Academic Integrity and Honesty

Introduction

William Woods University, guided by the core principle of honesty, is dedicated to fostering an academic environment characterized by integrity. This policy outlines our commitment to
maintaining the highest standards of academic honesty and ensuring fairness in all academic endeavors.

Responsibility for Academic Integrity

Ensuring the integrity and fairness of the intellectual environment at William Woods University is a shared responsibility of the entire campus community. All faculty and students are accountable for adhering to the academic integrity policy.

Standards of Honesty

Students are expected to uphold the highest standards of honesty in all academic pursuits. The following examples illustrate behaviors that violate academic integrity but are not exhaustive:

Plagiarism: Plagiarism involves presenting someone else's ideas, work, or creations as
one's own without proper acknowledgment. This includes appropriating text produced by
generative artificial intelligence without acknowledging its origin. Knowingly allowing
another person to use your work as their own is also considered plagiarism. To avoid
plagiarism, it is crucial to employ proper methods of documentation and citation.
Self-Plagiarism: Self-plagiarism occurs when a student submits the same work for
multiple assignments or courses without explicit permission from all instructors.
Additionally, presenting one's own previously submitted work without proper citation is
considered self-plagiarism.
Cheating: Cheating encompasses receiving or providing unauthorized assistance during
examinations or course assignments. This includes the use of material, equipment, or
technology (e.g., calculators, mobile phones, generative artificial intelligence) without
instructor authorization. Removing material from university premises without authorization
or leaving a test area without permission also constitutes academic dishonesty.
Collaboration: Engaging in any academic work that is the product of unauthorized joint
effort, either inside or outside the classroom, is considered academic dishonesty.
Fabrication: Fabrication involves presenting false information as fact without
supporting evidence or data. This includes falsifying data in laboratory experiments,
research papers, reports, or other academic contexts. Fabricating source material in a
bibliography or "Works Cited"/"References" list and providing false information on a résumé
or other academic documents also violates academic integrity.
Contract Cheating: Contract cheating entails uploading or offering one's own original
work for others to use, as well as utilizing work from websites, online sources, or other
individuals as one's own. Uploading or sharing course materials, including lecture
materials, PowerPoint slides, audio, and visual materials, without permission is a form of
contract cheating.
Engaging in Other Forms of Deceit or Dishonesty: Students must not
request academic benefits, such as extensions, better grades, or recommendations from
instructors based on false information or deception.
Other Academic Misconduct: Any other form of academic misconduct not
explicitly covered here should be clarified with your instructor

Reporting Procedure

Any member of the University community who observes a violation of this policy is strongly encouraged to promptly report the misconduct for further investigation.

Procedure for Filing a Complaint

Any complaint alleging a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy must be submitted in writing and provide sufficient information for a review of the alleged violation. The following steps outline the
complaint procedure:

he written complaint and corroborating evidence must be submitted to the Academic
Integrity Officer within ten (10) business days of discovering the alleged violation.
The Academic Integrity Officer will review the allegation and, if deemed credible, the
Academic Integrity Officer will follow the appropriate process for final disposition.
The Academic Integrity Officer will inform the student, faculty member, and other
stakeholders of the violation and its disposition.

Disposition of Academic Integrity Violations

This policy provides two avenues for addressing academic integrity violations: Instructor-Levied Sanctions and Academic Integrity Board Hearings.

Instructor-Levied Sanction

While faculty members retain the discretion to assess the severity of academic dishonesty, all incidents of academic dishonesty must be reported for consistency and record-keeping purposes.
If an allegation is determined to be valid by the Academic Integrity Officer, a copy of the determination will be retained with the student's official academic records. Suspension or
expulsion will be noted on the student's transcript if applicable. Sponsors of student organizations, coaches of athletic teams, and committees responsible for honors scholarships and performance
awards will be notified to consider any internal sanctions.
Students found to have violated Academic Integrity for a second time will automatically fail the course in which the second offence occurs. Students may not withdraw from a course in which an
academic integrity violation has been reported without authorization from the appropriate Executive Dean.

Student Appeal of an Instructor-Levied Sanction

Students found to have violated the Academic Integrity Policy may file an appeal based on the level of offense and the body that determined the sanction. Students may appeal for the following
reasons:

The faculty member imposed a sanction without notifying the student or providing evidence
of an infraction.
The student believes the faculty member imposed a sanction due to procedural errors.
The student possesses new evidence that could affect the outcome of the decision.

To initiate an appeal, the student must:

Submit a written appeal to the Executive Dean in which the course resides or a designated appointee of the Executive Dean within three (3) business days of the notification sent by
the Academic Integrity Officer.
Include evidence supporting their appeal based on one of the above instances.

The Executive Dean or designated appointee will review the student's appeal and determine whether to uphold the instructor's sanction or forward the appeal to the Academic Integrity Officer
for consideration by the Academic Integrity Board.
If an appeal is forwarded to the Academic Integrity Board, an administrative review will be completed within twenty (20) business days. The Academic Integrity Board will make a final
recommendation to the appropriate Executive Dean regarding the appeal. The Executive Dean’s determination will be final, and no further appeal will be considered.

Academic Integrity Board Hearings

The Academic Integrity Board is responsible for hearing academic integrity cases involving graduate students and for cases involving undergraduate students that rise to the severity of
consideration for suspension or dismissal from the University. Such cases may include a single incident that is a severe breach of the Academic Integrity Policy or cases of multiple and repeated
violations.
If the Executive Dean determines that sufficient evidence exists for a board review, a subcommittee of the Academic Integrity Board will undertake the review. Students receiving
University accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should notify the Executive Dean about any necessary accommodations that should be made for them as part of the board
process.
If the Board determines that the student is accountable for a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, they may recommend sanctions to the Executive Dean. The Executive Dean will be the final
authority regarding upholding and implementing any sanctions imposed by the Board and will notify the student in writing of the decision. A copy of the decision will be forwarded to the Registrar
and the Provost’s office and may also be maintained in the student's permanent file.

The decision of the Executive Dean is final.