|
Reporting a
Violation
The JMU Honor System has jurisdiction over conduct that involves
academic dishonesty. The Honor
Council may not respond to a possible honor violation reported more
than 60 days after the occurrence of the event.
A student who is the subject of an
honor investigation or who has been charged with an honor violation
may not graduate from the university until the case is dismissed,
the charges are dropped, the student is found not guilty, or a
guilty finding is reversed by an appeal body.
Guide to Reporting a
Violation:
I. Options for
Reporting a Violation
a) Direct report
to instructor
b) Direct report to
the Honor Council
II. The Informal Process
a) Informal Resolution Procedures
b) Informal Resolution
Penalties
III. The Formal Process
a) Formal Investigation
b) Formal Resolution
Penalties
IV. Summary of Procedures
a) Student Responsibilities
b) Faculty
Responsibilities
Print the Guide
I. Options for reporting an Honor Code
Violation
a) Direct Report to
the Instructor
A member of the JMU community should immediately refer the matter
directly to the faculty member teaching the course in which the
possible violation took place. The reporter should provide the
faculty member with the following information:
- The name of the individual making
the report
- The phone number or e-mail
address of the individual making the report
- The conduct observed by the
individual making the report
- The names of others who might
have observed the conduct
An individual who makes a report
directly to a faculty member may be subsequently asked to appear
before an honor system hearing panel. Consequently, the honor
system cannot assure anyone reporting a possible honor violation
that his/her identity will remain confidential. Individuals who are
not prepared to appear before an honor system hearing panel should
not report possible violations to a faculty member. Once the
faculty member receives information, the faculty member may resolve
the matter using either the formal or informal resolution. [Note:
If the possible violation does not relate primarily to a specific
course (e.g., a student is believed to be selling papers for use in
several courses), the information should be immediately reported to
the Honor Council coordinator.]
top of the page
b) DirectReport to
Honor Council
If the possible Honor Code
violation does not involve a specific course, other members of the
James Madison University Honor Council should report the possible
Honor Code violation to an Honor Council investigator. For
instance, the community member believes that a student is selling
term papers to other students.
top of the page
II. The Informal Process
Informal resolution procedures permit a faculty member to attempt
a direct resolution of a possible honor violation with a student.
Informal resolution procedures permit faculty members to attempt to
resolve possible Honor Code violations with accused students
without having to refer incidents to the Honor Council for formal
investigations.
top of the page
a) InformalProcedures
- The faculty member should first
review the Honor Code to make sure the Honor Code prohibits the
conduct in question.
- The faculty member should arrange
to meet with the student whom the faculty member suspects of
violating the Honor Code. If the violation deals with more than one
student, then the faculty will need to meet with each student
separately.
- The faculty member should inform
the student of questions related to the student's work, which
involve a possible violation of the Honor Code. At this point the
student is given the opportunity to explain the behavior that led
the faculty member to suspect the student of violating the Honor
Code. If the instructor determines that there has been no honor
violation, the matter is considered closed.
- The faculty member should explain
to the student how informal resolution procedures operate. It
is best at this point for the faculty member to have the informal
resolution printed and filled out for the student to see. * While
any admission of guilt is not necessary, a student and faculty
member may enter into an agreement to resolve the matter. A student
may agree to repeat an examination, resubmit an assignment or
project, or complete an additional assignment.
- If the faculty member does not
want to use informal resolution procedures or if the faculty member
and student fail to reach an informal resolution agreement, then
the faculty member has two options: he/she may decide to take no
further action or the faculty member or accused student may refer
the matter to the Honor Council for a formal investigation. If the
faculty member believes that the student has violated the Honor
Code, he/she must forward the information to the Honor Council for
a formal investigation of the possible Honor Code violation. It is inappropriate for a faculty member
to handle an honor violation and not report it to the honor
council.
top of the page
b) Informal Resolution
Penalties
As part of an informal resolution, the maximum penalty a faculty
member can assign is a grade of "F" in the course. Other penalties
are to give a reduced or failing grade on the most applicable area
of student evaluation in the course (e.g., an assignment, an exam,
or class participation), resubmit an assignment and accept a grade
reduction on that assignment, or receive a reduction in the
student's final course grade. Along with a penalty, the faculty and
student can agree to send the student to a values workshop. A
faculty member may not ask a student to agree to withdraw from the
course or the university, nor may they request that a student stop
attending class.
If a faculty member and student
reach an agreement on a penalty for an honor violation the faculty
member and student must complete an Informal Resolution Agreement
Form. Both the faculty member and student must sign the form. The
faculty member must then forward the form to the Honor Council
coordinator. Upon receipt of the form, the Honor Council
coordinator will confirm the agreement with the student. The honor council coordinator will
contact the reporting faculty member via e-mail to confirm receipt
and processing of the Informal Resolution. The faculty member may then carry out the terms
of the agreement after the date specified in the correspondence
from the coordinator.
If the agreement is reached after
a student has received a grade for a course, the faculty member may
submit a change of grade form if a change in the final grade of the
student is necessary to implement the provisions of the
agreement.
The Honor Council coordinator will
keep a record of the agreement.
top of the page
III. The Formal Process
Formal resolution procedures require that a faculty member allow
the Honor Council to determine whether the student violated the
Honor Code and what the appropriate penalty for the violation
should be.
