Academic Integrity Policy

About This Policy

As a student at Community College of Denver, you are expected to behave as a responsible member of the college community and to be honest and ethical in your academic work. CCD strives to provide you with the knowledge, skills, judgment and critical thinking needed to function in society. To falsify or fabricate the results of your research, to present the words, ideas, data or work of another as your own, or to cheat on an examination corrupts the essential process of higher education and is a disservice to the student, faculty and staff community. All members of the CCD community share the responsibility and authority to challenge and report acts of academic dishonesty.

Guidelines for Academic Integrity

• You assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the coursework you submit.

• You must do your own work and submit only your own work on examinations, reports and projects unless otherwise permitted by the instructor.

• You are encouraged to contact your instructor about appropriate citation guidelines.

• You may benefit from working in groups. However, you must not collaborate or cooperate with others on graded assignments, examinations or other academic exercises unless clearly directed to do so by the instructor.

• You must follow all written and/or verbal instructions given by instructors or designated college representatives prior to taking examinations, placement assessments, tests, quizzes and evaluations.

• You are responsible for adhering to course requirements as specified by the instructor in the course syllabus.

Forms of Academic Dishonesty

Actions constituting violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, the following:

Cheating

Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise.

Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to:

  • Using books, notes, or calculators or copying from or conversing with others during examination (unless permitted by the instructor). 

  • Having someone else do research, write papers, or take examinations for someone else. 

  • Submitting work completed in one class to fulfill an assignment in another class without prior approval from the instructor(s). 

  • Stealing, distributing, selling, and buying tests or having someone take a test on someone else’s behalf. 

Plagiarism

Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise.

The following are considered to be forms of plagiarism:

  • Word-for-word copying of another person’s ideas or words.
  • Mis-citing or incorrectly quoting another person’s ideas or words.
  • Interspersing one’s own words within a document while, in essence, copying another’s work.
  • Rewriting another’s work, yet still using the original author’s fundamental idea or theory.
  • Inventing or counterfeiting sources.
  • Submitting another’s work as one’s own.
  • Neglecting quotation marks on material that is otherwise acknowledged.

Misuse of Academic Materials

The misuse of academic materials includes, but is not limited to:

  • Stealing or destroying college or library reference materials, or computer equipment and/or programs.
  • Stealing or destroying another student’s notes or materials, or having such materials in one’s possession without the owner’s permission.
  • Receiving assistance in locating or using sources of information in an assignment when such assistance has not been authorized or is forbidden by the instructor.
  • Illegitimate possession, disposition, or use of examinations, test banks or answer keys to examinations.
  • Unauthorized alteration, forgery or falsification of academic records.
  • The sale or purchase of examinations, papers, projects or assignments.

Complicity in Academic Dishonesty

Complicity involves knowingly contributing to another’s acts of academic dishonesty.

Fabrication

The invention of material or its source and its use as an authority in academic work. Fabrication includes but is not limited to:

  • Inventing data for a scientific experiment. 

  • Inventing the title and author or a publication in order to use the invented publication as a source. 

  • Knowingly attributing materials to an incorrect source. 

Facilitating Academic Dishonesty

Intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to violate any provision of this policy.

Multiple Submission

Unauthorized submission of academic work for which academic credit has already been earned and when such submission is made without authorization.

Academic Misconduct Procedure

Academic integrity is a foundational value of CCD. If there is an allegation of any academic misconduct, a report needs to be filed with the Office of Student Conduct as academic misconduct is considered a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

When an incident of academic misconduct occurs, the faculty member has the autonomy to address the incident directly and immediately. This includes any grade implications. The faculty will then file an academic misconduct report with the Office of Student Conduct. The Office of Student Conduct will send out official communication, process the incident, investigate when necessary, and respond with appropriate institutional sanctions. This includes, but is not limited to probation, suspension, or expulsion in addition to possible educational sanctions, which will be added to a student’s conduct file. 

When an incident of academic misconduct occurs outside of class or is reported after the fact, the Office of Student Conduct will investigate the situation. Once a finding has been determined, the Office of Student Conduct will relay information to the responsible faculty member for any academic grade determinations.

A student has a right to appeal all proceedings. Similar to the investigatory process, the student has a two-pronged appeal opportunity (grade and/or conduct sanctions).

In order to appeal the grade, the student must follow the grade appeal process. All grade decisions by the supervising dean are final. If the student wants to appeal the institutional sanction(s), the student may appeal the conduct decision with the vice president of Enrollment Administration and Student Success or designee through the conduct appeal process. All conduct sanction appeal decisions by the vice president of Enrollment Administration and Student Success or designee are final. Information can be found at CCD.edu/StudentCode.