Academic Honesty

Southern New Hampshire University requires all students to adhere to high standards of integrity in their academic work. Activities such as plagiarism and cheating will not be condoned by the university. Students involved in such activities are subject to serious disciplinary action. This may include being failed by the instructor, academic suspension or expulsion from the university.

Plagiarism is defined as the use, whether by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another without full and clear acknowledgment. For examples of how to correctly document sources, refer to Robert C. Craven’s “Documenting Sources”.

Cheating includes the giving or receiving of unauthorized assistance on quizzes, examinations or written assignments from any source not approved by the instructor. Examples of cheating include but are not limited to:

• Submitting someone else’s work as your own with or without the permission of the individual.
• Allowing someone to copy your work.
• Using a writing service or having someone else write a paper for you.
• Using someone else’s work without proper citation.
• Submitting collaborative and/or group work as your own.
• Stealing an exam from an instructor or her/his office.
• Taking a course and/or exam for another student.
• Using unauthorized materials during a test or exam.

It is a student’s responsibility to seek clarification from an instructor if the student has questions about what constitutes cheating.

The instructor, who has the full authority to assign an “F” grade for that assignment or course after a discussion of the incident with the student, will handle initial violations of academic honesty. A report of the incident and its disposition will be sent to the dean of the School that offers the course. The dean will review the incident and forward it for placement in the student’s personal file. A student dissatisfied with the instructor’s decision may request a meeting with the dean. The dean will investigate the incident and make a decision within five days of the student’s appeal. If there is new information not considered by the dean, the student may make a final appeal to the Vice president of Academic Affairs, who will make a final decision regarding the incident within 10 days of the appeal. Upon placement of notification in the student file, the student will be referred to the director of The Learning Center, who will determine whether an educational component would be advisable to prevent further violations by the student. A notation will be placed in the student file regarding the outcome of the meeting.

Any additional violations of the Academic Honesty Policy reported to a dean will be forwarded to the Vice president of Academic Affairs for action. A second offense will normally result in suspension from the university for at least one term or semester.