For Undergraduate Students

Student Guide to Academic Integrity: Rights and Responsibilities

Academic dishonesty undermines the efforts of honest students, the value of a UC Santa Cruz degree and the integrity of the university as an institution. With this in mind, the student’s rights and responsibilities are outlined below.

1. It is the student's responsibility to be honest and to act fairly towards others.


2. It is the student’s responsibility to understand university policy on Academic Integrity, as well as each instructor’s policy on acceptable collaboration and cheating. If a student is unsure whether his or her behavior violates university or faculty policy, then it is his or her responsibility to consult with the instructor or college provost for clarification.


3. It is a student's responsibility to utilize proper citation formats in order to acknowledge the work of others. Students are encouraged to seek out the resources listed on these web pages, and consult with their instructors.


4. Students must seek credit only for their own legitimate work.


5. When a student observes violations of the Academic Integrity policy, he or she should make every effort to notify the instructor.


6. If a student is accused of violating the Academic Integrity policy, he or she has the right to due process including notification of charges, presumption of innocence, the right to present the facts as she or he sees them and the right to an appeal. The provost of the student's college may function as the student's procedural advisor.


7. The student has the right to appeal disciplinary sanctions through the chancellor’s office (appeals of disciplinary sanctions) limited to alleged "use of improper criteria" as well as for procedural violations) and academic sanctions through the Narrative Evaluation Student Grievance Committee (committee of the Academic Senate)