For Undergraduate Students

Faculty Guide to Academic Integrity: Rights and Responsibilities

Cheating is an academic issue. When cheating is suspected in a course, it is the responsibility of the instructor to try to establish the facts. If the instructor becomes convinced that cheating has occurred, he or she has the responsibility to impose some consequence within the context of that course, for example, to treat the work on which the cheating has occurred as not having been submitted.

The chancellor and the Academic Senate strongly support the efforts of individual instructors to deal with academic dishonesty.

Some Guidelines

1. Instructors should announce at the beginning of a course that cheating will not be tolerated, and that cheating in any part of the course may lead to failing the course and suspension or dismissal from the university. Instructors should refer students to the UC Santa Cruz Academic Integrity web pages.
   
   
2. Instructors should explain to students at the outset of a course the behavior expected of them when taking examinations or preparing and submitting other course work. The instructor should discuss possible ambiguities in his or her policies. For example, if the instructor encourages students to work on problems together, it should be clear if separate and not joint submissions are expected. In courses in which papers are required, the instructor must insure that students understand the academic conventions for quotations and citation, and should inform students that material obtained over the internet must be cited appropriately or copyright permission must be obtained. In large courses, where the instructor does not know every student personally, the instructor may require that picture IDs be checked against a master list as students enter the examination room or during the examination. In examination rooms, the instructor should insure that there is attentive proctoring. Where physically possible, the instructor should ask students to maximize the distance between them, and should take other appropriate precautions.
   
   
3. In the event an instructor suspects a student of academic misconduct in a course, due process shall be respected. Please see the procedures to be invoked to determine the facts of a case. All steps need to be carefully documented in writing and should be completed in a timely fashion.
   
   
4. An instructor who brings charges against a student is responsible for recommending the academic sanctions to be imposed. The instructor shall not submit a final grade or narrative evaluation until the case is decided.
   
   
5. In the case of academic misconduct involving more than one student, these rules must be applied fairly and equally.
   
   
6. The instructor has the discretion to decide whether academic misconduct is sufficiently serious to warrant formal action. The instructor should consider whether the offense directly affected other students or otherwise affected the integrity of the course.
   
   
7. When a student is suspected of cheating, the instructor must make a formal request for a meeting with the student to discuss the charges, evidence of misconduct and the academic sanctions to be imposed. If, after this meeting, the instructor is still convinced of the guilt of the student, the instructor must make a formal report of the incident.

Instructors who have questions about the Academic Integrity Policy are urged to contact their department chair, the University Ombudsman or the office of the vice provost and dean of undergraduate education (VPDUE) for clarification.