Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity

General Statement

Academic integrity is the commitment to, and demonstration of, honest and moral behavior in an academic setting and requires acknowledging the contributions of other people. It reinforces the value of learning and knowledge, ideas, expressions, and creations of students, staff, faculty, and other experts in their fields. It is fundamental to academic, personal, and professional success, and therefore, is highly valued at Macomb Community College. Intentional and unintentional cheating, plagiarizing or other violations of academic integrity with respect to an exam or other academic assignments is a violation of College policy.

Students are expected to adhere to the College Rules and Regulations section on Integrity of Academic Work, and the Student Code of Conduct section on Violations of Academic Integrity.

All alleged violations of academic integrity of a significant and/or deliberate nature, regardless of the sanction, must be identified, described, and thoroughly documented by the faculty member by submitting an Academic Integrity Violation Report. The Academic Integrity Violation Report should be submitted as soon as possible after the alleged violation occurs. Upon receipt of the Academic Integrity Violations Report, the Office of Student Conduct may begin the resolution process.

All reported alleged violations will be recorded and monitored by the Office of Student Conduct and will be included in the student’s Official Conduct Record.

Academic integrity violation(s) could result in course-level and/or college-level sanctions as described below.

Course-Level Sanctions

Course-level sanctions are limited to violations of academic integrity in a single course. A student who cheats, plagiarizes, or otherwise intentionally commits any violation of academic integrity is committing a serious offense for which the student is subject to course-level sanctions up to and including failure in the class involved.

Course-level sanctions should be proportional to the offense and will be administered by the faculty member. Course-level sanctions available to the faculty member include a failing grade for the exam or academic assignment on which the violation occurred, reduction of the overall course grade, failure of the class, or other sanctions that the faculty member deems appropriate, given the nature and severity of the violation involved. A faculty member may decline to impose sanctions if the violation is minor, and they believe the matter has been satisfactorily addressed with the student.

If the sanction imposed by the faculty member is failure of the class, in addition to completing an Academic Integrity Violation Report, the faculty member will notify the Office of Records & Registration as soon as possible.

A student who has failed a course because of an academic integrity violation may continue to attend class. If that student thereafter acts in a manner that violates College policy or undermines the educational process, the faculty member may refer the incident to the Office of Student Conduct for further review and additional sanctioning.

If a student believes a faculty member has issued a final grade in violation of the faculty member’s published grading standards or practices (i.e., syllabus), the student must use the Grade Complaint Procedure. This does not include the ability to change a grade assigned by a faculty member, as those appeals will be evaluated by the Standards Committee as stated in the MCCFO Contract, Article III.N.2.a.

If a student would like to appeal the accusation of any alleged violation of academic integrity at the course level, they must meet with their faculty member. If the issue is not resolved, the student must meet with the appropriate Associate Dean or Dean of the faculty member’s department, which will result in a final determination.

College-Level Sanctions for Multiple and/or Extreme Violations

While a faculty member has the authority to appropriately administer course-level sanctions within their course, the student may also be subject to additional disciplinary action by the College. Multiple and/or extreme violations may result in review by the Dean of Student Success in consultation with the Provost or their designee for sanctioning.

While the College reserves the right to accelerate or alter these steps based on the nature and severity of the violation, academic integrity violations may result in the following College-Level sanctions:

Alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct, including Violations of Academic Integrity, will be resolved through the College’s Resolution Process and a Student Conduct Record will be maintained by the Office of Student Conduct.

Approved by Executive Leadership Team
May 2, 2023
Revised September 10, 2024