Academic Integrity is the foundation of college life and experience at Berry. All members of the Berry College community are responsible for working together to establish and uphold an environment conducive to honorable academic endeavor. In no case will academic dishonesty be tolerated. In the event a faculty member suspects an instance of academic dishonesty, the faculty member should:
- Discuss the suspected infraction directly with the student(s) involved. At the faculty member’s or student’s discretion, the school dean, department chair or a faculty colleague may be present during this discussion as a witness.
- Make copies of relevant materials before returning them to the student(s) for any approved amendment or revision.
- Discuss the suspected infraction and the documented evidence with the department chair, dean or a colleague if collegial advice is desired. In all such cases, the privacy of the student(s) involved must be protected.
- Make a decision based on the evidence and determine appropriate sanctions; sanctions may include warning the student, or reducing an assignment, exam, or course grade; if sanctions are imposed, discuss these and the appeals process with the student.
- If a student is found to have violated academic integrity policy, the provost should be notified in writing. This document should include: information about the course, the faculty involved, and the student(s) involved; the time and date of the incident, and a description of the incident and any evidence that indicates an infraction of academic integrity; any sanctions imposed by the faculty member in response to this incident; and a confirmation that the faculty member has discussed with the student the incident, any sanctions imposed, and the student’s right to appeal the faculty member’s decision.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following: cheating, unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, fabrication, multiple submissions, and aiding and abetting;
- Cheating: using or providing unauthorized information or aids on any examination or other graded assignment; altering a graded work prior to its return to a faculty member; doing another’s work or allowing another person to do one’s work, and submitting it for grading;
- Unauthorized Collaboration: working with another person on a project, assignment, examination, tests, or quiz, unless collaborative work has been stipulated by the instructor;
- Plagiarism: submitting material that in part or whole is not one’s own work without properly attributing the source(s) of its content;
- Fabrication: inventing or falsifying information, data, or citations; altering or creating any document or record affecting the grade or academic standing of oneself or others;
- Multiple Submissions: submitting identical or substantially similar papers or course work for credit in more than one course without prior permission of the instructor(s);
- Aiding and Abetting: providing material, information, or other assistance which violates any of the above standards for academic integrity; providing false information in connection with any inquiry regarding “academic integrity”;
Students seeking to appeal the sanction concerning academic integrity may appeal to a subcommittee consisting of equal numbers of faculty and students of Academic Council that will be convened by the provost or associate provost.
Students who are sanctioned for violating academic integrity policy forfeit the right to withdraw from the class with a grade of “W.”