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Academic Integrity and Ethics

Central to the purpose and pursuit of any academic community is academic integrity. All members of the Westminster community, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators, are expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity, in keeping with the philosophy and mission of the College.

Academic dishonesty is a profound violation of this code of behavior. Outlined below are examples of and specific consequences for academic dishonesty at Westminster. The list of examples is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to provide an overview of the community's common concerns. Students who are unsure as to whether specific behavior not listed here will constitute academic dishonesty should consult with their individual course instructors.

 

Violations


Violations of the Westminster College Academic Integrity Policy (AIP) include, but are not limited to, the following:

Cheating

  1. Copying answers from another student's paper during a quiz, test, or examination.
  2. Divulging answers or information to another student during a quiz, test, or examination, or accepting such aid.
  3. Using unauthorized aids (e.g., notes or books) during a quiz, test, or examination.
  4. Collaborating improperly with another student on an open-book or take-home quiz, test, or examination
  5. Exceeding the time limit, when one exists, on an open-book or take-home quiz, test, or examination
  6. Aiding another student improperly on in- or out-of-class assignments
  7. Leaving a testing area to obtain answers or aid
  8. Handing in another's work or ideas as one's own
  9. Taking a quiz, test, or examination with prior knowledge of its contents, when that knowledge has not been authorized or consented to by the instructor
  10. Engaging in any activity which may give an unfair academic advantage to oneself or another.

 

Misconduct

  1. Engaging, during a class or testing session, in conduct that is so disruptive as to infringe upon the rights of the instructor or fellow students.
  2. Submitting the same work, including oral presentations, for different courses without the explicit consent of the instructors.
  3. Stealing or intentionally damaging or destroying notes, research data, laboratory projects, library materials, computer software (including the intentional passing of a computer virus), or any other work of another member of the Westminster community.
  4. Acting as or using a substitute in any academic evaluation procedures.
  5. Depriving others of necessary academic resourcesiii
  6. Sabotaging the work of another member of the Westminster community
  7. Unethically obtaining answers or other information about a quiz, test, or examination before it is administered, even if not a member of the class in which the quiz, test, or examination is given
  8. Violating copyright restrictions, i.e., stealing the intellectual property of another.

 

Misconduct

"Derived from the Latin word for kidnapping, plagiarism is the theft of someone else's 'brainchild' -that person's language, ideas, or research-and the origin of the word conveys the seriousness of such offenses in the view of college teachers and administrators. The reason is that words, ideas, and research are the main forms of currency in academic life." -- Keith Hjortshoj, The Transition to College Writing (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001), 172.

  1. Quoting or paraphrasing, without proper citation and acknowledgment, the published words, ideas, or work of another (including anonymous publications and online publications).
  2. Submitting, as one's own work, a paper, an oral presentation, or a visual presentation authored wholly or partially by someone else (including commercial services).
  3. Borrowing and appropriating, without proper citation and acknowledgement, facts that are not matters of general knowledge, including all statistics, and translations, and/or the general idea or logic of another's argument.

 

Providing False Information

  1. Furnishing false information to the college for the purpose of obtaining special consideration or privilege (e.g., postponement of an examination or a deadline)
  2. Misrepresenting source material or information or participating in the falsification or misrepresentation of citations
  3. Falsifying laboratory data, notes, or results, or research data of any type, and presenting it as one's work.

 

Process and Consequences

If a course instructor suspects that a student has violated this policy, the instructor will speak with the student, review appropriate materials, and reach a conclusion. If the instructor determines that a violation has occurred, the following process will apply:

  1. The instructor will inform the student that he or she has violated the AIP and that the director of the graduate program (DGP) and the vice-president for academic affairs (VPAA) will be notified.
  2. The instructor will impose an academic penalty at his or her discretion (e.g., 0 for the assignment without possibility of revisions, failing grade for the course, or other appropriate academic sanctions).
  3. The instructor will send the DGP a concise written explanation of the violation and the penalty.
  4. After reviewing the instructor's explanation of the violation and penalty, as well as the student's record of previous offenses, the DGP and/or VPAA will take the following additional action:
    1. FOR A FIRST OFFENSE, the DGP and/or VPAA may supplement the instructor's penalty with further action, up to and including suspension and permanent dismissal, after consultation with the instructor and the Academic Standards Committee. The DGP and/or VPAA may also meet with the student.
    2. FOR A SECOND OFFENSE, the DGP and/or VPAA will impose a one-semester suspension. The DGP and/or VPAA may take further action, up to and including permanent dismissal, after consultation with the instructor and the Academic Standards Committee.
    3. FOR A THIRD OFFENSE, the DGP and/or VPAA will impose a penalty of permanent dismissal from the College.
  5. The DGP and/or VPAA will send the student official notification of the penalty for the violation (even if the penalty is solely that imposed by the instructor). The VPAA will send copies of this notification to the instructor and the student's academic adviser.
  6. A copy of the DGP and/or VPAA's official notification to the student will be kept in the student's academic file. If there is no second offense, this letter will be removed upon the student's graduation. If there is a second offense, the letter will become part of the student's permanent academic record.
  7. Within 15 calendar days of the DGP and/or VPAA's sending official notification of the penalty for the violation, the student may decide to appeal either the finding of a violation or the penalty for the violation.

