12.2 Student Code of Conduct: Academic Misconduct

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This online version is for convenience; the official version of this policy is housed in the University Secretariat. In case of discrepancy between the online version and the official version held by the Secretariat, the official version shall prevail.

Please contact the Office of the Vice-President: Academic for access to forms or documents found in this policy.

Note: This policy applies to academic misconduct cases that occur after September 1, 2019.

Approved By: Senate

Original Approval Date: November 16, 1995

Date of Most Recent Review/Revision: September 1, 2019

Office of Accountability: Provost and Vice-President: Academic

Administrative Responsibility: Office of the Provost and Vice-President: Academic

Policy

1.00 Purpose

1.01 Members of the Laurier community enjoy the freedom to pursue their intellectual and personal interests without interference, provided that their actions do not limit the rights of other members of the University or the community in which it is situated. The objects of the University are the pursuit of learning through scholarship, teaching, and research within a spirit of free enquiry and expression. To this end, Wilfrid Laurier University requires that students conduct themselves in accordance with the laws of the country, province, region, and municipality as well as the policies of the University. Academic dishonesty, fraud, misconduct and failure to respect the rights of others are all offences under this code.

1.02 In the case of allegations of academic misconduct, the President has delegated to the Deans of the University the authority to impose interim or permanent discipline.

1.03 Instructors, Associate Deans, Deans and department chairs should refer to this policy, the procedures, appendix, and other resources available from the Office of the Provost and Vice-President: Academic.

2.00 Definitions

For the purposes of this policy the following terms are defined:

2.01 Central Registry: The Central Registry is the system by which academic misconduct offences and penalties are recorded and stored for each student. The Central Registry contains the academic discipline records for all undergraduate and graduate students, separate from the official transcript. The information contained within the Central Registry is secure, with access limited to particular academic administrators and staff on a need to know basis, and with approval.

2.02 Faculty Petitions Committee(s): The committees established in each Faculty with a mandate to consider appeals relating to any decision taken by an individual or body acting in the name of the University, which affects the academic standing of the student.

2.03 Instructor: The full-time or part-time faculty member who is responsible for evaluating student achievement for the course in which the academic misconduct occurred.

2.04 Relevant Administrator: The academic administrator in each Faculty who is responsible for managing academic misconduct investigations.

2.05 Senate Student Appeals Committee: A committee of the Senate which hears and determines appeals from decisions of the divisional faculty councils on applications and examinations by students and appeals relating to scholarships, bursaries and awards.

2.06 Student: All individuals registered in for-credit academic courses and/or programs at Laurier and Martin Luther University College, including undergraduate and graduate degree and non-degree programs.

2.07 Support Person: Any Student involved in an academic misconduct process may request the assistance of a Support Person, who may be internal or external to the University. The Support Person is an inactive participant in any meeting and is available to assist the Student in the process.

3.00 Jurisdiction/Scope

3.01 This policy applies to all undergraduate and graduate students who are registered in for-credit academic courses and/or programs. For-credit courses are those which appear on the student’s official transcript.

3.02 This policy applies to allegations of academic and research misconduct by a student where the alleged misconduct relates to an academic or research activity completed as part of the student’s fulfilment of program requirements.

3.03 Where an allegation of research misconduct by a student is made involving a research activity completed as part of course work or for course credit, and the research activity is funded by an external funding agency (including the Tri-Agencies), the allegation will also be investigated under the procedures set out in policy 11.14 Policy for the Responsible Conduct of Research. As a result of this investigation, additional penalties may be applied.

4.00 Policy

4.01 Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct is an act by a student, or by students working on a team project, which may result in a false evaluation of the student(s), or which represents an attempt to unfairly gain an academic advantage, where the student either knew or ought reasonably to have known that it was misconduct. Whether or not a student intended to commit academic misconduct is not relevant for a finding of academic misconduct. Hurried or careless submission of assignments does not excuse students from responsibility for verifying the academic integrity of their work before submitting it.

