Academic Integrity Policy

Violations of academic integrity are not consistent with the community standards of Messiah University. Seven types of academic integrity violations are identified and defined below. Each definition is followed by select examples, i.e., the examples are representative, but do not constitute an exhaustive list of possible violations.

  • Plagiarism: Submitting as one’s own work part or all of any assignment (oral or written) which is copied, paraphrased, purchased, or generated from another source, including digital sources, without the proper acknowledgment of that source. Examples: misrepresenting another’s work as your own; failing to cite a reference; failing to use quotation marks where appropriate.
  • Self-Plagiarism: The reuse of significant, identical, or nearly identical portions of one's own work without acknowledging that one is doing so (by citing the original work) or without the instructor’s permission to do so. Examples: Reusing portions of a previously written text, paper, or article (published or unpublished text); republishing or reusing the same paper that is published elsewhere without notifying the reader or publisher of the journal.
  • Cheating: Attempting to use or using unauthorized material, study aids, or technologies for assistance in examinations or other academic work. Examples: using a cheat sheet; looking at a peer’s exam; having someone else take the exam for you; using an electronic device to access information during an exam; getting assistance via email or text messaging during an exam; purposely disconnecting from the internet to cause a lock on an online exam; utilizing artificial intelligence technology to complete an assignment in a way that hasn’t been authorized by the instructor.
  • Fabrication: Submitting altered or contrived information in any academic exercise. Examples: falsifying sources and/or data; inflating observation hours. 
  • Misrepresentation of Academic Records: Tampering with any portion of a student’s record. Example: altering a graded exam; forging a signature on a registration form or change of grade form on paper or via electronic means.
  • Unfair Advantage: Attempting to gain an unfair advantage over fellow students in an academic exercise. Examples: lying about the need for an extension on a paper; destroying or removing library materials; having someone else participate in your place. 
  • Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: Helping another individual violate this academic integrity policy. Examples: working together on an assignment where collaboration is not allowed; doing work for another student; allowing one’s own work to be copied; sharing a past exam or quiz with another student. 

The violations listed above represent a university-wide standard for academic integrity. Departments and programs may identify additional academic integrity standards by which their students must abide, as long as these additional standards align with the ones listed above. Any additional standards to which students in a given course or program must adhere must be clearly identified in the department/program course syllabi or the department/program handbook. With respect to their own courses, individual instructors may elaborate on the application of this policy in ways that are suitable to their particular courses.

 

Education Regarding Academic Integrity Policy

Messiah University is responsible to articulate the Academic Integrity Policy to students by publishing it in the academic catalog and by informing all incoming students of this policy through new student orientation programs or first-year courses. Instructors should reference the policy in their course syllabi. However, primary responsibility for knowledge of and compliance with this policy rests with the student.

 

Procedures for Perceived Violations of Academic Integrity

  1. If a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy is suspected, the instructor should discuss the incident with the student(s) and determine to the instructor’s satisfaction whether or not a violation has occurred
  2. If the instructor determines that it is more likely than not that the student is innocent, the student should be informed of this determination in writing. No report of the incident or of the instructor/student meeting should be filed with the school dean.
  3. If the instructor determines that it is more likely than not that a violation has occurred, they should complete an Academic Integrity Violation Report, available on FalconLink, and submit the report as outlined on the first page of the form. The formal report should include a complete description of the incident, including date of the violation, the nature or type of the violation, and the nature and type of evidence. The formal report should also include appropriate sanctions (see below). The dean will send copies of the instructor’s report to the student’s advisor(s).
  4. Instructors of courses that are not housed in an academic department should send the formal report to the Associate Provost, who will direct it to the appropriate school dean or supervisor.
  5. The instructor should keep originals of tests, papers, etc., that provide evidence of the violation; when the case has concluded, those records should be sent to the Registrar’s Office and should not be retained by the instructor.
  6. With issues related to misrepresentation of academic records, the case may be referred to the Dean of Students for processing.
  7. If a staff member or an administrator discovers violations of the Academic Integrity Policy, they should contact the dean of the school in which the violation occurred, who will contact the student.
  8. The student may appeal in writing to the academic department in which the course is offered. A student’s intent to appeal an instructor’s response to a violation must be communicated to the department chair in writing within one week of the receipt of the written notification from the instructor dealing with the incident. The instructor filing the initial report of a violation should be recused from the department committee handling the appeal. A student in a course that is not housed in an academic department should appeal to the Associate Provost, who will direct the appeal to the appropriate school dean or department. The Associate Provost should ascertain that a group of faculty, with a majority of ranked faculty, will hear the appeal.
  9. The student may appeal the decision of the academic department in writing to the school dean. The dean (or assistant school dean, as designated by the dean), will consider the appeal, and render a decision, which will be final.
  10. When the appeal process ends, or the deadline for making an appeal has passed, the school dean will notify the Registrar, and determine if this is a first or second violation.

