Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a fundamental value at Nevada State College and is centered on honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Supporting and affirming these values is essential to promoting and maintaining a high level of academic integrity.

If knowledge is to be gained and properly evaluated, it must be pursued under conditions free from dishonesty. Deceit and misrepresentations are incompatible with the values of Nevada State College and shall not be tolerated under any circumstances. A violation of academic integrity is an act that is harmful to students, faculty, and ultimately, the institution.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is against College as well as System Community Standards. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:

Plagiarism: Failure to properly acknowledge authorities quoted, cited, or consulted in the preparation of written work. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:

1. Directly quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing the work of others without specific indication of sources, or handing in work that is not the student’s own.
2. Copying and/or presenting the words of others as one’s own writing, including from Internet sources.
3. Copying words, even if you cite the sources, unless appropriate quotation is noted.
4. Expressing in your own words someone else’s ideas as your own.

Cheating: The deception about one’s own work or about the work of another. Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to:

1. Submitting another’s work as one’s own or allowing another to submit one’s work as though it were their own.
2. Several people completing an assignment that was not explicitly assigned as a group project and turning in multiple copies, all represented either implicitly or explicitly as individual work.
3. The use of a textbook or notes during an examination without the explicit permission of the instructor. This includes online and take-home exams.
4. Giving or receiving unauthorized help on assignments.
5. Stealing a problem solution from an instructor.
6. Tampering with experimental data to obtain ‘desired’ results or creating results for experiments not completed.
7. Tampering with or destroying the work of others.
8. Submitting substantial portions of the same academic work more than once without permission of the instructor.
9. Falsifying college records, forms, or other documents.
10. Falsifying clinical hours, supervised field experience hours, or student teaching hours.
11. Unauthorized access of computer systems or files.
12. Attempting to bribe an instructor or administrator.

A faculty member who suspects a student of academic dishonesty shall notify the student and offer the student an opportunity for an initial meeting to discuss the allegation and to present any relevant information. When possible, this initial meeting shall occur within seven (7) calendar days of discovery of the alleged violation. Proceedings in case discussions are informal and non-adversarial. The faculty member may make a verbal agreement on, or provide the student with a written or electronic notice, of, a scheduled meeting. The faculty member may request a witness to be present for this meeting. The purpose of this initial meeting is to review and discuss the charges before a decision is reached. The faculty member may use documentary evidence provided the student is allowed to respond to it at the meeting. At this initial meeting the following results may occur:

1. The allegations are dismissed;
2. The student accepts responsibility for the violation and accepts the academic sanction(s) proposed by the faculty member;
3. The student accepts responsibility for the violation but does not accept the sanction and requests a hearing;
4. The student does not accept responsibility for the violation and requests a hearing.
5. If the allegations are dropped or the student accepts responsibility for the violation and accepts the sanction(s), the case is closed.

Appeal Process

1. If the student appeals the action and requests a hearing, the following process will be followed: The student must appeal, in writing, to the Academic Dean, within ten (10) calendar days after the decision of the faculty member.
2. Within five (5) calendar days the Academic Dean will notify the faculty member of the appeal.
3. The hearing will be scheduled no less than ten (10) calendar days from the date of the appeal. (The student may waive this period and have the hearing sooner.)

Hearing Board

The Hearing Board shall consist of the following members with due consideration being given to possible conflicts of interest:

• Two (2) undergraduate students.
• Three (3) faculty members. To ensure the impartiality of the Hearing Board, members must be appointed from programs other than those in which the case originated and in which the accused student is majoring.

Hearing Procedure

1. The hearing will be held within twenty-one (21) calendar days after the case has been referred.
2. The Dean will call the accused student to appear before the hearing board. If the student wishes to be accompanied by an advisor or an attorney, the board must be notified at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance. The faculty member shall also be present, and may be accompanied by an advisor or by an attorney whenever the student chooses such counsel.
3. The Dean will state the content of the report of alleged academic dishonesty and the specific charges made.
4. The faculty member will appear before the board to present evidence against the student. The chair of the board may call other witnesses. The accused student and board members may cross-examine.
5. The student may present evidence on their own behalf.
6. The board members will then meet in closed session to make a final decision.
7. If the student is found to be guilty, the hearing board shall consult about any past record of academic misconduct.
8. The hearing board then shall recommend appropriate disciplinary sanctions to the Dean and apprise the faculty member of its deliberations. If the student has been found guilty, the faculty member may impose an academic sanction in addition to the disciplinary sanction (see below).

Academic Sanctions

The following academic sanctions may be imposed if a student has admitted responsibility for the violation or if the hearing board has found the student guilty:

• Cancel the student’s enrollment in the class without a grade;
• Give a grade of “0” or “F” for any assignment;
• Give a grade of “F” in the course.

Disciplinary Sanctions

In addition to the academic sanction imposed by the faculty member, disciplinary sanctions may be imposed in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.