Reporting Academic Dishonesty

NEW! REQUIRED: Academic Dishonesty Reporting

All academic dishonesty cases that occur in the classroom shall be handled by faculty members.  However, after action has been taken by the faculty member, the faculty member shall submit the following information:

1. Student name
2. Bronco ID
3. Course number
4. Brief summary of incident including any action taken
5. Recommendation as to whether or not additional action should be considered by Judicial Affairs.

Report an academic dishonesty incident by sending an email with the information above to pjmucino@csupomona.edu. Please call 909/869-6990 with any questions or to seek advice in pursuing an incident. 

For more information, review Executive Order 1006 at the CSU Chancellor’s Office website.

University policy on academic integrity

The university policy on academic integrity is outlined on page 54 of the current catalog (2007-2009). It is worthwhile to quote a portion:  

 "The University is committed to maintaining academic integrity throughout the university community. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense that can diminish the quality of scholarship, the academic environment, the academic reputation, and the quality of a Cal Poly Pomona degree."

"The responsibility of the faculty, instructors or test administrators is to clarify their positions on academic dishonesty to their classes early in each class. The instructor is encouraged to report each instance of academic dishonesty to the Director of Judicial Affairs. In addition to reporting each instance, each instructor shall address the problem in the narrow context of the individual class. Any form of academic dishonesty in class could result in a failing grade for the assignment related to the instance or in a failing grade for the class." 

The office of Judicial Affairs is here not only to assure that statewide policy is fairly administered regarding violation of student codes of conduct, but to assist faculty members in ensuring academic integrity at a campus-wide level. The policy says "the instructor is encouraged to report each instance of academic dishonesty to the Director of Judicial Affairs" in part so that the University can maintain a data base of students who have committed such offenses. The instructor who "takes care of it in my classroom" might be compared to a police force which issues tickets and collects the fine, but doesn't share this information with statewide agencies. Who knows if that driver has a history of speeding, reckless driving, or, worse, drunken driving? So it is with academic dishonesty. Reporting it and allowing the University to take action is to enforce the severity of the offense to the student in particular and to better serve the "law-abiding" students in general.

To keep the "red tape" to a minimum, we suggest faculty furnish the following when submitting cases for review:

Name and BroncoDirect Number:

The formal process begins with a letter from the Judicial Affairs office to the student charged with the offense. The correct BroncoDirect number allows us to identify the appropriate student from the vast data base at Cal Poly Pomona.

Title/Course Number: 

This helps us identify the specific course in which the alleged offense took place.

The faculty member's policy on academic dishonesty and how this is shared with the students:

University policy notes that faculty have "the responsibility to clarify their positions on academic dishonesty to their class early in each class." Policy also allows faculty quite a bit of latitude in how to deal with individual incidents of academic dishonesty, from failing an assignment to failing the class. What is this faculty member's policy and how is that shared? If this is included in the syllabus, please include a copy. If not on the syllabus, how do the students know how an individual faculty member will respond to academic dishonesty?

A brief description of the incident:

Is this plagiarism? How can you tell? Can you identify the source?

Is this cheating on an exam?

Is this collaboration on a project?

Is this a forged signature?

Is this another instance of academic dishonesty? What is the offense?

In each instance, please also answer these questions: How was it detected? What evidence is available to support the charge?

Describe any contact with the student since the incident:

Did the faculty member confront the student? How did they respond?

Describe any action already taken:

University policy notes that "any form of academic dishonesty in class could result in a failing grade for the assignment related to the instance or in a failing grade for the class." Please provide any information on actions already taken.

More information is available from the Director of Judicial Affairs, Reyes J. Luna, available at 909/869-3462 or through e-mail at rjluna@csupomona.edu. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions or to seek advice in pursuing an incident.