Academic dishonesty (plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification of data) is a breach of the ethics of scholarship and a violation of one of the central norms of an academic community. Because reports of academic dishonesty are most likely to arise from work done in a course or for a divisional project, a member of the college faculty usually brings forward the report. When such a report is brought forward, the procedure is as follows:

1. The faculty member will inform the student and the School dean that a violation of academic honesty may have occurred. The School dean will inform the dean of advising of the violation.  The faculty member will provide all documentation to the dean of advising, who will meet with both the student and faculty member, and recommend a course of action. If the dean of advising determines that it is more likely than not that academic dishonesty has occurred and determines that it is a first offense, the dean of advising will:

• Write a letter of warning to the student, to remain in the student’s academic file;
• In consultation with the faculty member and the School dean, determine academic consequences that may include but are not limited to submitting a revised or new assignment; no evaluation given for the course regardless of add/drop/withdrawal deadlines or, in the case of Division III [1] work, a decision to set aside the project in question and require the student to do an alternative project on a different topic with a different committee (unless the committee concerned agrees to continue working with the student).

Academic integrity lies at the core of our work and unacknowledged borrowing from the work of others in any medium is a fundamental repudiation of the deepest values of the academic community. Therefore, in cases of egregious violation, the dean of advising may also refer the case for review through the community standards process [2], as outlined below.

Referral of the Case to the Community Standards Process
Second or multiple offenses concerning plagiarism or other violations of the ethics of scholarship [3] (as well as egregious first offenses) will be referred by the dean of advising to the community standards process [2].  Among the accountability measures available if found responsible for a violation of the Ethics of Scholarship are probation, suspension, and expulsion from the College.

Appeals
The student has the right to appeal the finding of academic dishonesty and/or sanctions to the vice president of academic affairs and dean of faculty. Findings may be appealed only on procedural grounds.

Process for Appeal
Appeals of procedure and appeals of sanction(s) by the student must be submitted in writing to the vice president for academic affairs within five (5) business days after written notification of the finding and/or sanction is sent to the student. Appeals must state the specific rationale for a procedural appeal and/or the grounds for an appeal of the sanction.

In all cases of an appeal, the vice president of academic affairs shall review the appeal and the pertinent facts relative to the appeal, determine if further investigation is warranted, and render a decision.  The vice president of academic affairs will endeavor to render a decision within 21 days after an appeal has been submitted but may take additional time to consider the appeal when such time is deemed necessary. The vice president’s decision is final. 

Record of Cases of Academic Dishonesty
All cases of academic dishonesty should be reported in writing to the dean of advising.  A confidential record of all cases of plagiarism will be maintained by the Center for Academic Support and Advising [4] (CASA) to aid in determining appropriate action. 

Academic Dishonesty at another institution
Should a charge of academic dishonesty be brought against a Hampshire College student at another institution (i.e. Five Colleges, study abroad institution, internships or other external academic institutions) the policies and procedures of the host institution will apply.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism (from the Latin for kidnapper) is the presentation of another’s work as one’s own. The term, "plagiarism" covers everything from inadvertently passing off as one’s own the work of another because of ignorance, time constraints, or careless note-taking, to deliberately hiring a ghost writer to produce an examination or course paper. This range of possibilities is spelled out in more detail in the following list of examples.

Cheating
Cheating is the unfair or dishonest acquisition or use of information in order to gain an advantage. This includes but is not limited to unauthorized use of information from another person’s paper, quiz, or exam; buying/borrowing, or selling/loaning quizzes, exams, or papers; unauthorized use of opened textbooks, notes, or other devices during a quiz or exam. It is the responsibility of each student to consult with faculty about the study aids and materials that are permissible.

False Citation
Material should not be attributed to a source from which that material was not obtained. That is, one must not pass off primary sources as if they had been consulted when in fact, the material in the oral presentation or written work is based upon a secondary source. All primary and secondary source material must be properly identified and cited.

Poor Documentation
As scholarly writers, we are expected to acknowledge our indebtedness for ideas, phrases, sentences, data, computer code, charts, diagrams, figures, images, and longer verbatim quotations by citing our sources. Sources can include, but are not limited to, course readings, lectures, websites, interviews, and other students’ work. The necessity to cite sources extends to both published and unpublished work. Writers prepare for the necessity of proper source citation by taking careful notes on exact wording and spelling, page numbers, and source identification, including any material found on the internet. It is particularly important to present verbatim quotations exactly as they are in the original sources, including any errors. Paraphrases require documentation, and they must be a true restatement of the original rather than simply a rearrangement of the words in the sources. There are a number of methods of documentation. The form of the reference list or bibliography or footnote style may vary by discipline. There are a number of style manuals that describe the documentation rules for various academic disciplines. Some are in the reference collection at the library; many are online. Please the Hampshire College library for assistance on citing sources [5] via the associated link.

Unacknowledged Use of Work Produced by Others
Presenting papers or sections of papers (including any material found on websites) bought, borrowed, or stolen from others as one’s own is the most blatant form of plagiarism. Plagiarism can also extend to buying, borrowing, or stealing data, images, or computer code and presenting it as one’s own. There is no acceptable excuse for this behavior, including ignorance.

Unacknowledged Multiple Authors or Collaboration
The notion that intellectual work is and should be a lonely and fiercely independent enterprise is sometimes overemphasized. At Hampshire College, students are encouraged to collaborate on work for courses, work for Division II [6], and even Division III [1] “independent projects.” For example, students are encouraged to have better spellers look at their work if that is necessary, and faculty members show drafts of their work or discuss their ideas with colleagues. In almost any book or article, writers in footnotes and references lists recognize their indebtedness to colleagues who have criticized their work. Students, too, should acknowledge the assistance of their collaborators. In joint examinations or class projects, the contributions of each member of the group should be made clear and every member of the group should have an understanding of the whole project. All collaborators should be clearly acknowledged and cited on each individual’s work. Students should consult with their faculty about the expectations and limitations about collaboration specific to each course.

Unacknowledged Multiple Submission
Students are expected to generate original work in response to each assignment, unless the faculty member setting the assignment has expressly stated otherwise. Using the same paper or assignment, or portions thereof, for several purposes without prior approval (for example, submission of a paper to several classes or publication in several scholarly journals) is generally considered to be unacceptable.

False Data
Data fabricated or altered in a laboratory experiment or field project is an instance of academic fraud. Though it is not plagiarism per se, falsification of data is a clear violation of the ethics of scholarship [3].

A repudiation of plagiarism in all its forms is shared by all academic disciplines. However, there is some variation between disciplines regarding the methods and norms for acknowledging and citing sources within that discipline. These are best discussed with the faculty in the context of specific courses of projects. Ignorance of expectations around proper citations of sources and collaborations is not an excuse.