Standards of integrity in the academic world derive from the nature of the academic enterprise itself. Students attend college in order to educate themselves. The various exercises that absorb so much time and energy during the semester -- tests, reports, problem sets, essays, and term papers -- are all purposeful opportunities enabling students to develop and display their acquired skills, knowledge, and capacity for critical thinking and creative analysis. Since a lack of academic integrity necessarily hinders such development, it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. Accordingly, Drew University has established standards of academic integrity and procedures governing violations of them. These basic standards apply to all work done at Drew. Students are expected to study and comply with these principles as stated below.

The standards of academic integrity apply to information that is presented orally, in writing, or via the computer, in any format ranging from the most informal comment to a computer program or a formal research paper. These standards apply to source material gathered from other people, from written texts, from computer programs, from the Internet, or from any other location.

Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the act of appropriating or imitating the language, ideas, or thoughts of another and presenting them as one's own or without proper acknowledgment. This includes submitting a paper or part of a paper written by another person as one's own, whether that material was stolen, purchased, or shared freely. It also includes submitting a paper containing insufficient citation or misuse of source material. The unacknowledged inclusion of language, ideas, or thoughts taken from "study guides," such as Cliff's Notes is also a form of plagiarism. (Even when acknowledged, such study guides are too rudimentary to be appropriate secondary sources for a college paper.)

Duplicate Submission:
Submitting one work in identical or similar form to fulfill more than one requirement without prior approval of the relevant faculty members is a breach of academic integrity. This includes using a paper for more than one course or submitting material previously used to meet another requirement.

Cheating on Examinations:
Cheating on examinations by copying material from another person or source or by gaining any advance knowledge of the content or topic of an examination without the permission of the instructor is another breach of academic integrity. In the case of take-home examinations, the guidelines under collaboration (below) apply; failure to follow those guidelines constitutes a breach of academic integrity.

False Citation:
Listing an author, title, or page reference as the source for obtained material, when the material actually came from another source or from another location within that source, is a breach of academic integrity. This includes attributing fabricated material to a real or fictitious source.

Quotation:
All quotations, however short, must be identified as such. In written texts they must be placed in quotation marks or be clearly indented, and the complete source must be cited either in the text or in a footnote or end note.

Paraphrase:
Any borrowed material that is summarized, restated, or reworked must be cited as such, whether it is used in written or oral form. The paraphrased material must be clearly indicated by a signal phrase (including the author's name) at the beginning and a page citation or footnote/end note marker at the end. Students should take careful notes when reading and researching so that they can properly acknowledge sources and produce them upon request. Lapse of time or substantial reworking of researched material does not eliminate the obligation to give due recognition.

Collaboration:
If a student has collaborated with another person or group of people and used research data gathered by others or significant ideas developed in collaboration (via notes, conferences, conversations, e-mail communications, etc.) as part of a paper or assignment, the extent and nature of the contribution must be clearly indicated. Students collaborating on an assignment must give proper acknowledgment both to the extent of the collaboration and to any team member whose specific ideas or words played a significant role in the development of the thesis, the argument, or the structure of the finished work. Unless a paper or assignment is collaboratively authored (and acknowledged as such), the presentation of the ideas, the interpretation of the data, and the organization of sentences and paragraphs should be original and should differ significantly from those in the papers or assignments of others who have collaborated on the research.

Material in the Public Domain:
While facts and concepts borrowed from a source should be properly acknowledged, certain well-known facts, proverbs, and quotations are regarded as in the public domain, so their source need not be cited. That the First World War started in 1914 does not require citation, nor does "To be or not to be" call for citation of its exact whereabouts in Hamlet. What constitutes "public domain" varies according to discipline; if in doubt, students should consult the instructor.

Bibliography/Works Cited:
All sources consulted in preparing a paper or assignment are to be listed in the bibliography or works cited list, unless other instructions are given. While in some disciplines works listed in the bibliography may not necessarily be directly referred to in the paper or notes, all sources included in the works cited list must appear in the paper. Simply listing a work in the bibliography or works cited list does not remove the obligation to give due recognition for specific use in the body of the paper.

Forms of Reference:
If individual departments or instructors require that a particular style be used for quotations, footnotes, end notes, bibliographies, etc., students should be made aware of that requirement. Otherwise, for standard forms students may consult: The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, (MLA), 4th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1995) in the humanities; the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 4th ed. (New York: American Psychological Association, 1994) in the social sciences; or Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (CBE), 6th. ed. (Council of Biology Editors, 1994) in the Natural Sciences.

Instructors shall report alleged cases of violations of the Academic Integrity Policy to the Dean of the College. Students should help to maintain the standards of the college by reporting to the instructor any violations of the policy they observe in their classes.

