NUMBER: STAF 6.25
SECTION: Division of Student Affairs
SUBJECT: Academic Responsibility
LATEST REVISION: July 1, 1994
DATE: June 1, 1992 (formerly STAF 8.01)
Policy for: Columbia Campus
Procedure for: Columbia Campus
Authorized by: Dennis A. Pruitt
Issued by: Housing (Approved by the Faculty Senate)
___________________________________________________
I. RULE OF ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY
It is the responsibility of every student at the University of
South Carolina at Columbia to adhere steadfastly to
truthfulness and to avoid dishonesty, fraud, or deceit of any
type in connection with any academic program. Any student
who violates this rule or who knowingly assists another to
violate this rule shall be subject to discipline.
A. This Rule is intended to prohibit all forms of academic
dishonesty and should be interpreted broadly to carry out that
purpose. The following examples illustrate conduct which
violates this Rule, but this list is not intended to be an
exhaustive compilation of conduct prohibited by the Rule.
1. Giving or receiving unauthorized assistance, or attempting to
give or receive such assistance, in connection with the
performance of any academic work.
2. Unauthorized use of materials or information of any type or
the unauthorized use of any electronic or mechanical
device in connection with the completion of any academic
work.
3. Access to the contents of any test or examination or the
purchase, sale, or theft of any test or examination
prior to its administration.
4. Unauthorized use of another person's work without proper
acknowledgement of source.
5. Intentional misrepresentation by word or action of any
situation of fact, or intentional omission of material
fact, so as to mislead any person in connection with any
academic work (including, without limitation, the
scheduling, completion, performance, or submission of any
such work).
6. Offering or giving any favor or thing of value for the
purpose of influencing improperly a grade or other
evaluation of a student in an academic program.
7. Conduct intended to interfere with an instructor's ability to
evaluate accurately a student's competency or
performance in an academic program.
B. An academic program includes any graduate and undergraduate course,
independent study or research for academic credit, laboratory,
internship, externship, clinical program, practicum, field
placement, or other form of study or work offered in
furtherance of the academic mission of the University.
Academic work includes any work performed or assigned to be
performed in connection with any academic program.
C. This Rule applies to all students of the University at Columbia
whether full-time orpart-time.
D. A person's knowledge or intent may be inferred from the
circumstances of an alleged violation.
E. Whenever a student is uncertain as to whether conduct would
violate this Rule, it is the responsibility of the student
to seek clarification from the appropriate faculty member or
instructor prior to engaging in such conduct.
II. ACADEMIC DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
The following procedures govern enforcement of the Rule of Academic
Responsibility (the Rule) at the University of South Carolina -
Columbia. Sections A., B., D., E., and F. shall apply to all
alleged violations of the Rule. Section C. shall apply unless
substitute procedural rules have been adopted by the Faculty
of the college or school in which the matter is to be heard and
have been approved by the University Academic Responsibility
Committee (the University Committee).
The Faculty of any college or school may from time to time adopt
procedural rules different from the procedures set forth in
Section C., to govern the disposition of an alleged rule violation
after the matter has been reported to the appropriate dean in
that college or school and the accused student has not admitted a
violation pursuant to Section B.1. Such substitute rules shall
take effect only upon their approval by the University Committee.
Any procedural rules adopted by a college or school in substitution for
Section C. must require that fair and adequate notice of the
allegations and of any proceedings be given to the accused student,
that the accused student be given a reasonable opportunity to be
heard and to present evidence on his/her behalf before an
impartial committee, that an adequate record be made of any
proceedings and of the disposition of the matter, and that any
finding of a violation be reported to the Office of Student
Development.
A person alleged to have violated the Rule of Academic Responsibility
while a student at the University remains subject to these
enforcement procedures even if that person no longer is a student
at the University. The term "academic program" as used in these
procedures refers to an academic program as defined in the Rule of
Academic Responsibility.
