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Statement on Academic Integrity
While honest scholarship is time consuming and hard work, it is also the primary process by which students learn to think for themselves. Faculty must teach respect for methods of inquiry within the various disciplines and make assignments that will encourage honest scholarship. Students must in turn uphold a standard of honesty within the college, thereby affirming the value and integrity of their Lehman degree.
The most common forms of academic dishonesty are cheating and plagiarism. Cheating is taking or giving help on a test: for example, using unauthorized books, peers, or notes during an examination; or procuring, distributing examinations that have been fraudulently obtained. Plagiarism means the failure to give credit for the source of another's words or ideas, or as in the use of borrowed or purchased papers - passing off another person's work as one's own. (Section 213-b of the New York State Education Law prohibits the sale of term papers, essays, and research reports to students enrolled in a college). This statement is intended as a guideline only for cases involving student-instructor academic relations.
Academic dishonesty is a serious violation of the accepted values of the college community and subjects the student involved therein to academic sanctions. The procedures listed below govern such matters. At any and all steps of the process the student may request advice from the Office of the Dean of Students.
A. When questions of a breach of academic integrity arise, instructors will inform the student of their suspicions and of the student's rights.
- To receive any charges in writing,
- To remain silent without assumption of guilt,
- To receive from the instructor a copy of the Academic Integrity Statement and,
- To be advised of the instructor's intended sanction. Such sanctions may include but are not limited to the following.
- A grade of "F" on the paper examination; the student may be given the option of submitting a similar but additional project for grading.
- A grade of "F" on the paper or examination, as above, but with no option to submit additional work.
- A grade of "F" for the course.
Should the instructor become convinced that the suspicions are unfounded, no further action will be taken. If the suspicions are founded, and if the student and instructor are both willing, they may agree upon a resolution. Subsequently, the charges and resolution must be reported to the department Chair and filed by the instructor with the Office of Undergraduate Studies.
B. If no agreement can be reached between them, the student may appeal the matter in writing to the Chair of the appropriate department, within a three-week period* after the instructor has informed the student and the Chair of the intended sanction. If the Chair is the instructor in question, the senior member of the department P&B will act for the Chair. The chairperson will appoint a committee of three Lehman College faculty members, which will adjudicate the matter within three weeks of receipt of notification. The student may appeal the departmental decision in writing to the Committee on Academic Standards and Evaluation, which will act as adjudicator of last resort.
*Should any part of the three-week period fall outside the regular semester, the first three weeks of the next regular semester shall apply.
C. The office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies will keep all records of such proceedings on file until the student’s graduation, at which time they will be destroyed.
D. As a result of the second upheld charge of academic dishonesty, disciplinary penalties may be recommended by the Dean of Students or by a hearing panel composed of members of the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee, pursuant to the due process provisions of the Board of Trustees Bylaws (Article 15.3). Such penalties, which may be imposed only through the Bylaws process, include but are not limited to:
- Suspension from the College.
- Expulsion from the College.
