Academic Dishonesty

Faculty members are expected to instill in their students a respect for integrity and a desire to behave honestly. Deception for individual gain is an offense against the members of the university community. To this end, faculty will take measures to discourage dishonesty, adjust grades appropriately if dishonesty is discovered, and recommend that additional administrative sanctions be considered. Grading policies are the exclusive prerogative of faculty. Non-academic administrative sanctions are the province of the Student Conduct Administrator within the university's Student Affairs division; Tel. 510-885-3763.

Academic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:

  • cheating, which includes possessing unauthorized sources of information during examinations, copying the work of others, permitting others to copy your work, submitting work done by others, completing assignments for others, altering work after grading and subsequently submitting it for re-grading, submitting the same work for two or more classes without the permission of all instructors involved, or retaining materials that you have been instructed to return to your instructor;
  • plagiarism, which includes taking the words, ideas, or substance of another and either copying or paraphrasing the work without giving credit to the source through appropriate use of footnotes, quotation marks, or reference citations;
  • providing materials to another with knowledge they will be improperly used;
  • possessing another's work without permission;
  • selling, purchasing, or trading materials for class assignments (includes purchasing term papers via the World Wide Web);
  • altering the work of another;
  • knowingly furnishing false or incomplete academic information;
  • altering documents that make up part of the student record;
  • forging signatures or falsifying information on any official academic document;
  • inventing data or falsifying an account of the method through which data was generated.

If there is evidence of dishonesty:

  • involving cheating: the student should be informed promptly, in private if possible, that he/she is suspected of cheating. If an exam is in progress, unauthorized materials should be confiscated, and the student allowed to finish. If relevant, the names of students in adjoining seats should be noted.
  • involving plagiarism: your instructor should assemble documentation and notify you promptly in private.

Whenever dishonesty occurs, your instructor will take appropriate action and file an "Academic Dishonesty Incident Report" detailing the infraction and the action taken. The report will be filed in the Academic Affairs Office, and you will receive a copy. The report will remain on file for five years or until you graduate, whichever comes first. If the office receives two or more reports on an individual, the Director of Student Conduct, Rights and Responsibilities (DSCRR) is notified.

Depending on the circumstances, you may: (a) be warned; (b) be required to resubmit work or retake an exam under specified conditions and with a possible grade penalty; (c) have your grade adjusted for the assignment; or (d) have your grade adjusted in the course, including assignment of an "F" at the discretion of the faculty. If the course grade is adjusted, it is not subject to Grade Forgiveness.

You may appeal an instructor's action to the Grade Appeal and Academic Grievance Committee (see the Grade Appeal policy webpage). Your appeal of an instructor's academic sanction is governed by the "Grade Appeal and Academic Grievance Document."

Depending upon the severity of the offense or the number of offenses, the instructor may directly refer the instance of academic dishonesty to the DSCRR to determine if further action is necessary. (In any instance of academic dishonesty, however, whereby an academic sanction is imposed, the instructor will file an "Academic Dishonesty Incident Report." See three paragraphs above.) At the discretion of the DSCRR, administrative sanctions such as warning, probation, suspension, or expulsion may be imposed. As prescribed in Executive Order 1098, Article V - Sanctions (E. Record of Discipline), "A record of disciplinary probation or suspension is entered on a student's transcript, with its beginning and end date, for the duration of the sanction. A record of expulsion or suspension for one academic year or more shall note the effective date of discipline and remains on the transcript permanently, without exception. A record of withdrawal in lieu of suspension or expulsion with pending misconduct investigation or disciplinary proceeding remains on the transcript permanently, without exception. These requirements shall not be waived in connection with any resolution agreement. (If an appeal to the Grade Appeal and Academic Grievance Committee regarding an academic sanction imposed by the instructor is pending, action by the Student Conduct Administrator will be postponed until after the adjudication of the appeal.)

The complete text of Title 5, section 41301 of the California Code of Regulations and of Chancellor's Executive Order 1098 can be accessed on the Student Conduct, Rights and Responsibilities website.