Action by the Instructor

Golden West College has the responsibility to ensure that grades assigned are indicative of the knowledge and skill level of each student. Acts of academic dishonesty make it impossible to fulfill this responsibility, and they weaken our society. Faculty, students, administrators, and classified staff share responsibility for ensuring academic honesty in our college community and will make a concerted effort to fulfill the following responsibilities.

Faculty Responsibilities

Faculty have a responsibility to ensure that academic honesty is maintained in their classroom. In the absence of academic honesty it is impossible to assign accurate grades and to ensure that honest students are not at a competitive disadvantage. Faculty members are expected to:

• Explain the meaning of academic honesty to their students.
• Conduct their classes in a way that makes cheating, plagiarism and other dishonest conduct nearly impossible.
• Confront students suspected of academic dishonesty and take appropriate disciplinary action in a timely manner (see “Procedures for Dealing with Academic Dishonesty” which follow).

Student Responsibilities

Students share the responsibility for maintaining academic honesty. Students are expected to:

• Refrain from acts of academic dishonesty.
• Refuse to aid or abet any form of academic dishonesty.
• Notify instructors and/or appropriate administrators about observed incidents of academic dishonesty.

Administration Responsibilities

• Disseminate the academic honesty policy and the philosophical principles upon which it is based to faculty, students, and staff.
• Provide facilities, class enrollments, and/or support personnel which make it practical for faculty and students to make cheating, plagiarism and other dishonest conduct nearly impossible.
• Support faculty and students in their efforts to maintain academic honesty.

  Classified Staff Responsibilities
  

  Examples Of Violations Of Academic Honesty
  Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following:
  

  Plagiarism is to present as one’s own the ideas, words, or creative product of another. Credit must be given to the source for direct quotations, paraphrases, ideas, and facts which are not common knowledge.
  
  Other Dishonest Conduct
  

  Collusion
  
  Collusion occurs when any student knowingly or intentionally helps another student perform an act of academic dishonesty. Collusion in an act of academic dishonesty will be disciplined in the same manner as the act itself.
  
  Procedures For Dealing With Violations Of Academic Honesty
  

  Action By The Instructor
  An instructor who has evidence that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred shall, after speaking with the student, take one or more of the following disciplinary actions:
  

  a. Issue an oral reprimand (for example, in cases where there is reasonable doubt that the student knew that the action violated the standards of academic honesty).
  

  • Stealing or attempting to steal an examination or answer key.
  • Stealing or attempting to change official academic records.
  • Forging or altering grade change cards.
  • Submitting all or part of the same work for credit in more than one course without consulting all instructors involved.
  • Intentionally impairing the performance of other students and/or a faculty member, for example, by adulterating laboratory samples or reagents, by altering musical or athletic equipment, or by creating a distraction meant to impair performance.
  • Forging or altering attendance records.

NOTE: A grade of “F” assigned to a student for academic dishonesty is final and shall be placed on the transcript. If the student withdraws from the course, a “W” will not replace an “F” assigned for academic dishonesty. Academic disciplinary actions taken by the instructor based on alleged cheating may be appealed as specified in the College’s Instructional Grievance Policy.

Action By The Administration
Upon receipt of the first “Academic Dishonesty Report” form concerning a student, the Vice President of Instruction and Student Services shall send a letter of reprimand to the student which will inform the student that:

• He/she will be on academic disciplinary probation for the remainder of his/her career at Golden West College.
• Another incident of academic dishonesty reported by any instructor shall result in a one year suspension from the College.
  

Upon receipt of a second reported incident of cheating by the student, the Vice President of Instruction and Student Services shall suspend the student for one calendar year (two full semesters and one summer session).

For more serious incidents of academic dishonesty the student shall be suspended from the College on the first offense for one calendar year. Offenses warranting suspension on the first offense include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Taking an examination for another student or having someone take an examination for oneself.
• Altering a graded examination or assignment and returning it for additional credit.
• Having another person or a company do the research and/or writing of an assigned paper or report.
• Stealing or attempting to steal an examination or answer key.
• Stealing or attempting to change official academic records.
• Forging or altering grades.

If, after a student returns from a suspension for Academic Dishonesty, the Vice President of Instruction and Student Services receives yet another “Academic Dishonesty Report” form, he/she shall recommend to the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees that the student be expelled from the District.

NOTE: Disciplinary actions taken by the Vice President of Instruction and Student Services based on alleged cheating may be appealed as specified in the College’s Disciplinary Grievance Policy.

Support faculty, students, and administration in their efforts to make cheating, plagiarism and other dishonest conduct nearly impossible.

Notify instructors and/or appropriate administrators about observed incidents of academic dishonesty.

• Cheating
• Obtaining information from another student during an examination.
• Communicating information to another student during an examination.
• Knowingly allowing another student to copy one’s work.
• Offering another person’s work as one’s own.
• Taking an examination for another student or having someone take an examination for oneself.
• Sharing answers for a take-home examination unless specifically authorized by the instructor.
• Using unauthorized material during an examination.
• Altering a graded examination or assignment and returning it for additional credit.
• Having another person or a company do the research and/or writing of an assigned paper or report.
• Misreporting or altering the data in laboratory or research projects.

• Plagiarism