Academic Catalog

2023-2024

VII.Community Standards and Policies: A. Academic Integrity

The following statement, endorsed by the DCGA Student Senate on 15 November 2005 and by the Faculty on 2 March 2006, affirms the value the University attaches to academic integrity and serves as a model that faculty may use or adapt in their course syllabi.

Proposed and developed by Denison students, passed unanimously by DCGA and Denison’s faculty, the Code of Academic Integrity requires that instructors notify the Associate Provost of cases of academic dishonesty. Cases are typically heard by the Academic Integrity Board, which determines whether a violation has occurred, and, if so, its severity and the sanctions. In some circumstances the case may be handled through an Administrative Resolution Procedure. Further, the code makes students responsible for promoting a culture of integrity on campus and acting in instances in which integrity is violated.

Academic honesty, the cornerstone of teaching and learning, lays the foundation for lifelong integrity. Academic dishonesty is intellectual theft. It includes, but is not limited to, providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for evaluation. This standard applies to all work ranging from daily homework assignments to major exams. Students must clearly cite any sources consulted—not only for quoted phrases but also for ideas and information that are not common knowledge. Neither ignorance nor carelessness is an acceptable defense in cases of plagiarism. It is the student’s responsibility to follow the appropriate format for citations. Students should ask their instructors for assistance in determining what sorts of materials and assistance are appropriate for assignments and for guidance in citing such materials clearly.

Note on Technology:  Unauthorized use of technology (including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence sites and translation programs) in the preparation or submission of academic work can be considered a form of cheating and/or plagiarism.  Instructors may at their discretion create assignments that incorporate the use of supporting technologies and will inform students of acceptable uses of technology in their courses.  It is the responsibility of the student to ask the instructor for clarification whenever they are unclear about the parameters of a specific assignment and to understand that presenting the work of artificial intelligence as your own constitutes a violation of Denison's Code.  Cases of suspected inappropriate use of technology may be submitted to the Academic Integrity Board to initiate an investigation of academic dishonesty. 

Denison University is committed to making all aspects of the institution—inside the classroom and out—a community characterized by honesty, integrity, and responsibility. That commitment was reaffirmed when Denison students developed and proposed the Code of Academic Integrity, which the faculty adopted unanimously in 2008.

Denison’s faculty are charged with the responsibility for encouraging ethical conduct in their students, for clarifying what sorts of assistance are permissible for different projects, and for helping students learn how to make proper and rhetorically effective use of source material.

If an instructor believes and has evidence that a student has violated the Code of Academic Integrity, the instructor is required to notify the the Provost's office.  The form for submitting an integrity charge is on the Provost's Academic Integrity MyDenison site, along with a description of the process and information regarding what materials to submit. An instructor may not issue a grade penalty for an integrity violation unless there has been a finding of responsibility by the Academic Integrity Board. After a charge is received, either the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs or the Process Advisor then meets with the student and either schedules a hearing of the Academic Integrity Board to determine if an offense has occurred, or, in some cases, exercises an administrative resolution procedure.  The Academic Integrity hearing board is charged with ascertaining whether the student has violated the Code, the severity of the offense, and the appropriate means of addressing the offense with penalties and/or educational programming. In the case of a grade penalty, the Integrity Board will make a recommendation to the course instructor who shall have the final authority to assign the grade. The Administrative Resolution procedure may be applied only in some cases and at the discretion of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.

For additional information and links to report an incident go to the  Academic Integrity MyDenison site. Reports of suspected violations should be submitted by clicking on the Advocate Symplicity Report link.