Academic Integrity Violation

When a student commits an academic integrity offense, decisions regarding the severity of penalties imposed for academic dishonesty shall reside with the instructor. An instructor may give written or verbal notice to a student that continuation or repetition of specified conduct may be cause for further disciplinary action. If the instructor chooses further disciplinary action, the instructor will file an Academic Integrity Violation Form

The student may appeal the determination of academic dishonesty and/or penalty using the discipline appeal procedure as outlined in AP5520 : Student Discipline Procedures.

Student Academic Integrity Violation FAQ

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Cheating and/or Plagiarism

Students are expected to act in an honest and trustworthy manner. Work performed on examinations or other forms of evaluation must represent an individual's own work, knowledge, and experience of the subject matter. Students are expected to follow the classroom rules established by each instructor. (AP 5550)

The instructor will inform the student(s) about the violation and any grade changes

The severity of penalties imposed for academic dishonesty shall reside with the instructor. An instructor may give written or verbal notice to a student that their conduct may be cause for further disciplinary action.

A student can start the grievance process, if they believe their grade was a result of "mistake, fraud, bad faith, or incompetency"

  1. The student needs to discuss the grade change directly with the instructor to resolve the issue.

  2. If an agreement can't be made, the student must file a Student Grievance Form online and choose "Grade Grievance" from the drop-down options.

  3. The student needs to email the Dean to schedule a meeting to discuss the grade grievance. The Office of Student Life will forward the Student Grievance Form to the Dean to review the basis for initiating the grievance.

  4. If the problem is not resolved after meeting with the Dean, the student can email studentconduct@collegeofthedesert.edu to resolve the grievance.

  5. The Office of Student Life (OSL), Dean, Department Chair, Instructor and Student will meet to review the grievance. The OSL will make the final decision on the grade grievance validity.

For more information, refer to AP 5530: Student Rights and Grievances.

The academic violation can be reported to the Office of Student Life (OSL) to start the Student Conduct Process, since cheating/plagiarism violates the Standards of Student Conduct

If the report is forwarded for further disciplinary action, the student will be contacted by OSL to hear their side of the story. The OSL will investigate and determine if the student is responsible for the violation and issue a student sanction(s), if necessary.

Learn more about the Student Conduct Process