Frequently Asked Questions

Acts of academic dishonesty harm the entire academic enterprise of the College and possibly society as a whole. For instance:

a) Students who get away with cutting ethical corners in college may be more likely to cut ethical corners after college – especially if they can convince themselves it won’t hurt anyone or if people won’t really care. When we (faculty, students, and administrators) send strong messages that academic integrity matters and is worth pursuing, we help students develop the moral courage they will need when they face ethical decisions.

b) If acts of academic dishonesty were to proliferate, the reputation attached to a Colby degree would be severely tarnished for all Colby students.

c) Most Colby students work extremely hard to learn course material and to do well in courses. An act of academic dishonesty is, in effect, saying to those students that their hard work isn’t worth it.

d) Many forms of academic dishonesty boil down to falsely claiming someone else’s work as one’s own. This devalues the work of the originator by diminishing their claim to originality.

e) At Colby, we pride ourselves on the close working relationships between faculty and students. These relationships are founded on mutual trust. In many instances, for example, professors will extend deadlines for students dealing with personal crises. Lying to a professor about a personal situation in an effort to get an extension harms the professor’s ability to trust not only that student but other students claiming a personal crisis. Similarly, in many instances professors will devote extra time to helping a student write a paper; plagiarizing a paper makes it harder for a professor to trust that a student’s ideas are their own.

• Discuss academic integrity as a positive value. Encourage and enable students to do their best work to learn the most. Show them how “best work” involves giving other people credit for their contributions.
• Let students know that you value honest work over high grades and that most employers and businesses do too.
• Structure your class to disincentivize cheating. Be clear about what academic honesty and dishonesty look like in your class, keeping in mind that other professors in other contexts may have different definitions (eg. on the permissibility of collaboration on homework, etc.) Frequently remind students of your availability to help them. Suggestions to do so are available here: Academic Integrity Promotion Faculty Document.
• Report academic negligence and academic dishonesty when you find them.
• Educate yourself about cheating in college (the books Cheating in College by McCabe et al. and Cheating Lessons by Lang are recommended).

There are three main reasons:

a) The sanction and the process of leading up to the sanction are an explicit opportunity for a student to make a personal ethical transformation. The sanction empowers the student to confront their action, learn from it, and choose to complete the rest of their academic work honestly.

b) The sanction is the harm to the community made visible. Although academic dishonesty negatively affects the entire academic enterprise, those engaging in dishonest practices may rationalize them as “victimless crimes.” The sanction and sanctioning  process enables the student to confront  the harm they have done to the community.

c) The sanction and sanctioning process enable the College to track repeat offenders. Although certain acts of academic dishonesty, in certain circumstances, are less severe than others, repeat engagement is a very serious matter and can result in suspension or expulsion from the College. We firmly believe that most Colby students are honest most of the time, but it is important that those who are not, be given the opportunity to rethink their place in the academic enterprise.

See this page.

The record keeping for a finding of academic dishonesty is treated the same as the record keeping for all other disciplinary infractions. Placing the record in the student file allows us to detect repeat offenders and enables the College to give an honest response to FERPA compliant requests for information. The record is destroyed 6 years after graduation or last date of attendance.

Most likely not. Law schools and medical schools are most interested in whether or not the student has emerged from the experience with a greater commitment to academic integrity. The Dean of Students office and the Pre-law and Pre-med advisors are available to work with students on how to learn from the experience, move on to a renewed commitment to honest academic work, and how to talk about that transformation when they self-disclose the finding to graduate schools. Of course, some acts of academic dishonesty are so egregious and repeated academic dishonesty findings suggest that a student’s purported academic work should not be considered as evidence that the person would make a good lawyer or doctor. A single, relatively minor, instance of academic dishonesty will not likely prevent a student from getting into medical school or law school, provided the student has learned from the experience and has performed all other academic work with a commitment to integrity.

For each reported case of academic dishonesty, an Academic Review Board (ARB) is formed to investigate and assign a sanction. The ARB consist of the Academic Integrity Coordinator; another faculty member; two students; and the Director of the Office of Community Values (a non-voting member).

The students on the review board are representatives of the student body, who are the ones most directly harmed by acts of academic dishonesty. Students bear the greatest responsibility for the development and maintenance of a culture of academic integrity.

The Academic Integrity Coordinator and the other professor are on the review board to ensure fairness of process and sanctioning and to provide additional insight and oversight of reports of academic dishonesty.

The Director is on the board as a consultant regarding due process, the appropriateness and implementation of sanctions, and to help students accused of academic dishonesty navigate the process.

In general, sanctions range from failure on an assignment for minor transgressions, to failure in the course for major transgressions/assignments, to suspension or expulsion. Often sanctions will include an additional educational or restorative justice component. We are especially concerned when a student has exhibited a pattern of academic dishonesty. Students found responsible for academic dishonesty a second time are almost always suspended. A third finding of academic dishonesty will almost always result in expulsion. Lying to the academic review board investigating a case of dishonesty will generally result in additional penalties, possibly including suspension.  These guidelines are intended to give an idea of the range and type of sanctions; the sanctions applied in any particular case depend heavily on the details of that case.

Sanctions take into account the particulars of each case and the professor bringing the report is welcome to suggest an appropriate sanction. The following, however, are typical baselines for first-time offenses. For a relatively minor offense such as copying a homework assignment or a small amount of plagiarism, the baseline sanction is failing the assignment and a further reduction of course grade. For major offenses, such as cheating on an exam or major project, wholesale plagiarism, or lying to the professor, the baseline sanction is to fail the course. The baseline sanction for egregious dishonesty, such as purchasing a paper online, posting take-home exam questions to internet forums, paying someone else to complete a project, or theft of academic materials from a professor is immediate suspension or expulsion.

If you are a faculty member teaching the class where the dishonesty seems to have occurred, you can report it by using this link. See this page and the flowchart of the process (FacultyFlowChart) for more information. For any other academic dishonesty situation, please email the Academic Integrity Coordinator. If you are student who has observed academic dishonesty, you are encouraged to talk with your professor or the Academic Integrity Coordinator. If you are a student that has received an academic dishonesty report, here is a flowchart explaining the process that will be followed: StudentFlowChart.

When reporting a student for academic negligence, a professor needs to select “conversation required” or “further education required.” If “conversation required” is selected, the student just needs to talk with the professor. If “further education required” is selected, the student needs to complete a tutorial and show the professor the certificate verifying completion before grades are due that semester.

There is probably no single answer to this question which applies to all situations. At the conclusion of a case where a student was found responsible for academic dishonesty, the Academic Integrity Coordinator can provide a letter stating that there was a case of academic dishonesty which may or may not have affected course evaluations. As of Fall 2018, students found responsible for academic dishonesty prior to the opening of course evaluations may not fill out a course evaluation for the course in which the dishonesty was committed. Students found responsible for academic dishonesty are also not solicited for promotion and tenure letters for the faculty member in whose class the dishonesty occurred.

Students are often aware if there is a culture of academic dishonesty. Not confronting academic dishonesty when you know it exists can also have a negative impact on course evaluations.