Academic Integrity and Procedures Regarding Violations of Code and Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity Policy

Manhattanville University is a community of scholars who are committed to academic excellence. To accomplish this goal, members of the University must be able to collaborate in a spirit of trust, care, and respect. All violations of academic integrity undermine such collaboration. All members of the campus community have an obligation to report any suspected instance of academic dishonesty to the designee within their School

All students will be held accountable to the University's policy and their School's policy on academic integrity, whether or not the policy is explicitly specified in a course syllabus. Thus, all students are responsible for becoming familiar with the definitions, procedures and sanctions outlined in the University's Academic Integrity Policy and their School's Academic Integrity Policy. The primary responsibility for identifying an instance of academic misconduct, and for determining the sanction for both the assignment in question and the course, lies with the instructor of the course.

Procedures Regarding Violations of Academic Integrity

When an instructor, staff member or administrator has found what they consider to be an instance of academic misconduct, they must notify the relevant Department/Division Chair and submit the Manhattanville University Academic Misconduct Reporting Form (hereafter referred to as Reporting Form) to the School Designee.  The School Designee is the Associate Dean of the relevant school. The School Designee will determine if the reported misconduct is potentially a first-offense, or if the student has a previous academic integrity violation.

Students will not be permitted to withdraw from a course for which an offense has been reported, unless the school's Academic Integrity Committee permits such a withdrawal.  A 'hold' will be placed on a student's account to prohibit a withdrawal.

In the event that an academic integrity violation is so severe as to potentially cause harm to others, the Dean of the relevant school may remove a student from a course, clinical, student teaching, internship, or other experiential learning setting on an interim basis. This applies to both first offenses and subsequent offenses.

For Students Facing a Potential First Offense

The Department/Division Chair and the School Designee will be notified. The student and course instructor may meet to discuss the alleged academic misconduct and the sanction, if applicable. The course instructor will submit a Reporting Form, relevant evidence, and a summary of that discussion to the School Designee. If for some reason the instructor and student cannot meet (e.g. the offense was found after classes stopped meeting at the end of the semester, the instructor is no longer at Manhattanville) the student will meet with the School Designee. Failure to do so within 30 business days of the Designee's outreach will result in the student being found responsible for the academic integrity violation.

The student and School Designee will meet and review the Academic Integrity process, as well as the student's file. If the student does not dispute the reported misconduct, the decision and sanction recorded on the Reporting Form are final. The student will sign a statement indicating their acceptance of the charge. The case will remain a part of the student's record, managed by the School Designee, in compliance with the University's Record Retention Policy.

If the student disputes the finding of the course instructor, the student may indicate so in their meeting with the School Designee. The School Designee will discuss the charge with the student and explain the procedures for meeting with the appropriate academic integrity committee. (All students in the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Nursing & Health Sciences, and undergraduate students in the School of Education are covered by Manhattanville's Academic Integrity Committee. Graduate students in the School of Education are covered by the Graduate Academic Standards Committee).

The School Designee will then notify the chairperson of the appropriate Committee and that Committee will review the case with the student in a closed regularly scheduled meeting. During this meeting the Committee will review all relevant evidence presented, including any new evidence. The Committee will seek information from the course instructor and/or other affected parties. The Committee may uphold the finding and sanction, or overturn the finding and sanction. If the Committee upholds the finding, they may impose additional sanctions. The Committee will notify the student of its' decision via email.

For Students with a Previous Academic Integrity Violation

For students who have previously been sanctioned under this policy, a subsequent alleged violation must be adjudicated by the appropriate Committee. The Committee will review the most recent case with the student in a closed regularly scheduled meeting. During this meeting the Committee will review all relevant evidence presented, including any new evidence. The Committee will seek information from the course instructor and/or other affected parties. The Committee will also have access to any previous case(s). The Committee may uphold the finding and sanction, or overturn the finding and sanction. If the Committee upholds the finding, they may impose additional sanctions. Sanctions will be more severe in the case of repeat violations. In such repeat offenses, the possibility of an appeal to the Academic Integrity Review Committee will be available.

The Committee will notify the student of its' decision via email. In the case of repeat violations, the Committee's notification will include the Associate VP of Athletics.

As of July 1, 2024, academic integrity files are stored in Maxient, the University's secure system for managing conduct issues.

Definition of Academic Dishonesty

Academic Dishonesty is any action that may result in an unfair academic advantage for oneself or others, including, but not limited to:

• Plagiarism: Offering as one's own the words, ideas, arguments, code, or visuals (any medium, including electronic) of another. Appropriate citation (according to course instructor) with quotation marks, references and/or footnotes, is required when using any aspect of another's work; the failure to do so, whether intentional or not, constitutes plagiarism. Copying homework or answers on an exam or report, submitting a term paper from the archives of a group or from another student, procuring a paper from an external source (electronic or otherwise) and submitting it as one's own are additional, though not exhaustive, examples of plagiarism.
• False citation: Providing false information about a source. This includes citing a title, author and page as if it were from one source when, in fact, it is from a different source, or including information that did not come from the cited source.
• Cheating on exams and/or falsely claiming to have completed assigned work.
• Multiple submissions: Work done for one course cannot be submitted for another course. Exceptions may be made only with the express written permission of both course instructors.
• Unauthorized collaboration on academic assignments.
• Aiding another student in the commission of academic dishonesty.
• Making materials from any academic course (including, but not limited to, assignments, papers, quizzes, or tests) available to persons outside the class. This includes uploading to an online site not pre-approved by the course instructor. Such actions may also constitute a violation of the Intellectual Property Policy.

Sanctions for Academic Misconduct

Sanctions may be imposed by the course instructor. These sanctions may include rewriting the assignment, failing the assignment, and/or failing the course. The Academic Integrity Committee/Graduate Academic Standards Committee may impose additional sanctions in those cases where students meet with the Committee. These additional sanctions may include: taking a mandated workshop or other remedial course, academic warning, a hold placed on course registration, delayed conferral of a degree, a hold on transcripts, disqualification from honors or other awards, disqualification for internships, denial of recommendations for professional certification, denial of or removal from placement for student teaching, clinicals or other experiential learning, suspension, or expulsion. 

The Academic Integrity Committee/Graduate Academic Standards Committee may determine that your case is egregious in nature and may impose more severe sanctions.

Appeals

Where the student disputes the decision of the Academic Integrity Committee, they may ask for a formal review within 5 business days of notification of the decision. The written appeal will be made to the Provost. Such an appeal will only be considered on the basis of procedural error or new evidence that might have resulted in a different decision. The Provost will act as a facilitator and call an ad hoc Academic Integrity Review Committee (AIRC). The AIRC will be made up of five members from across the University including one graduate or undergraduate student, depending on the level of the student appealing the charge or charges, at least two faculty members, and at least one Dean or Designee. Each member of the AIRC must be newly apprised of the offense and be capable of rendering an impartial decision. The AIRC will invite the student to a closed meeting. During this meeting the AIRC will review all relevant evidence in reference to procedural unfairness or any new evidence that might have resulted in a different decision. The AIRC may uphold the finding and sanction, overturn the finding and sanction, or impose alternative sanctions, according to the list above. The decision of the AIRC is final.