Academic Integrity Code

In accordance with Board Policy 07.28.02 – Academic Integrity Code, Lake Land College is committed to the fundamental values of preserving academic integrity as defined in this policy. It is assumed that students will honor the tradition of academic honesty. Promoting and protecting academic honesty and integrity is the responsibility of every member of the College community. As such, students have the responsibility to:

1. Be fully knowledgeable of the Academic Integrity Code;
2. Produce their own work; and
3. Encourage academic honesty among their fellow students.

Academic dishonesty is a serious offense that is investigated and sanctioned through Board Policy 07.28.01 – Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. Acts of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to:

1. Cheating: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise. As such, no student shall, during the course of a graded academic exercise, (1) offer information of any kind to another student; (2) receive information of any kind from another student or from the responses made by another student; or (3) have in their possession any tool, written material, or other device which may be of assistance to them in completing the exercise and which has not been authorized by the instructor or person proctoring the academic exercise. No student shall procure, possess, or provide in any unauthorized manner, any materials or pieces of materials which contain the questions or answers to any graded academic exercise scheduled to be given to any individual or group enrolled in any course of study offered by the College. No student shall submit the same assignment in more than one class without instructor approval.
2. Plagiarism: Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. As such, no student shall submit as their own material to an instructor any work which contains ideas or materials taken from another without full acknowledgment of the author and the source including appropriate citations and documentation. This includes submitting a paper, or portions of a paper, obtained from a professional service or website or written by another individual.
3. Fabrication: Falsification of information or citation in an academic exercise.No student shall seek credit for a group assignment in which they did not participate or claim that an assignment was submitted when it was not. No student shall fabricate sources or misrepresent secondary sources within a paper.
4. Unauthorized Collaboration: Sharing or working together in an academic exercise without approval. No student shall work with another student to complete a graded assignment without prior approval from the course instructor. Work completed through authorized collaboration must clearly identify the contributions of each individual.
5. Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: Helping or attempting to help another student to violate any provision of this Code.

Procedures Following Academic Dishonesty

1. The instructor who has witnessed academic dishonesty or who has evidence that academic dishonesty has occurred will contact the student to inform the student of the allegation and the instructor’s intended actions.
2. The instructor may assign the student a reduced or failing grade on the assignment or in the course. The instructor will submit an Academic Integrity Incident Report to the Vice President for Student Services describing the incident and the intended actions.
3. Additional disciplinary sanctions may be imposed in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. (See Policy 07.28.01). The student will be provided written notification of the charges and actions to be taken and be given ten (10) calendar days to notify the Vice President for Student Services if the student wishes to dispute the charges.
4. If a student disputes the allegation of academic dishonesty, a hearing will be provided according to the Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures
5. A student accused of academic dishonesty in a course may not drop the course until such time as disciplinary action, if any, is imposed. If a grade of “W” is recorded for the course, it may be changed to reflect the disciplinary sanctions imposed as a result of academic dishonesty.  In the event that the alleged violation occurs at the end of a term, an incomplete grade shall be assigned pending conclusion of the disciplinary process.

Lake Land College may contract with an electronic service to detect originality of materials submitted by students.  By registering for courses offered by Lake Land College, students consent that all assignments are subject to submission for textual originality reviewed by an electronic service.  Assignments submitted to an electronic service source may be included in the service’s restricted database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism.