Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Policy Statement

Durham Tech's mission is to ensure that all students develop the knowledge, skills, and networks needed to be successful in college, work, and life. Academic Dishonesty prevents students from achieving the subject mastery that will prepare them for future success in these areas. Therefore, the College establishes and follows a process for defining and addressing academic dishonesty when it occurs.

Procedure

Expectations for Employee Use of AI

In order to reduce any ambiguity surrounding appropriate uses of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), employees should clearly outline the policy for the use of generative AI tools in each course syllabus. Expectations for each assignment should be clearly indicated.  Different instructors may permit different levels of AI use which will be noted in the course syllabus.

In order to model appropriate, transparent, and ethical use of AI, employees are expected to disclose any use of AI in their classwork to students.

Expectations for Student Use of AI

Students are expected to review the syllabus for each course in which they are enrolled to understand the AI policy for each course and that different instructors may permit different levels of AI use. Students are expected to review the syllabus for each course in which they are enrolled to understand the course’s AI policy.  Different instructors may permit different levels of AI use which will be noted in the course syllabus.

If used in any capacity for an assignment, generative AI requires proper acknowledgement according to instructor instructions for any and all generated work.

If a student is unsure of any policy or any assignment-specific directions – including whether or not a tool is considered generative AI – students should reach out to their instructor for clarification prior to using the technology or completing the assignment.

Students are responsible for verifying the accuracy of citations and references used in their writing and may be asked to verbally explain the assignment and writing process during in-class discussions and/or in a one-on-one meeting with the instructor. Regardless of whether or not the use of generative AI is permitted or prohibited for an assignment, students are expected to adhere to Durham Tech’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Expectations for Both Employee and Student Use of AI

Everyone should avoid inputting personal, confidential, or sensitive data into public AI tools.

Student Violations

When a student is alleged to have committed an act of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and the unauthorized use of Artificial Intelligence, the following procedure will be followed:

1. Within five (5) working days, the instructor who has identified the offense will submit an Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Notification form, attaching documentation of the incident, including details of how and when the student was notified in writing. The form will be routed to the program chair/director, the department’s dean, and the Vice President, Chief Academic Officer (hereafter “Vice President”). Academics and Guided Career Pathways will notify the instructor within three (3) working days of any prior academic integrity violations by the student. An instance of Gross Academic Misconduct may follow a more expedited process at the discretion of the Vice President.
    

2. In the first case of an academic integrity offense, the instructor may choose to designate the offense as a “warning” or “violation.” Intention is not a factor when determining whether submitted work contains an academic integrity offense.

   An offense designated as a “warning” is not considered an act of academic dishonesty. In the case of a “warning” designation, the instructor may assign a grade of zero (0) for the assignment or assess a less strict penalty. A student has only one opportunity for an offense to be designated as a “warning.” Additionally, students may not receive a “warning” after first receiving a “violation.”

   An academic integrity offense designated as a “violation” is treated as a first offense of academic dishonesty, and the instructor will assign a grade of zero (0) to the assignment.

   Students charged with a first offense with either a “violation” or a “warning” designation may be required to complete a self-paced Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Tutorial in the learning management system (LMS) on understanding academic integrity. Students may be encouraged to communicate with other College support staff, such as a tutor in the Center for Academic Excellence, their Success Coach, their College Liaison, or an Academic Advisor.

   If the student wishes to appeal the allegation of an academic integrity offense, whether it is designated as a “violation” or a “warning,” they should meet with the instructor within 6 working days of the reported incident to attempt to resolve the matter.  If they wish to further appeal, they should communicate with the instructor’s chair/program director within 10 working days of the discussion with the instructor.   Contact information for the appropriate chair/director will be included in communication to the student. The Chair/Program Director will be the final arbiter of a first offense.

   Students may not use the Student Grievance policy and procedure to challenge an individual assignment grade. However, the student may use the Student Grievance policy and procedure to challenge their final course grade.
    

3. A second academic integrity offense, regardless of whether the initial case was classified as a warning or a violation, will be treated as a second academic dishonesty violation.
    

4. In the case of a second violation of academic dishonesty, regardless of whether the second offense occurs in the same course/semester or in a different or subsequent course/semester, Academics and Guided Career Pathways will notify the student and instruct them to stop attending class. Academics and Guided Career Pathways will also notify the instructor, program chair/director, dean, and appropriate vice president (if the offense occurred in a division other than Academics and Guided Career Pathways), as well as Information Technology Services (to remove the student from the course LMS site) and Financial Aid (scholarship ineligibility).

