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Academic Misconduct
The College of Engineering endorses the policies and rights of students as stated in the University of Iowa Code of Student Life. The College of Engineering reserves the authority to handle acts of academic misconduct and establish its own policies and procedures as adopted by engineering faculty.
The administration of the classroom rests with the instructor. When academic misconduct, including but not limited to plagiarism and cheating (refer to list of example offenses below), comes to the instructor’s attention and the violation warrants the application of an academic sanction, the instructor submits an Academic Misconduct Report to the student and the Office of the Dean. The Academic Misconduct Report documents the allegations, including a description of the incident, and the sanction being imposed by the Instructor (i.e., reduction in the student's grade for the assignment, quiz, exam or course, including assignment of the grade of F in the course, additional assignment(s), re-submission of the assignment, etc.). The Dean (or the Dean’s delegate) may impose additional sanctions, including but not limited to disciplinary probation, suspension from the College, or expulsion from the University.
Each undergraduate college carefully tracks academic misconduct on a shared database, and related reports are shared across colleges.
First Offense
If found responsible for a first incident of academic misconduct, in addition to the sanction imposed by the instructor, a collegiate sanction of academic disciplinary probation will be imposed. The student remains on disciplinary probation until the first degree is granted from the University of Iowa, or for a maximum of five years. Disciplinary probation is an internal record and will not appear on official transcripts.
The student also will be required to complete, at the student’s own expense, a non-credit online seminar called the Academic Integrity Seminar. A student may not register for future UI courses until the Academic Integrity Seminar has been completed; a "hold" is placed on the registration and is only removed once the student successfully passes the seminar.
Second Offense
Students found responsible for a second incident of academic misconduct will be suspended from the University of Iowa College of Engineering, even if the first offense occurred while the student was enrolled in another UI undergraduate college or program, or at another institution. The statement “Academic Misconduct – Suspension” (or similar) will appear on your academic transcript during the suspension period. When the period of suspension ends, the statement is removed from the transcript, but is kept in the student’s internal record.
Third Offense
A student found responsible for a third incident of academic misconduct will be expelled from the University of Iowa. Expulsion will appear on the student's transcript (i.e., Not permitted to Register - Academic Expulsion). The student will not be allowed to enroll in courses at UI or to graduate from the institution.
Note: At times, the aforementioned sanctions are modified or combined based on the severity of the situation. That is, a student with a serious first offense may be suspended or expelled, depending on the particulars of the incident. Likewise, a student with a second offense could be expelled if the incident rises to a very serious level of concern.
Appeals Procedure
All students have the right to file an appeal about a decision related to academic misconduct.
- If a student believes that the finding of academic misconduct is in error or the sanction assigned by the instructor is unjust, the student should first arrange a meeting with the instructor to discuss the matter. The student also may meet and discuss the matter with the head of the department or program. If a misunderstanding has occurred, it may be clarified by speaking with the instructor first, and thus all students are encouraged to meet with the instructor before pursuing any other appeal process.
- If the student is dissatisfied with the result of meeting with the instructor and, if applicable, the head of the department or program, the student may submit a formal appeal to the Office of the Dean. The appeal should be in writing and submitted within 2 weeks of the student's receipt of the official email from the College stating the sanctions given by the Instructor and the College of Engineering concerning the academic misconduct. The student’s written submission should contain a detailed rationale for the appeal. The Associate Dean for Academic Programs will review the case and meet with the student if needed or requested. This process generally takes two weeks but may take longer depending on the circumstances.
- If the student is not satisfied with the results of the appeal to the Office of the Dean of the College of Engineering, the student may request a review of the Associate Dean for Academic Programs’ decision by the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education. Appeals will not be heard by the Associate Provost until the Associate Dean in the College of Engineering has responded to a written appeal from the student.
Examples of Offenses against the Code of Academic Honesty
The following are examples of offenses against the Code of Academic Honesty in the College of Engineering. Many of these categories overlap.
Offenses are not limited to this list and include other types of cheating, misrepresentation, and dishonesty related to an academic exercise or program.
Cheating on Quizzes and Exams
- Using notes, books, calculators, phones, photos, computers, web sites, tweets, social media, or other aids during a quiz or an exam when not allowed by the instructor
- Talking during a quiz or exam when told by the instructor talking is not permitted
- Looking at another student’s exam or quiz during the testing period
- Continuing to work on a quiz or exam after the instructor has notified students that time for the test has ended
- Stealing, reproducing, circulating, or otherwise gaining access to a quiz, exam, or homework materials prior to the time authorized by an instructor
- Ignoring the guidelines specified by the instructor for an assignment or for a "take home" test and instead using materials or study aids that the instructor has forbidden
Plagiarism
- Using the words, sentences, arguments, rhetorical structures, and ideas of another without proper citation and acknowledgment
- Copying data, facts, graphs, computer programs, spreadsheets, images, photos, film/video, or other materials and using them without proper citation or acknowledgment
- Copying homework, quiz, or exam answers from an answer key, solution manual, textbook, web site, or other items from another student, thus presenting another’s work as your own
- Failing to use quotation marks properly or when needed
- Failing to give a source for quoted materials
- Failing to paraphrase language completely
- Failing to give a source for paraphrases
- Failing to cite sources correctly and completely
Unauthorized Collaboration
- Receiving help with homework, reports, labs, paper, data collection, or other activities when not allowed by the instructor
- Accepting credit for a group project without doing your share of the work
- Helping others with their homework or other assignments when not allowed by the instructor
- Allowing others to view your answers or copy part of your homework, lab, quiz answers, exam answers, or other related work when not permitted to do so by the instructor.
- A group doing another student’s work on a group project, lab, presentation, report, or other activity while presenting the work as if done by the entire group equally
Willful Misrepresentation
- Fabricating quotations
- Fabricating sources
- Fabricating, dishonestly adjusting, omitting, or otherwise misrepresenting research results and records, including information, data, statistics, research facts, and its analysis
- Engaging in selective reporting or omission of conflicting data for deceptive purposes
- Altering graded work, then resubmitting it for new grade
- Providing false information about reasons for class absences or late work when requesting a make-up quiz or exam or an extension for homework
- Submitting the same paper in more than one class without the approval of the instructors involved
- Submitting a paper from a previous semester for a current class without the approval from the instructor
- Failing to provide required or requested information regarding academic performance or enrollments at previous institutions
- Intentionally obstructing or interfering with other students' academic work, or otherwise undertaking activity with the purpose of creating or obtaining an unfair academic advantage over other students' academic work.
- Altering documents affecting academic records, such as falsifying information on an official academic document, form, grade report, letter of permission, clinical record, student ID cards, or any other official document.
- Providing false information to others about academic performance, leadership activities, or membership in student organizations.
- Falsification of information records
- Recording hours not actually worked
- Submitting an altered or fabricated preceptor evaluation
- Altering a score, grade, or schedule change on an academic record.
- Forging the signature of an instructor, advisor, dean, or another student
- Creating false university, college, or other official correspondences (such as medical documentation)
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty of Others
- Writing a paper for another student
- Allowing another student to use your past homework assignments, papers, labs, or similar items
- Sharing homework with another student when told collaboration is not allowed
- Allowing or helping another student to look at your exam or quiz during a test
- Sharing with other students your notes, books, calculators, phones, photos, computers, web sites, tweets, social media, or other aids during a quiz or an exam when not allowed by the instructor
- Completing another student’s exam or quiz by filling in the student’s scantron card or other answer sheet or by attending the exam in place of the other student
- Providing any materials, information, or assistance to another person with the knowledge or reasonable expectation that such would be used for dishonest purposes