A. Report of Alleged Violation
1. Report by Instructor: Any instructor in an academic program
who reasonably believes that a student may have violated
the Rule shall report in writing the facts giving rise
to that belief to the appropriate dean as defined in
Section A.3. Prior to reporting the matter, the
instructor may discuss the matter with the student or
otherwise investigate the circumstances of the alleged
violation.
2. Report by Persons Other Than Instructor: Any person other than
the instructor who reasonably believes that a student may
have violated the Rule should report the facts giving rise
to that belief to the instructor of the academic program
in which the violation allegedly occurred.
Whenever a report is made to an instructor under this
subsection, if the instructor believes that the facts as
allege would constitute a violation if proven to be true,
the instructor shall report the matter in writing to the
appropriate dean as defined in Section A.3. Otherwise
the instructor shall notify the person making the report
of his/her decision not to pursue the matter, and that
person may thereafter report the matter in writing directly
to the appropriate dean if that person continues to believe
that a violation may have occurred.
3. Appropriate Dean Defined: The appropriate dean for purposes of
reporting an alleged violation of the Rule is the dean of
the college or school offering the academic program in
which the alleged violation occurred. If the academic
program is offered independently of any specific college
or school or is offered jointly by more than one college
or school, the report should be made to the Office of
the Provost, which will then designate the appropriate
dean and forward the report to that dean. The fact that
a report is made to the incorrect college or school shall
not be cause for dismissal of the allegations. Upon
discovery of the error, the report should be filed in
the correct office. The dean of any college or school
may designate an associate dean or assistant dean to
receive reports of alleged violations and to perform any
responsibilities of the dean under these procedures.
B. Disposition of Matter upon Admission of Violation
1. Admission of Violation: An accused student, may at any time,
admit a violation of the Rule by providing to the
instructor or the appropriate deana written statement
admitting the allegation or allegations. The matter
shall thereafter be handled as provided for in Section
B.2.
2. Consent to Sanction:
a. An accused student who admits, under Section B.1., that a
violation has occurred may also consent in writing to
a specific sanction recommended by the instructor in
the academic program in which the alleged violation
occurred. The sanction must be one of the sanctions
permitted under Section D. of these Procedures.
The instructor shall promptly deliver to the appropriate
dean the student's written admission of a violation
and written consent to a recommended sanction. the
appropriate dean shall them inform the Chair of the
school or college Academic Responsibility Committee
(the College Committee) of the nature of the
allegations, of the admission of a violation, of the
existence of any previous violation by the accused
student, and of the recommended sanction. The Chair of
the College Committee shall either approve the
imposition of the recommended sanction of convene the
College Committee within ten (10) days, at which time
the College Committee must either impose the
recommended sanction without modification or schedule
a hearing, to be held not less than five (5) work days
nor more than 15 work day later, for the sole purpose
of determining an appropriate sanction, which may be
greater or lesser than the sanction recommended by the
instructor.
b. If the accused student admits, under Section B.1., that a
violation has occurred, but there is no agreement
between the accused student and the instructor as to a
recommended sanction, the Appropriate Dean shall
convene the College Committee to hear the matter, not
less than five (5) days nor more than fifteen (15) days
later, for the sole purpose of determining an
appropriate sanction.
c. At a hearing held under this section, Section B.2., to
determine an appropriate sanction, the accused student
shall be given the opportunity to present relevant
evidence in mitigation of the violation, and the College
Committee may consider such other relevant evidence or
testimony as the College Committee may deem appropriate.
The Appropriate Dean shall notify the College Committee
of any prior violations of the Rule by the accused
student.
d. At the conclusion of any matter in which a violation is
admitted, the Appropriate Dean shall notify the Office
of Student Development of the offense and sanction
imposed.
C. Disposition of Contested Allegations
1. Appointment of Investigator and Notice to Accused. Upon
receiving a written report of an alleged violation of the
Rule, the Dean shall investigate the allegations or shall
appoint one or more persons not serving on either the
College or University Academic Responsibility Committee to
investigate the allegations. The Dean also shall promptly
notify the accused student of the allegations by letter,
delivered personally or by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the last know address of the accused student.
