Academic Integrity

While teaching at Abilene Christian University, faculty members should expect to:

• Actively educate toward and encourage academic honesty and integrity.
• Consciously avoid conditions that encourage or excuse academic dishonesty and fraud.
• Have the right to require that a student present his or her ACU-issued photo ID in order to accept an examination or other item for evaluation.
• Determine whether the act is a violation of academic integrity or failure to understand the standards for academic integrity.
• Report and pursue all alleged violations of academic integrity.
• Avoid providing unfair advantage to a student. If it is determined that an instructor provided unfair advantage to a student by failing to report a violation of the academic integrity policy, this act may be reported to the Dean of the instructor’s college.

While enrolled at Abilene Christian University, the student should expect to:

• Have rights to an academic integrity hearing conducted at the appropriate level.
• Meet with the faculty member or other university official responsible for investigating and making decisions with regard to violations of academic integrity.
• Admit guilt and seek reparation.
• Have reasonable access to the information in the case file.
• Review evidence.
• Present counter evidence and/or witnesses on student’s own behalf.
• Have a non-representative and non-witnessing observer present during all meetings. A student may not be represented by an attorney at a departmental, college, or university academic integrity meeting.
• Continue attending and participating in the affected classes until all academic integrity appeals have been exhausted.

A department may choose to adopt specific departmental academic integrity response policies in consultation with the Dean of the college in addition to university policy. Appeals that relate to elements of the departmental policy follow the same procedure as the process defined to support the university policy.

The department chair should expect to:

• Ensure that all faculty, including new and adjunct faculty, are aware of departmental, college and university policies.
• Ensure that statements of appropriate policies are included in course syllabi.
• Consult with faculty who suspect a violation of academic integrity.

The Dean of the college should expect to:

• Promote a culture of academic integrity.
• Work with department chairs to ensure that all are prepared to consistently direct the application of academic integrity policies with their faculty and students.
• Ensure that records related to academic integrity violations are complete and provide them in a timely manner to the Dean of Student Life.
• Evaluate student appeals of the finding or consequence of an academic integrity violation in a thorough and unbiased way.

A representative from the Office of Student Life should expect to:

• Determine whether an incident should be processed through an academic department or through the Office of Student Life if the alleged violation occurred outside of a course context.
• Further investigate, deliberate and sanction a student if the student has a documented history of integrity violations and/or a pattern of misconduct.
• Consult with appropriate faculty and staff as needed.
• Ensure each student’s discipline file is accurate, secure and up-to-date.