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Last approved: Fri, 24 Nov 2023 01:00:41 GMT

Last edit: Fri, 24 Nov 2023 01:00:39 GMT

 

Academic
Academic Integrity
325
April 13, 2021
April 13, 2021
April 2021
April 2026
Education Council
Vice President Academic & Applied Research
Education Policy Committee
AVP Students

Policy

Does this policy have procedures?
Yes

Procedures

References and Resources

 
Term Description
Academic Work Any product, process, or project that is graded or required for the completion of a course or program.
Academic Misconduct Behaviour that undermines the College’s ability to fairly evaluate students’ academic achievements, or behaviour that a student knew, or reasonably ought to have known, could gain them or others unearned academic advantage or benefit. Academic Misconduct includes, but is not limited to the following:

Cheating: Cheating is an act of deception or misrepresentation that includes, but is not limited to:
a. exchanging information with another person during an examination or using unauthorized material during an examination or facilitating another student to copy one’s examination;
b. representing or impersonating another or permitting oneself to be represented or impersonated by another in taking an examination or submitting academic work;
c. submitting work from another course or the same course without instructor approval;
d. purchasing or otherwise obtaining work prepared by another person and submitting all or a portion of the work as one’s own;
e. unauthorized use of any device in a test or exam;
f. violating the integrity of an assignment, test, or other evaluation; and
g. knowingly or purposefully violating the expectations or rules of an assignment, test, or other evaluation.

Contract Cheating: Purchasing or otherwise obtaining, with or without payment, work prepared by another person and submitting all or a portion of the work as one’s own.

Damaging, Tampering or Interfering with the Academic Environment: This includes but is not limited to the following:
a. obstructing, altering, and/or disturbing the academic activities of others;
b. preventing another student from completing a task for academic assessment;
c. tampering with, stealing, or destroying another student’s academic work;
d. altering a grade on academic work for the purposes of having the recorded grade changed;
e. removing, altering, misusing, or destroying College property to obstruct the work of others;
f. persisting with bias to influence others for academic gain, such as a change in grade.

Fabrication: Fabrication is the creation and use of information known to be untrue, including false research data or reference to a source that does not exist.

Facilitation: Assisting or attempting to assist another person to violate the standards of academic integrity. Helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic misconduct. This can include impersonation, facilitating cheating, or submitting work as another student.

Inappropriate Use of Digital Technologies: The use of any digital technology to commit any form of student academic misconduct.

Misrepresentation or Falsification: With respect to personal identity or academic performance, this includes but is not limited to the following:

a. submitting stolen or purchased assignments, research, or creative work;
b. representing or impersonating another or permitting oneself to be represented or impersonated by another in person, in writing, or electronically, in taking an examination or submitting academic work for the purpose of academic evaluation;
c. falsely identifying oneself or misrepresenting one’s personal performance outside of a particular course, in a course in which one is not officially enrolled, or in the admissions process (e.g. submission of portfolios, essays, transcripts, or documents);
d. providing altered, forged, or falsified medical or other certificates, or documents for academic consideration, or making false claims for such consideration, including in or as part of an academic appeal, or the academic misconduct investigation process.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else’s words, ideas, sentence structure or data regardless of source (printed texts, internet, etc.). This can include self-plagiarism when previously graded work is submitted without acknowledgment.

Taking credit or presenting the work of others as one’s own without identifying and giving proper credit to the original source. This includes but is not limited to the following:

a. submitting academic work that has been, entirely or in part, copied from or written by another person, including information found on the Internet, without full and proper acknowledgement;
b. using the exact wording of a source without putting the borrowed words in quotation marks, or following the syntax (structure) or wording of the source too closely;
c. paraphrasing someone else’s ideas or work by changing only a few words, without full and proper acknowledgement of the source;
d. submitting academic work which has been written, rewritten or substantially edited by another person.

Self-Plagiarism: Submitting an assignment for which previous academic credit was given, or submitting the same assignment, in whole or in part, for credit in two or more courses, or in the same course more than once, without the prior written permission of the Instructor. Self-plagiarism can also include presenting one’s own previously published work as though it were new.
Academic Misconduct Review Panel The body that investigates matters of student Academic Misconduct.
Procedural Fairness The principles ensuring that a dispute is fairly decided. Both the Student and Respondent(s) have equal right to:

a. Have a policy applied equally;
b. Have a College decision or action communicated in writing with sufficient detail;
c. Dispute an initial College decision or action;
d. Appeal a subsequent College decision or action;
e. Be provided with sufficiently detailed and timely reasoned notice of activity;
f. Have a timely and reasonable opportunity to be heard and present a case before impartial/neutral decision makers;
g. Be provided with sufficiently detailed, reasoned and timely tribunal decisions; and
h. Seek representation or advocacy.
Student A person who is registered in full-time or part-time credit or non-credit courses offered by VCC. Persons are still considered students if they withdraw after allegedly violating the Academic Integrity policy or have been subject to involuntary withdrawal by the college.
Student Conduct File A record held by the Student Conduct and Judicial Affairs Office, separate from the student’s academic record, that contains a complete record of any alleged academic misconduct by the student.
VCC Policies Policy Number
Admissions 301
Appeal of Final Grade 322
Appeal to Education Council on Educational Matters 321
Appropriate and Responsible Use of Educational and Information Technology 505
Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans 420
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy 501
Grading, Progression and Withdrawal 411
Lending and Borrowing College Equipment 416
Prevention of Harassment, Discrimination, and Bullying 201
Records Management 520
Standards of Employee Conduct & Conflict of Interest 202
Student Appeal of Suspension to Board of Governors 320
Student Non-Academic Conduct 324
Students with Disabilities 327
Provide links to all supporting documents. These may include links to Appendices, Forms, Guidelines, Handbooks, Standards or other departmental or College resources that support the implementation of this policy and/or procedures.
Are there appendices for this policy?

 
Are there associated forms?

 
Are there supporting internal documents?

 

Rationale and Additional Information

Does this change require an implementation plan?
No

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

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