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Principles Regarding Academic Integrity

The principles set forth below arise from consultations carried out since 1990 with students, faculty, academic deans, the University General Counsel, and the Office of the Provost. The basic standards of academic integrity were ratified by the Faculty Senate on May 13, 1992, and are the framework within which the undergraduate and graduate schools of the University operate.

Academic integrity at ̨ÍåÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ is based on a respect for individual achievement that lies at the heart of academic culture. Every faculty member and student, both graduate and undergraduate, belongs to a community of scholars where academic integrity is a fundamental commitment. The University as an institution makes collaboration and the pursuit of knowledge possible, but always promotes and evaluates individual effort and learning.

Parts A and B (The Basic Standards of Academic Integrity and the Eight Cardinal Rules of Academic Integrity) describe the principles of student academic conduct supported by all academic programs at the University, at every level—both undergraduate and graduate—and regardless of modality or venue, including, but not limited to, online courses and study abroad programs.

Part C describes the Procedures, Student Rights, Sanctions and External Reporting Policy that will govern academic integrity issues arising in classes within the Bienen School of Music, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, ̨ÍåÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ in Qatar, School of Communication, School of Education and Social Policy, School of Professional Studies, The Graduate School, and Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

The professional schools—Kellogg School of Management, Feinberg School of Medicine, and ̨ÍåÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Pritzker School of Law—have developed their own sets of procedures, protections, sanctions and reporting standards consistent with the professional obligations and ethical expectations of their fields. More information about their policies can be found here.

It is each student’s responsibility to be aware of all rules and policies applicable to their program. 

A. Basic Standards of Academic Integrity

All students registered for classes at ̨ÍåÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ must adhere to the University's standards of academic integrity. These standards may be intuitively understood and cannot in any case be listed exhaustively; the following examples represent some basic types of behavior that are unacceptable:

B. Eight Cardinal Rules of Academic Integrity

Maintaining academic integrity requires an intentional approach to all academic pursuits. Students must be mindful of their work process, including appropriate engagement with others, and their work product, particularly the representation of sources and data. The following rules should be internalized by all students and consulted as needed for reinforcement or a mere refresher:

1. Know Your Rights. Do not let other students in your class diminish the value of your achievement by taking unfair advantage. Report any academic integrity violation you see.
2. Acknowledge Your Sources. Whenever you use words or ideas that are not your own when writing a paper, use quotation marks where appropriate and cite your source in a footnote, and back it up at the end with a list of sources consulted.
3. Protect Your Work. In examinations, do not allow your neighbors to see what you have written; you are the only one who should receive credit for what you know.
4. Avoid Suspicion. Do not put yourself in a position where you can be suspected of having copied another person's work, or of having used unauthorized notes in an examination. Even the appearance of an academic integrity violation may undermine your instructor's confidence in your work.
5. Do your own work. The purpose of assignments is to develop your skills and measure your progress. Letting someone else do your work defeats the purpose of your education, and may lead to serious charges against you.
6. Never falsify a record or permit another person to do so. Academic records are regularly audited and students whose grades have been altered put their entire transcript at risk.
7. Never fabricate data, citations, or experimental results. Many professional careers have ended in disgrace, even years after the fabrication first took place.
8. Always tell the truth when discussing your work with your instructor. Any attempt to deceive may destroy the relation of teacher and student.

C. Procedures, Student Rights, Sanctions and External Reporting Policy

This section describes the Procedures, Student Rights, Sanctions and External Reporting Policy that govern academic integrity issues in Bienen, McCormick, Medill, ̨ÍåÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ in Qatar, School of Communication, School of Education and Social Policy, School of Professional Studies, The Graduate School, and Weinberg. As noted above, the professional schools—Kellogg, Feinberg, and Pritzker—have developed their own set of procedures, protections and sanctions consistent with the professional obligations and ethical expectations of their fields. Their policies can be found here.  

