Intellectual and academic honesty are at the heart of the academic life of Duke University. It is the responsibility of all students to understand and abide by Duke's expectations regarding academic work.
Students who violate their school's policies, intentionally or accidentally, will be accused of academic dishonesty. Accusations of academic dishonesty are serious, and will be punished through the school's disciplinary process. Guilty determinations of academic misconduct have been known to jeopardize students' college careers and affect their professional lives down the line as well.
In this article, we'll address how Duke University handles allegations of academic dishonesty and why you need a student defense attorney to assist you through the process once accused.
How Does Duke University Define “Academic Dishonesty?”
Members of Duke University are subject to the honor code the school calls the Duke Community Standard. To uphold the Duke Community Standard, students must promise to not lie, cheat, or steal in their academic endeavors; to conduct themselves honorably in all their endeavors; and act if the standard is compromised.
Any actions that don't align with the Duke Community Standard fall under the realm of “academic dishonesty.” Because this is a vague definition and academic dishonesty can be constituted in a number of ways, here are a few common examples.
Lying
Lying is communicating untruths or misrepresentations in order to gain an unfair academic or employment advantage. It includes, but is not limited to:
- Misrepresenting one's own research
- Falsifying information on a resumé
- Intentionally underperforming on a placement exam
- Providing false or misleading information in order to be excused from classes or assignments
Cheating
Cheating is the act of wrongfully using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, study aids, or the ideas or work of another in order to gain an unfair advantage. Some examples of cheating include:
- Giving unauthorized aid to another student or receiving unauthorized aid from another person on tests, quizzes, assignments, or examinations
- Plagiarism on any assignment
- Using or consulting unauthorized materials or using unauthorized equipment or devices on tests, quizzes, assignments or examinations
- Altering or falsifying any information on tests, quizzes, assignments or examinations
- Using any material portion of a paper or project to fulfill the requirements of more than one course unless the student has received prior faculty permission to do so
- Working on any examination, test, quiz, or assignment outside of the time constraints imposed
- The unauthorized use of prescription medication to enhance academic performance
- Submitting an altered examination or assignment to an instructor for regrading
- Failing to adhere to an instructor's specific directions with respect to the terms of academic integrity or academic honesty
Plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs when a student, with intent to deceive or with disregard for proper scholarly procedures, presents any information, ideas or phrasing of another they were his/her own and/or does not give appropriate credit to the original source. Proper scholarly procedures require that all quoted material be identified by quotation markers or indentation on the page, and the source of information and ideas, if from another, must be identified and be attributed to that source. Students are responsible for learning proper scholarly procedures.
Plagiarism may include:
- Copying from published sources without adequate documentation, use of quotation marks around verbatim text, or a block quote if verbatim text exceeds 40-50 words, and in-text references or footnotes, both for verbatim text and paraphrased words/ideas.
- Citing an incorrect source for attributed work
- Using the same logic/flow/sentence structure of another without giving credit
- Paraphrasing words or ideas of another without giving credit
- Submitting as your own someone else's unpublished work, either with or without permission
- Paying someone else to write a paper for you
- Purchasing a pre-written paper
The term “assignment” includes any work required or volunteered, submitted for review, academic credit, and/or disciplinary sanction.
All academic work undertaken by a student must be completed independently unless the faculty member or other responsible authority expressly authorizes collaboration with another.
Stealing
Stealing is the act of intentionally taking or appropriating the property of another, including academic work, without consent or permission and with the intent to keep or use the property without the permission of the owner or the rightful possessor.
Duke University's Disciplinary Process
Reports
Reports of behavior alleged to violate university policy should be filed with or forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct.
Participation
The university invites students/groups to participate fully in all aspects of the disciplinary process. If a student/group elects not to participate in any of the process, the conduct officer/hearing body may proceed without benefit of that student's/group's input. A student/group will be held accountable for any sanctions issued as a result of a hearing.
Investigation
Office of Student Conduct staff and/or designee(s) will gather information regarding the alleged incident in order to determine the appropriate means of resolution.
Investigations may include interviews, a review of related documents, requests for written statements from any person involved in the alleged incident, and review of material available electronically. Students and organizations are encouraged to be forthright and as specific as possible when offering information related to an investigation, but may choose the extent to which they share information.
Cases may be dropped for insufficient information, or referred for mediation, arbitration, informal resolution or disciplinary action. In order for a case to be referred for disciplinary action, there must be sufficient information to believe that a policy violation may have occurred and that the alleged individual/group may be responsible.
Duke University Academic Integrity Attorney
An academic misconduct violation can jeopardize the academic and professional goals you or your college student have set. If you value the investment you've made into your education and your professional future, contacting a skilled student defense attorney is a must. Attorney Joseph D. Lento has helped students who've acquired serious academic misconduct charges recover from these allegations, and he can do the same for you. Contact him today at 888-535-3686 for more information.
