Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities

Cheating and Plagiarism

(from the "University Policies" section of the 2012-2013 General Catalog)

Institutions of higher education are founded to impart knowledge, seek truth, and encourage one's development for the good of society. University students shall thus be intellectually and morally obliged to pursue their course of studies with honesty and integrity. Therefore, in preparing and submitting materials for academic courses and in taking examinations, a student shall not yield to cheating or plagia- rism, which not only violate academic standards but also make the offender liable to penalties explicit in Section 41301 of Title 5,California Code of Regulations as follows:
Expulsion, Suspension, and Probation of Students. Following procedures consonant with due process established pursuant to Section 41304, any student of a campus may be expelled, suspended, placed on probation, or given a lesser sanction for one or more of the following causes that must be campus related.

Cheating

Cheating is defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work by the use of dishonest, deceptive, or fraud- ulent means. Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to

1. copying, in part or in whole, from another's test or other examination;
2. discussing answers or ideas relating to the answers on a test or
   other examination without the permission of the instructor;
3. obtaining copies of a test, an examination, or other course material
   without the permission of the instructor;
4. using notes, cheat sheets, or other devices considered inappropriate under the prescribed testing condition;
5. collaborating with another or others in work to be presented without the permission of the instructor;
6. falsifying records, laboratory work, or other course data;
7. submitting work previously presented in another course, if contrary to the rules of the course;
8. altering or interfering with the grading procedures;
9. plagiarizing, as defined; and
10. knowingly and intentionally assisting another student in any of the above.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the act of incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of another, whether purchased, borrowed, or otherwise obtained, and submitting same to the university as one's own work to fulfill academic requirements without giving credit to the appropriate source. Plagiarism shall include but not be limited to:

1. submitting work, either in part or in whole, completed by another;
2. omitting footnotes for ideas, statements, facts, or conclusions that
   belong to another;
3. omitting quotation marks when quoting directly from another,
   whether it be a paragraph, sentence, or part thereof;
4. close and lengthy paraphrasing of the writings of another;
5. submitting another person's artistic works, such as musical com-
   positions, photographs, paintings, drawings, or sculptures; and (f) submitting as one's own work papers purchased from research companies.

Disciplinary Action

Cheating and plagiarism in connection with an academic program at the university may warrant two separate and distinct courses of disciplinary action that may be applied concurrently in response to a violation of this policy:

1. academic sanctions, such as grade modifications; and
2. punitive sanctions, such as probation, suspension, or expulsion.

Academic sanctions are concerned with the student's grades and are the responsibility of the instructor involved. Punitive sanctions are concerned with the student's records and status on campus and shall be the responsibility of the university president or designated representative. The Coordinator of Judiciary Procedures shall be the president's representative in matters of student discipline.

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