Academic Policies and Services
Honor Code
Cedar Crest College students should uphold community standards for academic and
social behavior in order to preserve a learning environment dedicated to
personal and academic excellence. Upholding community standards is a matter of personal integrity and honor. Individuals who accept the honor of membership in the Cedar Crest College
community pledge to accept responsibility for their actions in all academic and
social situations and the effect their actions may have on other members of the
College community.
Academic Standard of Integrity
Incumbent from the Honor Code, academic integrity and ethical behavior provide
the foundations of the Cedar Crest scholarly community and the basis for our
learning environment. Cedar Crest College expects students to set a high
standard for themselves to be personally and intellectually honest and to
ensure that other students do the same. This standard applies to all academic
work (oral, written, or visual) completed as part of a Cedar Crest education.
a. Academic Misconduct
Cedar Crest College considers the following acts, but not only the following
acts, to be breaches of its Academic Standard of Integrity. Cedar Crest College
reserves the right to alter the definitions of academic misconduct herein.
i) Cheating. During the completion of an academic assignment (e.g. quizzes,
tests, examinations, artistic works, presentations, or papers), it is dishonest
to use, have access to, or attempt to gain access to any and all sources or
assistance not authorized by the instructor.
ii) Plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act, intentional or not, of misrepresenting the
work, research, language, or ideas of another person (published or unpublished)
as one’s own. An assignment, or part of an assignment, that fails to acknowledge source
material through an appropriate academic discipline’s citation conventions for quotation, paraphrase, and summary also constitutes
plagiarism.
iii) Collusion. Collusion is the collaboration of two or more individuals in
either giving or receiving assistance not authorized by the instructor for the
completion of an academic assignment.
iv) Falsification. Falsification is the misrepresentation of academic work or
records. Falsification includes, but is not limited to: the fabrication of
research, scientific data, or an experiment’s results; providing false information regarding an academic assignment,
including reasons for absence, deadline extension, or tardiness; the tampering
with grade or attendance records; the forging or misuse of college documents or
records; or the forging of faculty or administrator signatures. An assignment,
or part of an assignment, submitted for academic credit in one course and
resubmitted by the student for academic credit in another course without both
instructors’ permission also constitutes falsification.
v) Sabotage. Sabotage is the act of hindering another student’s (or students’) ability to complete an academic assignment. Destruction of college property
(e.g. library holdings, laboratory materials, or computer hardware or software)
may constitute sabotage.
vi) Other Forms of Academic Misconduct. The forms of academic misconduct
defined above are not exhaustive, and other acts in violation of the Cedar
Crest Honor Code or Academic Standard of Integrity may be deemed academic
misconduct by an instructor or by the college.
b. Response to Academic Misconduct
Students who breach the Academic Standard of Integrity—as set forth in the types of academic misconduct specified above -- are subject
to sanctions imposed by an instructor, a department chair, the provost, or the
Board of Trustees. Such sanctions can range from, but are not limited to, the expectation to redo
an assignment, the reduction in grade for an assignment or course, or the
failure of an assignment or course. Extreme cases of academic misconduct, as
determined by the provost or the Board of Trustees, may result in suspension or
expulsion from the college, or the withholding, denial, or rescinding of
academic degrees.
The initial response to academic misconduct rests with the individual
instructor, who is entitled to take into account the student’s degree of academic experience and any prior instances of academic misconduct
in the student’s time at the College when determining the penalty for the offense.
If a student withdraws from a course and the instructor discovers academic
misconduct either before or after the withdrawal, an instructor’s grade of “F” for the course supersedes the “W.”
All instructors who determine that a student has breached the Academic Standard
of Integrity must report the incident to the Provost’s Office using the “Report of Academic Misconduct” and attach relevant evidentiary documentation as appropriate. Instructors
encountering a case of academic misconduct may consult with the Provost’s Office to determine if the student has committed acts of academic misconduct
on other occasions.
All instructors are required to include the College's Academic Standard of
Integrity on their course syllabi, as well as information about the response to
evidence of academic misconduct and potential sanctions incurred.
Upon receiving a “Report of Academic Misconduct,” the Provost’s Office will notify the student of the misconduct charge and of her rights and
the procedure to appeal the charge and its sanctions. Appeals to charges of
academic misconduct or their sanctions follow the process for appealing
academic decisions outlined below.
All reported incidents of academic misconduct will be held on record by the
Provost’s Office. The Provost’s Office is to make an annual report to the faculty and to the Honor and
Judicial Board, on the number and nature of academic misconduct cases that
occurred during the year.
Student Appeals of Academic Decisions
A student who has a disagreement with a faculty member about an academic matter
should first attempt to resolve the matter through discussion with the
instructor. If the issue is not resolved satisfactorily between the student and the
instructor, and the student wishes to appeal further, the student must specify
in writing the basis for the disagreement and request a review by the
Department Chair. If the issue is an appeal of the final grade received in a course, this request
must be submitted within three months of the date that term grades are issued
by the Registrar.
A student who wishes to appeal the decision of the Department Chair must write
to the Provost within a month of the date of the Chair's decision, enclosing
copies of the written documents and requesting a review. The Provost, in consultation with the Chair and the faculty member, will arrive
at a final decision in the matter.
The Chair and the Provost will each act within one month during the academic
year of receiving the matter. If the instructor is no longer employed by the College, the Chair is empowered
to act in his or her stead.
*Additional and more detailed academic policies can be found on the Registrar’s website.
Departmental Review for Field Placement
Students majoring in Education, Nuclear Medicine, Nursing, Nutrition or Social
Work are required to complete a field practicum or clinical experience. Because
this requirement necessitates working with the public in a professional
setting, it is important that the student has advanced interpersonal skills,
mature judgment, and appropriate professional demeanor. Thus faculty in these
programs will review students prior to the practicum and make appropriate
recommendations up to and including removal from placement