Appendix A. Academic Dishonesty and the Operation of the XXF

Transcript Notation Due to Finding of Responsibility for Academic Dishonesty

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Faculty Input

When a faculty member determines a student has committed academic dishonesty, they will fill out the appropriate Honor Code Report form. The faculty member has the option of designating whether they believe that the offense warrants the XX sanction and grade of F.

Schedule of Sanctions for Violations of Academic Honesty

Class 1. The most serious breaches of academic honesty fall into this Class, as well as all second Class 2 offenses. Class 1 violations must be found to involve significant premeditation; conspiracy and/or intent to deceive. See a listing of examples at the end of this policy.

Sanction options:

  • XX sanction and grade of F and suspension
  • XX sanction and grade of F and expulsion

Class 2. This Class includes serious acts that are found to involve deliberate failure to comply with assignment directions; some conspiracy and/or intent to deceive, as well as all second Class 3 offenses. Additionally, factors such as the weight of the assignment, the nature of the deception, and/ or student admission of responsibility may be considered during sanctioning.

See a listing of options at the end of this policy.

Sanction options shall be negotiated between the Office of the Dean of Students and the faculty member:

  • Online Integrity Seminar
  • XX sanction and grade of F
  • XX sanction and grade of F and disciplinary probation and/or other educational sanctions
  • XX sanction and grade of F and some form of suspension

Class 3. This Class includes violations due to student confusion; ignorance and/or miscommunication or incomplete communication between the faculty member or their designee and the class. See a listing of examples at the end of this policy. The faculty member sets the sanction. Faculty can initiate a Class 3 Report without a prior assessment by an Honor Board or the Office of the Dean of Students.

Class 1 and 2 Violations

  • A. If the Honor Board or the Office of the Dean of Students or their designee sanctions a student with a XX sanction and grade of F, and this sanction is not appealed by the student, the Office of the Dean of Students will notify the Office of the Registrar to place the XX sanction and grade of F for the applicable course on the student’s academic record. The XX sanction and grade of F shall be recorded on the student's transcript with the notation "failure due to academic dishonesty."
  • B. Student appeals of the XX sanction and grade of F follow the procedure for all other appeals of academic dishonesty sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook. If the Appellate Authority (Executive Vice President for Student Affairs) denies the right to another hearing, or another hearing is granted, and the decision is to uphold the XX sanction and grade of F, the Office of the Dean of Students will notify the Office of the Registrar to assign the XX sanction and grade of F to the student's academic record.
  • C. If grades are due but an academic dishonesty hearing is still in progress, a status indicator of 'I' shall be applied to the course until the hearing process is complete.
  • D. An XX sanction and grade of F shall maintain a quality point value of 0.0. The XX sanction and grade of F shall be treated in the same way as an "F" for the purposes of Grade Point Average and determination of academic standing.
  • E. The XX sanction and grade of F must stay on the transcript for at least two years from the date the student is found in violation of a Class 1 Violation or Class 2 Violation where the assignment is of significant weight.
  • F. In cases of a Class 2 Violation where the infraction of academic integrity occurred on an assignment of limited scope or grade weight, such as a homework assignment, low-stakes writing assignment, other formative-type assessments, and/or there is record of an admission of responsibility, the Honor Board or the Office of the Dean of Students or their designee will have the authority to assign a required Online Integrity Seminar. The time required to complete this seminar is between 5 to 10 hours.
    Students will be afforded the opportunity to complete an Online Integrity Seminar within 30 days from notification by a deadline designated by the Honor Board with the acknowledgement of the faculty member. Faculty will have sole authority over the assessment and grading of the assignment(s) under review. Should a case be reported close to the end of term, the faculty member will assign an Incomplete.
    Students are responsible for the fee affiliated with the Online Integrity Seminar. See https://integrityseminar.org/faqs/ for the current rate. The fee does not cover the cost of all required materials. The Office of the Dean of Students will make available an application for need-based assistance and provide alternative payment options for qualifying students.
    After receiving notice from the Office of the Dean of Students that the Online Integrity Seminar has been completed satisfactorily, faculty will calculate and assign the final course grade according to their usual practices. If the online seminar is not completed by the designated deadline; the Office of the Dean of Students will direct the Office of the Registrar to attach the XX sanction to the F grade.
    The XX status indicator and the notation of "academic dishonesty" will remain on the student transcript for a minimum of one year in such cases.
    After a period of one year from notification, the student (or alumnus/alumna) may petition the Honor Board for removal of the XX; the grade of F remains (Information on responsibility for violations of the Honor Code will be maintained in the student's conduct record per the normal practices of the Office of the Dean of Students). Procedures for this petition will be the same as those outlined for the petition of removal of the XX status indicator on an F grade.

