Academic Integrity
Helena College expects its students to adhere to a high standard of academic integrity. It is a violation of academic integrity standards and the student code of conduct to present the ideas, designs, works, or words of another person as one’s own efforts, or to permit another person to do so. The following guidelines are intended to clarify these issues for students, faculty, and administration.
The College will regard the following acts as violations of academic integrity constituting academic dishonesty. Although the list and descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive of all types or instances of academic dishonesty, they are presented as examples of behavior to avoid. It is explicitly the student’s responsibility to avoid academic dishonesty of all kinds, and each student is required to seek guidance in advance of taking any questionable action, including but not limited to those enumerated, below.
Plagiarism: A student will be considered in violation of standards for academic integrity if they submit an assignment in any form (written, oral, graphic, or computer-generated, etc.) which consists wholly or partially of the words, work, or ideas of another individual without giving the original author proper credit. A similar violation would occur in cases where a student submits a paper or other project/assignment for one course that was originally created for another course even if that student was the originator of the paper/project/assignment in the first instance. Similarly, using facts, figures, graphs, charts or information without acknowledging the source constitutes plagiarism, which may occur verbally, in written form, through computer programs and files, research methods, designs, particular distinctive words or phrases, ideas and images or any other information that was created by another person without acknowledgement of that person’s role in its creation. Inadvertent or unintentional misuse or appropriation of another’s work (such as relying heavily on source material that is not expressly acknowledged) is still considered plagiarism.
Copying/Cheating: A student will be considered in violation of academic integrity standards if they gain, or attempts to gain, credit for work by dishonest or deceptive means. Examples include the use of crib notes, cheat sheets, books, or any other material or electronic device as aids in an examination or any other graded exercise, unless the instructor of the class has given explicit permission to use such materials. Collaboration with another student on an examination or other graded exercise, unless the instructor has given permission, also constitutes copying. It is the policy of the College to prohibit phones, smart watches, and other similar devices during examinations. Prior to administering an examination, instructors will require all such devices are turned off and stored in an inaccessible place. Failure to comply with this policy will constitute a violation of the academic integrity policy. If a student is found in possession of such a device during an examination, they will be assigned a score of 0 for the examination. Further examples include: copying assignments from another source (classmate, etc.); working with others on exams or homework that is not explicitly permitted by the instructor to be collaborative; looking at another student’s paper or screen during an exam or assignment; disclosing exam content to others during an exam, or after completion of an exam, including allowing such information to be disclosed to you; and/or attempting to or allowing another person to complete assignments for another person (such as in an online course). The above examples are meant to illustrate violations of the principle of academic integrity, and are not intended to be all-inclusive. Additional instances of dishonesty that are not explicitly identified in the above list will nevertheless be treated as violations.
Contributing to Academic Dishonesty: A student will be considered in violation of academic integrity standards if they willfully assist another student in an act of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Academic sanctions for a first violation are at the discretion of the instructor and range from a failing grade for the assignment to a failing grade in the course in which the academic dishonesty occurs. When a faculty member assigns a failing grade based on academic dishonesty, they shall notify the affected student(s) and the appropriate Division Director of the violation and provide all supporting documentation to the Division Director. Record of the infraction will be kept on file in the office of the Division Director, although no further official action will be taken unless/until a second infraction is reported. In cases of repeated offenses, the Executive Director of Compliance and Financial Aid will be notified and will administer a range of disciplinary sanctions up to and including expulsion from the College. Students retain their right to due process and may refer to the Student Code of Conduct Handbook or the Executive Director of Compliance and Financial Aid regarding any disciplinary sanctions.
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