Integrity of Scholarship and Grades

(All-University Policy)

(Note: This policy is not applicable to students in the MSU College of Law degree programs. The Law College follows American Bar Association requirements and the Law Student Rights  and Responsibilities document, http://splife.studentlife.msu.edu/law-students-rights-and-responsibilities.)

The following statement of university policy addresses principles and procedures to be used in instances of academic dishonesty, violations of professional standards, and falsification of academic or admission records, herein after referred to as academic misconduct.

1. The principles of truth and honesty are recognized as fundamental to a community of scholars. The university expects both instructors and students to honor these principles and, in so doing, to protect the validity of university education and grades. Practices that maintain the integrity of scholarship and grades include providing accurate information for academic and admission records, adherence to unit-approved professional standards and honor codes, and completion of original academic work by the student to whom it is assigned, without unauthorized aid of any kind. To encourage adherence to the principles of truth and honesty, instructors should exercise care in planning and supervising academic work, and implement proctoring standards appropriate to the design of the course.
   
   
2. If an instructor alleges a student has committed an act of academic misconduct, the instructor is responsible for taking appropriate action. Depending on the instructor’s judgment of a specific instance, the instructor may give the student a penalty grade. A penalty grade may be a reduced score or grade for the assignment or a reduced grade for the course. [For a definition of “penalty grade”, see Student Rights and Responsibilities (SRR) 11. and Graduate Students Rights and Responsibilities (GSRR) 8.1.18.]
   
   
3. When an instructor gives an undergraduate or graduate student a penalty grade for academic misconduct, the instructor must complete and submit an Academic Dishonesty Report (available on the Registrar’s Form Menu under Instructor Systems). The report will be sent to the student, the student’s dean, the Dean of the Graduate School (for graduate students) or Dean of Students (for undergraduate students) and be added to the student’s academic record provisionally. It will remain in the student’s record unless: a) the student successfully grieves the allegation; b) the instructor filing the report requests it be removed; or, for undergraduates only, c) upon conferral of their degree if only one report has been filed, the student has successfully completed the required course on academic integrity, and no additional sanctions were requested.
   
   
4. When completing the Academic Dishonesty Report, if the instructor gives a failing grade in the course, the instructor may request the student’s academic dean to impose sanctions in addition to the failing grade.
   
   
5. When in the judgment of the student’s academic dean, a sanction in addition to a penalty grade is warranted (e.g., dismissal from a unit or program), the dean may call for an academic disciplinary hearing. In calling for an academic disciplinary hearing, the student’s academic dean may act independently or in response to a request by the instructor. [See SRR 7.V, GSRR 5.5, and Medical Student Rights and Responsibilities (MSRR) 5.3.]
   
   
6. A student accused of academic misconduct may request an academic grievance hearing to contest the allegation before the appropriate hearing board. In cases involving academic misconduct, no student may be dismissed from a course or program of study without an academic disciplinary hearing.
   
   
7. On the first offense of academic misconduct, the student must complete an educational program on academic integrity and academic misconduct provided by the Dean of Students for undergraduate students or the Dean of the Graduate School for graduate students.
   
   
8. In cases involving undergraduate students in which the student’s academic dean, or designee, calls for an academic disciplinary hearing, the student’s academic dean will refer the case to the Dean of Students. The Dean of Students will notify the student in writing of the call for a disciplinary hearing and will invite the student to a meeting to determine the appropriate judiciary for the hearing. (See SRR 7.V.)
   
   
9. In cases involving graduate students in which the student’s academic dean, or designee, calls for an academic disciplinary hearing, the student’s academic dean will inform the student and then refer the case to the Dean of the Graduate School. The Dean of the Graduate School will notify the student in writing of the call for a disciplinary hearing and will invite the student to a meeting to discuss the hearing process. (See GSRR 5.5.)
   
   
10. Either party may appeal a decision of an administrative disciplinary hearing or a disciplinary hearing board to the appropriate appellate board. (See SRR 7.VII, GSRR 5.4.12, and MSRR 5.8.)

(See General Student Regulation 1.00, Protection of Scholarship and Grades; Spartan Code of Honor Academic Pledge; Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities, Article 5; or Medical Student Rights and Responsibilities, Article 5.)

• Academic Council
  
  
• Academic Senate
  
  
• November 18, 1969, Revised July, 1990
  
  
• Editorial revisions as printed in Academic Programs 2000
  
  
• Revised February 24, 2009
  
  
• Board of Trustees, February 12, 2010, Effective August 16, 2010
  
  
• Revised by University Committee on Graduate Studies, November 10, 2014
  
  
• Revised by University Committee on Graduate Studies and approved by University Committee on Undergraduate Education, January 15, 2015
  
  
• Academic Governance, Revised March 17, 2015