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Academic Honesty

National Louis University subscribes to the principle that academic quality and a productive learning environment are inextricably linked to academic honesty.

National Louis University has expectations regarding academic honesty on the part of students, faculty and staff, and, indeed, to professional people at all levels of academic activity.

With respect to the academic honesty of students, it is expected that all material submitted as part of any class exercise or project, inside or outside of class, is the actual work of the student whose name appears on the material, and that portions of the work not done by the student are appropriately documented. The concept of academic honesty includes plagiarism, receiving improper assistance, and/or unethical or unauthorized use of software tools (e.g., AI) based on faculty expectation Students found to have engaged in academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action and may be dismissed from the University. 

Faculty has the right to analyze and evaluate students’ coursework, including the electronic submission of student assignments to a third-party plagiarism and artificial intelligence (AI) detection service.

When evidence of academic dishonesty is detected, a procedure is activated to bring the matter to a conclusion (see below). For additional guidance on how to apply such policies and procedures, faculty may contact their program administrator, Dean’s office, or the Provost’s Office.

Definitions

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is commonly defined as using the words or ideas of another person or source without proper acknowledgment. This includes taking credit for materials from any print or electronic source, whether or not that material has been previously published or copyrighted.

 

Plagiarism is applied not only to extensive borrowing of words or phrases that are not attributed to the original source, but also to ideas found in another’s work, even if the ideas are reworded by the student or by AI, unless they fall into the category of common knowledge.

To summarize, students need to submit their own work, and any verbatim reproduction of the work of another, no matter how brief, must be explicitly documented, as well as any summary or paraphrase of the ideas of another, unless they are common knowledge.

 

Common knowledge 

Information that a great majority of people know or can find from a number of sources.

 

Other Academic Dishonesty

In addition to plagiarism, the academic community consider several other kinds of behavior as academic dishonesty. Since the evaluation of student work results in a formal grade legally recorded on a student’s transcript, any work offered in support of that grade which demonstrates plagiarism or academic dishonesty as listed below is an attempt at fraud and will be dealt with accordingly.

 

These include:

  • Turning in an assignment (test, paper, presentation, project, discussion post) that was created wholly or in part by another person or entity without prior approval (for example, turning in a paper purchased online)
  • Turning in an assignment (test, paper, presentation, project, discussion post) created wholly or in part for another course for which academic credit was received, without so specifying.
  • Submitting another’s answers on a test or other assessment.
  • Using AI tools to write papers or responses beyond their use for limited editing unless otherwise specified by instructor.
  • Otherwise violating the NLU student conduct policies.

Procedure for Handling Incidents of Academic Dishonesty

  1. A faculty member or related University employee who has reason to believe that a student has violated the University’s Academic Honesty policy is obliged to notify the student, in writing, of this concern. This written notification should detail the nature of the alleged violation and attach a copy of or link to the Academic Honesty policy.
  2. After notification, if the issue is not resolved through email exchanges, the faculty member (or other University employee) shall arrange a meeting (on-line, by telephone, or in person) within fourteen (14) business days of the occurrence of the alleged incident or fourteen (14) business days of the date they learned of the incident. It may be advisable for the faculty member to have one witness present during the meeting, and the student may also bring one witness. At this meeting, the faculty member will again explain the alleged violation of the Academic Honesty policy, present the reasons or evidence to support the allegation; and provide a copy of the Policy. The desired outcome of this meeting shall be a mutually satisfactory remedy, and this outcome will be provided in written form by the faculty member (or related University employee) and uploaded to the University’s electronic student success system. If a satisfactory agreement is obtained, no further intervention is necessary.
  3. If the faculty member and the student are unable to agree on an available remedy, the program administrator or college dean may be notified, and an additional meeting, either online, by phone, or in person, with the student, the faculty member and the program administrator/dean will take place. This meeting will take place within ten (10) working days, or at the mutual agreement of all parties, of notification of the administrator/dean that a resolution was not reached in the previous two efforts. The outcome of this meeting will be reported, in writing, to the electronic student success system, by either the program administrator or the faculty member. If at that time, the electronic student success system reveals that repeated violations of the Academic Honesty policy have taken place, regardless of a positive outcome of the individual occurrence, a formal hearing will be called to resolve the matter. If, on the other hand, prior incidents of violation of the policy are not found, any agreement requires no further intervention.
  4. If the student, faculty, and program officer/dean have been unable to come to a conclusion on the incident, or if there are repeated examples of academy dishonesty in the electronic student success system, any one of the three parties shall file a petition for a Hearing on Academic Dishonesty (hereinafter Petition) to occur within ten (10) business days of the previous meetings described above. Said Petition shall be filed with the Senior Academic Officer (Provost) of the University.
  5. The Senior Academic Officer or designee, after determining that the Petition falls within the purview of this policy will, within ten (10) business days of receiving the petition, or such other time as may be mutually agreed upon among the parties, convene a Hearing Committee which shall hear and decide the matter. The Hearing Committee (“Committee”) shall be comprised of a hearing officer appointed by the Senior Academic Officer and two faculty members appointed by the Chair of the Faculty Senate. None of the above individuals may sit on the Committee if they are a party to the dispute.
  6. The petitioner’s presence is required. An accused student shall have a right to appear at the hearing with or without an advocate. However, the absence of an advocate shall not abrogate the Committee’s responsibility to proceed and reach resolution.
  7. The Committee shall evaluate all available evidence and materials, including the written record and personal statements of the parties in attendance and others who have direct knowledge of the matters under review. The Committee shall then, in private session, decide upon the remedy (see below) to be applied. That decision shall be reported within five (5) business days to the Senior Academic Officer, who shall inform all parties in writing of the decision and place a copy of said notification in the student’s electronic file, maintained by the Office of the Registrar.
  8. The student or faculty member shall have the right to file a written appeal of the Committee's decision. Said appeal shall be received in the Senior Academic Officer’s office within ten (10) business days of notification of the Committee’s decision.
  9. The Senior Academic Officer shall act on said appeal within ten (10) business days of receipt, using whatever means of fact-finding that may be available. All parties shall be notified of the decision. This action shall be the final administrative remedy available. Any remedy requiring further action by the President or Board of Trustees shall be carried out within a reasonable period of time.

Remedies

  1. No further action, after first, second, or third communication process with student
  2. Student referred to Learning Support: https://www.nl.edu/learningsupport/
  3. Revision and resubmission of assignment(s)
  4. Extra assignment(s)
  5. Re-examination(s)
  6. Lowered grade or no credit for assignment, examination, thesis, course, or internship
  7. Suspension from the University
  8. Dismissal from the University
  9. Rescission of an awarded certificate
  10. Recommendation to the Board of Trustees to rescind an awarded degree

Note: Remedies 1-6 will be documented in the university’s electronic student success system. Remedies 7-10 shall be imposed only by the President.

Timeline will be set in motion according to the outcome of each of the proposed actions, but will proceed in as timely a way as possible so as not to impede the academic progress of the student.