Academic Integrity Protocol for Faculty

Allegation of Academic Integrity Policy

A faculty member, administrator, or staff member who has evidence of a student failing to adhere to the Policy has a duty to report the conduct by email (integrity@baypath.edu) to the Co-Chair(s) of the Standing Committee. At the discretion of the Co-Chair, the incident may also be communicated to the Student Conduct Coordinator, especially if the incident is judged to be egregious, or if local, state, federal or other policies or mandates may be relevant. The determination of “egregious” will reside with the AI Co-chairs but is not limited to situations that are life threatening, where safety and security is questioned, where multiple components of the University are affected, etc. Students may report allegations of academic integrity violations to any faculty member or administrator who will forward the report by email to integrity@baypath.edu. No student will be sanctioned specifically for failing to report a violation (whether that student is involved in the violation or not) but students should be aware that failure to report encourages additional or future violations and that nonreporting has a corrosive effect on the academic integrity of the community. All parties involved shall respect the confidentiality of information relating to or resulting from reports of academic dishonesty.

Any student who is involved in conduct constituting a violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity or who finds herself or himself in an ethically compromising situation may self-report the situation to their advisor/educator coach, a Co-Chair of the Standing Committee, or any member of the full-time faculty. A student who self-reports may face academic penalties but will not be subject to disciplinary sanctions for a first offense, unless the conduct is a serious violation without any mitigating circumstance, is otherwise extremely egregious or destructive, or found to be in violation of any federal or state law or mandate. The self-report is treated as a significant factor in mitigation of any sanction imposed. Any self-report must be made before the conduct is discovered or reported to a member of the faculty or the Standing Committee or the Office of Academic Affairs.

If an instructor suspects that an integrity infraction has occurred, the instructor will follow the steps below:

  1. The instructor will research the suspicious case to determine if a violation of academic integrity occurred.  This will include fully reviewing the anti-plagiarism software report and may also include comparing students’ assignments or comparing student submissions against course content, articles, journals, websites etc.  The instructor may also need to consult with the Program Director based on the nature of course assignments.  Examples of violations and non-violations of integrity include the following in the list below.  Note that the list is not exhaustive; if an instructor is unsure if a specific student submission or behavior violates academic integrity, the instructor should check with the Standing Committee on Academic Committee and Classroom Behavior via email at integrity@baypath.edu.

Non-Violations of Academic Integrity:

    • Language/work that has been previously submitted by the same student (i.e., self-plagiarism) in a different course or section (only in the case that the student had permission from the instructor prior to submission of the work; in this case, the student may use prior work but must expand upon it and/or revise it so that is a new original work)
    • Re-submitting edited work prior to the due date
    • General/common language used in a specific course or standard submission of coursework (e.g. COM111 and COM112 where the calculations are expected to be identical)

Violations of Academic Integrity:

    • Directly copying/stealing someone else’s work.  The faculty member should be able to identify that the writing is not the student’s original work.
    • Not properly quoting the author of the work used
    • Lack of citation of work
    • Language that has been previously submitted by the same student (i.e., self-plagiarism) in a different course or section (without faculty permission and/or without sufficiently revising it so that it is new original work)
    • Two (or more) students submitting identical wording whether in a post or assignment.
  1. If an integrity violation has been confirmed, the faculty member must email integrity@baypath.edu.  The email should articulate the following information:
    • Course code (i.e., ENG124- AZ1)
    • Student’s first and last name (but not within the subject line)
    • The week that the assignment is due (i.e., Week Three)
    • The title of the assignment
    • A summary of the alleged offense or a suspicious pattern of questionable behavior (with an example of the infraction).
    • An inquiry as to whether the incident is the student’s first offense, along with guidance regarding next steps.
  1. A staff member on the Standing Committee will review the Integrity Infraction Log to verify whether the student(s) being reported has a prior offense.  Typically a review of the allegation and response back to the instructor occurs within a 24 hour period.
  2. A staff member on the committee will record the student’s name in the Infraction Log, along with details of the incident and approved next steps that should be taken.  The staff member will consult with the faculty member on how to proceed.  It is possible, based on the severity of the infraction, a member on the Standing Committee may intervene and directly communicate with the student, then follow up with the faculty member regarding the outcome and next steps required.
  3. If the incident is determined to be the student’s first offense, the faculty member will conduct a “teachable moment” without penalty (students are allowed one during their BPU education).  Without penalty means that the student will have the opportunity to resubmit an assignment within an allotted time frame that the instructor determines without the late penalty being applied.
  4. The faculty member will inform the student by email (and verbally if possible):
    • Explaining that an academic integrity violation was identified
    • Educating the student about what determines a violation and how to avoid in the future
    • If guided by the Standing Committee, providing a due date of when the assignment must be resubmitted (a window of 2-3 days is typically recommended)
    • Reminding the student of resources available to prevent further violations:
  • If the student submitted an assignment from a different course or section without sufficiently citing or revising so that the work is original (thereby committing self-plagiarism), the student should be informed that permission must be granted prior to submitting the work, and that it is at the instructor’s discretion whether it will be allowed.
  1. If  a previous academic violation has been reported for the student, the TAWC member on the Standing Committee will add the student’s/students’ name(s) on the Integrity Infraction Log, noting the most current infraction.  The TAWC member will guide the faculty member on how to proceed in the particular situation.  The Standing Committee is responsible for documentation of the infraction through the completion of the final outcome.

For details related to the Academic Integrity Process, please review the steps in the Academic Catalog.  

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