- Course outlines should include the academic integrity principle statement and refer students to the catalog for more information.
- To encourage compliance with academic integrity standards, instructors shall make an effort to explain to students at the outset of a course or the start of an examination the behavior expected of them when taking examinations or when preparing and submitting other course work. Further, faculty should actively monitor examinations. Additionally, at the faculty’s discretion, the faculty may submit work to plagiarism detection software, such as Turnitin for review without prior notice to students.
- In all cases of alleged violations of academic integrity, faculty members must maintain confidentiality and not disclose information beyond those individuals who had a need to know.
- Faculty must collect accurate records of an academic integrity violation and submit those records to the AIC chair at the Office of the Provost.
- Faculty should encourage students who have been accused of an academic integrity violation to contact the Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students or designee, who can serve as a resource.
» Important Guidelines for Faculty
Procedure for Faculty Charging a Student with a Violation
When a faculty member or member of the Tutoring, Learning and Testing Center staff has evidence of an alleged violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, the steps listed below should be followed:
1. Notify the student by Chapman e-mail and/or personal communication of the allegation within 10 calendar days. If grades have been submitted already and the instructor’s sanction impacts the final course grade, faculty can submit a grade change request to the Registrar’s Office following completion of the academic integrity process. Violations must be reported within 1 month of the deadline for submitting final grades.
2. Arrange a meeting with the student and course faculty member to be held as soon as possible, but at least within three (3) business days’ notice to the student. Any discussion of sanctions should be reserved for the meeting (in the letter to the student you may write something along these lines: Dear student, I have evidence that suggests an academic integrity violation may have occurred. As per Chapman’s Academic Integrity policy, we need to meet in the presence of a member from the Academic Integrity Committee. Please let me know of some days and times you can meet.).
- If the student fails to attend a scheduled initial meeting with the faculty without a compelling excuse, the student will lose their opportunity to appeal the violation report and/or sanction to the AIC.
- An exception to meeting with the student may occur at the end of a semester when a student is no longer accessible for a meeting with the faculty member. In these cases, the faculty member should make every reasonable effort to contact the student by Chapman e-mail to discuss the matter. If reasonable attempts to contact the student fail, the instructor may resolve the issue by submitting an academic integrity violation report form, which the student has the right to later appeal to the AIC.
- Both faculty and student may invite witnesses with first–hand information to the meeting who can knowledgeably provide relevant information about the alleged infraction.
3. Request that a faculty designee of the AIC be present as an observer of the meeting at least 48 hours before the scheduled meeting time. Complete the online request form available on the academic integrity website. The AIC designee will:
- Ensure that the student knows where to find the Academic Integrity Policy and direct the student to the catalog.
- Inform the student that they have the right to appeal the violation report and/or sanction to the AIC based on the guidelines provided in the catalog for appealing a violation report and/or sanction to the AIC.
- Advise the instructor to submit the report of academic integrity violation, no later than 14 calendar days after the meeting.
- Observe, but not participate in deciding whether a violation has occurred or which sanction should be imposed.
4. Be familiar with the guidelines for sanctions to determine an appropriate sanction for the type of violation.
- A list of common instructor–imposed sanctions for various violations of academic integrity can be found in the academic integrity sanctions area.
- Instructors are encouraged to use these guidelines to ensure consistency and fairness in assessing student sanctions.
5. In the meeting, present the student with the allegation and all evidence in support of the charge against the student. The student should be given the opportunity to respond and, if they wish, to submit evidence refuting the allegation.
6. At the conclusion of the meeting, the faculty member determines if it is more likely than not that the student has violated the Academic Integrity Policy, and if so, the faculty member charges the student with a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy.
- If the student is found responsible, impose a suitable grade punishment. Examples of violations and common sanctions can be found above in this policy. Inform the student that they will receive a sanction letter from the AIC.
- If the faculty member needs more time to decide on the case, give the student a reasonable timeframe for a response. A grade of Incomplete may also be assigned by the instructor if academic integrity is in question at the time grades are due and the instructor or AIC require more time to resolve the issue. (See Academic Policies and Procedures in the catalog for more details on “Incomplete Grades.”)
7. After notifying the student of the sanction in writing by university e-mail, complete the academic integrity violation report form which can be found on the academic integrity website.
8. The completed academic integrity violation report form and other pertinent documents must be submitted as soon as possible, but not later than 14 calendar days after the meeting unless there are exceptional circumstances and an extension has been granted by the AIC chair.
9. The report/documents can be sent by the instructor to the AIC chair in the Office of the Provost. The form and documents may also be sent by e-mail to aic@chapman.edu. In most cases, submission of this form and documents will complete the academic integrity violation process for the faculty member.
10. The student will receive a letter of sanction from the AIC chair along with information for appealing the violation report and/or sanctions.