 

Appeals Process

  1. The student will send the DGP and/or VPAA written notification that he or she intends to appeal either the finding of a violation or the penalty for the violation.
  2. The VPAA will ask the chair of the Academic Standards Committee to convene an Academic Integrity Review Board (AIRB), made up of the following:
    1. two members of the Academic Standards Committee, chosen by the committee
    2. the chair of the department or program in which the violation took place
    3. one other faculty member nominated by the student
    4. the VPAA, in cases in which his or her decision is not being appealed.
  3. One of the two participating members of the Academic Standards Committee will chair the AIRB.
  4. When appearing before the AIRB, the student may bring an adviser who is a member of the campus community but who is not a member of the student's family. The adviser may consult with the student during questioning by the AIRB, but the adviser may not participate in that questioning herself or himself.
  5. The AIRB's decision will be reached by majority (3/4 or 3/5) vote, using the standard of "more likely than not."
  6. Within 48 hours of the student's appearance before the AIRB, the chair will send the student and the instructor official notification of the board's decision.
  7. If the student wishes to appeal the decision of the AIRB, he or she must do so within seven calendar days of the AIRB's sending official notification of its decision. This appeal must be made in writing to the president of the College, whose decision will be final.

 

Additional Stipulations

A student may not withdraw from a class in which he or she has been charged with violating the College's Academic Integrity Policy, unless he or she successfully appeals the finding that a violation has occurred. Charges of violating this policy may be brought by an instructor against a student who is not enrolled in the class affected by the violation. Any member of the Westminster community, including students, staff members, faculty members, and administrators, may bring a charge for a violation of the College's Academic Integrity Policy. If someone other than a course instructor wishes to bring a charge, he or she can initiate the process by contacting the course instructor, a department chair, or the VPAA. Copies of all materials pertaining to violations, penalties, and appeals will be kept in the Office of Academic Affairs. The VPAA will send to the Academic Standards Committee a monthly report on the number and nature of violations of the policy.

Code of Conduct and Statement of Ethical Practices

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA section 493) requires institutions of higher education participating in the administration of educational loan programs to develop, publish, administer and enforce a Financial Aid Code of Conduct.  Any Westminster College officer, employee or agent who has responsibilities with respect to student educational loans is required to comply with this Code of Conduct outlined below:

Westminster College shall not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.

No officer or employee of Westminster College who is employed in the Westminster College financial aid office or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to educational loans, or agent who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, shall solicit or accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans.  A “gift” means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, or other item having a monetary value of more than a de minimus amount.

An officer or employee of Westminster College who is employed in the Westminster College financial aid office or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or an agent who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, shall not accept from any lender or an affiliate of any lender any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.

Westminster College shall not for any first time borrower, assign, through award packaging or other methods, the borrower’s loan to a particular lender.  Westminster College will not refuse to certify or delay certification, of any loan based on the borrower’s selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.

Westminster College shall not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans (as defined in section 140 of the Truth in Lending Act), including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with a specified number of loans made, insured, or guaranteed under this title, a specified loan volume of such loans, or a preferred lender arrangement for such loans.  An “opportunity pool loan” means a private education loan made by a lender to a student attending Westminster College or the family member of such a student that involves a payment, directly or indirectly by such institution of points, premiums, additional interest, or financial support to such lender for extending credit to the student or the family.

Westminster College will not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing.  A lender may provide professional development training for financial aid administrators, educational counseling materials, financial literacy materials, or debt management materials to borrowers, provided that such materials disclose to borrowers the identification of any lender that assisted in preparing or providing such materials, or staffing services on a short-term, nonrecurring basis to assist Westminster college with financial aid-related functions during emergencies or disasters.

Any employee who is employed in the Westminster College financial aid office or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans or other student financial aid of Westminster College, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or a group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, except that the employee may be reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such advisory board, commission, or group.

 

Statement of Ethical Practices


Westminster College, a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), also adheres to NASFAA’s Code of Conduct for Financial Aid Professionals listed below:

An institutional financial aid professional is expected to always maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct in all aspects of carrying out his or her responsibilities, specifically including all dealings with any entities involved in any manner in student financial aid, regardless of whether such entities are involved in a government sponsored, subsidized, or regulated activity. In doing so, a financial aid professional should:

Refrain from taking any action for his or her personal benefit.

Refrain from taking any action he or she believes is contrary to law, regulation, or the best interests of the students and parents he or she serves.

Ensure that the information he or she provides is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect any preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.

Be objective in making decisions and advising his or her institution regarding relationships with any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.

Refrain from soliciting or accepting anything of other than nominal value from any entity (other than an institution of higher education or a governmental entity such as the U.S. Department of Education) involved in the making, holding, consolidating or processing of any student loans, including anything of value (including reimbursement of expenses) for serving on an advisory body or as part of a training activity of or sponsored by any such entity.

Disclose to his or her institution, in such manner as his or her institution may prescribe, any involvement with or interest in any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.