The notice also shall inform the student that an
investigation is being conducted and that, at the
conclusion of that investigation, the allegations may be
dismissed or forwarded for further proceedings.
2. Conduct of Investigation. The Dean or other person or persons
appointed to investigate a report of an allege violation
may interview witnesses, including the accused student,
and review any documents or other information that may
assist in determining the facts relevant to the alleged
violation. An accused student who refuses to answer
inquiries regarding the matter shall not be subject to
further discipline for failure to answer questions
regarding the investigation. Finders of fact, however,
may draw appropriate inferences from the failure to answer.
3. Submission of Investigation Report. When an investigator has
been appointed by the Dean, the investigator shall report
to the Dean, within ten (10) work days after appointment,
unless a reasonable extension of time is granted by the Dean,
summarizing the factual findings of the investigation and,
with regard to each allegation of a violation of the Rule,
recommending either that the Dean dismiss the allegation or
forward the allegation to the College Committee for hearing.
At any time during the investigation, the investigator may
present to the Dean additional allegations against the
accused student or other persons, based upon information
obtained by the investigator. At that time, the Dean
shall notify the accused student or students of the nature of
the additional alleged violations as provided in Section C.1.
If the investigation is conducted by the Dean, the Dean may
determine that additional charges are appropriate and shall
then notify the accused student or students of the nature of
the additional alleged violations as provided in Section C.1.
4. Action by Dean Upon Receipt of Investigation Report. Upon
completion of investigation by the Dean or within a
reasonable time following receipt of the investigation
report, generally not to exceed one week, the Dean
shall take any of the following actions as may be deemed
appropriate in the discretion of the Dean:
a. Upon determination that there is no reasonable basis to
support an allegation of a Rule violation, the Dean
may dismiss that allegation. The Dean promptly shall
notify the accused student, the party who initially
reported the allegation, the instructor in the affected
academic program, and the Office of Student Development
of the dismissal, and no reference to the dismissed
allegation shall be placed in the records of the
accused student;
b. Upon determining that there is a reasonable basis to support
lgilegation of a Rule violation, the Dean shall refer
the allegation to the College Committee for hearing and
disposition, as provided in Section C.5.;
c. Upon determining that additional investigation of the
original allegations or of additional allegations is
needed, the Dean may request further investigation of
the matter prior to disposition under either paragraph
(a) or (b) above.
5. Referral of Allegations to College Committee.
a. Upon a decision by the Dean under Subsection C.4.(b) to
refer a matter for hearing, the investigator or other
person appointed by the Dean (the Presenting Party)
shall prepare a Statement of Allegations sufficient to
notify the accused student of the circumstances allege
to constitute a violation of the Rule. The Presenting
Party shall provide the Statement of Allegations to the
Chair of the College Committee (the Chair), along with
a list of witnesses likely to be called to testify at
the hearing and copies of any documents likely to
be produced at the hearing.
b. The Presenting Party also shall notify the Office of Student
Development or other appropriate University office and
request information regarding any prior violations by
the accused student of the Rule of Academic
Responsibility or prior academic disciplinary rules.
The Presenting Party shall maintain the confidentiality
of information of prior violations and shall not reveal
such information to the College Committee until the
sanction phase of a hearing.
c. Not less than three work days prior to the Hearing Date set
in Subsection C.6., the accused student shall provide
to the Chair and to the Presenting Party a list of
witnesses likely to be called to testify at the
hearing, copies of any additional documents likely to
be produced, and notice of the student's intention to
have another person selected by the student as an
advisor present at the hearing.
d. The Chair may delay the hearing or exclude from the hearing
any witnesses or documents not identified prior to the
hearing as required in this Section C.5., if the lack
of prior notice would unfairly prejudice either party.
The Chair, at its discretion, may delay the hearing or
refuse to allow the person selected by the student as
an advisor to participate actively in the hearing, if
the required notice of that person's intended presence
is not provided as required in Section C.5.(c).
