Guest Column: Know your rights: Academic Dishonesty
By Katie McLaughlin and Robert Drost
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: Opinion
Imagine you are a freshman in a 100 level class.
Your first major assignment is a research paper. Without much experience in college level writing, you write the essay to the best of your ability using the writing skills you developed in high school.
A few weeks after you turn in your paper, you get an e-mail from your professor asking you to meet with her after class. You agree, assuming that maybe you didn't do too hot on the paper.
When you meet with the professor, though, it is much worse. She tells you that you engaged in plagiarism and academic dishonesty for not properly citing your sources.
In your essay, you cited direct quotes but not ideas from the sources you used. You have done this all through high school without penalty and never imagined that this could potentially be a problem.
However, this particular professor does not take academic dishonesty lightly. She then tells you that she has no choice but to fail you for the course. You are absolutely stunned at what is happening, and can't understand why this professor is doing this to you.
Unfortunately, this situation happens more often than you would think. Fortunately, if you find yourself in this situation, there are options. Initially when a professor thinks someone has committed academic dishonesty, the first thing they need to do is confront the student.
Academic dishonesty can be one of many different things. Cheating in the classroom, plagiarism and unauthorized possession of academic materials can all lead to a hearing on the grounds of academic dishonesty.
After confronting the student, the professor can do one of three things: assign a grading penalty and simply document it with Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services, assign a grading penalty and request that the student has a hearing with CRSCS, or simply to request a hearing in front of a CRSCS staff member.
If at any point students believes that they have been wrongly accused of academic dishonesty by a professor, they too can request a hearing with CRSCS.
Your first major assignment is a research paper. Without much experience in college level writing, you write the essay to the best of your ability using the writing skills you developed in high school.
A few weeks after you turn in your paper, you get an e-mail from your professor asking you to meet with her after class. You agree, assuming that maybe you didn't do too hot on the paper.
When you meet with the professor, though, it is much worse. She tells you that you engaged in plagiarism and academic dishonesty for not properly citing your sources.
In your essay, you cited direct quotes but not ideas from the sources you used. You have done this all through high school without penalty and never imagined that this could potentially be a problem.
However, this particular professor does not take academic dishonesty lightly. She then tells you that she has no choice but to fail you for the course. You are absolutely stunned at what is happening, and can't understand why this professor is doing this to you.
Unfortunately, this situation happens more often than you would think. Fortunately, if you find yourself in this situation, there are options. Initially when a professor thinks someone has committed academic dishonesty, the first thing they need to do is confront the student.
Academic dishonesty can be one of many different things. Cheating in the classroom, plagiarism and unauthorized possession of academic materials can all lead to a hearing on the grounds of academic dishonesty.
After confronting the student, the professor can do one of three things: assign a grading penalty and simply document it with Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services, assign a grading penalty and request that the student has a hearing with CRSCS, or simply to request a hearing in front of a CRSCS staff member.
If at any point students believes that they have been wrongly accused of academic dishonesty by a professor, they too can request a hearing with CRSCS.
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