4.02 Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following acts, which are presented as examples or a guide since not every possible circumstance can be anticipated:

4.02.01 Plagiarism, which is the unacknowledged presentation, in whole or in part, of the work of others as one's own, whether in written, oral or other form, in an examination, report, assignment, thesis or dissertation;

4.02.02 Cheating or copying, which involves the using, giving, receiving, or the attempt to use, give or receive unauthorized information during an examination in oral, written or other form; or, copying an essay, examination or report, or allowing someone else to copy one's essay, examination or report;

4.02.03 Submitting the same piece of work, or a significant part thereof, for the same course or for more than one course without the permission of the instructors involved in each course; or, submitting an essay or other work which has been submitted elsewhere, previously or at the same time, without the written permission of all academic units or institutions involved in the submissions;

4.02.04 Impersonating another person in an examination, test, or other evaluation;

4.02.05 Buying or otherwise obtaining term papers or assignments for submission of another person's work as one's own for evaluation;

4.02.06 Falsifying, misrepresenting or forging an academic record or supporting document, such as an academic record, verification of illness form, physician’s note, or other official document;

4.02.07 Unauthorized aids or assistance in the completion of assignments or examinations, such as the use of an unauthorized electronic device during a test;

4.02.08 Improper access and/or obstruction, which involves hiding and/or destroying materials available to all (i.e. library materials, course materials), overloading an online or digital system to prevent completion of an assignment or test, stealing a term paper or test, or improperly obtaining and then selling/distributing a term paper or test; and/or

4.02.09 Distribution of faculty intellectual property (as defined in Article 36.1.3 of the Collective Agreement for Full-Time Faculty and Professional Librarians and Article 20.1.3 of the Collective Agreement for Part-Time Contract Teaching Faculty and Part-Time Librarians), either independently or through a third party, without the consent of the instructor/author.

4.03 Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following types of behaviour:

4.03.01 The failure to recognize by due acknowledgement the substantive contributions of others, or the use of unpublished work of other researchers without permission, or the use of archival material in violation of the rules of the archival source;

4.03.02 The fabrication or falsification of research data material, or making a purported statement of fact or reference to a source which has been concocted; and

4.03.03 The violation of University policies, or material failure to comply with University policies, as they apply to research ethics, or to the use of computers, human subjects or animals.

4.03.04 For additional examples specific to research misconduct and the process relating to research misconduct occurring in research activity funded by an external funding agency see policy 11.14 Policy for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

4.04 Penalties for Academic Misconduct

4.04.01 Penalties are levied by the University and their severity is determined in relation to the degree of academic or research dishonesty committed or attempted, to the intention to commit dishonest acts, or to the degree to which an individual has been a party to attempted or committed acts of dishonesty. More than one penalty may be applied to a single offence. Penalties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

a. A requirement to repeat the assignment, examination or course;

b. Failure on the assignment, course, examination, thesis or dissertation;

c. Suspension from the University for a designated period of time;

d. Expulsion from the program or from the University;

e. Cancellation or revocation of the degree or diploma, where the offence pertains to the eligibility to receive such a degree or diploma, whether discovered before or after the degree or diploma is awarded; or

f. Inclusion of a statement in the student's transcript pertaining to the suspension or expulsion or to the cancellation or revocation of the degree.

4.04.02 The factors surrounding each individual case of academic and research misconduct may vary significantly. As a result, the penalty being imposed should be reflective of those factors. These factors are not intended to impede the authority of the Relevant Administrator/Dean in imposing penalties, but to inform and assist in the determination of penalties. The following factors are to be considered when imposing penalties:

a. The relative weight of the assignment in question;

b. The level of the student’s academic experience;

c. Impact of extenuating circumstances that may provide an explanation for the action(s) taken by the student(s);

d. A record of previous offences is in the Central Registry;

e. Consideration of any aggravating factors;

f. The severity of the offence committed and the level of impact on others in the Laurier community (students, faculty, staff) and members of the community as a whole; and

g. For graduate students, considering if the work in which the offence was committed is a major component of the graduate program they are enrolled in.

4.04.03 See Appendix: Penalty Guidelines for Findings of Academic Misconduct.

4.05 Records in the Central Registry

4.05.01 The Central Registry is maintained by the Registrar and records all instances of academic misconduct as part of the electronic student record, including the offence and the penalty applied.

4.05.02 When the course where the act of academic misconduct took place is dropped by the student, any penalty received by the student may be applied and recorded on the student record before being filed in the Central Registry.

