Academic work is a shared enterprise that depends on a commitment to truthfulness. Sarah Lawrence students are expected to abide by the standards of intellectual integrity that govern the broader academic community to which the College belongs. These standards entail acknowledging the origin of the ideas, data, and forms of expression that one employs in one’s own work; giving due credit to the sources from which one has borrowed; and affording one’s reader a means of consulting those sources directly. Different academic disciplines may have varying conventions of citation and acknowledgment, and electronic media have increased the availability of oral and printed sources. Students are expected to consult faculty members, library staff, and academic style manuals for specific, up-to-date guidelines on citation.
In addition to the true representation of an individual’s work, academic integrity requires that students not abet others in any misrepresentation of their work. It also requires that students not interfere with the access of other students to shared material such as library books, course packets, etc. The Esther Raushenbush Library offers citation and reference educational workshops throughout the academic year. For further information, students may contact the library at reference@sarahlawrence.edu. Students who are unclear about proper citation or who have been found to have violated the academic integrity policy are especially urged to attend these workshops.
Offenses
Offenses against academic integrity include (but are not limited to) the following:
- plagiarism
- failure to properly cite sources
- submitting under a student’s own name work that is not entirely theirs
- cheating or abetting others in the act of cheating
- falsification of information, data, or attributions
- submitting the same work for more than one class, within the same or different semesters, without the express permission of all faculty involved
- stealing or defacing library materials or otherwise rendering them inaccessible to others
Procedures
Faculty must discuss a suspected violation with the student (in person whenever possible). If a teacher discovers work believed to violate academic integrity after the semester ends, the teacher should confer with the Office of the Dean of Studies about how best to proceed. Resolution will be handled through the processes that follow.
Any student who has reason to believe that another student has committed a violation of the policy on academic integrity must immediately speak with the faculty or staff member involved who shall be in charge of further proceedings. If, after this initial conversation, the faculty or staff member feels that the concern is justified, they shall immediately speak with the student believed to have committed the violation and that student’s don.
Informal Resolution
Once the teacher has spoken with the student about the violation of the policy of academic integrity, the violation may be resolved informally by one or both of the following means:
- The faculty member may refuse to accept the work in question and/or require that it be redone.
- The Office of the Dean of Studies, in consultation with the faculty or staff member, may issue the student an informal warning and a clarification of College policies. The Committee on Student Work recommends that all informal resolutions be communicated to the Office of the Dean of Studies by filling out a Report of Informal Resolution form. Informal resolutions are used internally by the College, along with evaluations, to monitor a student’s academic progress.
Formal Complaint
Faculty or staff members filing a formal complaint (one that may result in institutional discipline against a student) must provide the Office of the Dean of Studies with evidence in writing. This must include a copy of the work in question, a description of the alleged offense and how it was discovered, and anything else relevant to the charges. The Office of the Dean of Studies will make this evidence available to the student and don. The student will also have the opportunity to present the office with any materials deemed relevant to the charge.
Hearings of formal complaints may be held in person or via teleconference. Students may also elect to respond in writing to the charge. If the student elects to respond in writing, the committee will base its decision on the evidence presented by the faculty bringing the charge and on the written response.
When hearings are held in person (or via teleconference), the committee reviews the evidence in the presence of the student, faculty or staff member, and the student’s don. Directly after the review and discussion, the committee will decide whether or not a violation meriting disciplinary action on the part of the College has occurred. The student, faculty or staff member, and don are notified in writing of the decision.
If the committee decides that the student has not committed an offense or that there is insufficient evidence for a decision, no record of the inquiry shall be retained in the student’s files. If new information is presented at a later time, the faculty or staff member involved is responsible for reopening the charge and providing all relevant materials for re-examination by the committee.
If the committee decides that the student has violated the policy on academic integrity, the committee shall decide which penalties are appropriate, including a letter of warning, academic probation, suspension for a specified period, expulsion, or recommendation to the provost and president that the degree be revoked (in the case of a student already graduated). As always, the faculty member alone determines whether credit will be reduced. The student, don, and parent(s) or legal guardian(s) shall be notified in writing of any penalties. A finding that the student has violated the College’s policy on academic integrity becomes part of the student’s permanent academic record and will be disclosed to outside institutions or agencies, e.g., graduate schools and state bar associations, upon request.