All graduate students are subject to the policies of the Reinhardt Student Handbook.
The Honor System
Honor is the moral cornerstone of Reinhardt University. Honor provides the common thread woven through the many aspects of this institution and creates a community of trust and respect affecting fundamentally the relationships of all its members. The centrality of honor at Reinhardt University is contained in its Honor System which is embodied in the Reinhardt University Honor Pledge.
The Honor Pledge
Reinhardt University is a community of learners committed to the integration of faith and learning in the education of the whole person. As a partnership of students, faculty, and staff, we are dedicated to intellectual inquiry, academic freedom, and moral development. We are devoted to the principles of integrity, honesty, and individual responsibility. Therefore, in all our personal and academic endeavors, we will strive to represent our institution with integrity, purpose, and pride; demonstrate honest behavior and expect honesty from others; and accept responsibility for our own words and actions.
Introduction to the Academic Integrity Policies
The Honor System is a collaborative effort between the Student Government Association and the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Academic Integrity falls under the jurisdiction of the Division of Academic Affairs. Reinhardt University provides an environment that encourages all students (undergraduate and graduate) to learn, create, and share knowledge responsibly. As society entrusts our students and faculty to pursue knowledge and report their discoveries truthfully, any deliberate falsehood or misrepresentation undermines the stature of the University. The following policies and procedures pertaining to academic integrity are deemed necessary for fulfilling the University’s mission.
Forms of Academic Dishonesty
The following are recognized as unacceptable forms of academic behavior at Reinhardt University:
- Plagiarizing, that is presenting words or ideas not your own as if they were your own. The words of others must be enclosed in quotation marks and documented. The source of distinctive ideas must also be acknowledged through appropriate documentation.
- Submitting a paper written by another student or another person as if it were your own.
- Submitting a paper containing sentences, paragraphs, or sections lifted from another student’s work or other publication; there must be written documentation.
- Submitting a paper written by you for another course or occasion without the explicit knowledge and consent of the faculty member.
- Fabricating evidence or statistics that supposedly represent original research.
- Cheating of any sort on tests, papers, projects, reports, etc.
- Using the internet inappropriately as a resource. See 3 above.
Sanctions for Academic Dishonesty
Though professionalism and integrity are expected of all Reinhardt University students, graduate students are held to a higher standard, as should be expected. Proven or admitted academic dishonesty may result in expulsion from the University.
However, a faculty member may propose a lesser sanction, according to his or her assessment of the evidence, the severity of the infraction and any extenuating circumstances. Because each case is unique, it is the faculty member’s professional responsibility to devise a fair sanction. A range of possible sanctions is as follows:
- Recommending expulsion from the University. If the faculty member or the School Dean recommends expulsion, the case must be sent to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who alone is authorized to make this decision. In the event that a student is expelled for academic dishonesty, the regular refund policy described in the Reinhardt University Graduate Academic Catalog shall not apply.
- Assigning a grade of “F” or “U” (MFA) in the course. If a student repeats the course, both the sanctioned grade and the repeat grade will be computed in the grade-point average.
- Assigning a grade of “F” or “U” (MFA) or a score of 0 on the paper, project or examination without the opportunity for resubmission, this grade becoming part of the student’s course average. [That is, if a faculty member regularly drops the lowest grade for the course average, it cannot be the sanctioned grade.]
- Assigning a grade of “F” or “U” (MFA) or a score of 0 on the paper, project or examination, but allowing resubmission with the same or a different topic, resulting in a maximum combined grade of “C.”
Procedure for Suspected Academic Dishonesty
In the event of suspected academic dishonesty, according to the definitions stated above and whatever additional definitions a faculty member has published in a class syllabus, the following procedure will apply:
LEVEL I: Faculty member meets with student
The faculty member will meet with the student within ten (10) working days after the accusation to discuss the suspicion and the evidence. If, after this conference, the faculty member determines that a violation has not occurred, the matter will be resolved by the faculty member dropping the allegation.
However, if the faculty member decides that a violation of academic integrity has occurred and that there is sufficient evidence, the faculty member may directly propose a sanction. If both the faculty member and student agree on a resolution, the instructor must submit a signed/written agreement to the School Dean and to the Vice President for Academic Affairs within ten (10) working days. In all cases in which a faculty member is persuaded of academic dishonesty and proposes a sanction of any kind, he or she should submit a brief report of the evidence, the sanction, and the reasons for the sanction along with the signed agreement. (Violations that are purely technical in nature, without any perceived intent to achieve academic advantage, and which only require redoing the assignment without a grade sanction, may or may not be reported at the instructor’s discretion.)
If the faculty member and student do not agree on culpability or the sanction, the student has ten (10) working days after the meeting with the faculty member to file a written appeal with the School Dean. Then, the case moves to Level II.
If the faculty member involved in the dispute is the Dean, then the case moves to Level III and the student has ten (10) days to file an appeal with the Vice President for Academic Affairs
LEVEL II: Hearing with the School Dean
A student who appeals the case shall submit his/her own written interpretation of the incident to the School Dean of the faculty member with a copy to the faculty member. Upon receipt of this appeal by the School Dean, the student’s grade for the assignment or the course becomes “I” (incomplete) until the case is resolved.
The School Dean, acting as arbitrator, decides whether academic integrity was violated, and the appropriate sanction, if necessary. For a sanction less than expulsion, there should be substantial evidence (adequate to support a conclusion); for expulsion there should be clear and convincing evidence (leading to a firm belief/conviction in the allegation).
Within ten (10) working days of the date of receiving the School Dean’s decision, either the faculty member or the student may file a written Request for Appeal with the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Then, the case moves to Level III.
LEVEL III: Vice President for Academic Affairs
Upon receipt of a written Request for Appeal, the Vice President for Academic Affairs shall decide whether the processes listed above have been met satisfactorily. If not, the Vice President for Academic Affairs shall state a curative course of action.