 

Procedures for Multiple or Egregious Violations of Academic Integrity

  1. If the student has committed two or more violations of academic integrity, or if the dean determines that the violation is egregious, the dean of the school in which the violation occurred (or assistant school dean, as designated by the dean) will meet with the student who has committed the violation. Unless the violation is egregious, this meeting will take place after the appeal process ends.
  2. The dean of the school in which the violation occurred (or assistant school dean, as designated by the dean) will consult with the student’s academic advisor, the student’s department chair, and the dean of the school of the student’s major, if other than the reporting dean. The dean of the school in which the violation occurred (or assistant school dean, as designated by the dean) will determine appropriate sanctions (e.g., disciplinary probation, disciplinary suspension, or, in consultation with the Vice Provost for Student Success and Engagement, suspension from cocurricular activities). 
  3. The dean of the school in which the violation occurred will notify the student in writing of the sanctions determined and send copies to the student’s advisor(s), and to the dean of the school of the student’s major, if other than the reporting dean.
  4. The student may appeal the decision of the school dean (or assistant school dean) in writing to the Provost, whose decision will be final.

 

Penalties for Violations of the Academic Integrity Policy

  1. In all instances of violations of the Academic Integrity Policy, the instructor will assign sanctions within the context of the course. If the violation is a second offense, or is determined to be an egregious offense, the school dean (or assistant school dean, as designated by the dean) will assign appropriate sanctions that go beyond the course. In the case of an egregious offense, the school dean (with input from the assistant school dean, if needed) may temporarily suspend the student before and during any appeal process.
  2. For a non-egregious first offense, the instructor may exercise broad discretion when responding to violations of the Academic Integrity Policy. The range of responses may include failure of the course to a grade reduction of the given assignment. The typical consequence for violations will be failure of the assignment. Some examples of serious offenses which might necessitate the penalty of the failure of the course include cheating on an examination, plagiarism of a complete assignment, etc.
  3. When violations occur near the end of the semester or term, instructors may request the Registrar’s Office to file a course grade of “NR—Not Recorded” until the investigation and possible appeals are complete. Once the investigation/appeal process is complete, the instructor should submit a grade change request to record the appropriate course grade.
  4. The policy of the University is to act, whenever possible, in redemptive rather than merely punitive ways. We believe that simply to ignore an offense is to be neither loving nor redemptive. Consequently, if a second report of a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy is received, or if the dean (or assistant school dean, as designated by the dean) determines the violation to be egregious, the range of possible responses includes suspension of the student, disciplinary probation, or other appropriate sanctions.

 

Time and Record-Keeping Considerations

  1. Academic integrity violations should be processed in a timely manner:
    1. Instructors should report academic integrity violations within a week of their discovery. 
    2. Student appeals must be filed within a week of receiving the written report of an academic integrity violation.
    3. The recipient of student appeals should acknowledge receipt of the appeal within one week. 
    4. Timing constraints only apply when school is in session, but processing of violations may continue during breaks.
  2. When violations occur near the end of the semester or term, instructors may request the Registrar’s Office to file a course grade of “NR—Not Recorded” until the investigation and possible appeals are complete. Once the investigation/appeal process is complete, the instructor should submit a grade change request to record the appropriate course grade.
  3. Academic integrity violations will continue to be processed if the student withdraws from the course in which the violation occurred.
  4. Academic integrity violations may be reported within one semester after the course if first discovered at that time.
  5. The final results of all academic integrity investigations, including all appeals, should be filed with the Office of the Registrar.
  6. A record of academic integrity violations will be maintained by the Office of the Registrar in accordance with the University’s Schedule for Records Retention. However, when determining whether a Messiah graduate student has had multiple violations, any violation the student committed at the undergraduate level will not be considered in that total.
  7. If a student carries two majors, notification of academic integrity violations will be sent to the dean of the student’s primary major.
  8. The school dean will notify the instructor filing the report and the student’s advisor(s) of the results of all appeals. In the case of multiple or egregious violations, the school dean will also notify the dean of the school of the student’s major, if other than the reporting dean, of the results of any appeal.
  9. On-campus program areas conducting required background checks of students (for example, teacher certification, professional advisor) should submit the students’ names and ID numbers to the Office of the Registrar for clearance. The Registrar will determine that an appropriate need to know exists under FERPA guidelines. 
  10. If a department chair and the Registrar have established that that department chair has an ongoing need to know about academic integrity violations, the Registrar will automatically notify the department chair of any violations by students in that major after all appeals are resolved.