Cheating and Plagiarism

Student Academic Honors Pledge

The Student Academic Honors Pledge was approved by the Academic Senate and Associated Student Senate in 2004. The pledge states, "I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment/examination."

Faculty may utilize the pledge as an educational tool with students in the classroom and on syllabi. Students may elect to sign the pledge as a symbol of their commitment to personal ethics and academic integrity.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons as if they were one’s own, without giving credit to the source. Such an act is not plagiarism if it is ascertained that the ideas were arrived at through independent reasoning or logic or where the thought or idea is common knowledge.

Acknowledgment of an original author or source must be made through appropriate references, i.e., quotation marks, footnotes, or commentary. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following: the submission of a work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; failure to give credit for ideas, statements, facts or conclusions which rightfully belong to another; in written work, failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, a sentence, or even a part thereof; or close and lengthy paraphrasing of another’s writing or programming. A student who is in doubt about the extent of acceptable paraphrasing should consult the instructor.

Students are cautioned that, in conducting their research, they should prepare their notes by (a) either quoting material exactly (using quotation marks) at the time they take notes from a source; or (b) departing completely from the language used in the source, putting the material into their own words. In this way, when the material is used in the paper or project, the student can avoid plagiarism resulting from verbatim use of notes. Both quoted and paraphrased materials must be given proper citations.

Definition of Cheating

Cheating is defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain or aiding another to obtain academic credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Examples of cheating during an examination include, but are not limited to the following: copying, either in part or in whole, from another’s test or examination; discussion of answers or ideas relating to the answers on an examination or test unless such discussion is specifically authorized by the instructor; giving or receiving copies of an examination without the permission of the instructor; using or displaying notes, “cheat sheets,” or other information or devices inappropriate to the prescribed test conditions, as when the test of competence includes a test of unassisted recall of information, skill, or procedure; or allowing someone other than the officially enrolled student to represent the same. Also included are plagiarism, as defined above, and altering or interfering with the grading procedures.

It is often appropriate for students to study together or to work in teams on projects. Such students, however, should be careful to avoid the use of unauthorized assistance, and to avoid any implication of cheating, by such means as sitting apart from one another in examinations, presenting the work in a manner which clearly indicates the effort of each individual, or such other method as is appropriate to the particular course.

Faculty Responsibilities

In cases where a student is suspected of cheating or plagiarism, the faculty member should arrange for an informal office conference with the student as soon as possible. The purpose of the informal conference is to bring the persons involved together to discuss the issues informally and to discuss courses of action. At the conference the student will be notified by the faculty member of the charge and supporting evidence. For an incident which occurs during or as a part of a final examination, see below for administration of an Incomplete grade.
In cases where there is more than one individual suspected of cheating or plagiarism, the faculty member may decide to call the students to confer jointly as a group, or as individuals, or both. If the faculty member should decide to confer with the students as a group, the students will have the option to also confer with the instructor separately as individuals.

The faculty member will inform the student(s) that both students and faculty have the right to submit a request to the Academic Integrity Committee (discussed below) for a written opinion on whether the accusation is supported by the evidence. All notes and discussions between the student and the faculty member are confidential, except as may be relevant to the Academic Integrity Committee or in subsequent campus disciplinary proceedings. Neither the faculty member nor the student should discuss a specific charge of cheating or plagiarism or any violations with reference to individuals in the classroom before other members of the class.

When the student cannot be contacted and therefore the informal conference cannot be held, as is sometimes the case after final examinations, a grade of “I” (Incomplete) may be assigned, but only if the instructor wishes an additional test of competence. The instructor will have the agreement form for assigning an “Incomplete” sent to the last known address of the student. The agreement form will state the following in the format indicated:
"Under the provisions of the CSULB Policy Statement on Cheating and Plagiarism, an additional test of competency related to the (syllabus name of suspect demonstration, e.g., Final Examination) is requested. (Explain what additional test of competency.) You may decline to do so. Please contact the instructor, the department office, or the Office of Judicial Affairs for information regarding the University policy on cheating and plagiarism."
The instructor will indicate on the agreement form the grade which will be assigned, normally 120 calendar days following mailing of the Incomplete Agreement, if the student does not respond or, responding, the student does not agree to an additional test of competence.

Charges of cheating or plagiarism cannot be brought against a student more than 120 calendar days after discovery that the work in question may have been plagiarized or that cheating may have taken place.
Notes and evidence will be kept by the department chair or program director for a minimum of five years after the case is settled.

Academic Integrity Committee

Students accused of cheating or plagiarism or faculty accusing specified student(s) of cheating or plagiarism may request a review of the evidence by the Academic Integrity Committee..

A faculty member or student who requests a review of the evidence in a case of alleged cheating or plagiarism must make such a request to the Academic Integrity Committee in writing no later than 14 calendar days following the date of first notification of the student by the faculty member of the allegation. Except under extenuating circumstances, the student and faculty member will have no more than 14 additional calendar days to provide evidence to the Committee.

To preserve the rights of privacy, the Committee meetings shall be closed. The Committee may request additional information as may be appropriate to the development of its Reports. The Committee is to provide a final Report within 21 calendar days of the submission of a request to it. Should additional time be required, the reasons should be Communicated to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Chair of the Academic Senate as well as the student(s) and faculty members involved.

Following its review of the evidence, the Committee shall report its opinion to the student(s) and to the faculty member involved on whether the accusation is supported by the evidence. This opinion may not be appealed. However, when new evidence appears to so warrant, a faculty member or student may ask, in writing, the Vice President for Academic Affairs or the Chair of the Academic Senate to request the Committee to reconsider a case.
The report of the Committee is advisory to the student, with whom rests the presumption of innocence, and the faculty member, to whom the decision on the evidence and academic action is reserved.

Academic Actions

One or more of the following academic actions are available to the faculty member who finds a student has been cheating or plagiarizing. These options may be taken by the faculty member to the extent that the faculty member considers the cheating or plagiarism to manifest the student’s lack of scholarship or to reflect on the student’s lack of academic performance in the course. These actions may be taken without a request for, or before the receipt of, a Report from the Academic Integrity Committee.

1. Review but no action;
2. An oral reprimand with emphasis on counseling toward prevention of further occurrences;
3. A requirement that the work be repeated;
4. Assignment of a score of zero (0) for the specific demonstration of competence, resulting in the proportional reduction of final course grade;
5. Assignment of a failing final grade;
6. Referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs for possible probation, suspension, or expulsion.

A student may appeal a final course grade, the computation of which included an examination or other test of competence in which a score of zero was assigned for cheating or plagiarism, but only on the grounds permitted in the University Policy Statement on Grade Appeals.

An appeal of the final grade may include as written testimony the Report of the Academic Integrity Committee. (PS 85-19)