Catalog — College Information — Student Records, Rights and Responsibilities — Academic Integrity Policy

3.11 Academic Integrity

I. Purpose

Establish guidelines for adjudicating academic integrity violations.

II. Scope

This policy is applicable to all students.

III. General

The expectation at Bucks County Community College is that the principles of truth and honesty will be rigorously followed in all academic endeavors. In support of this aim, Bucks County Community College requires all students to exhibit academic integrity in all their academic work and conduct across all modalities, including but not limited to in-person, remote, and online learning.

A culture of academic integrity is built upon respect for others’ work, commitment to doing one’s own work, and intolerance for academic dishonesty in all its forms. This premise assumes that all work will be done by the person who purports to do it, without unauthorized aids. In addition, when making use of language and ideas not their own, whether quoting them directly or paraphrasing into their own words, students must attribute the source of the material in some standard form, such as naming the source in the text, offering a citation, or other form of acknowledgment appropriate to the discipline. Students are expected to accurately and truthfully represent such sources when incorporating them into their work.

All course syllabi should contain the College’s full Academic Integrity policy and its penalties.

Definitions

Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to:

Cheating: Using or attempting to use unauthorized material, information, electronic devices, or study aids in any test or on any assignment without the instructor’s permission. Getting unauthorized assistance on a test, quiz, in-class essay, etc., including use of electronic resources. Helping a student to commit an act of academic dishonesty or assuming another individual’s identity.
1. Examples of cheating include but are not limited to:
  - Using a “cheat sheet” not approved by an instructor for a test or in-class essay
  - Having a friend help with a test or write a paper for a class
  - Submitting another student’s paper, assignment, lab,
  - Using such electronic resources, such as Chegg^© or ChatGPT^©, to solve a math problem for a test or assignment for a class
  - Using translation software to translate a phrase or text into another language and submit for an assignment
  - Using other students’ code from a course or taking files from students without their permission
  - Posing as another student to take a test
  - Buying or obtaining essays, tests, labs, or other assignments online or from another student
Plagiarizing: The unacknowledged adoption or reproduction of ideas, words, data, or statements from other people or sources—for instance, fellow students, published materials, online sources, translator or paraphrase programs, or text-generating software, such as ChatGPT^© or other artificial intelligence software.
1. Examples of plagiarism include but are not limited to:
  - Claiming another person’s ideas and/or words as one’s own
  - Paraphrasing wording from a source without proper citation
  - Improperly paraphrasing a source so that wording and/or sentence structure too closely resembles the original
  - Taking words, information, or illustrations from a print or online source without using quote marks and/or proper citation
  - Using background information from a source without including the source on the reference page
  - Using text-generating software, such as ChatGPT^©, to generate a first draft of the paper and then doing your own revisions.
Fabricating or falsifying: The unauthorized alteration or invention of any data, information, or citation in an academic exercise; misrepresentation of oneself or information.
1. Examples of Fabricating or Falsifying include but are not limited to:
  - Changing correct data or creating illegitimate data on a chart
  - Submitting a fabricated write-up of a field experience
  - Altering or changing a grade

For determination of the use of unauthorized technological aids, the “Technology Guidelines for Academic Integrity” document will be followed.

IV. Procedures

Reporting & Monitoring

The Office of Academic Affair’s maintains a central record and monitors all policy violations. Individual instructors are responsible for completing the Academic Integrity Reporting Form within fourteen (14) calendar days of discovering an offense. The instructor must complete the Academic Integrity Reporting Form using the appropriate reporting tool, which reports the incident to the Academic Affair’s Office for a charge. The incident will be recorded, and a notice from the Academic Affair’s Office will be sent to the student.
The Vice President of Academic Affairs will also notify the student’s Academic Dean or Area Head.
Instructors should always complete the Academic Integrity Reporting Form as a First Recorded Offense. The Academic Affair’s Office will notify instructors of a Second or Third Recorded Offense.
- Instructors may not file a second or third charge until the fourteen (14) calendar-day appeal window from a previous charge from the same course has closed. Additional Academic Integrity infractions that occur for the same course during the timeframe for the initial charge may be combined and addressed collectively. The determination to collapse charges into one case is fact based.
- Instructors may withdraw Academic Integrity charges.
For Academic Integrity infractions that are not related to a student’s specific behavior in a course, the process outlined in the Student Code of Conduct will be followed and the infraction will be forwarded to the College’s Judicial Affairs Officer for review.