  • G. In cases of Class 2 Violations that are high stakes, or the student does not complete the Online Integrity Seminar, after two years, a student may petition the Honor Board for removal of the XX sanction; the grade of F remains. The petition must be in written form and provide the reason for removal of the XX sanction. Additionally, the petitioner must appear before the Honor Board to explain the request (appearance may be through electronic means if necessary). If the student petitions and a majority of the Honor Board agree to remove the XX, the Honor Board outlines conditions under which the XX sanction is removed. The conditions may include giving testimony of dishonesty during freshman orientation or other organized Honor Board events, and/or performing specific tasks aimed at increasing the education of the violator and/or campus on the value of academic integrity. When these conditions are met, the XX sanction is removed, leaving no past evidence of the XXF. The grade of F remains.
  • H. If a petition to change an XX sanction and an F grade to an F has been made and denied, another petition may not be made for another year from the date of denial. This stipulation applies after graduation as well.
  • I. If the student is/has been found responsible for an additional Class 1 violation of academic honesty, either in the past or future, the XX sanction and an F grade remain. For cases where the XX sanction and grade of F were changed to an F and the student is later found responsible for an additional act of academic dishonesty, the XX sanction and an F grade are restored for the course. In these cases, the XX sanction and an F grade remain permanent. The student may not petition for removal of the F in exchange for the XX sanction. (See 2.0 for sanctions.)
  • J. A student who has received an XX sanction and an F grade in a course and needs to pass the course for a requirement may retake the course. If the student passes the course, the requirement is met, but the original course grade will remain as an XX sanction and an F grade. The student can petition for removal of the XX sanction.

Class 3 Violations

  • When a faculty member suspects an Honor Code violation is more a result of student confusion, ignorance or miscommunication, they should arrange a conference with the student as soon as possible to discuss the matter.
  • Together, the faculty member and student review all materials.
  • The faculty member designs a response that is discussed with the student, e.g., zero on the assignment, written warning, resubmission of the work, research on relevant topic, etc.
  • The faculty member and student commit the outcome to a form provided by the Office of the Dean of Students.
  • A written record of the educational response with the signatures of both the faculty member and the student is forwarded to the Office of the Dean of Students. The record will remain in the Office of the Dean of Students.
  • The record of the educational response for this violation will be introduced in subsequent hearings during the sanctioning phase should the same student be found in violation of the Honor Code at a later point in time.
  • The student has the right to contest the allegation and request that the matter be forwarded immediately to the Office of the Dean of Students for adjudication under the procedures outlined in the Student Handbook.

Changes to the operation of the XX sanction and an F grade as a sanction option within the Honor System must go through a review process with Academic Affairs and receive approval from the Faculty Committee on Academic Standards and Faculty Senate.

Examples of violations for Classes 1-3. The lists below are not meant to be comprehensive but illustrative of the types of acts that generally will be before the Honor Board, the Office of the Dean of Students or their designee, and faculty members.

Examples of Class 1 violations:

All second offences of Class 2 Violations,

  • cheating on a test which involves significant premeditation and conspiracy of effort,
  • taking a test for someone else, or permitting someone else to take a test or course in one's place,
  • intentional plagiarizing, where the majority of the submitted work was written or created by another,
  • obtaining, stealing, or buying all or a significant part of an unadministered exam,  
  • selling, or giving away all or a significant part of an unadministered test,
  • bribing, or attempting to bribe any other person to obtain an unadministered test or any information about the test,
  • buying, or otherwise acquiring, another's course paper and resubmitting it as one’s own work, whether altered or not,
  • entering a building, office, or computer for the purpose of changing a grade in a grade book, on a test, or on other work for which a grade is given,
  • changing, altering, or being an accessory to changing and/or altering a grade in a grade book, on a test, or other official academic college record which relates to grades, or
  • entering a building, office, or computer for the purpose of obtaining an un-administered test.

Examples of Class 2 violations:

All second offenses of Class 3 Violations,

  • cheating on an exam which involves some premeditation, copying from another's test or allowing another student to copy from your test, where some plans were made for such collaboration,
  • intentional plagiarizing, where a moderate portion of the submitted work was written or created by another,
  • unauthorized reuse of previously graded work,
  • intentionally failing to cite information from the correct source,
  • intentionally listing sources in a bibliography/works cited page that were not used in the paper,
  • copying, or allowing one to copy, homework assignments that are to be submitted for credit, when unauthorized,
  • intentionally opening an officially sealed envelope containing an exam, test or other class-related material,
  • unauthorized and intentional collaboration on an assignment, or
  • unauthorized and intentional use or possession of a study aid.

Examples of Class 2 Violations involving low-stakes assignments

  • unauthorized collaboration on homework,
  • unauthorized use on an online tool to complete a low-stakes quiz or assignment,
  • plagiarism in a reading response paper,
  • plagiarism in a discussion thread or blog, or
  • unauthorized collaboration on a pre-lab quiz

Examples of Class 3 violations:

  • record of same offense made on other similar assignments and no feedback provided by the instructor prior to allegation,
  • reusing and/or building upon coursework already submitted for another class without permission of the professor, 
  • unintentionally failing to cite information from the correct source,
  • unintentional violation of the class rules on collaboration, or
  • unintentional possession of a study aid.

The forms for the violations are available on the Honor System Webpage.

https://deanofstudents.cofc.edu/honor-system/index.php contains the following:

  • Honor Code Report Form Class 1 and 2 Violations
  • Honor Code Report Form Class 3 Violations

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