Manhattanville Code of Conduct

Academic Conduct And Adjudication

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is a serious form of misconduct in a college community. It threatens the relationship of trust that must exist among members of that community. As such, it warrants the most serious of responses, including expulsion from the college. It is each student’s responsibility to become familiar with these materials and with related procedures and sanctions. In cases where academic dishonesty is suspected, both faculty members and students have an obligation to bring the matter to the attention of the Academic Dean for appropriate action.

Forms Of Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty can take many forms, and although always serious, can be major or minor.

Minor offenses usually relate to more technical matters, are isolated or limited in scope, and are not committed for the purpose of academic advantage. Improper citation, failure to use quotation marks around a direct quote or to acknowledge a source in-text or on a Works Cited page, when these instances are isolated and limited, as well as the failure to report observed academic dishonesty in others are examples of minor offenses. Such offenses, when proven or uncontested, are subject to the following sanctions: warning and notation of the offense in the student’s main academic file; failure in the specific paper, project or exam; or a specific written or community service assignment.

Major offenses relate to anything that constitutes an action that results in an unearned academic advantage or inexcusable gross negligence. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Plagiarism: This consists of offering as one’s own work the words, ideas or arguments of another. Appropriate citation (including page numbers) with quotation marks, references or footnotes, is required when using another’s work; the failure to do so constitutes plagiarism. Copying homework and answers on an exam or report, submitting a term paper from the archives of a group or from another student, procuring a paper from any source (electronic or otherwise) and submitting it as one’s own are further examples of plagiarism.
  • False citation: Providing false information about a source is academic dishonesty. This includes citing a title, author and page as if it were from one source when, in fact, it is from a different source, or including information that did not come from the cited source.
  • Cheating on exams.
  • Forgery: Signing the name of any faculty member or administrator to a college form or document without express permission.
  • Falsification: Altering any official college document, paper or examination to mislead others; or, any deception (written, oral, or electronic) of a College official in an attempt to circumvent College academic policy.
  • Computer abuse: For all assignments for computer-related courses, students are required to acknowledge any information, from word texts to full programs, that is not their own. In addition, infringing on the rights of other students to gain access to the computer system, destroying or infecting files, copying files or programs without permission are considered academically dishonest.
  • Violation of academic probation: Any violation of the terms of academic probation, including participating in prohibited student life and athletic activities, repeated and unexcused absences from probation counseling sessions, or other violations of the probationary contract.
  • Destruction, theft or displacement of library materials.
  • Multiple submissions: Work done for one course cannot be submitted for another course without the express permission of the teacher.
  • Unauthorized collaboration on academic assignments.
  • Aiding another student in the commission of academic dishonesty. For proven or uncontested major acts of academic dishonesty, one or a combination of the following sanctions may be imposed: failure in the course; disciplinary probation for academic dishonesty (this disqualifies the student from participation in sports, student government and student life organizations, academic or departmental honors, study abroad candidacy and the Dean’s List); suspension from the College for one or more semesters; expulsion.

Procedures Regarding Academic Dishonesty

In the interest of tracking repeat offenders, the Academic Dean should always be consulted in any case of suspected academic dishonesty, whether perceived as major or minor. The instructor (or other person witnessing or suspecting academic dishonesty) and the Dean will decide together whether the offense is of a serious nature and proceed in the following manner:

  • The student suspected of academic dishonesty will be obliged to meet with the Dean or a designated representative and will have a chance to present his/her side of the story.
  • Where the academic dishonesty is uncontested, the Dean, will impose an appropriate sanction.
  • The student may appeal this sanction to the Provost or the Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
  • Where the student disputes the accusation of academic dishonesty, the student may ask for a formal review by a committee, usually comprised of the Chair of the Faculty, the Provost, and one member of the Board of Academic Standards.
  • The student has the right to appeal the decision to the Senior Vice President within five days.