4.05.03 For students with one (1) offence, the record in the Central Registry will be destroyed when the student graduates.

4.05.04 For students with more than one (1) offence, the record will be destroyed five (5) years after graduation.

4.05.05 For students who leave the University without graduating, the record will be destroyed based on the timelines outlined in policy 10.2 Student Records.

4.06 Notations on the Official Transcript

4.06.01 Notations on Transcript: A transcript notation may be applied as part of the penalty. For some penalties (suspension, expulsion, degree revocation), a transcript notation is automatic, but the duration of the notation will vary.

a. When a grade of zero on course work has been levied against a student found guilty of academic misconduct, the notation “Grade of zero on course work assigned for academic misconduct” may appear on the student’s transcript opposite the course.

b. When a student is suspended, the notation will read “Suspended by the Senate for academic misconduct for __ months effective (date suspension starts).”

c. When a student is expelled, the notation will read “Expelled by the Senate for academic misconduct (effective date).”

d. When a student’s degree is rescinded, the notation will read “Degree rescinded by the Senate for academic misconduct (effective date).”

e. Depending on the severity of the case, the transcript notation could remain on the student’s transcript for one (1) year, three (3) years, or indefinitely in exceptionally severe cases. The Final Notice of Penalty letter shall specify the duration for which the transcript notation shall apply.

Relevant Administrators by Faculty

For all graduate programs, the Graduate Coordinator is the Relevant Administrator. For undergraduate programs, the Relevant Administrator differs by Faculty. In large Faculties (Arts, Science, Lazaridis School), the Relevant Administrator is the Department Chair or equivalent. In smaller Faculties (Education, Human and Social Sciences, Liberal Arts, Music, Social Work), the Relevant Administrator is the Associate Dean.

• Faculty of Arts: Department Chair
• Faculty of Liberal Arts: Associate Dean
• Faculty of Human and Social Sciences: Associate Dean
• School of Business and Economics, Business: Associate Dean
• School of Business and Economics, Economics: Chair
• Faculty of Education: Associate Dean
• Faculty of Music: Associate Dean
• Faculty of Science: Department Chair
• Faculty of Social Work: Associate Dean
• Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies: Graduate Coordinator

Relevant Legislation

• Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC)

Related Policies, Procedures and Documents

• Procedures for Student Code of Conduct: Academic Misconduct
• 10.2 Student Records
• 12.3 Student Code of Conduct: Non-Academic Misconduct
• Faculty Petitions Committee Procedures
• Procedures for Considering Senate Student Appeals
• Collective Agreements – Full-Time and Part-Time

Appendix: Penalty Guidelines for Findings of Academic Misconduct

Factors to Consider When Imposing Penalties

The factors surrounding each individual case of academic and research misconduct may vary significantly. As a result, the penalty being imposed should be reflective of those factors. These factors are not intended to impede the authority of the Relevant Administrator/Dean in imposing penalties, but to inform and assist in the determination of penalties. The following factors are to be considered when imposing penalties:

a. The relative weight of the assignment in question;

b. The level of the student’s academic experience;

c. Impact of extenuating circumstances that may provide an explanation for the action(s) taken by the student(s);

d. A record of previous offences is in the Central Registry;

e. Consideration of any aggravating factors;

f. The severity of the offence committed and the level of impact on others in the Laurier community (students, faculty, staff) and members of the community as a whole; and

g. For graduate students, considering if the work in which the offence was committed is a major component of the graduate program they are enrolled in.

Notes:

1. For determination of a penalty, acceptable penalty options are ranked within each category (minor, major) for first and second offences.

2. More than one penalty may be applied to one offence.

3. Students charged under university regulations may also be subject to criminal charges under the Criminal Code of Canada.

A First Offence

The first time a student has been deemed/found to have committed an offence of academic misconduct, which is noted on their record within the Central Registry. An academic integrity education component may be assigned in addition to other penalty/penalties.

A Second Offence

Any subsequent offence of academic misconduct committed by a student. The offence is not necessarily the same type of academic misconduct as the first offence.

For further information on the types of offences and penalties for academic misconduct refer to policy 12.2 Student Code of Conduct: Academic Misconduct.

A. Misappropriation of Another’s Work

B. Misrepresentation and Fraud

C. Improper Access / Obstruction