6. Hearing Date. Upon receiving the Statement of Allegations,
the Chair shall set a date for a hearing, to be held not
less than ten (10) work days nor more than twenty-one (21)
work days after notice of the hearing is mailed to the
accused student. Notice of the Hearing Date also shall
be sent to the instructor in the affected academic
program. Upon notice to the accused student and the
Presenting Party, the Chair may change the hearing date
within the permitted time period, provided there is no
objected. The time provisions of this section may be
waived by the Chair, with the consent of both the accused
student and the Presenting Party.
7. Notice to Accused Student. Upon setting a hearing date, the
Chair shall deliver to the accused student by first-class
mail, return receipt requested, the following information:
a. A copy of the Statement of Allegations;
b. The Presenting Party's list of possible witnesses and
copies of any documents likely to be presented at the
hearing;
c. Notice of the time and place of the hearing;
d. Notice of the duty to provide a list of witnesses and
documents to the Chair and the Presenting Party three
days prior to the hearing date and of the duty to
notify the Chair three days prior to the hearing that
the accused student intends to have another person
selected by the student as an advisor present at the
hearing
e. Notice of the availability of assistance from a Student
Advocate provided through Student Government;
f. A copy of these Academic Disciplinary Procedures and of
the Rule of Academic Responsibility; and
g. Specific notice that the hearing is the student's
opportunity to defend against the allegations brought
an that expulsion or suspension may result from a
finding that any violation occurred.
8. Attendance at Hearing. All hearings shall be confidential and
closed to persons other than the College Committee, the
Presenting Party, the instructor in the affected academic
program, the witnesses during the time of their testimony,
the accused student, and one person selected by the
accused student, unless an open hearing is requested in
writing by the accused student at least three days prior
to the hearing. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to diminish the Chair's authority to take any
necessary measures to maintain order and decorum during
a hearing, including the removal of any persons acting
in a disruptive manner. The accused student shall attend
the hearing. In the event that the accused student does
not appear at the appointed time and place for the
hearing, and the absence is without excuse, the College
Committee may elect to hear the matter in absentia. The
instructor in the academic program in which a violation
is alleged to have occurred may attend the hearing in
its entirety, but shall not participate in the hearing
unless called by either side as a witness or otherwise
questioned by the College Committee.
9. Conduct of Initial Hearing Phase. The hearing shall be
conducted in two parts. During the first stage, evidence
proving or refuting the occurrence of a violation shall be
offered. At the outset of the initial hearing, the Chair
shall provide each member of the College Committee with
a copy of the Statement of Allegations or shall read the
Statement of Allegations in its entirety. The Presenting
Party appointed pursuant to Rule C.1. shall proceed by
presenting evidence supporting the allegations set forth
in the Statement of Allegations. The Presenting Party
may question witnesses and offer other relevant evidence
in support of the allegations. The accused student, or
his/her advisor, shall have the right to question the
witnesses.
At the conclusion of the Presenting Party's case, the accused
student, or his/her advisor, may present and question
witnesses and offer any other relevant evidence for the
purpose of defending against or mitigating the
allegations set forth in the Statement of Allegations.
The Presenting Party shall have the right to question
the witnesses.
Formal rules of evidence do not apply and any relevant evidence
is admissible, including hearsay, unless excluded by the
Chair for good cause. Members of the College Committee
also may question any witness presented by the Presenting
Party or the accused student.
After all evidence has been presented, the Presenting Party
may make a closing statement to the College Committee,
followed by a closing statement of the accused student.
The College Committee shall then deliberate in private
until a decision is reached on each allegation. A
finding of a violation requires a determination by
majority votes of the College Committee that facts
sufficient to constitute a violation have been
proven by clear and convicting evidence.
If the College Committee determines that a violation has not
been adequately proven, the College Committee shall
prepare written findings of fact and conclusions
dismissing the allegation. The Chair shall send a copy
of the findings and conclusions to the accused student
and to the Presenting Party. Written notice of the
dismissal also shall be sent to the Appropriate Dean,
the instructor in the affected academic program, and
the University Office of Student Development. If no
appeal from the dismissal is filed as provided in
Section E.4. or if the dismissal is upheld on appeal,
records referring to the dismissed allegations shall be
destroyed and no reference to the dismissed allegation
shall appear in the records of the accused student.