A faculty member must submit a
completed Honor Violation report form and forward the form to the
Honor Council coordinator. The first step is an investigation to
determination whether there is sufficient evidence to begin an
investigation into the matter. The Honor Council investigator asks
the faculty member and other potential witnesses to submit any
evidence related to the possible Honor Code violation. The Honor
Council investigator provides the student under investigation the
opportunity to submit a written statement and the names of
individuals from whom the student would like the investigator to
obtain statements. If the Honor Council investigators and Honor
Council coordinator agree that there is insufficient evidence of an
Honor Code violation, no further action is taken with respect to
the report. The reporting faculty member and the involved
student(s) will all be notified that the case is being
dropped. If the Honor Council
investigators and Honor Council coordinator agree that there is
sufficient evidence of a possible Honor Code violation, the Honor
Council officially charges the student with an Honor Code
violation, and a hearing is held before an Honor Council hearing
board.
The Honor Council has 20 class
days to complete the initial investigation and decide whether or
not to officially charge the student with an Honor Code
violation.
top of the page
a) Formal Investigation
As part of the formal resolution process, the Honor
Council coordinator
and investigators will conduct a preliminary
investigation to determine whether there is reason to believe a
violation of the Honor Code has taken place. If the Honor Council
coordinator and investigators determine there is sufficient reason
to believe an Honor Council violation has taken place, the student
receives notification that he/she has been charged with an Honor
Code violation.
Honor Council
Hearings
Students charged with an Honor Code violation receive a hearing
before an Honor Council hearing panel or special panel. A student
charged with an Honor Code violation has the opportunity to plead
responsible or not responsible. The Honor Council hearing board or
special panel is given the task of determining the responsibility
of the student and for determining the appropriate penalty for the
Honor Code violation.
top of the page
b) FormalResolutionPenalties
One of the following penalties will be
assessed for a student's first honor violation:
1. Reduced or failing grade on the most applicable area
of student evaluation in the course (e.g., an assignment, an
examination, class participation, etc.);
2.
Reduced of failing grade in the course.
3. "F" in
the course and suspension for the fall or spring semester following the final disposition of
the matter. A student may not
receive credit for work taken at another institution during this
period of suspension. A hearing body
may impose suspension for a student's first violation if it finds
that the student intentionally tried to obtain an academic
advantage for him/herself or another student; or
4. "F" in the course and expulsion from the university;
a hearing body may impose expulsion for a student's first or second
violation if it finds (i) the student intentionally tried to obtain
an academic advantage for him/herself or another student, and (ii)
the violation involved aggravated circumstances (e.g., violation of
another university policy in conjunction with the honor
violation.
The minimum penalty for a second
violation will be an "F" in the course in which the violation took
place and suspension for a semester.
The minimum penalty for third
violation will be an "F" in the course in which the violation took
place and expulsion from the university.
Please refer to the JMU Honor
Code, Part G for specific penalties.
top of the page
IV. Summary of Procedures
Academic integrity is crucial to the educational
mission of James Madison University. The James Madison University
honor system seeks to promote a University community in which all
members of the community accept their responsibility for protecting
the academic integrity of the institution. The JMU honor system
promotes a University community of truth, trust, fairness with the
goals of academic and personal achievement, and
responsibility.
top of the page
a) StudentResponsibilities
Thesuccess of the Honor Code
depends upon the willingness of students to comply voluntarily with
the provisions of the code. The Honor Council urges
students:
- To read the Honor Code and honor
system procedures.
- To refrain from working with
others on homework assignments, take-home tests or quizzes, papers
or any other type of out-of-class assignments without the specific
approval of the instructor.
- To learn what constitutes
plagiarism. Those who use the words or ideas of another person must
provide the source of the words or ideas with any work they submit
for academic credit.
- To avoid engaging in conduct that
might lead someone to believe they are engaging in academic
misconduct. Students must refrain from talking to other students
during an examination or quiz. They should not allow their eyes to
wander during an examination or quiz.
- Not to provide false information
to a faculty member regarding an academic matter, including reasons
for missing a class or examination.
- Not to take unfair advantage of
other students. Unless they first receive permission from the
instructor, they should not ask another student for help on a
project, paper, homework, or other class assignment.
- Not to submit the same work in
more than one class without permission of the instructors. Work
completed for one class may not be used to satisfy the same
requirements for another class.
- Not to purchase term papers from
other students or from commercial term paper providers.
- Not to ask another student to
sign their name to a class attendance roll.
- Not to falsify data used to
complete a lab assignment or experiment.
- Know the rules; ignorance is not
a defense. Those who violate the Honor Code are suspect to
penalties including suspension and expulsion.
top of the page
b) FacultyResponsibilities
The Honor Council strongly encourages faculty to make reference to
the Honor Code in their syllabi and to discuss its application to
their specific courses and assignments. Each examination, paper,
and other written or electronically submitted assignment shall
contain a pledge that the student submitted the work in compliance
with the Honor Code. The pledge shall be signed by the student
unless submitted by electronic means. "On my honor, I have neither
given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this academic
work" is an example of a pledge that satisfies the pledging
requirement. The Honor Council also urges faculty:
- To familiarize oneself with
informal and formal honor violation resolution procedures.
- To establish a collaboration
policy for each of their courses. The policy should set the
guidelines for students working together on all types of take home
projects, assignments, and examinations.
- To discuss what constitutes
plagiarism at the beginning of each semester and how the plagiarism
rule applies to work submitted for academic credit in each course
taught by the faculty member.
- To take prescribed steps to
discourage academic misconduct during examinations. Alternate
seating should be provided when possible. Student identification
should be checked in large sections. Students should be required to
submit drafts of research papers written during the
semester.
- To monitor examinations. Faculty
members are not required to monitor exams; however, monitoring
exams constitutes the most effective way to deter cheating during
an exam.
- To refrain from punishing
students for academic misconduct without following the prescribed
informal or formal resolution procedures.
- To volunteer to serve on Honor
Council hearing boards, special panels and appeal boards.
You are encouraged to consult
with the honor council coordinator with any questions or concerns
regarding the honor systems at JMU.
top of the page
|