Penalties for Violations

1. First Recorded Offense

If the instructor deems the offense to be relatively minor and/or based on student misunderstanding or error, the instructor may hold a meeting with the student. In this meeting, the student will be given an opportunity to explain what occurred. The instructor may require the student to demonstrate increased facility with academic integrity practice and provide replacement coursework penalized to extents not precluding the student’s ability to complete the assignment or course successfully. Such interventions should be reported as a Level 1 offense.
If the instructor deems the offense to be more willful/less minor (the student submits another student’s paper, for instance), the instructor can file a charge with the Academic Affair’s Office (Level 2 or 3). In filing this charge, the instructor will determine whether the violation is Level 2 or Level 3. The instructor should provide the student with information about the charge and schedule a meeting to discuss it.
The instructor will:
1. Level 1 – issue a warning requiring that the offending portions of the work be revised and file the Academic Integrity Reporting Form with an internal warning (not listed on College academic record). The student must acknowledge the warning in writing and meet with the instructor within five (5) business days to discuss the revision. The student must complete the Academic Integrity tutorial and schedule an appointment with a tutor at the Academic Success Center or follow their department-specific process within the timeframe given by the instructor. The instructor does not have to accept the revision if the student does not complete the above steps.
2. Level 2 – Issue a warning requiring that the offending portions of the work be revised and file the Academic Integrity Reporting Form selecting a formal offense. The student must acknowledge the warning in writing and meet with the instructor within five (5) business days to discuss the revision. The student must complete the Academic Integrity tutorial and schedule an appointment with a tutor at the Academic Success Center or follow their department-specific process within the timeframe given by the instructor.
3. Level 3 – Issue an automatic failing grade (F), worth zero points, for the work in question, e.g., quiz, essay, or examination, and file the Academic Integrity Reporting Form selecting a formal offense. The student must acknowledge the charge in writing and meet with the instructor within five (5) business days to discuss the charge. The student must complete the Academic Integrity tutorial and attend an appointment with a tutor at the Academic Success Center or follow their department-specific process within fourteen (14) calendar days.
In the event the student has previously recorded charges on file from other courses, the instructor will receive notification from the Academic Affair’s Office for the next steps.
After two internal warnings, the student will automatically receive a First Recorded Offense. The instructor must then determine whether the offense is Level 2 or 3, and the student must complete the above mentioned steps.
“Clean Slate” Opportunity – Expungement of 1^st Formal Charge

Students will have their first recorded formal offense removed from their record if they meet the following criteria and follow the procedures for expungement (removal) of the charge.

Criteria:
- First recorded formal offense with no prior academic integrity violations
- Not awaiting other sanctions, such as probation, suspension, or expulsion
- Willing to accept responsibility for the actions and follow procedures
Process for Expungement:
- Attend the Academic Integrity Workshop conducted by the Academic Success Center (or other department-specific process).
- Create a plan of action to avoid future academic integrity issues and develop academic skills to successfully complete assignments, coursework, field work, etc. as authorized and assigned.
- Follow through on plan of action without any additional charges. If a second recorded offense is filed, it will result in the reinstatement of the initially absolved charge.

