Academic Integrity Policy

The Wheaton College Community Covenant, which all members of our academic community affirm, states that, “According to the Scriptures, followers of Jesus Christ will be people of integrity whose word can be fully trusted (Ps. 15:4; Matt. 5:33–37).” It is expected that Wheaton College students, faculty and staff understand and subscribe to the ideal of academic integrity and take full personal responsibility and accountability for their work. Wheaton College considers violations of academic integrity a serious offense against the basic meaning of an academic community and against the standards of excellence, integrity, and behavior expected of members of our academic community. Violations of academic integrity break the trust that exists among members of the learning community at Wheaton and degrade the College’s educational and research mission.

Violations of Academic Integrity: Definitions

Plagiarism is defined as using material created by others–in part or in whole–without properly attributing authorial and publication references for the correct source(s). Plagiarism can occur in dealing with written texts, but can also occur in the arts when, for instance, images or musical themes created by another are presented as if they were the original composition or creation of the student (e.g., musical composition, artwork, etc.). The definition of plagiarism also includes presenting content produced by generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools as though it were the student’s original work. Reference credit must be given for direct quotations, for work (including a form of argument, progression of ideas, or artistic creation), whether in whole or in part, that is paraphrased, adapted or summarized in the student’s own words or creative work, and for information that is not common.

Cheating is defined as use of unauthorized notes, study aids, or non-approved sources for an examination, unauthorized alteration of a graded work after it has been returned and resubmission of that work for re-grading, submission of another person’s work to meet requirements for a course, submission of identical or similar papers for credit in more than one course (concurrently or sequentially) without prior permission from the course instructors, and submission of work generated by generative AI tools without explicit prior approval from the course instructors.

Fabrication is defined as falsifying or inventing any information, data, or citation, presenting data that were not gathered in accordance with standard guidelines defining the appropriate methods for collecting or generating data as if they were gathered in accord with those guidelines, and failing to include an accurate account of the method by which the data were gathered or collected. At their discretion, course instructors may explicitly permit the use of generative AI tools within their acceptable guidelines for data collection and generation.

Violations of academic integrity can also be exhibited through lying, misrepresenting, defrauding, or deceiving related to assigned or voluntary academic work. It further includes any deliberate attempt to gain unfair advantage in completing examinations or other required work, colluding, aiding or abetting a violation of academic integrity by another student, and the falsification of academic records and official documents. These definitions are not exhaustive.

Responsibility for Disciplinary Action

Disciplinary authority and responsibility for addressing student violations of the College’s Academic Integrity Policy has been delegated by the President to the Provost and, in turn, to the Academic Deans and Faculty members.

The Provost and Academic Deans have the discretion to modify the following procedures at any time during a specific investigation or adjudication, as circumstances warrant. Nothing contained in these procedures is intended to create, or be interpreted as creating, any contractual rights on the part of any student.

Students who violate academic integrity standards should report their own violations to the appropriate person (i.e., the professor); honest confession is expected as the appropriate expression of remorse. It is the responsibility of every student who is a witness to such behavior to confront violations of academic integrity whenever they become aware of it (in the spirit of the mutual responsibility as discussed in the Community Covenant). College faculty and all staff similarly must address every violation of academic integrity as they become aware of it.

Disciplinary Process

When a student is perceived to have violated the Academic Integrity Policy, the faculty member will meet with the student to discuss the alleged violation. The faculty member is encouraged to ask another faculty member or academic supervisor to attend this meeting. The goal of this meeting is to communicate to the student the nature of the allegation, to gather more information regarding the situation, and to allow the student(s) to share his/her perspective about the incident. Student(s) will be given the opportunity to share any information or evidence that may support their position. The College will approach these initial conversations balancing the tension between grace and truth with a genuine interest in the student’s wellbeing and development within the context of community and relationships.

The decision of whether or not a student has committed an academic violation will be communicated to the student and the Dean of Residence Life in writing by the faculty member within five working days of the initial meeting. If the faculty member determines that an infraction has occurred, a copy of the letter will be forwarded to the Academic Department Chair and the Dean of the division or School to which the faculty member is assigned. The letter must include a complete description of the events including the date of the meeting with the student and the conclusions and sanctions reached as a result of the meeting. The faculty member should keep originals of tests, papers etc. that give evidence of the violation. The faculty member will also communicate with the Dean of Residence Life concerning the incident and the sanction. Faculty are encouraged to be available to work with the Dean of Residence Life if it is determined that the incident has occurred in other courses.

Outcomes for academic dishonesty are assigned with the intent of maintaining appropriateness to the severity of the infraction, consistency, and fairness. Decisions about the nature and severity of disciplinary responses to academic dishonesty will take into consideration three factors:

1. The level of maturity of the student and the programmatic expectations on the student (e.g., the freshman in the first writing course versus the doctoral student working on a dissertation),
2. The severity of the infraction (from an apparently incidental failure to quote properly a source to an act of wholesale plagiarism in purchasing an academic paper on-line), and
3. Academic integrity policies from the course’s syllabus.

Outcomes for Violations of Academic Integrity

If a student is found to have violated the Academic Integrity Policy, the faculty member has the authority and sole discretion in that course to give one of the following responses:

• Reprimand/warning;
• Assignment of additional work;
• Lower the grade assigned for the specific assignment by one or more grade steps;
• Re-examination; or
• Lower the grade to zero credit for the specific assignment on which academic dishonesty occurred.

The disciplinary actions listed in this section are not exhaustive. Sanctions may be imposed in any combination. In consultation with their academic supervisor, the faculty member may also assign the grade of F (Failed) for the course.

All decisions (initial sanctions and any appeals) will be communicated to the student in writing by the faculty member, Academic Department Chair or whomever the Academic Dean determines should render a response. A copy of all adjudicative documents must be sent to the Dean of Residence Life to be added to the student’s file as this office has been charged with maintaining records for all enrolled students.

Suspension and Expulsion may be imposed only by recommendation of the Academic Dean to whom the involved faculty member reports. The Academic Dean will make this recommendation in consultation with the reporting faculty member, the student’s faculty advisor, the academic department chair, and the Dean of Residence Life. In the case of Suspension, the student is involuntarily separated from the College for a specified length of time. In the case of Expulsion, the student is permanently separated from the College with an appropriate notation of the reasons for such termination on the student’s permanent record.

Multiple Violations

Students who have multiple academic integrity violations will meet with the Dean of Residence Life, or his/her designee to determine the appropriate institutional response outlined in the Student Conduct Policy.

Academic Appeals

If the student believes that the decision made about an outcome in response to the incident of dishonesty is not just or fair, the student may submit a letter of appeal stating objections and providing any supporting materials within five business days of receiving the decision to the appropriate supervisor of the Department or Program (e.g., the Department Chair, or if there is no chair, to the Program Director. If the faculty member is the Department Chair or Program Director, the appeal is to the divisional Academic Dean). If the student appeals a suspension or expulsion decision, he/she may be permitted to remain in school until the appeal has been heard and a decision rendered.