Academic Integrity

Policy and Categories

Redlands students are expected to conduct themselves according to the highest academic standards and to complete coursework in an honest and ethical manner. Plagiarism, cheating or other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated, and students may receive an “F” grade for the course and be suspended or expelled from the College for repeated violations.

Due to the highly variable range of teaching environments and uses of technology, it is not possible for this policy to contain and describe every potential violation. Instead, the intent of the policy is to broadly outline the categories of behavior that are prohibited, with representative examples. The procedure section of this document describes the repercussions of violating the guidelines of this policy.

Generally, plagiarism is the use of another’s work – including ideas, opinions, data, illustrative material or media – without properly attributing and citing the source. Plagiarism also includes:

  • Using too much of one source, even if properly credited;
  • Re-using previously submitted work, even your own, in any class;
  • Copying from the Internet without citation;
  • Having someone else write a paper or complete an assignment for you;
  • Writing a paper or complete an assignment for someone else; or
  • Sharing any course assignment with another student or allowing another student to view your work outside of the realm of peer review or assigned classroom group work.

Cheating is any attempt to gain undeserved academic credit for oneself or another, including:

  • Copying from another student’s test, quiz, assignment or lab work;
  • Allowing another student to copy your work;
  • Using an electronic device to access or share information during a test or quiz;
  • Obtaining or providing unapproved copies of tests or quizzes (or test/quiz questions);
  • Tampering with experimental data or creating data for experiments not performed or conducted;
  • Using unapproved materials during any class activity; or
  • Coercing someone else to complete an assignment or take a test or quiz for you (or doing any of the above for someone else).

The following items are also covered under this policy and could be subject to suspension or expulsion, even for a first offense:

  • Falsifying college records, forms or other documents;
  • Attempting to bribe faculty or staff to alter a grade;
  • Tampering with or destroying the work of other students;
  • Accessing computer systems or files without authorization; or
  • Sharing of Redlands Enterprise Network Credentials with others.

Consequences for Academic Misconduct

For a student’s first violation: If a professor determines that a student has cheated or plagiarized on any classroom assignment, the professor may deduct points up to a maximum of the full point value for that assignment. Additionally, the professor may require the student to re-do the assignment or recommend other appropriate action.

For a student’s second violation: The maximum penalty for a second violation, including in separate courses, is an “F” or “AW” grade for the course where the second violation occurs.

For any further violations: The maximum penalty for any further violations, including in separate courses, is suspension or expulsion from the College.

Some violations will not clearly fit in a category described above. In such cases, or when a student has multiple simultaneous violations, the incident should be sent directly to the Chief Academic Officer for review. Additionally, severe violations of this policy may, at the discretion of the Chief Academic Officer, result in course failure, suspension or expulsion, even if the student has no previous violations.

Student Appeals

If a student feels the judgment was in error, he/she may appeal the decision according to the following.

For a student’s first violation: The student can meet with the appropriate department head. The department head will collect evidence from the professor and student. The department head will decide to either uphold the professor’s sanctions, reduce or remove these sanctions, or, in the case of severe misconduct, provide sanctions beyond the point value of the disputed assignment. The department head will notify the professor and student of the decision, and this decision is final. In the event the department head is teaching the course, the final decision will rest with the Chief Academic Officer.

For a student’s second or third violation: As the penalty for second or third violations can result in automatic course failure, the appeal process will fall under Policy 601 Student Grade Appeals.