Academic Misconduct Complaint

FORMS OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Cheating: Students must adhere to the guidelines provided by their instructors for completing academic work. Students may not claim as their own work any portion of academic work that was completed by another student. Students may only use materials approved by their instructor when completing an assignment or exam. Students may not present the same (or substantially the same) work for more than one course or within the same course without obtaining approval from the instructor of each course. Students must adhere to all course reserves regulations. Students may not act dishonestly or convey information that the student knows or is known to be false, by actions such as lying, forging or altering any document or record in order to gain an unfair academic advantage. Violations of this standard constitute cheating.

Collusion: Students are encouraged to collaborate on academic work within any limits that may be prescribed by their instructors. Students may only provide, seek or accept information about any academic work that will be submitted for a grade, to or from other students, with the authorization of the instructor. Violations of this standard constitute collusion.

Fabrication: All experimental data, observations, interviews, statistical surveys, and other information collected and reported as part of academic work must be authentic. Any alteration, e.g., the removal of statistical outliers, must be clearly documented. Data must not be falsified in any way. Violations of this standard constitute fabrication.

Plagiarism: All ideas, arguments, and phrases, submitted without attribution to other sources must be the creative product of the student. Thus, all text passages taken from the works of other authors (published or unpublished) must be properly cited. The same applies to paraphrased text, opinions, data, examples, illustrations, and all other creative work. Violations of this standard constitute plagiarism.

Please note: Course expectations may vary from instructor to instructor. All students have an obligation to seek a clear understanding of the expectations associated with each particular assignment and each particular course in which students are enrolled.

PROCESS FOR REVIEW:

Once an official academic misconduct report is submitted, the Conduct Process outlined in Section VI will ensue as with any other conduct case. In instances where a committee is convened, the Chair of the Academic Integrity Committee will convene a formal hearing process.
 

The Academic Integrity Committee consists of representatives from liberal arts and sciences, the various studio departments, and the Office of Student Affairs. The Chair of the Committee is appointed by the Dean of Student Affairs. No fewer than three committee members will meet to review each case

All accounts of academic misconduct should be reported using the Code of Conduct Complaint form. Any member of the Otis College community may fill out a form. In addition to the form, faculty, staff, or another student shall assemble and submit documentation that supports the accusation. The form and all evidence is forwarded to the Chair of the Academic Integrity Committee for review and investigation.

Students will be contacted to appear before the committee to share information and answer questions regarding the case.

Once the committee has heard the case, a recommendation will be made by the committee, and the student will receive an official letter within seven (7) business days from their meeting with the committee. In addition, the Dean of Student Affairs will be notified as to the committee’s recommendations, and formal conduct sanctions, up to and including dismissal from the College, imposed by the Student Conduct Office. All students may appeal the decision of the Academic Integrity Committee in writing to the Vice President of Campus Life or designee within seven business days of the delivery of the letter.

The following are possible recommended sanctions that may be imposed by the Academic Integrity Committee:

• No action
• Academic Integrity project
• Required tutoring sessions in the Student Learning Center
• Failing grade for the plagiarized assignment
• Failing grade for the course
• Loss of privileges or exclusion from academic activity or program
• Dismissal from the College

Additional recommendations may be imposed at the discretion of the committee and with the approval of the Vice President of Campus Life or the Dean of Student Affairs. 

Resources To Use in the Classroom

This short video produced by Rutgers University is an interactive way to approach the subject of avoiding plagiarism in the classroom.

Academic Integrity Committee

The Chair of the Academic Integrity Committee and Dean of Student Affairs are the first points of contact for the College in processing alleged cases of student plagiarism and/or academic dishonesty. According to the Otis College Code of Conduct, “All forms of academic misconduct, including but not limited to cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty” are direct violations of the code.

The Academic Integrity Committee consists of representatives from Liberal Arts and Sciences, the studio departments, and Student Affairs. The chair of the Committee is determined by its members. No fewer than three committee members will review a case of plagiarism or academic dishonesty or misconduct.

MORE INFORMATION

If you have any questions or would like more information about the process, please contact Jason Cha, Dean of Student Affairs at jcha2@otis.edu, Dr. Nick Negrete, Associate Vice President, Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion at nnegrete@otis.edu, or Dean of Academic Affairs, Dwayne Moser at dmoser@otis.edu.