Academic misconduct is defined as a violation of the BAMSI’s standards of academic integrity whether these violations are intentional or unintentional. Academic misconduct consists of cheating on an exam, plagiarism on an academic assignment, or unauthorized collaborative work.
Such actions will result in a zero (0) grade for the work in question. The student(s) will have to complete an academic misconduct form that will be placed on their records. The student will also be asked to enroll in counseling for such an offence to assist the student with the way forward to avoid a repeat performance. Other stipulations may apply. However, should the student commit another academic misconduct, that student will be expelled from the Institute. We take such misconducts very seriously and have a zero tolerance approach. Evidence of academic misconduct may include, but is not limited to, the following:
Cheating: It is cheating to copy from another student's examination, quiz, laboratory work, or homework assignment. The use of pre-prepared notes or other resources, in any form, during an examination, unless such use is expressly authorized by the instructor, also constitutes cheating. If a student knowingly allows someone else to copy from his or her homework, laboratory work, quiz, or examination, he or she is in violation. Revising a work after its final evaluation and representing the revised version as being the original work is cheating. Forging or otherwise unauthorized changing of an earned grade also is academically dishonest. Any form of interfering with another student's academic work is a form of cheating. When one student arranges for another student to take an examination using the first student's identification that also constitutes an act of cheating. In this last instance, both parties are liable. Unauthorized acquisition of an examination prior to the exam date is cheating.
Plagiarism: According to Webster's Dictionary, plagiarism is the act of stealing and passing off as one's own the ideas or words of another. The lecturer will pay attention not to whether the student meant to plagiarize, but whether plagiarism did occur. Additionally, submitting the same paper twice or fulfilling the requirements of two subjects with one paper is academically dishonest. Students may use the ideas and words from other sources, but must document their use with citations, usually in the form of footnotes, endnotes, or text notes. By citing sources, students indicate the extent of their research, thereby improving the paper.
The lecturer/ examination officer or Academic Dean may impose any of the following academic sanctions relative to cheating or plagarism: lowering the grade, assigning a grade of "F" for the work submitted, assigning an "F" for the entire course, or recommending another penalty, including suspension or expulsion from the college.
Recommended Penalties
Warning/Academic Probation
- The first offence of cheating/plagiarism the instructor should meet with the student and gives them a strong verbal warning.
- When a student commits two offenses of cheating / plagiarism the student would be given a written warning that goes on file in the Registrar’s Office. The student will also receive a failing grade for the class assignment / homework.
- After two warnings the student will receive a failing grade for the course, and he or she will be placed on probation.
Suspension
- If a student is caught cheating in a Mid- Semester Examination he or she will be given an “F” for the Mid -Semester Examination, and the student will be suspended from that course for the rest of the semester.
- During this suspension period, the student will receive failing grades on all missing work.
- The student would not be allowed to do a re-sit in order to remove grade but instead would be required to retake the class.
- If a student is caught cheating in a Final Semester Examination, he or she will be given an “F” for the course, and the student will be suspended from the institution for the next semester.
- Where a student is suspended for academic misconduct, the student would have to write a formal letter of appeal to the Academic Dean/Executive Director requesting reinstatement. The decision of the Academic Dean/Executive Director is final.
Expulsion
- Should a student be reinstated after academic misconduct and they continue to engage in the same, he or she will be automatically expelled.
- This consequence will be added to student’s permanent record.
Manufacture of Data: It is academically dishonest to manufacture or deliberately alter data submitted in connection with laboratory reports, term papers, or written material. Not only is this practice dishonest, it undermines the entire academic and scholarly process.
Unauthorized Collaboration: Collaboration occurs when a student works with other students to do lab work, review books, or develop a presentation or report. Students must receive very clear permission from the instructor to participate in collaborations. Unless otherwise authorized, lab work done in pairs or groups is collaborative only up to and including the data collection part. All data must be analyzed and written up individually. All members of a pair or group must be present when the data is collected. A student not in lab who copies someone else's lab data and then writes the lab up on the basis of the copied data is cheating, as is the student who makes the data available outside the lab to copy. Unauthorized collaboration is an example of an academically dishonest act. What one lecturer may view as collaboration may be seen as cheating by another. The important thing to note is that if the limits of collaboration are not clear, it is the student's responsibility to ask the lecturer for very clear and specific direction.
Sources that must be acknowledged include, but are not limited to, lab manuals, books, articles in books, journal articles, and web pages, along with graphs, charts, tables, data sets, photos, images, etc., in any of the sources just mentioned. Proper acknowledgment must indicate both the source and how it served as a source for any specific portions of the student’s work. Students should feel free to consult with instructors whenever there is doubt as to proper documentation.
A faculty member who has good evidence to suspect a student or students of academic misconduct will, at the faculty member’s discretion, consult administration about the case. The faculty member will then meet with the student (or students) to present evidence. At the faculty member’s discretion, an administrator may be present. A report with the supporting evidence is required. The findings may result in severe disciplinary action such as expulsion.