Dr. Beth S. Bennett

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT DISCIPLINARY POLICY

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Academic misconduct includes all acts of dishonesty in any academically-related matter and any knowing or intentional help or attempt to help, or conspiracy to help, another student commit an act of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following acts when performed in any type of academic or academically-related matter, exercise, or activity.

  1. Cheating -- using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, study aids, or computer-related information.
  2. Plagiarism -- representing the words, data, works, ideas, computer program or output, or anything not generated in an authorized fashion, as one's own.
  3. Fabrication -- presenting as genuine any invented or falsified citation or material.
  4. Misrepresentation -- falsifying, altering, or misstating the contents or documents or other materials related to academic matters, including schedules, prerequisites, and transcripts.

Except in divisions which have an alternate academic misconduct policy which has been approved by the Academic Vice President, academic misconduct cases shall be resolved by the divisional academic misconduct monitor or the academic dean of the division in which the alleged action took place. However, the monitor or dean will consult the monitor or dean of the division where the student is enrolled and, with the concurrence of both deans, the responsibility for resolving an academic misconduct case can be transferred to the dean of the division in which the student is enrolled. Appeals from the monitor's decisions may be made to the academic dean; appeals from the academic dean's decisions may be made to the Office for Academic Affairs.

Penalties for academic misconduct can range from a reprimand to a penalty as severe as suspension for a definite time or even indefinite suspension. Academic deans have the authority to impose the full range of penalties. Divisional academic misconduct monitors may impose penalties only after receiving a voluntary written confession. Misconduct monitors are authorized to impose penalties up to but not including suspension, and may impose penalties of suspension or indefinite suspension if authority to do so has been delegated by the academic dean. All persons who admit to or are found guilty of an academic offense for which a penalty less than an indefinite suspension is imposed will receive a penalty of indefinite suspension if they admit to or are found guilty of another offense of academic misconduct.

(Faculty Handbook, August 1988, 88-89)

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Beth S. Bennett, bbennett@bama.ua.edu, created 30 July 1998.