value of the degrees awarded to its students. Every member of the University community, therefore, bears a responsibility for ensuring that the highest standards of academic integrity are upheld.
\r\n\r\nTo uphold these principles, the University administration is responsible for:
\r\n\r\nAll members of the University share the collegial responsibility for educating students about the importance and principles of academic integrity. Faculty members are expected to inform students of the particular requirements regarding academic integrity within their specific courses, to make reasonable efforts to minimize academic dishonesty, and to respond appropriately to violations of academic integrity. Additionally, faculty members are strongly encouraged to provide a statement concerning academic integrity and a link to the Academic Integrity Policy on their course syllabi.
\r\n\r\nStudents are responsible for understanding the principles of academic integrity and abiding by them in all aspects of their work at the University. Students are also encouraged to help educate fellow students about academic integrity and to bring all alleged violations of academic integrity they encounter to the attention of the appropriate authorities.
\r\n\r\nTo create a strong culture that promotes academic integrity, Rutgers has adopted the following honor pledge to be written and signed on examinations and major course assignments submitted for grading: On my honor, I have neither received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this examination (assignment).
\r\n\r\nSome professional schools may have codes of professional conduct that impose additional requirements such as requiring students to report observed violations of academic integrity by others and to self-report such violations.
\r\n\r\nThe University may require that students:
\r\n\r\nII. Applicability of the Policy
\r\n\r\nThis Academic Integrity Policy applies to all schools and academic units of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Also, most professional schools have codes of professional conduct that students are required to follow. The code of professional conduct for a particular professional school can be found in the student handbook or equivalent document of that school. Each professional school has the responsibility to educate its students about its code of professional conduct and the penalties for violations. Students are responsible for understanding and adhering to the requirements of this policy and the code of professional conduct for the particular professional school in which they are enrolled.
\r\n\r\nIII. Academic Integrity Violations
\r\n\r\nA. Types of Violations
\r\n\r\nThis section describes various ways in which the principles of academic integrity can be violated. Examples of each type of violation are provided in this policy. However, neither the types of violations nor the lists of examples are exhaustive.
\r\n\r\nPlagiarism: Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words, ideas, images, or results, no matter the form or media, without giving that person appropriate credit. To avoid plagiarism, a student must identify every direct quotation using quotation marks or appropriate indentation and cite both direct quotation and paraphrasing properly according to the accepted format for the particular discipline or as required by the instructor in a course. Some common examples of plagiarism are:
\r\n\r\nCheating: Cheating is the use or possession of inappropriate or prohibited materials, information, sources, or aids in any academic exercise. Cheating also includes submitting papers, research results or reports, analyses, and other textual or visual material and media as one’s own work when others prepared them. Some common examples are:
\r\n\r\nFabrication: Fabrication is the invention or falsification of sources, citations, data, or results, and recording or reporting them in any academic exercise. Some examples include the following:
\r\n\r\nFacilitation of Dishonesty: Facilitation of dishonesty is deliberately or carelessly allowing one’s work to be used by other students without prior approval of the instructor or otherwise aiding others in committing violations of academic integrity. A student who deliberately facilitates a violation of academic integrity can be subject to the same sanctions as the student who receives the impermissible assistance, even if the facilitator does not benefit personally from the violation. Some examples are:
\r\n\r\nAcademic Sabotage: Academic sabotage is deliberately impeding the academic progress of others. Some examples are:
\r\n\r\nViolation of Research or Professional Ethics: Violations in this category include both violations of the code of ethics specific to a particular profession and violations of more generally applicable ethical requirements for the acquisition, analysis, and reporting of research data and the preparation and submission of scholarly work for publication. Some examples are:
\r\n\r\nViolations Involving Potentially Criminal Activity: Violations in this category include theft, fraud, forgery, or distribution of illicitly obtained materials committed as part of an act of academic dishonesty. Some examples are:
\r\n\r\nB. Levels of Violations
\r\n\r\nViolations of academic integrity are generally divided into three categories: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.
\r\n\r\nThe procedures for adjudicating alleged violations of academic integrity are different for Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 violations. The following examples of violations are not exhaustive. Classification of a given violation is heavily dependent on the exact facts and circumstances of the violation as determined by the Academic Integrity Facilitator (who is appointed in each School to investigate and adjudicate alleged academic integrity) in consultation with the campus Office of Student Conduct or equivalent.
