Academic Affairs Academic Dishonesty Policy

Academic dishonesty, a basis for disciplinary action, includes but is not limited to activities such as cheating, plagiarism, or any other academically unethical activity as defined in the course syllabus by the faculty member and based on standards of the academic discipline. The faculty member in whose course or under whose tutelage an act of academic dishonesty occurs has the option of failing the student for the academic hours in question, or for any components or requirements for that course. If the student fails the course as a result of academic dishonesty, a course grade of XF may be assigned by the instructor of record to the student’s transcript to indicate the failure in the course was due to academic dishonesty, provided the Academic Dishonesty Committee authorized the “X” part of the grade as outlined below. Departments, schools, and colleges, or the university may have provisions for more severe penalties. Emporia State University may impose penalties for academic dishonesty up to and including expulsion from the student’s major or from the University. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty shall be grounds to deny admission to a department or program. In addition to the penalties above, the faculty member shall notify in writing the department chair and the registrar of the infraction. The notification to the department chair should include documentation of the academic dishonesty infraction and the course of action the faculty member takes. All documentation must be provided within 10 business days after the discovery of academic dishonesty. The department chair shall forward the report of the infraction to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The registrar shall block the student from withdrawing from the course to avoid the penalties that result from the infraction. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shall act as the record keeper for student academic infractions. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs will notify the student in writing that an infraction has been reported and inform the student and the faculty member of their rights to be heard by the Academic Dishonesty Committee; furthermore, such communication will indicate the right to appeal and of the appropriate appeal procedures.

The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shall notify the student, the department chair, and the faculty member that initiated the proceedings, of any additional action taken beyond those already imposed by the faculty member or the Academic Dishonesty Committee. Should a single infraction be so egregious, or should a student have a record of multiple infractions, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs may impose additional penalties, including expulsion of the student from the University. Once the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs receives the documentation associated with an XF grade designation, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs 3-78 will forward the documentation to the Academic Dishonesty Committee. The Academic Dishonesty Committee shall decide whether the “X” portion of the XF grade designation is warranted, and then notify the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the office of the Registrar of the committee’s decision. The Academic Dishonesty Committee shall be focused on the alleged dishonesty.

The Academic Dishonesty Committee shall consist of 5 faculty members, 1 from each of the listed designations with a minimum of 3 tenured faculty members on the committee. New members of the committee will be assigned within 30 days of the start of the academic year for a 2-year term. Committee members from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Library and Information Management or the University Libraries & Archives, and the at large member will be selected in odd years, and members from The Teachers College and the School of Business will be selected in even years. All members of the Academic Dishonesty Committee are assigned to the committee by the Committee for Campus Governance via a random selection process. The committee shall designate its own chair. No member of the committee shall abstain from voting on a decision, unless that member is the same faculty member in whose course or under whose tutelage the act of academic dishonesty occurred, in which event the committee member shall be recused. In case(s) of recusal, or when a faculty member is unavailable to serve (e.g., medical leave, sabbatical leave, and jury duty), then a temporary substitute member from the same School/College as the recused or unavailable committee member shall be appointed by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

The student and the faculty member each have the right to be heard by the Academic Dishonesty Committee. Moreover, each has the right to appeal the charge of academic dishonesty (see Academic Appeals section). If after an appeal it is found that the student did not commit an act of academic dishonesty, no penalties will be imposed on the student. A student (current or former) who has received a grade of XF may present a written request to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for the removal of the X from the student’s transcript. Two years must pass before the request may be submitted. Granting the removal of the X designation on a student’s transcript is at the discretion of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs provided the student has no additional academic dishonesty violations. A chair of a department of director of a program may request from the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs a list of all currently enrolled ESU students within that major or program who have committed acts of academic dishonesty. This request may be a standing request to be filled automatically during each semester until the request is rescinded by the chair or director.

In addition, a chair of a department or director of a program may submit to the office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs a list of applicants to a program or major and the chair or director may be informed if any of the applicants has committed any acts of academic dishonesty.

Prior to the beginning of the next academic year, the office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shall send to the Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate a list containing nonspecific student identifiers, such as Student 1, Student 2, etc., their specific academic infraction(s) reported to the Provost’s office, the total number of infractions 3-79 that have been reported for each student, and any actions taken by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.