   The instructor will then assign a grade of F for the course. Students who are removed from a class for academic dishonesty cannot receive a grade of W for the course. Students may use the Student Grievance policy and procedure to challenge a final course grade. If the student appeals the second finding of academic dishonesty via the Student Grievance policy and procedure, the student will be allowed to remain in the class until the appeal is resolved.
    

5. In the case of a third violation of academic dishonesty, Academics and Guided Career Pathways will file a Student Code of Conduct report and request that the student meet with the Vice President within three (3) working days of the student’s notification of the violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

   If, upon review of the evidence, the Vice President finds the student to be not guilty of academic dishonesty, the student will be allowed to resume class attendance immediately and make up any work missed due to the suspension. If the Vice President finds that the student has committed a third violation of academic dishonesty, the Vice President will recommend a sanction to the President. Sanctions are up to the President’s discretion and may include suspension from the College. If a student is found guilty of an Academic Integrity policy violation and suspended from the College due to the violation, the student’s suspension will be recorded on the student’s official College record.
    

6. In the case of Gross Academic Misconduct, the Vice President may recommend a more severe sanction beyond a warning or standard violation, reflecting the seriousness of the offense.
    
7. Some Healthcare, Public Safety, and English for Academic Purposes and other units have individual policies and procedures aligned with their standards.  Please consult with your area's appropriate administrator for clarification.
    
8. Reports of Academic Integrity policy violations are kept on file with Academics and Guided Career Pathways for at least four (4) years. 

Employee Violations

Durham Tech upholds the same standards of academic integrity for faculty and staff as it does for students. When an employee is alleged to have committed an act of academic dishonesty, the employee will be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in the Disciplinary Actions, Suspension, and Termination of Employment Policy. 

Definitions

Academic Integrity – The pursuit and presentation of learning and scholarship in an honest, transparent, and respectful way that values personal responsibility, original expression, and proper attribution.

Academic Dishonesty – A violation of academic integrity, academic dishonesty is the participation or collaboration in specific prohibited forms of conduct. Participation or collaboration may be active (such as submitting a term paper that includes plagiarized work) or passive (such as receiving a copy of a test before class).

Acknowledgment – A statement that describes how AI was used in the preparation, research, writing, editing, or organization of an academic assignment, thesis, article, or project.  The statement will also identify the specific AI tool used.    

Gross Academic Misconduct – A deliberate, reckless, or severe violation of academic integrity that indicates a clear intention to undermine and/or a refusal to engage in the learning process.  Examples include third party platforms, devices, AI tools, and others that complete online coursework instead of the registered student. In instances of gross academic misconduct, a warning is not appropriate. The Vice President may choose to impose a penalty that goes beyond this policy in an instance of gross academic misconduct.

Offense – An instance of academic dishonesty. When reported, a first offense may be designated as a warning or a violation. Subsequent offenses are considered violations.

Plagiarism – The representation of another person’s work, words, thoughts, or ideas, as one’s own. Plagiarism includes (but is not limited to) copying material and using ideas from an article, book, unpublished paper, another student, or the Internet without proper documentation of references or without properly enclosing quoted material in quotation marks. Plagiarism also includes sentences that follow an original source too closely, occurring when an individual simply substitutes synonyms for another person’s words.

Unauthorized Assistance or Collaboration – Use of unauthorized assistance or collaboration is a form of academic dishonesty which may include but is not limited to the following:

• Sharing information about an exam with a student who has not taken that exam; 
• Obtaining information about the contents of a test the student has not taken; 
• Unauthorized use of smart phones, programmable calculators, or other electronic storage devices;  
• Sending or receiving text messaging or other forms of communication during an exam; 
• Unauthorized use of translation software and assistance from native speakers or advanced-level students in foreign language classes; 
• Sharing Durham Tech usernames/passwords with others, allowing them to log in as you, or logging in to College systems under another person’s username may also be a violation of Appropriate Use of Computing Resources; and
• Unauthorized and/or unacknowledged use of software, including generative AI, to complete assignments.

Violation – The act of breaking a rule or standard. An academic integrity violation breaks Durham Tech’s standards of academic integrity.

Warning – A notice that an action is potentially in violation of the standards of academic integrity.

Working Days – Days the College is open and operating under a normal schedule. This excludes weekends, closings due to adverse conditions, and holidays.