Holy Apostles expects students to fulfill their academic obligations through honest and independent effort. In a community of scholars committed to truth, dishonesty violates the code of ethics by which we live and is considered a serious offense subject to strong disciplinary actions. Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to the following:

• Knowingly furnishing false or misleading information.
• Falsification, alteration or misuse of college forms or records.
• Any joint effort in examinations, assignments or other academic activity unless authorized by the instructor.
• Plagiarism in any form; using another’s phrase, sentence or paragraph without quotation marks; using another’s ideas or structure without properly identifying the source; or using the work of someone else and submitting it as one’s own. For more detailed information, please consult Holy Apostles’ Policy on Plagiarism and Cheating, which is incorporated by reference herein.
• Violating any provision contained in Holy Apostles’ Information Technology Appropriate Use Policy.
• Willfully aiding another in any act of academic dishonesty. Holy Apostles is equally concerned about the interpersonal social relationships that affect the learning environment. Respect for the conditions necessary to enhance learning is, therefore, required.

Multiple Submissions Policy

• Any work done for academic credit, in addition to its accurately representing Church teaching, should serve as a substantive demonstration of a student’s having been intellectually formed by the class for which he or she is writing. To that end, students may not make multiple submissions of their academic work without first seeking permission from the course professor to whom they desire to submit their work and sharing with that course professor the original work and any comments made on it by the professor to whom it was originally submitted. In the case where the work intended for submission will be sent to two or more course professors for credit in the same semester, permission must be granted in advance by all course professors who will be receiving it. Work that is substantially the same content presented in different formats (e.g., once as an essay for one class and then as a PowerPoint for a different class) is also considered a multiple submission. Violations of this policy may lead to a faculty member’s not accepting for credit the work a student has submitted.

Reporting Violations and Judicial Procedures

All alleged violations should be reported by faculty members to the Office of the Academic Dean. Centralization of authority, responsibility and record-keeping is essential for fair and impartial administration of the Student Conduct Code. Students should report cases to the instructor or to the Academic Dean. The Academic Dean shall inform the instructor of alleged violations that have been reported by students.

Where cheating is discovered or suspected, the instructor should inform the student(s) involved and undertake an investigation of the matter. If the instructor is then convinced that a violation did occur, the following procedure should be used:

If the student admits a violation, the instructor may assign a grade of “0” or “F” to the examination or assignment on which cheating, plagiarism or other academic dishonesty occurred. If the student admits a violation of this Code not involving dishonesty (e.g. talking during an exam, but not sharing answers), the faculty member may assign an appropriate grade penalty. In either case, the name of the student and a brief description of the incident should be reported to the Academic Dean for determination of the appropriate disciplinary penalty. Reporting is essential to assure that repeat offenders are penalized accordingly.

If the student does not admit a violation, the instructor should refer the case to the Academic Dean, who will attempt to resolve the matter informally and, if necessary, arrange for adjudication by a faculty-student committee.

Any contested accusation of cheating, plagiarism or other academic misconduct in an examination or assignment submitted by a student to satisfy course requirements will be adjudicated by a faculty-student committee appointed by the Academic Dean in consultation with the President/Rector of Holy Apostles. In this case, the instructor should withhold the student’s grade until after adjudication.

If, after adjudication, the student is found in violation, the grade should be assigned in accordance with paragraph 7 under “Responsibility of Faculty,” supra. If there is no violation, the instructor shall assign a grade based on the quality of the work completed. A student who is dissatisfied with the decision in his or her hearing may appeal the decision.

Grades are an evaluation of academic performance, and their assignment is a responsibility resting solely with the faculty consistent with the authority granted to the Academic Senate by the Regents. The assignment of “0” or “F” to work or tests in which academic dishonesty or other academic misconduct has occurred is based on the premise that the examination or assignment cannot be regarded as the student’s own work and thus is invalidated and/or the student’s violation is unfair and/or disruptive and thus harmful to the instructor and others in the class. The instructor shall not apply a more severe grade adjustment than recording a “0” or “F” on the specific assignment or test on which misconduct occurred. Where an instructor has referred a case for adjudication but has not received a report confirming a violation at the time that the course grades are due, submit a grade of “I” for the student on the grade report form.

Specific procedures to be followed in the adjudication of cases of academic misconduct have been established by Holy Apostles. Procedural fairness is basic to the proper enforcement of Holy Apostles’ policies and campus regulations. Procedures must ensure fairness not only for students accused of academic dishonesty but also for victims of dishonest acts, e.g., other students. The confidence of students and instructors in the procedures must be maintained.