10. Determination of Sanction. If the College Committee
determines that a violation has been adequately proven,
the College Committee shall then reconvene to consider
evidence in aggravation or mitigation of the offense for
the purpose of determining sanction. The Presenting
Party shall at this time inform the College Committee as
to any prior violations of the Rule by the accused
student and shall present other relevant evidence in
mitigation or aggravation of the offense. The accused
student may then present relevant evidence in mitigation
of the offense and may make a personal statement to the
College Committee. The College Committee shall then
deliberate in private and agree upon an appropriate
sanction by majority vote. The College Committee
promptly shall send written findings of fact and
conclusions, along with notice of any sanctions imposed,
to the accused student, the Appropriate Dean, the
Presenting Party, the instructor in the affected
academic program, and the University Office of Student
Development. The College Committee also shall notify
the student of the right to appeal the decision on the
merits, the sanction, or both, pursuant to these
Procedures.
11. Record of Hearing. An audio recording or other record of
the hearing shall be made and retained in the Office of
the Appropriate Dean.
However, if an appeal is taken from the decision of the College
Committee, the absence of a verbatim record due to
failure of the recording equipment or other reason shall
not be deemed to prejudice the rights of any party to the
appeal if the Chair is able to prepare or have prepared
a detailed written summary of the proceedings, certified
by the College Committee to be accurate and reasonably
complete.
D. Sanction
The following sanctions may be imposed upon a student found to have
violated the Rule of Academic Responsibility:
1. permanent expulsion from the University;
2. definite suspension from the University for a period of not less
than one semester;
3. reprimand to be administered orally by the Chair of the College
Committee to the student upon the exhaustion of any
appeals, with a record of the reprimand to the maintained
in the Office of Student Development;
4. a Letter of Warning to be recorded in the Office of Student
Development (First Offense Only); and
5. a combination of the above sanctions.
A prior violation will be treated as a a significant aggravating
factor in determining the appropriate sanction for a
subsequent offense.
The sanctions provided for in this Section are intended to be
disciplinary, and nothing in these procedures, including the
imposition of any sanction, shall be interpreted to limit
the academic authority of an instructor to determine an
appropriate grade for a student who has violated the Rule.
If an instructor determines that, because of academic
dishonesty, a student's performance in an academic program
merits a grade reduction or a failing grade, the instructor's
authority to award such an appropriate grade is not limited
by the imposition of any sanction under this Section.
It shall be the responsibility of the Appropriate Dean to notify
proper University offices of the suspension or expulsion of
a student.
E. Appeals
Whenever a matter has been hear under separate procedural rules
adopted by a college or school, the references in this
Section to the Presenting Party shall be construed to mean
the instructor in the academic program i which the alleged
violation occurred or such other person as may be designated
by the rules of the college or school to prosecute the
matter.
1. Grounds for Appeal of Dismissal. Upon a dismissal of an
allegation by the College Committee, the Presenting
Party may appeal the decision to the University
Committee on Academic Responsibility only on the ground
that the College Committee erred in its conclusion that
the facts as set forth by the College Committee in its
written findings did not constitute violation of the
Rule.
2. Grounds for Appeal of Finding of Violation. Upon the
finding of a violation by the College Committee, the
accused student may appeal the decision to the
University Committee on any or all of the following
grounds:
a. that specific procedural rules were not followed,
resulting in prejudice to the accused student;
b. that the facts as set forth by the College Committee in
its written findings of fact do not establish a
violation of the Rule;
c. that there is no evidence in the record to support a
finding of fact by the College Committee;
d. that there is specific evidence of improper bias on the
part of any member of the College Committee; or
e. that there is specific new evidence, which could not
reasonably have been discovered prior to the hearing
and which likely would have changed the outcome of
the hearing.
