Department Policies

Academic honesty will be assumed in all English courses, and will only be questioned if an instructor receives work that is unlike work they have seen from a student before, if work seems poorly documented, or if work closely resembles other work in the course. Condensed versions of NDSU’s policies are required on all syllabi; this document is a more fully developed set of definitions, guidelines, and procedures.

Definitions

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: Work submitted for this course must adhere to the Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct as cited in the Handbook of Student Policies: “The academic community is operated on the basis of honesty, integrity, and fair play. Occasionally, this trust is violated when cheating occurs, either inadvertently or deliberately. This code will serve as the guideline for cases where cheating, plagiarism, or other academic improprieties have occurred. . . . Faculty members may fail the student for the particular assignment, test, or course involved, or they may recommend that the student drop the course in question, or these penalties may be varied with the gravity of the offense and the circumstances of the particular case” (65). See also the University Policy 335.

Academic Honesty Defined: All written and oral presentations must “respect the intellectual rights of others. Statements lifted verbatim from publications must be cited as quotations. Ideas, summaries or paraphrased material, and other information taken from the literature must be properly referenced” (Guidelines for the Presentation of Disquisitions, NDSU Graduate School, 4).

Instructors “who suspect that prohibited academic conduct has occurred in their class have an initial responsibility for informing the student or students involved of their suspicion and the grounds thereof, of allowing a fair opportunity to refute them, and of making an impartial judgment as to whether or not any prohibited academic conduct occurred only upon the basis of substantial evidence” (University Policy 335.).

In the spirit of fairness to all students and consistency in all English courses, NDSU’s English department uses the following definitions and guidelines for handling plagiarism. Instructors will consider the point in the semester, the course (especially the level: 100, 200, 300, 400, or graduate course), and the type of assignment in making their final decision about how to handle student work.

Inadvertent Plagiarism

A first instance of inadvertent plagiarism shall be pointed out immediately; students will be asked to revise those assignment with proper documentation and citation before a grade is assigned.

A second instance of inadvertent plagiarism may result in a zero for the assignment; instructors may allow for a revision if they consider revision an appropriate option for the situation.

A third instance of inadvertent plagiarism will be treated as a case of deliberate plagiarism, will result in no credit for the assignment, possibly an F for the course, and possible disciplinary action.

Students in upper division courses or graduate courses will not likely be given three chances.

Deliberate Plagiarism

A first instance of deliberate plagiarism will result in no credit for the assignment with no opportunity for revision, and possibly “F” for the course. Disciplinary action may be pursued even in the first case of deliberate plagiarism.

A second instance of deliberate plagiarism will result in “F” for the course and disciplinary actions will be pursued.

Instructor and Administrators’ Responsibilities

Instructors should initiate disciplinary action with a memo to the appropriate administrator (Director of First-year Writing, Director of Upper Division Writing, or Department Head) detailing the type of plagiarism and explaining why disciplinary action is appropriate. After consulting with the Administrator, the instructor and Administrator may report a case of deliberate plagiarism to the English Department Head, who may in turn notify the student and the Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The Dean will consider the case and determine the next step in the process. “The dean may impose academic warning or probation in the college, or the dean may recommend suspension or expulsion to the Academic Standards Committee” (University Policy 335.).

A Student’s Rights

“A student who has received a penalty or a disciplinary sanction for prohibited academic conduct may appeal the decision.

1. The student must consult with the instructor, the department chair, and the Dean, in sequence, to resolve the conflict.
2. Then, the student may request a hearing by the Student Progress Committee in the college where the violation occurred. In addition, the student may request that two students be appointed to the Student Progress Committee for the hearing; one student shall be a member of the Student Court appointed by the Chief Justice of the Student Court, and the other student shall be a student senator for that college appointed by the student body president” (University Policy 335.).

Instructors are glad to answer questions and discuss research topics, student progress in the course, and course assignments via email. However, all emails should be written in a respectful, professional, and civil tone and they need to be proofread before they are sent. This is a university-level English course; students' writing needs to reflect that. E-mails that are unprofessional, disrespectful, uncivil, or sloppily composed will not receive a response.