\r\n\r\n1. Level 1 Violations
\r\n\r\nLevel 1 violations are less serious violations of academic integrity. They may occur because of inexperience or lack of understanding of the principles of academic integrity and are often characterized by a relatively low degree of premeditation or planning on the part of the student committing the violation. These violations are generally quite limited in extent, occur on a minor assignment or quiz, or constitute a small portion of a major assignment and/or represent a small percentage of the total course work. Below are a few examples of violations that are most often considered Level 1, at least when committed by an undergraduate student as a first-time offense.
\r\n\r\n2. Level 2 Violations
\r\n\r\nLevel 2 violations are serious violations of academic integrity that affect a more significant portion of the course work compared to Level 1 violations or are an alleged second violation of this policy. Level 2 violations are often characterized by substantial premeditation or planning and clearly dishonest or malicious intent on the part of the student committing the violation. Below are some examples of violations that are most often considered Level 2.
\r\n\r\n3. Level 3 Violations
\r\n\r\nLevel 3 violations are serious breaches of conduct, may involve a serious violation of a professional code of conduct, may include extreme cases of dishonesty and maliciousness, violation of law, and/or are likely to cause direct harm to others. Below are some examples of violations that are most often considered Level 3.
\r\n\r\nWhen a student is accused of one or more Level 3 violations that include alleged violations of law or a professional code of conduct, or when it is reasonable to believe that the student is likely to cause direct harm to others, they may be removed from a course, clinical, or internship setting on an interim basis, with the approval of the dean of the school. The student shall be immediately informed in writing of any interim removal and has the right to appeal to the campus Chief Academic Integrity Officer (who is responsible for administering the Academic Integrity Policy on each campus).
\r\n\r\nIV. Sanctions
\r\n\r\nAny violation of academic integrity is a serious offense subject to appropriate sanctions or penalties. Violations of academic integrity may result in academic penalties, educational sanctions, and/or disciplinary sanctions, and are not limited to the examples below.
\r\n\r\nA. Academic Penalties
\r\n\r\nB. Educational Sanctions
\r\n\r\nC. Disciplinary Sanctions
\r\n\r\nNote: Any of these sanctions may have an impact on financial aid, scholarship, or fellowship eligibility, or scholastic standing.
\r\n\r\nV. Policies for Addressing Alleged Violations of Academic Integrity
\r\n\r\nA. Standard of Proof
\r\n\r\nThe standard of proof in academic integrity cases is by the preponderance of the evidence, which means that the person or hearing panel deciding the case finds that it is more likely than not that the accused student is responsible for the alleged violation.
\r\n\r\nB. Reporting and Adjudicating Alleged Violations
\r\n\r\nProcedures for adjudicating alleged violations of academic integrity are described at academicintegrity.rutgers.edu.
\r\n\r\nC. Withdrawal and Assignment of Grades during the Disciplinary Process
\r\n\r\nOnce a student has been notified of an alleged violation of academic integrity related to a course, the student may not drop the course until the disciplinary process is completed. Students may request permission to withdraw retroactively from the course after the disciplinary process is completed unless the sanction issued includes an F or XF grade in the course, or a C grade for graduate students.
\r\n\r\nIf the student wishes to withdraw from all courses while a case is pending, that request must be approved by the Dean of the school in which the student is enrolled, in consultation with the Academic Integrity Facilitator.
\r\n\r\nIf a faculty member must submit a final course grade before the disciplinary process for an alleged violation of academic integrity is completed, the accused student shall be given a TZ grade or similar (e.g., Incomplete) until the disciplinary process is completed.
\r\n\r\nD. Removal of an XF Grade
\r\n\r\nRequests for removal of the X from an XF grade must be submitted in writing to the appropriate Campus Appeals Committee. Such requests will not be considered until at least 18 months from the time of the violation that resulted in the XF. In order for the request to be granted, the student, at a minimum, following the original violation, must have an exemplary record with respect to academic integrity, must have completed a Rutgers academic integrity workshop or seminar, and must satisfactorily answer a required series of essay questions on why the X should be removed. The Campus Appeals Committee shall make the final decision concerning the request. If the request is denied, the student must wait another year to submit another request
\r\n\r\nThe Procedures for Adjudicating Alleged Academic Integrity Violations, the Procedures for Adjudicating Alleged Violations of Academic Integrity for RBHS Schools, and the Academic Integrity Education Recommendations can be found at https://academicaffairs.rutgers.edu/academic-integrity-policy-and-procedures.
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\n\nSection Title: Academic: Student Academic Regulations & Policies
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