The usual response to an allegation that the Academic Integrity Policy has been violated is for the Dean of the College to convene an Academic Integrity Committee as described below. When the allegation is the first one made against a student, and the alleged offense seems minor or even unintentional, an Alternative Resolution Procedure may be attempted. This procedure applies only when the student, the instructor, and the Dean of the College agree that it is appropriate, and all of the steps described below under Alternative Resolution Procedure must be completed for the matter to be resolved without a full hearing by an Academic Integrity Committee.

1. Academic Integrity Committee: The Dean of the College convenes and chairs an Academic Integrity Committee made up of two faculty members and one student from the CLA Judicial Board, and the accused student's academic advisor or another faculty member of the accused student's choosing.

a. When any member of the Committee believes that he or she should not hear a case because of a possible conflict of interest, that member should recuse him or herself. The accused student may request that a specific faculty member or student not be asked to hear the case; this request will be honored. In either case, the Committee will be reconvened using other members from the appropriate pool of those serving on the CLA Judicial Board.

b. The accused student may request, and will be granted, up to a week to prepare his or her response before being called before the Committee. In the first stage of the hearing, both the faculty member bringing the charge and the accused student will be present, and each will make an oral statement to the Committee and answer any questions. At this stage, either may ask to address the Committee without the other's being present, and will be granted the right to do so.

c. The accused student and the accusing faculty member will be asked to wait outside the room while the Committee discusses the case; either may be called back into the room to answer questions. At the end of their deliberations on the case, the Dean of the College, the two faculty members and the student will vote on the matter, while the advisor will have a voice but no vote.

d. A decision of guilt or innocence will be based on a preponderance of the evidence in the case; however, other factors, such as any prior accusations or any mitigating circumstances, may be taken into account in the determination of penalty.

e. In all cases, both the accused student and the faculty member bringing the charge may appeal the decision as described below.

f. All documents relating to the case will be placed on file in the office of the Dean of the College, where they will remain until the student's file is destroyed one year after the student graduates.

a. The student admits misusing sources and violating the Academic Integrity Policy and agrees to correct the work in a manner satisfactory to the course instructor.

b. The student completes and signs a form that describes the violation and the corrective measures to be undertaken and includes a promise that the problem will not occur again.

c. The instructor completes and signs a form that describes the incident and certifies that it has been resolved satisfactorily. That form, together with all documentary material from the case, will be placed on file in the office of the Dean of the College, where it will remain until the student's file is destroyed one year after the student graduates.

d. If the student is later found to have committed another violation of the standards of academic integrity, the documentary material on file from any prior invocation of the Alternative Resolution Procedure will be used as evidence of a first offense in the penalty phase of the hearing and the penalty will be more severe than it would be for a first offense.

 The individual merits of each case are weighed by the Academic Integrity Committee, which determines the penalty accordingly. The Committee considers the purpose of the hearing and the resolution and penalty to be educational; resolutions reached through the Alternative Procedure and penalties determined by the Academic Integrity Committee are designed with that in mind.

First Offense: The maximum penalty is suspension from the CLA. Other penalties may include, but are not limited to, denial of some or all honors conferred by the college, and loss of credit for the assignment or for the course. Documentation of previous violations of academic integrity will form part of the record in subsequent cases and appeals.

Second Offense: The maximum penalty is expulsion from the CLA.

a. Decisions of the Academic Integrity Committee may be appealed only if new evidence has been found, or if the original hearing overlooked specific evidence or committed procedural errors.

b. The Dean's Council is the final appeals board for cases of violations of the academic integrity policy. The appeal, whether sought by the faculty member who brought the charge or by the accused student, must be submitted in writing. On the basis of the written appeal, the Council may decide to hear the case or to uphold the original decision if no new evidence has been presented, if no evidence has been shown to have been overlooked, and/or if no procedural errors have been shown to have occurred. Whatever its decision, the Council must provide reasons in writing to both parties. If the Council agrees to hear the case, it has the right to reverse the decision of an earlier hearing.

c. Only the five faculty members of the Dean's Council will vote on such appeals. While the Dean of the College and the SGA representative will remain in attendance during such hearings, they will each have a voice but no vote.

d. When any member of the Council believes he or she should not hear the matter under appeal because of a possible conflict of interest, that member may be excused. In this event, the Dean of the College will appoint a temporary faculty replacement or will consult with the SGA President to determine an appropriate temporary student replacement from the SGA cabinet.

e. During the hearing of the appeal, the faculty member who brought the original charge will provide information and answer questions. The student may be accompanied and advised by a member of the faculty of his or her choice and will also provide information and answer questions.

f. Decisions will be based on a preponderance of the evidence and will be provided in writing to both parties.