Policy on Academic Dishonesty

Academic Dishonesty, in whatever form, belies the stated philosophy of West Liberty University “to promote the development of the intellectual, cultural, social, physical, emotional, moral, and vocational capacities of all persons within its sphere of influence.” Individuals who commit acts of academic dishonesty violate the principles, which support the search for knowledge and truth. The academic community has established appropriate penalties and disciplinary action for such behavior.

1. Types of Academic Dishonesty:
   1. Cheating: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information in any academic exercise. Examples: Using or attempting to use “cheat sheets” to gain credit on quizzes or tests; having a substitute take a test; having another complete a research or writing assignment; and/or using the service of a term paper company.
   2. Fabrication: Falsifying/inventing any information/evidence or neglecting to follow established guidelines of research and documentation. Examples: Distortion of evidence to prove some experiment; and/or creation of false sources/fictitious evidence.
   3. Collaboration: Assisting others in engaging in scholarly wrongdoing. Examples: Stealing and distributing tests, etc.; permitting another to use a research paper/design; and/or permitting another to copy from his/her paper during an exam.
   4. Destruction of Reference Sources and/or denying others access to learning materials. Example: Destruction of journal articles in the library’s collection; stealing of books and other materials from the library or other sources.
   5. Plagiarism: Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own. Examples: Not footnoting direct quotations; not acknowledging a paraphrase.
   6. Misrepresentation of statistics
2. Penalties:

A student who violates the academic honesty policy may be subject to one or more of the following penalties:

   a. A faculty member may award a failing grade on an assignment; lower a course grade or award a failing course grade, including a WF should the student withdraw from the class prior to the 2/3s withdrawal deadline.

  b. The University may place the student on probation.

  c. The University may suspend the student.

  d. The University may expel a student from a program or the University.

1. Procedures for Handling Academic Dishonesty Cases:
   1. As soon as is reasonable after discovery of the offense; the faculty member will discuss the incident with the student. This may be done in person or by appropriate electronic means. A written explanation of the charges/incident and the specific penalty being administered or recommended is to be filed with the Provost’s Office within five (5) working days of the offense using the online form for that purpose available on the Provost’s web page. The faculty member should attach any appropriate documentation to the online form and should also maintain their own records of the incident. The Provost’s Office will provide copies of the report to the following: i) the faculty member, ii) the student, iii) the student’s academic advisor, iv) the chair or program director of the program from which the course was offered and of the student’s program of study, and v) the dean of the college from which the class was offered and of the student’s program of study. The Provost’s Office will maintain a file of academic dishonesty reports for each student for whom a report has been submitted.
   2. Cases of academic dishonesty in which the imposed penalty is one of those listed in Section 2.a will be resolved between the faculty member and the student. In such cases the student maintains the right to appeal the course grade per WLU Procedure 221.
   3. If the faculty member recommends one of the penalties from Section 2.b, 2.c, or 2.d, the proposed penalty may be initiated by the appropriate Chair or Program Director after consultation with the appropriate Dean.
   4. When two (2) separate incidents of academic dishonesty are reported for the same student, the student’s file of academic dishonesty reports will be reviewed by the Academic Dishonesty Committee. The committee may request additional information from any source. The committee shall determine whether an additional penalty from Section 2.b, 2.c, or 2.d is appropriate and recommend any such penalty to the Provost for approval and initiation. The committee will review the student file again with any incident of academic dishonesty beyond the second.
   5. When a penalty from Section 2.b, 2.c or 2.d is administered, the student has the right to appeal to the Academic Appeals Committee per the Academic Probation and Suspension Appeals Policy and Procedure.