Integrity is essential to an educational institution and to the entire educational experience. Individual students, faculty, and staff members must affirm this quality. The importance of integrity and ethics is an integral part of life at Betania International University.
The Academic Integrity Policy requires that all members of the University conduct themselves honestly in all endeavors. Therefore, cheating, plagiarism and other acts contrary to academic integrity are unacceptable and will not be tolerated at Betania International University. The University will take severe action against dishonest students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Self-expression is also an essential component to a rewarding and fulfilling educational experience. A university setting is an ideal forum for self-expression, voicing disagreement and challenging accepted traditions. However, while the goal of the University is to educate and encourage, it also must curtail behavior that adversely affects others. As such, Betania International University’s policies require that such self – expression, although encouraged, must be delivered in a civil manner, exhibiting respect for others at all times.
Academic dishonesty and plagiarism
Betania International University has installed Turnitin to the Blackboard Online Platform. All students, whether online or on campus will be required to submit their work through the Blackboard Platform system. Work will be verified for authenticity before it is submitted to the professor.
Cheating is defined as the attempt, successful or not, to give or obtain aid and/or information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirements, including examinations. Cheating includes falsifying reports and documents. Plagiarism is defined as the use, without proper acknowledgment, of the ideas, phrases, sentences, or larger units of discourse from another writer or speaker. Plagiarism includes the unauthorized copying of software and the violation of copyright laws.
An incident of Cheating or Plagiarism upon which a faculty member may take action will be an event which the faculty member witnesses or has written evidence to support. A faculty member must observe this evidence directly and may not take action solely on the report of another party.
Procedures for handling cheating and plagiarism
Any faculty member discovering a case of suspected cheating or plagiarism should make a responsible effort to confront the student with the evidence within five (5) working days. If the student can explain the incident to the satisfaction of the faculty member, no further action is warranted.
If the student denies cheating and the faculty member continues to believe cheating has occurred, the faculty member will send an Academic Dishonesty Form to the coordinator of the appropriate area of study. This form is available in the office of the Executive Director. The Executive Director will hold a hearing in which the faculty member will present the evidence against the student. The Executive Director will decide who, in addition to the above, may be present at the hearing. The Executive Director will determine whether or not the evidence indicates that cheating/plagiarism has taken place.
If the student has admitted or has been found guilty of cheating or plagiarism, the following records will be kept:
- The faculty member will send an Academic Dishonesty Form to the Executive Director.
- The Executive Director will inform the student in writing that these forms have been sent.
- Records of the incident will be kept in the Office of the Executive Director.
This record shall be destroyed upon graduation or other forms of separation from the University if no further incidents of cheating or plagiarism occur.
If the records, in the Office of the Executive Director, indicate that the student has committed two offenses, both incidents become part of the student’s permanent academic record.
The faculty member shall decide how the student will be graded for the course in which cheating or plagiarism occurred. The student may be required to resubmit the assignment or take a new examination. The student may receive a failing grade on the assignment or examination in question. The student may receive a failing grade for the course.
For a second or subsequent offense, the student shall be subject to suspension or dismissal from Betania International University.
The student may appeal any of the above decisions in writing to the Executive Director within thirty (30) working days.
Responsibilities of students concerning academic dishonesty
Students are responsible for knowing the policies regarding cheating and plagiarism and the penalties for such behavior. Failure of an individual faculty member to remind the student as to what constitutes cheating and plagiarism does not relieve the student of this responsibility.
Students must take care not to provide opportunities for others to cheat. Students must inform the faculty member if cheating or plagiarism is taking place.