Procedures

Suspected cases of academic integrity violations should be reported to the course instructor or the relevant administrator of the school in which the course or program is based. Reports must be brought within 1 month of the date the reporting individual becomes aware of the alleged incident. The relevant administrator of the school will review the report and decide whether to bring a charge. Students charged with an academic integrity violation may not change their registration or grading basis in a course in which the charge is pending, or in which a finding of an academic integrity violation has been made. 

Student Rights

In accordance with University Statutes, the enforcement of academic integrity lies with the faculties of the University's individual schools. In all academic integrity cases, the student charged or suspected shall be accorded the following rights:

1. Prompt review of all reports of academic integrity violations, to be conducted, insofar as possible, in a manner that prevents public disclosure of the student's identity. Such review may include informal review and discussion with the relevant administrator of the school prior to bringing a charge, provided that such review does not compromise the rights of the student in the formal process.
2. Reasonable written notice of: the facts and evidence underlying the charge of an academic integrity violation; the principle(s) of academic integrity said to have been violated; and the procedure by which the accuracy of the charge will be determined.
3. Reasonable time, if requested, within which to prepare a response to the charge. Ordinarily, an initial meeting with the relevant school administrator will take place within 7 business days of receiving written notice of the charge.
4. A meeting to discuss the charge with the relevant administrator of the school, who serves as the objective decision-maker in the adjudication process.
5. A written statement of decision regarding whether there was sufficient evidence of a violation of academic integrity. Any finding of violation must be supported by a brief description of both the process used to come to that determination and the evidence supporting the finding. Except in cross-school cases, the statement will include the sanction to be imposed.
6. Review of any adverse initial determination (finding, sanction, or both), if requested in writing by the student within 10 business days, by a school-level appeals committee. The appeals committee must conduct a thorough review of the evidence in the case as well as the process followed. The appeals committee may not be made up entirely of the same individuals who decided the initial violation. Implementation of sanctions will generally be suspended until all appeals made by the student have been exhausted.
7. Final review of an unsuccessful appeal if requested in writing by the student within 10 business days, by the Provost or an advisory committee designated by the Provost. The Provost will review unsuccessful appeals only after a finding and a sanction have been issued. The Office of the Provost limits reviews to:
   
   1. New information discovered after resolution of the case that could not have reasonably been available at the time of the resolution of the case and is of a nature that could materially change the outcome.
   2.  Procedural errors within the academic integrity process that may have substantially affected the fairness of the proceeding.
   3. An outcome (findings and/or sanction) that was manifestly contrary to the weight of the information presented during the proceeding; i.e., obviously unreasonable and unsupported by the great weight of information.

Sanctions

All proven cases of an academic integrity violation should be penalized as appropriate under the circumstances. Sanctions will be imposed by the school in which the student is enrolled. (Note: For dual degree students, sanctions will be jointly decided by the relevant administrators in the applicable schools.) The imposition of any sanction other than a reprimand or warning should include a statement of reasons supporting its severity. Sanctions may include but are not limited to:

1. A letter of reprimand and warning.
2. A defined period of suspension of one or more quarters.
3. Ineligibility for certain awards, honors and special programs.
4. Revocation of an awarded degree.
5. Expulsion from the University (noted on official transcript).
6. Any appropriate combination of the above.

It should be understood that there is no necessary connection between a first-time offense and a letter of reprimand. Depending on the nature of the offense, a student may be suspended or expelled as a result of a first-time offense.

Reduced or Failing Grade: In addition, in cases where a violation is found, the course instructor has the sole discretion to determine the effect any violation has on any affected assignment and the comprehensive grade in the course. Possible grade sanctions include: no impact on the grade; the requirement to redo the assignment; grading the relevant piece of work with an F or 0; a failing grade for the course. Grades modified by the course instructor following a finding of academic integrity violations may not be appealed.

External Reporting Policy

Sanctions that do not result in separation from the University (suspension or expulsion) are not reported to external entities by ̨ÍåÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ unless: 1) the student consents to the disclosure; or 2) disclosure is required by law.