3. Appeal of Sanction. Either the Presenting Party or the
accused student or both may appeal the sanction imposed
by the College Committee on the ground that the
sanction is unjust or inappropriate.
4. Notice of Appeal. A party appealing the decision rendered
or sanction imposed by a College Committee must notify
the Chair of the University Committee on Academic
Responsibility in writing not later than ten (10)
work days after the written findings of fact and
conclusions are sent to the party appealing. The
notice of appeal should set forth the specific ground
or grounds of the appeal. Copies of any notice of
appeal shall be sent to the Presenting Party or the
accused student (whichever did not file the notice of
appeal), the Appropriate Dean, the University Office of
Student Development, and the instructor in the affected
academic program.
5. Access to Record. Upon receiving a notice of appeal, the
Chair of the University Committee promptly shall request
from the chair of the College Committee a copy of the
record of hearing, as prepared pursuant to Subsection
C.11. Upon receiving the record, the Chair of the
University Committee shall notify the Presenting Party
and the accused student of its availability. Both
parties shall have ten (10) work days after notice of
the record's availability is sent in which to submit to
the Chair of the University Committee any further
written argument or information from the record to
substantiate or refute the appeal.
6. Consideration of Appeal. After receiving the record of
hearing and any written materials provided under
Subsection E.5., the University Committee shall meet to
consider the matter. The University Committee may
decide the matter on the written record or may allow the
accused student and the Presenting Party to appear before
the University Committee upon reasonable notice. The
University Committee promptly shall issue a written
opinion that: a) affirms the decision of the College
Committee; b) remands the matter to the College Committee
with a clear statement of specific reasons for requiring
further consideration of the merits, the sanction, or
both; or c) reverses or modifies the decision of the
College Committee as to the merits, the sanction, or
both. (The University Committee also may, for example,
affirm a matter in part, such as by affirming a finding
of a violation, and remand in part, such as for
reconsideration of sanction.) The Chair of the
University Committee shall send copies of the written
opinion to the accused student, the Appropriate Dean, the
Presenting Party, the instructor in the affected academic
program, and the University Office of Student
Development. The Dean shall notify the Chair of the
College Committee for any further proceedings that may be
required.
F. Composition of College Committees
1. Composition
a. Each college or school shall create a standing college-
level Academic Responsibility Committee or shall
designate an existing committee to serve in that
capacity. Subject to prior approval of the University
Committee on Academic Responsibility, a college or
school also may create such other inferior committees
or councils, including student councils, as it may
find appropriate to consider academic disciplinary
matters, provided that both the Presenting Party and
the accused student have a right to appeal before the
college-level committee, pursuant to rules established
by the college.
b. The College Committee shall consist of not fewer than three
full-time faculty and not fewer than two students. A
majority of the College Committee shall be faculty.
College Committee members shall be selected in the
same manner as faculty and students are selected fro
other standing committees within the college or
school. In cases involving graduate students, the
Dean shall appoint graduate students to replace any
undergraduate student members of the College Committee
or purposes of that matter. For purposes of hearing
a matter, a quorum of the College Committee shall be
a majority of the College Committee, consisting of
not less than 50% of the student members and not less
than 50% of the faculty members.
c. No Committee member shall consider a matter in which that
person is unable to serve with impartiality. The
accused student may, without having to show cause,
have any one committee member removed from hearing a
matter involving that student, in which case the
Appropriate Dean shall appoint a replacement member.
2. Public Notification of Disposition. Each College Committee
shall prepare a report, not less than annually,
summarizing matters that have come before the College
Committee and the disposition of each matter. The report
shall not contain any information that would identify
the parties or witnesses to the proceeding.
G. Effective Date
These Academic Disciplinary Procedures shall take effect on August
15, 1994, and shall govern all proceedings commenced on or
after that date, including proceedings regarding allegation
of misconduct occurring prior to the effective date.
Proceedings commenced prior to the effective date shall
continue to be conducted in compliance with procedural rules
in effect at the time the proceedings commenced.
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