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Membership in the Manchester University
community requires a devotion to the highest principles of academic
and personal integrity, a commitment to maintain honor, and a
continuous regard for the rights of others. There can be no rights
without individual responsibility.
Manchester University Faculty are committed to teaching and learning as
a career and a profession. Each instructor is presumed to develop
and use methods and techniques which enhance learning and which best
fit his or her personality and subject matter area. At the same
time, the instructor is expected to abide by the general principles
of responsible teaching which are commonly accepted by the academic
profession. These principles suggest that Faculty keep complete
records of student performance and that they develop and apply
express, uniform criteria for evaluating student performance.
Students are free to take reasoned exception to the data or views
offered in any course of study. While they may reserve judgment
about matters of opinion, they are responsible for learning the
content of any course in which they are enrolled. At the same time,
students are expected to abide by the general principles of academic
honesty which are commonly accepted in educational settings.
When a student chooses not to follow
the general principles of academic honesty, the following policies
and procedures will apply.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of information (either written or
oral) as one’s own when some or all of the information was derived
from some other source. Specific types of plagiarism encountered in
written and oral assignments include the following:
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Sources have been properly identified, but excerpts have been
quoted without proper use of quotation marks; or the material
has been slightly modified or rephrased rather than restated in
the student’s own words.
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Key
ideas or items of information derived from specific sources that
present material that is not common knowledge have been
presented without proper identification of the source or
sources.
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Unidentified excerpts from other sources have been woven into
the student’s own presentation.
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A
paper or speech may be a mosaic of excerpts from several sources
and presented as the student’s own.
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An
entire paper or speech has been obtained from some other source
and presented as the student’s own.
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Texts
in another language are translated into English and presented as
the student’s own.
Cheating
Cheating consists
of any unpermitted use of notes, texts or other sources so as to
give an unfair advantage to a student in completing a class
assignment or an examination. Intentionally aiding another student
engaged in academic dishonesty is also considered cheating.
Submission of the
same work (essay, speech, art piece, etc.) to fulfill assignments in
separate classes requires the permission of both faculty members (if
both courses are being taken in the same semester), or the
permission of the second faculty member (if they are taken during
different semesters).
Penalties
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Unintentional
Plagiarism. In cases of plagiarism which no deception is
intended (such as ignorance of proper citation of sources), the
student should expect a reduction in the paper’s grade; in some
cases, the student may be given an option to rewrite the paper.
No disciplinary letter will be filed.
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Deliberate
Plagiarism and Cheating. In cases of deliberate plagiarism, and
in all cases of cheating and attempted cheating, the work
assigned will be failed. At the instructor’s discretion, the
student may also fail the course (regardless of the grade-weight
of the work assigned).
In either a case
of deliberate plagiarism or cheating a disciplinary letter recording
the deception will be sent to the student, with copies sent to the
vice president and dean for academic affairs, the vice president and
dean for student development, and the student’s academic advisor.
Given the incompatibility of
deceptive behavior with the integrity of the community, students
guilty of academic dishonesty a second time during the course of
their academic career are liable to disciplinary probation,
suspension, and possible expulsion. These actions will be initiated
by the vice president and dean for academic affairs. The student has
the right to appeal probation, suspension or expulsion for Academic
Dishonesty to the president (or his/her designee) of the University within five days of the receipt of the probation, suspension or
expulsion letter. The president shall render a final decision.
Appeal
Any
student who is convinced that he or she has been charged
inappropriately with deliberate plagiarism or cheating, or who
believes his or her final course grade is inaccurate, has the right
to file a grievance. In accordance with established procedures,
grievances unrelated to academic performance may be referred
directly to the Office of Academic Affairs.
Procedures
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The student and the professor
should discuss the student's grievance, possibly including a mutually agreed upon third party, and make every effort to reach a
solution that is satisfactory to the student and the professor.
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If an agreement cannot be
reached, the student will bring the issue to the department chair of
the involved Faculty member. Grievances related to academic
dishonesty charges must be brought before the department chair as soon as possible and
no later than five days
following the initial filing of the disciplinary letter.
Final course grade grievance must be brought before the Department
Chair no later than March 1 for fall semester and January session
grades, and October 1 for spring semester and summer session grades.
- The chair will request a
detailed written summary from each party.
- The chair will inform the vice
president and dean for academic affairs of the grievance.
- The chair will meet with both
parties together, hear their concerns and attempt to resolve the grievance.
- If an agreement is reached, the
chair will inform the vice president and dean for academic affairs
of the result in writing. The written summaries will be forwarded
to the Office of Academic Affairs (see a
above).
Exception: If
the involved Faculty member is the department chair, the chair will
request that the vice president and dean for academic affairs
appoint another full‑time Faculty member from that department to
hear the concerns and attempt to resolve the grievance.
- If an agreement cannot be reached
through the department chair, the student, if he or she wishes, may
initiate the formal grievance procedure.
- The student will obtain an
Academic Grievance form from the Office of Academic Affairs.
- The completed form will be
forwarded by the student to the Office of Academic Affairs.
- The Academic Standards Committee (or their designated
representative) will review the grievance only if procedures 1 & 2
have been completed. The written summaries initially provided to
the department chair can be used by the Academic Standards Committee
and/or the committee may wish to interview both parties
individually.
- The Academic Standards Committee
will render a final decision. The decision of the Academic
Standards Committee is final and no further appeal procedure shall
exist within the University.
Exception: If the involved Faculty
member is member of the Academic Standards Committee, the vice
president and dean for academic affairs will appoint a full-time
Faculty member from the same division to replace the involved
Faculty member while the grievance is being reviewed, discussed, and
a decision is being made. If the involved Faculty member is the
academic dean, the chair of the Academic Standards Committee will
request that the president of the College appoint a full-time
Faculty member to replace the vice president and dean for academic
affairs while the grievance is being reviewed, discussed, and a
decision is being made.
Further Recommendations
Faculty are urged to include the
policy (either in full or in reference) in course syllabi.
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