2. Second Recorded Offense

The instructor will:
1. File the Academic Integrity Reporting Form as listed above. After the first formal recorded offense or a maximum of three internal warnings, the Academic Affair’s Office will notify the instructor to issue a failing grade (F) for the course.
2. The Academic Affair’s Office will notify the student of the recorded offense, of course failure, and of the following procedures:
  1. The student remains enrolled in the course and is allowed to attend class and have access to the learning management system (i.e. Canvas^©). The student must acknowledge the charge in writing and meet with the instructor within five (5) business days to discuss the charge.
  2. The instructor will not continue grading the student's assignments and will assign a grade of "F" at the end of the semester.
    - If the student is appealing, the instructor will continue grading assignments until the appeal is resolved.
    - If a student withdraws from the course and the charge is upheld, the grade will be changed from a “W” to an “F”.
  3. The student must complete the Academic Integrity tutorial and attend an appointment with a tutor at the Academic Success Center or follow their department-specific process before re-enrolling in the course in the subsequent semester or session.
    - If the student does not meet with the instructor and complete the Academic Integrity tutorial or follow their department-specific process, a registration block will be applied to their account, and they will not be permitted to register until after meeting with the Academic Success Coordinator.

3. Third Recorded Offense

The instructor will:
1. File the Academic Integrity Reporting Form as noted above. Upon notification by the Academic Affair’s Office that this is a third formal recorded offense, the instructor will issue a failing grade (F) for the course.
2. The student must acknowledge the charge in writing and meet with the instructor within five (5) business days to discuss the charge. The student must complete the Academic Integrity tutorial and attend an appointment with a tutor at the Academic Success Center or follow their department-specific process before re-enrolling in the subsequent semester or session.
The Vice President of Academic Affairs will:
1. Issue a one-semester suspension from the college, the suspension will occur in the next semester.
  - If the charge occurs in the fall semester, the suspension will be for the duration of the winter session and spring semester.
  - If the charge occurs in the winter session, the suspension will be the entirety of the spring semester.
  - If the charge occurs in the spring semester, the suspension will be the entirety of the summer sessions.
  - If the charge occurs in the summer sessions, the suspension will be for the fall semester.
2. Notify the Offices of Student Affairs, Student Accounts, and the Registrar of the one-semester suspension for the upcoming semester. If the student is already registered for courses in the upcoming semester, the Registrar’s Office should drop the student from those courses and issue a full refund.
3. If the student does not meet with the instructor and complete the Academic Integrity tutorial or follow their department-specific process, a registration block will be applied to their account and they will not be permitted to register until after meeting with the Academic Success Coordinator.

Appeals

Appeals to all rulings must meet the grounds for an appeal and be made in writing within fourteen (14) calendar days of the disciplinary action.
Appeals pertaining to Penalties for Violations of Academic Integrity should be directed to the Academic Affair’s Office.
For an appeal to be considered, it must meet the Grounds for an Appeal Criteria.
The written appeal must specify the date and exact nature of the academic-integrity violation and the penalty issued, including all appropriate documentation.

Grounds for an appeal:
1. Information regarding the appeal was not available at the time of the infraction that would have changed the decision.
2. A procedural irregularity occurred.
3. A conflict of interest or bias occurred that adversely affected the outcome.
Review Board
1. The Academic Integrity Review Board will consist of at least three College administrative staff and/or faculty members assigned by the Academic Affair’s Office. The Review Board will review appeals and may add an ad-hoc subject-matter expert to their panel to assist in making the determination. The Review board will determine whether:
  1. The offense happened as reported and the charge is upheld.
  2. The offense happened with context and the charge should be reduced to a Level 1.
  3. The offense did not happen as reported and the charge is overturned.
2. The Review Board will notify the student of the hearing date, time, and place.
3. The Review Board may ask students for additional information and students are expected to respond and submit in a timely manner.
4. The Review Board will provide a decision within fourteen (14 calendar days of the filed appeal date). College holidays and closures not included within the fourteen (14) calendar-day window.

V. Approval

President - August 2015; revised February 2017; revised November 2017; Reviewed December 2023; Revisions Approved by Board of Trustees – March 14, 2024 ; Approved by Board of Trustees – May 9, 2024

This policy shall be in effect from the date of Board of Trustees approval through June 30, 2026.

The Committee shall commence the review of the policy no later than January 15, 2026.

VI. Responsibility

Vice President of Academic Affairs

Student Resources
Technology Guidelines
Faculty Resources

Contact Us

215-968-8000 info@bucks.edu Newtown, Perkasie, Bristol

Contact Us

215-968-8000 info@bucks.edu Newtown, Perkasie, Bristol